188 Yaldhurst Road, Sockburn, Christchurch 8042
Avonhead Montessori Preschool in Christchurch provides high quality Montessori Education to children aged 0 – 6 years old. Our well established childcare centre in Avonhead makes us a natural choice for families who are seeking a childcare centre that provides routine and consistency, a strong team of personable and loving teachers and a warm, homely environment that encourages children’s learning and development to flourish.
At Avonhead Montessori Preschool in Christchurch, we provide a ‘home away from home’, nurturing and cosy daycare environment for your little ones. Our engaging and supportive learning environment ensures your child receives meaningful care, as well as personalised learning and development.
Our Avonhead childcare centre has an educational programme for children up to the age of six years based on the Montessori philosophy and the National Early Childhood curriculum Te Whāriki.
The Montessori Programme gives children freedom within a structure. Carefully designed teaching materials are used by specially trained teachers to develop the potential of a young child in keeping with the Montessori Philosophy, with the environment and programme within the classroom planned to optimise children’s learning opportunities.
Our childcare centre in Avonhead, Christchurch is open 7.30am – 5.30pm, Monday – Friday, with well-resourced and spacious indoor and outdoor play areas.
Our experienced teachers are warm, welcoming and fun. They guide our tamariki to engage in challenging experiences and treat all children with respect, providing equal opportunities to ensure your child gets the best start in life.
Parents love the rich sense of community that we instill within our daycare centre, and our curriculum at Avonhead, Christchurch reflects our philosophy for strong relationships. We value input from parents, teachers, whānau, children and our wonderful community.
Tui Room (0-3 years)
In our Tui Room, we provide a nurturing and caring ‘home away from home’ environment to ensure that children feel safe and secure in their own space as they begin to explore and discover the world around them. We respect that parents are the first teachers, so we want to work closely with you to ensure your child gets the best out of their day. Our staff are dedicated to providing your child with the resources to succeed and develop at their own pace.
Within the Tui Room is a dedicated space for 0 to 2 year old children, which provides an area to explore developmentally appropriate resources and activities in a separate, nurturing environment.
Transition
We encourage 3 settling visits, before your child’s start date to ensure a smooth and settled transition for both you and your child. As children transition between the Tiny Tui’s and the main Tui classroom they are accompanied by familiar teachers and peers as they are introduced to new activities and the larger space. This ensures comfort while they explore new opportunities to learn.
Communication
For children aged 0-12 months, we provide you with a communication journal so our teachers in the Nursery can keep you updated with daily information about your childs day. We also use Storypark to share photos, videos and audio of your child’s development so you never miss out on those treasured milestones.
Pukeko Room (3-6 years)
Environment
The Pukeko Room provides opportunities for children to explore a rich curriculum that supports children on their journey through the first plane of development. We encourage your child to dress themselves independently, pack and unpack their own bags, go to the toilet on their own, wash their hands, sit on the mat, listen and develop social skills and confidence within large groups. Skills such as writing their name, holding a pencil correctly, counting and recognising letters and numbers are all aspects where we place a strong emphasis on learning experiences each day. Children’s learning opportunities are enhanced through opportunities provided by our Montessori based curriculum and philosophy.
The preschool children have regular mat times throughout the day where they learn songs, stories and are encouraged to share things with the other children. We value that each child learns at their own pace and when they are ready, and that play is children’s work.
Transition
For new children, we encourage 3 settling visits, approximately 2 weeks before your child’s start date to ensure a smooth and settled transition for both you and your child.
Children transitioning from our Tui Room will have regular accompanied visits to get familiar with their new environment and meet their new friends, ensuring this is a positive step in their learning journey. Our Transition Policy is available by asking a member of the team.
Transition to School Programme
We believe in building a foundation for children to transition to school as confident, capable learners. Children aged 4.5 years and over are invited to attend our School Readiness Programme where the teacher introduces children to experiences, concepts and activities that they will encounter at school. The Readiness for School Programme provides opportunities for children to engage in collaborative, reciprocal learning. It fosters children’s confidence in using a variety of strategies for constructing a perception of themselves as active explorers, whose thoughts are valued. Children participate in small group activities based on a variety of topics, such as maths, language, culture, art, drama, science, physical movement and baking.
