Our Rooms

Active Explorers St Lukes has three separate rooms, enabling us to deliver safe, nurturing and age appropriate learning experiences for all our children. And even though we are on the second floor, we also have aesthetically beautiful and developmentally appropriate outdoor spaces!

Click here to view a virtual tour of our centre. 

Kākano Room

Tipu Room

Infants and Toddler - 18months to 2.5 years

Māhuri Room

Toddlers Room - 2.5 years to 3.5 years

Kia ora and welcome to the Māhuri room!

In the Māhuri room, we cater for children aged roughly 2 to 3.5 years old. Our Māhuri Kaiako provide fun and stimulating learning experiences that ignite curiosity, imagination and a love for learning through discovery within a natural environment.

We assign each child to a buddy teacher in the Māhuri room, whose focus is to work alongside your child, as they learn new routines and help them with feeling a sense of belonging in their new environment. The buddy teacher will also communicate with parents, develop a secure relationship and tamariki feel welcome and supported.

We support our children to develop a sense of self and sense of belonging within the Māhuri room. When our children feel a sense of belonging, they have the confidence to engage in new experiences, build social competence, learn important self-help skills and develop their independence. Children's self-help skills are also very important at this stage and children are encouraged to go the toilet on their own, wash hands, dress themselves, and serve up their morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.

Our space is filled with natural and recycled materials and open-ended resources to provoke a sense of wonder and curiosity. Everything is clean, organized and efficient. We strive to set an inspiring and provoking learning environment, where children are empowered to use all their senses as a form of expression and exploration. The outdoor environment is large, and the children are allowed to explore in their own time and pace, getting dirty, climbing My Learning Journey (Hard copy and Story park) is a living document that highlights moments & celebrations of your child's achievements, successes, and development during their time at the Active Explorers St Lukes. Their stories link with the Early Childhood Curriculum document Te Whāriki and are inspired by the principles and practices of Reggio Emilia and The Curiosity

Approach. They reflect their interests and passions observed by teachers & are then extended on through curriculum planning and individual planning by the teaching team. Contributions from home are encouraged and welcomed - creating connections between the home & centre environment. We value parents as first teachers and will work alongside you to formulate a developmentally appropriate learning journey for your child.

Settling process

We have a recommended pre-visit plan that encourages three short pre-visits to help you and your child transition to our centre. Settling visits will commence approximately 2 weeks before your child's start date.

1st Visit

30 minutes to 1 hour with you in centre

2nd Visit

20 minutes in the centre with you, followed by 20 minutes without you, your child will be our responsible care. You will need to sign your child in and ensure all your enrolment forms are completed and returned to us. You will also need to remain in the centre.

3rd Visit

1 hour in the centre without you. Your child is in our responsible care. You will need to sign your child in, please.

What to Bring

• Wear play clothes ready for fun and exploration!! (as they may get dirt or paint on) bring a couple of changes of clothes and a bag for wet clothes.
• During the winter months bring gumboots and a jacket as we try to play outside all year round, inside footwear is recommended also.
• During the summer months, sun smart hats are required for outside play, as part of our sun protection policy.
• If your child is in nappies, please bring at least four nappies or pull-ups daily for your child along with any creams or special wipes that they may need. Alternatively, you may bring in a bag of nappies that we will keep here. We will let you know when the supply is running low.
• If your child has special attachments to cuddly/toy/blanket you are welcome to bring these to help them to settle.
• If your child arrives before 8:20am we can serve them breakfast that you will provide.
• A drink bottle for hydration.
• Please ensure all belongings are clearly named.

You are more than welcome to visit Active Explorers St Lukes and talk to the Kaiako about what we can offer you and your child. Bring your child along and let them enjoy the experience and learning in the Māhuri room at Active

Explorers St Lukes!!

We look forward to getting to know you and your child.

Warm regards,

Māhuri Team

Pohutukawa Room

Preschool 3.5 years to 5 years