Kia Ora & a very warm welcome to Buckle My Shoe Early Learning Centre!

At Buckle My Shoe, we are licensed for up to 25 children – 20 over 2’s and 5 under 2’s. With our small group size, we are able to provide individualized care for your little one in a homely family-like environment that is safe, fun, environmentally friendly & setup for high quality learning.

Our teaching program is based on the world leading New Zealand Te Whariki Curriculum and we extend a particular focus on helping our children develop superior foundational life skills so they are well prepared for future stages of learning; better prepared for the ebbs and flows that we know are part of this wonderful journey of life.

As with many things in life, one size certainly does not fit all. Our children are encouraged to have fun & follow their individual passions while still finding a way to play well with others.

Have a good look around the site, we’ve put together lots of relevant information for you and if you need to chat, we’re always around. All our contact details are on our contact page!

We’re very much looking forward to having you as part of the Buckle My Shoe family!

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Our Philosophy

At Buckle My Shoe Early Learning Centre, Te Whariki – the NZ curriculum is carefully woven throughout daily routines and our environment. We also have some key values and beliefs, core to our philosophy that guide our teachers & practices to be the best they can be for your child!

Prepared for Life

We know how important the first 1000 days in a child’s life are and the immense levels of learning & development that take place during this time. As your child starts their learning journey with us, our goal is for your little one to build up great foundational learning skills that will support them in being a lifelong learner, prepared for life. Learning dispositions and skills are our focus – with high quality resources, provoking environments & a play based curriculum being the tools we use to achieve this.

Every Child is Unique

We believe in the uniqueness of a child – therefore we carefully tailor our teaching strategies and approach to scaffold your child’s development in a way will suit their learning style best. Having small group sizes plays a key part in this, as we are able to observe and see the diversity of our learners and embrace this accordingly to match their identity and cultural background.

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Express Yourself

We believe curiosity, a child-like sense of wonder & imagination are driving forces in helping our little ones develop working theories about the world around them. With this in mind we have set up our environment with a variety of open-ended resources and materials that encourage creativity and the ability for our children to express themselves.

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Reach for the Stars

We truly believe that every child has the potential to achieve great things in life. Throughout our daily routines and learning experiences, we focus on helping our little ones develop confidence, ambition and a can-do mindset. Achievements are celebrated and goal setting is a collaborative process involving the child, teachers and family – all essential ingredients to achieving excellence.

Home away from Home

At Buckle My Shoe, we are a mixed aged centre where there is a real home away from home feeling. Older children and younger children are nurtured & encouraged to learn, explore and play together – just as it would be in your own family home. Reciprocal relationships between teachers, families & the children themselves are paramount to each child’s learning journey and we value these through open communication, collaborative experiences and creating a culture of respect through every interaction.

Our special Growing Great Character program supports our little ones in developing key character values that will help them navigate their wonderful life journeys & enable them to achieve great things.

We created the Preschool Pillars program to make the process of transitioning to school as easy and fun as possible for our Buckle My Shoe family. It has been specially developed to help set our little ones up on a continuous pathway of learning, equip them with various tools & skills they can use to manoeuvre their individual learning journeys and ultimately, get them better prepared for life!