Communication
For children aged 0-12 months, we provide you with a communication journal so our teachers in the Nursery can keep you updated with daily information about your childs day. We also use Storypark to share photos, videos and audio of your child’s development so you never miss out on those treasured milestones.
Our Curriculum
At Avonhead Montessori Preschool and Nursery the children have opportunities to engage with purposeful work from the practical life, sensorial, language, maths and culture areas, where important cognitive, social and emotional skills are developing. They can choose to work either individually or in small groups.
The Montessori Method uses four main groups of resources:
Practical Life
These are materials which allow children to practice activities which people normally do in using and maintaining the home environment and looking after themselves. They promote manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, sequencing, concentration, satisfaction and competence in a variety of tasks leading to independence.
Language
Montessori developed a special approach which will prepare the child for listening, speaking, reading and writing. The letters of the alphabet are introduced by touch (sandpaper letters) and sound.
Sensorial
The child has a natural tendency to touch, hear, taste, see, smell and discriminate with their senses. Sensorial equipment is used by the children to classify and organise their sensory impressions. Each piece of sensorial material isolates one quality such as shape, colour, size, sound, smell etc by eliminating other differences.
Mathematics
Materials such as number rods, sequin boards and the golden beads were developed by Maria Montessori to enable the child to learn the basic operations of the decimal system. Individual work with Montessori materials is complemented with other activities such as music, group singing, stories, creative art, cooking, simple science experiments and educational outings.
Curriculum Planning and Implementation
The programme is planned in advance after assessment (learning stories) are completed to determine the children’s individual needs and interests. This information is collected in individual profile books and using Storypark. Programme Planning meetings are held to plan the curriculum which reflects the childrens interests and needs.
The daily programme is a combination of Montessori and free play activities i.e. outdoor activities, puzzles, books, music, blocks, painting, water play, collage, carpentry, fantasy play and play dough. The programme is designed so that children can develop into happy, confident, competent learners, physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually.
We are committed to follow the aspirations of the New Zealand National ECE Curiculum, Te Whāriki, “For children to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society”.
Te Whāriki envisages kaiako (teachers) in early learning settings working in partnership with parents, whānau and community to realise this vision. The expectation is that, in their early years, children will experience a curriculum that empowers them as lifelong learners.
Te Whāriki supports this work by providing a framework of principles and strands. The principles are the foundations of curriculum decision making and a guide for every aspect of pedagogy and practice.
The strands are 5 areas of learning and development, where the focus is on supporting children to develop the capabilities they need as confident and competent learners.
Each setting takes these principles and strands and, in partnership with parents and whānau, uses them to ‘weave’ a curriculum whāriki (mat) that is specifically designed for their children.
What's included?
Yoga & Mindfulness
At Avonhead Montessori in Christchurch, we are passionate about the many benefits that Yoga & Mindfulness exercises can offer tamariki in their learning environment. Our daycare centre teachers take children through amazing experiences where they listen to calming music in a relaxed space, in this moment they are encouraged to focus on their breathing and to let go of their worries as they prepare for their fun day ahead. These special moments often end with some great stretching, which supports children to focus on their balance as they discover and listen to the different ways their bodies can move.
Preschool Trips
Excursions are a valuable learning experience and great fun for the children. We schedule trips in Christchurch according to the curriculum and community events and are usually inundated with parent help for the trips, which is great. All excursions are thoroughly planned and attention to health and safety risks is continually assessed with a strong emphasis on high teacher to child ratios. Permission is required from caregivers before the children go on any excursion.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Our Parent Interviews at Avonhead Montessori, Christchurch are done every 6 months. Parents/Caregivers are provided with a 15 minute slot where your child’s primary teacher will discuss your child’s progress and what learning goals are in place. Our childcare centre teachers also work with families one on one to discuss your own aspirations for your child at home and how we can work with you within our day care centre to achieve these outcomes for your child. Our parents at Avonhead Montessori Christchurch really value the undivided attention that is focussed on their child’s learning and development within these interviews.
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