Bear Park Kohimarama
Bear Park Kohimarama
Our Centre
In 2005, the doors of Bear Park Kohimarama were opened to its close-knit community. Since then, our centre – a carefully planned, purpose-built learning space – has been beloved by children, whānau and teachers alike.
The design is light and airy, inviting our children to explore and play in both large open spaces and intimate areas. Our Fantail room offers a calm and serene space dedicated primarily to our youngest infants. With three experienced teachers working alongside a maximum of nine babies, we value and respect the ethic of care within our daily rhythms, ensuring each child’s rhythm works hand in hand with their rhythm from home. Throughout both our infant and toddler rooms we offer small group sizes with large, beautiful outdoor spaces that allow our children to develop a close bond with nature from their earliest years. In our preschool environment, we emphasise the value of tuakana-teina, where younger children work closely alongside older peers, to support each other and develop a strong sense of respect for others.
We take great pride in our community. Our Kohimarama teaching team is committed to working collaboratively, always striving for both children and whānau to feel welcome, appreciated and heard.
An Emphasis on Community
We’re committed to creating wonderful, nurturing childhoods, based on respectful relationships and a powerful image of the child.
Our Collaboration
We work closely with our children, whānau and colleagues to create and sustain a welcoming, supportive and collaborative learning environment.
Our Ecology
Through our use of materials and resources with natural properties, our children are encouraged to care for, nurture and respect the natural environment around them.
Our Spaces
Our outdoor environments provide open spaces where children can be physically active and participate in larger group experiences.
Our Focus
Kohimarama Childcare Team
Within our Fantail Room, we offer a peaceful and serene environment, where infants from 3 months to 17 months of age are provided with endless opportunities to explore and investigate the world around them. We take pride in ensuring children experience a respectful and loving environment full of meaningful learning opportunities. Establishing responsive and reciprocal relationships with parents and whanau enables us to follow through with the individual rhythms from home. This assists us in creating an environment where children and their whanau feel a strong sense of belonging. We strive to foster relationships where we support the children, encouraging them to gain confidence and independence to be competent learners. It is of utmost importance that infants feel confident and comfortable in their surroundings to enable them to flourish and grow, as we embrace their uniqueness and individuality. We create an environment that opens up a sense of wonder and excitement.
The Morepork Room welcomes children from the age of 17 months to 2.5 years, with a teaching team committed to forming strong relationships with children and their families. We actively promote and support children with their developing self-help skills, fostering their sense of self-confidence and independence. At this young age, children are extremely astute and receptive to all that is happening in their environment and we value the importance of giving children time and space to investigate and develop working theories of the world around them. We encourage collaborative learning experiences with a focus on providing an environment rich in natural and open-ended resources, which stimulate creative and imaginative thinking. As a teaching team, we are very passionate about delivering a multicultural curriculum and we are always excited to learn about the children and their family’s unique cultural background.
Within the Kea group we foster children’s independence and creativity through a purposeful and engaging environment. This environment is holistic, valuing the child’s individual needs and interests. The Kea teacher’s value strong and reciprocal relationships between parents, whanau and the wider community, through the involvement of parents views and values around our educational programme. Developing close relationships with children of varying ages within the group creates positive modeling opportunities for children to learn from each other in a natural and social way. This is supported through an environment that is richly resourced with a vast array of media for creative and artistic expression. The Preschool at Bear Park Kohimarama is a place where children know their ideas and theories are welcomed, respected and valued.
Within the Tui Group, we support the children to develop a strong sense of identity, fostering them to discover their sense of self within the group and wider community. We value our children’s voice, encouraging them to share their ideas and express themselves within an environment that is richly resourced with materials that inspire creativity, wonder and imagination. We encourage the Tui children to be investigative learners, supporting their unique strengths and qualities through engaging in fun, meaningful and challenging learning experiences. We are inspired by the concept of ako, where learner becomes teacher and teacher becomes learner, and encourage the Tui children to mentor younger tamariki within the Preschool Room. We strongly support the children’s transition to school, fostering them to develop confidence in themselves and their abilities and most of all a love of learning.
Centre Information
- 318 St Heliers Bay Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland
- 7.30am to 6.00pm daily, Monday to Friday
Centre Owner/Franchisee:
Sue Stevely-Cole
Centre Director:
Caroline Lilley
Phone:
(09) 528 0427
Age of children catered for:
3 months to 5 years olds
Licence:
62 children
Centre Information
- 318 St Heliers Bay Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland
- 7.30am to 6.00pm daily, Monday to Friday
Centre Owner/Franchisee:
Sue Stevely-Cole
Centre Director:
Caroline Lilley
Phone:
(09) 528 0427
Age of children catered for:
3 months to 5 years olds
Licence:
62 children