Our Philosophy

Montessori House of Children is a child-sized world, which is a home away from home for our
tamariki. Here, they can experiment and explore at their own pace within a respectful and peaceful
environment, thus becoming independent and confident members of society. Children will be
provided various learning experiences in Managing Self, Relating to Others, Social Cohesion,
Language, Math, Science, Art and Music. They will be encouraged to direct their own learning and
at the same time learn alongside the kaiako and others through reciprocal learning. This concept of
“ako” acknowledges that, with the children’s unique personality and cultural identity, they make
valued contribution to society and that society learns from them.
Our Philosophy is based on Dr Maria Montessori's method and teaching. Our prepared environment
will stimulate and promote children's learning and prepare them for life through whakamana
(empowerment), respect, and enhancement of mana and mauri. Our trained staff will use Montessori
teaching techniques and strategies to help children discover, learn, and explore broad and rich
concepts in order to cater to their kotahitanga (holistic development). We firmly believe that every
child is born with an absorbent mind, creative potential, the drive to learn, and the right to be treated
as an individual. They are like a kakano (seed) which will flourish with the help of whanau tangata
(family and community), and through creating meaningful nga hononga (relationships) with one
another.
Our philosophy and approaches are interwoven with the principles of Te Whāriki, which is New
Zealand's Early Childhood Curriculum, and Te Ao Maori, which acknowledges the interrelationship
of all things. We aim to provide a curriculum as described in Te Whāriki and put emphasis not only
on our multicultural present but also on our bicultural foundation and most importantly, the united
future we are creating collectively. The term “curriculum” is used in this document to describe “the
sum total of the experiences, activities, and events, whether direct or indirect, which occur within an
environment designed to foster children’s learning and development.”

The following whakatauki and a quote by Dr. Montessori reflect our beliefs:
“Poipoia te kakano kia puawai”
“Nurture the seed and it will blossom”

“The first duty of the educator, whether he/she is involved with the new-born infant or the older child is to recognise the human personality of the young being and respect it”.

Our Vision

Our vision is to educate character from birth for life, supporting our children to become confident; compassionate; competent, and contributing members of the community.