Set your child up for their next stage with help from our preschool teachers
Shooting Stars (Pre-School)
We look forward to welcoming your child.
- Routines and learning opportunities to help your child be ready for school
- Free play opportunities allowing children time to play, explore and use their imaginations
- Development of social and emotional skills
Based in Rosedale, Albany, welcoming families from across Auckland
Reach for the Stars Early Learning Centre’s Shooting Stars room helps children get school ready while still enjoying play
Balancing the needs of three to five-year-olds can be tricky. On the one hand these children are still young and need time to play and enjoy themselves. But on the other hand they are only a short time away from the more structured environment of primary school.
At Reach for the Stars Early Learning Centre our aim is to balance these two aspects, in a way that allows your child to explore, learn and develop at their own pace, while introducing more structured and routine aspects to their day. We think it is one of the best preschool programs and is borne out by the feedback we have received from primary schools our children have attended and parents who have spoken to us about how well their child is doing at Primary School.
If you are looking for an alternative to a sessional kindergarten that offers you more flexibility, with competitive rates, consider enrolling your child at our Albany early learning centre. Make a time to visit Reach for the Stars to see for yourself, meet our teachers and view the wonderful environment both inside and out, along with the learning opportunities on display.
Children in the Shooting Stars room enjoy a range of activities to help with the transition to school
The last two years at pre-school are an important time for your child as they start preparing to join their local primary school. At Reach for the Stars Early Learning Centre our early childhood teachers know all children develop at their own pace. For this reason, the teachers in our preschool room work with each child to ensure they are engaged and being offered the right opportunities to encourage and develop them. If your child has moved up from the Shining Stars toddler room, the two teams of teachers will work together to share their knowledge during the transition period. If your child is new to Reach for the Stars, we will arrange a series of visits with you, so you and your child are able to familiarise yourselves with the environment and teachers before commencing their enrolled hours.
Our daily routine in the Shooting Stars room is a mix of both school readiness preparation and play opportunities.
During the day children will be engaged in small group activities with a teacher designed to give them the skills and concepts needed for early learning at school. The preschool room also has mat time for sharing news and storytelling, music and physical movement time and children are encouraged to be responsible for tidying up after each activity. Independence is encouraged so they can confidently toilet, follow instructions, listen carefully, dress themselves, look after their belongings, share, take turns and much more.
At other times children are given time to play based on their current interests and strengths. The day also includes quiet time where children who still need a nap or have some quiet time can do so and others can listen to stories, read or do another quiet activity
Fresh food is provided at Reach for the Stars to help children be at their best
Reach for the Stars Early Learning Centre offers fresh nutritious meals to all our children including morning and afternoon tea and lunch, all included in our weekly fees.
This food is freshly prepared daily by our in-house cook and our focus is on healthy food. We have a hot nutritious lunch 4 times a week. One day a week we have sandwiches for lunch. Once a month we have a lunchbox day for our Shooting Stars children. This is designed to help children manage their lunch box for the whole day. It always helps families to learn about what the best things are to put in lunch boxes for their children. Children going to Primary School know their food needs to spread out for the day and what food is better to have at morning tea and which is better for lunchtime. Our menu is included in your parent pack when you come to visit. We also right up what the children are going to have to eat for the day every morning on a board, so you can think about your own meal for the evening.
Morning and afternoon tea are often served on shared platters where the children use tongs to choose what fruit and how much they would like to eat. They are encouraged to eat and share stories with their classmates during mealtimes to assist in developing social skills, sharing, waiting for your turn and so on. Teachers are always present, observing, assisting, and also talking to the children where required, encouraging them to try new things, and also interacting with them. Mealtimes are a nice social time.
Enrol at Reach for the Stars Early Learning Centre today
If you have been thinking about enrolling your child at a public or private kindergarten in Auckland or on the North Shore, we would encourage you to consider our private early childhood centre instead. Our team offer the same opportunities for learning and the care offered at a kindergarten with many added benefits including longer opening hours, easy access and increased flexibility.
Another benefit is the ability to have younger siblings attend the same centre – making drop-off and pick-up time much easier. As well as our dedicated pre-school room, Reach for the Stars Early Learning Centre caters for children from 3 months up to 6 years old. There are two rooms for younger children – Twinkling Stars infant room for children aged 3 months up to 2 and Shining Stars toddlers room for children aged from two to three and a half-years-old. Each room has a dedicated set of passionate and caring teachers who create an ECE with the one of the highest standards and also family focussed. You will find more information about our centre and the early childhood education we provide on our Parent Info Page. You are also welcome to give us a call on 09 476 3950 to organise to visit, or just pop by to visit our centre to talk with our Centre Manager and view the environment for yourself. Or, if you are ready to enrol, please complete the enrolment form to begin the process.
