What will my child learn at Playcentre?

“The most rapid period of brain development is in the first few years, but because it is so rapid, and because it builds the foundation, that’s why it is so important. Everything that follows has to build on that foundation, made in the first few years”. Dr Jack P. Shonkoff, Centre of the Developing Child, Harvard University.

The Beginning of Life: The Series, Documentary directed by Estela Renner (2016 Maria Farinha Filmes)

Following New Zealand’s world-leading, research-driven curriculum for early childhood education, Te Whariki, Playcentre embraces child-led free play as the way that young children learn best, offering a rich array of resources and experiences to support and inspire their play.

Playcentre offers the ideal learning environment for your child’s future in many different ways.

  • A free-choice child-centred programme based on individual children’s fascinations, strengths and interests.
  • A high adult to child ratio (a minimum of 1:5).
  • A rich variety of quality play and learning resources and experiences.
  • A safe and secure environment.
  • Positive and sustained interactions with other adults and tamariki aged 0-6 years.
  • Ample time to discover and explore.
  • Abundant outdoor play.

Children who attend Playcentre are taught a variety of general knowledge and social skills in order to prepare them for school, including the following:

  • the ability to play, to have fun, to be engaged in the world around them
  • social and communication skills with other children and especially with adults
  • self-help skills such as asking for directions, feeding themselves etc
  • group skills – working with other children (and adults)
  • the ability to concentrate on something and to be absorbed
  • the ability to be fascinated in the world around them
  • a sense of belonging in their families and in the local community
  • the ability to express themselves creatively
  • the ability to choose for themselves an activity, what they want to do.
  • increasing independence at their own rate
  • respect for others, and that they are respected in turn
  • foundations to reading, mathematics through play and learning opportunities offered to them

Playcentre is founded on what is best for young children’s development: unlimited opportunities for self-directed, free play; responsive, respectful, loving relationships. 

Children at Playcentre will grow in confidence as they transfer their knowledge, skills and dispositions from one learning experience to another through endless activities and interactions. Each child has the chance to find their voice and their strengths at Playcentre.

The future of your child is in your hands: give them the gift of learning by encouraging them to build, bake, create, dress-up, climb, paint, and sing.