Taupaki Kindergarten

I was first introduced to Taupaki Kindy via a friend whose daughter attends also. My eldest daughter was about to turn two and I was 30 weeks pregnant with our second child when I went for a visit and I was blown away with the Kindy. Sue the headteacher was absolutely fantastic and made me feel like I had plenty of time and opportunity to talk with her, even while she was maintaining her supervision on everything around her! I love the ethos of the Kindy with the main focus being all the children helping out the younger. My daughter is one of the first children out of my friend and family group and therefore she doesn’t have a huge number of interactions with older children at this stage, therefore Taupaki was a huge drawer for me. Her visiting days went exceptionally smoothly with the staff being very attentive and caring, and my daughter experienced no problems, even with ease and access to the toileting (where I had expected a few accidents to occur with the new environment!). The children themselves were incredible - on my daughter’s first visiting day she had at least three separate interactions with older children approaching her independently to ask her name, ask how she was, to ask my name, and to invite her to come and do various play and interactions with them, which was awesome to watch. I highly enjoyed aspects such as mat time as well letter of the week and storytime - both my mother and mother-in-law are primary school teachers, and they have stressed the importance of preparation for school in terms of being able to sit quietly on mat and pay attention, and I loved seeing these skills being worked on in a setting such as this. My daughter has now been attending Taupaki Kindy two days a week for three weeks at the time of this review, and already we have started to see some positive changes in her behaviour. She comes home animatedly talking about her day, about other children she talked or played with, and her confidence in certain activities, such as sliding down big slides (which she’s previously being hesitant to do at playgrounds around our home) has skyrocketed. I am very grateful to have been recommended Taupaki Kindy, and our experience there so far has been nothing but positive.

Taupaki Kindy has been amazing for my sensitive little man transitioning to school. The teachers are wonderful at what they do and our kids both love their kindy. It has a real family feel and we have felt welcomed from the first day entering the gate. The rural setting is great for our outdoor kids. Super happy with our decision sending them to Taupaki Kindy.

All three of my children have attended taupaki kindy. It has been a wonderful place for them to grow and learn. I wouldnt send them anywhere else.