Gems: A Natural Place for Kids to Shine

One of the fundamental aspects at Gems Educational Childcare centres is focus on their environment for facilitating quality learning, and making people feel at ease (both parents and children). With their homelike environment, lower than required ratios of child to teacher, and investment in their team where teachers are provided with tailored personal and professional development, Gems is a natural place for kids to shine.

Teachers are provided with guaranteed non-contact time, paid meetings, well resourced beautiful environments, encouraging significant buy in to the Gems way and the development of meaningful relationships between all parties (teaching team, child:teacher, and parent:teacher).  Gems also focus on all things natural and how important the natural environment is for quality learning and making people feel at ease and connected.

To flourish, children need to feel safe and secure. As well as the relationship with their primary caregiver, the environment is critical for them, and this is central to Gems’ underlying philosophy. They extend the natural approach to their learning resources as well, including the use of shells and cones; natural wooden blocks and rocks for building; real pots and pans in the sand pit, by way of example.

Their outdoor area feels more like home too, where they go beyond Ministry of Environment minimum standards, providing a kitchen garden, fruit trees and plenty of natural outdoor space for play and discovery. Their four year olds also get to enjoy the adventure and challenges of farm school, and all the older children can experience excursions in the local environment and enjoy the seasonal aspects to their learning programme, so for more information on early childhood education, day care and preschool please visit the website at www.gems.net.nz .