Tena Koutou Katoa Parents and Whanau,
My husband Chris and I are excited to share with you what we believe will be a home away from home for you and your children. We have five children who are now adults and as pre-schoolers they all periodically attended an early childhood service. I started my early childhood teaching career when my children were babies as I couldn’t bear to be away from them. So I know how you are feeling when you go to say goodbye and your child may be upset and even crying. I understand that this may cause you to be crying from the inside as well.
I have worked for 30 years with children and their families and have always aspired to having my own centre and offer what I believe children have a right to in their preschool years.
I know that trusting the staff who look after your precious child is important to you; as is cuddling them when they are upset, knowing the signs when they are thirsty or hungry, phoning you and telling you the truth about how they have settled, and treating them with respect for who they are. The list is actually endless.
As I worked and studied it soon became clear to me what children wanted to be involved in and what they responded to. Children need to know that they are loved by the people looking after them while their parents are working. They love being outside and connected to nature; grass, dirt, rain, trees and lots of space.
We can’t promise that your child won’t cry when you leave, But we can promise we will always tell the truth about how long they cried and what we did to support them through this time.
We can’t promise we will be as good as you are at knowing all those little things to calm, and soothe, and bring a smile back to your little one’s face, but we promise we will always listen to what those things are, and do them to the very best of our ability.
We promise that our centre will be your child’s big backyard, a home-away-from-home with a plan to have real grass, trees, endless times outside and good old-fashioned Kiwi values. Kaiako who show love and affection will provide the tools to stimulate and extend your child’s interests, and a place where their childhood memories will be created.
We promise that your child will have a day full of uninterrupted play. Rituals will guide your child as they have opportunities to be independent, given time to practice this over and over with lots of time.
We promise that we will nurture your child’s uniqueness and love them for who they are. We know your child is your world, and that they mean the world to us too.
We promise that you and your child will be made to feel welcome at Impact Childcare. And that you will develop a sense of belonging; that looking back you and your child will remember fondly with a smile on your face. We open our doors to you with joy and love, in the hope that you might feel this is a place that is safe enough, warm enough and caring enough for your child. We look forward to being a huge part of your life at this most precious time in your life.