Our Rooms
Little Wonders Timaru has four separate rooms, enabling us to deliver safe, nurturing and age appropriate learning experiences for all our children. We also have a fantastic veranda that allows children access to the outdoors rain or shine!
*The ages outlined below are only approximate. Transitioning between classrooms is very flexible as we allow each child to develop at their own unique pace.
Matai Room
Safe and secure, our Matai Room caters for our youngest children, aged from 3 to 18 months. We only take a small number of children in this room in order to provide high quality interactions with a stable teaching team.
Daily Routine
7:30 am: Centre opens/welcome children
8:30 am: Outside play is available
9:30 am: Morning kai time/free play and planned experiences
11:30 am: Lunchtime/free play and planned experiences
2:30 pm: Afternoon kai time/ free play and planned experiences
4:30 pm: Late kai
6:00 pm: Centre closes
This routine is flexible to meet children’s needs throughout the day. Children sleep and have bottles as required for their individual routine, and meal times are also flexible depending on their needs. Learning experiences are provided throughout the day. Nappy changes are done 2 hours after children arrive and every 3 hours after that unless needed sooner.
Tawa Room
Our engaging Tawa Room is home to our children aged from around 18 months to 2.5 years. We support the development of our 2 year olds by giving them the time to grow and be ready and willing to transition. Numbers are low and we have a fabulous outdoor environment shared between the Matai and Tawa Rooms.
Daily Routine
7:30 am: Centre opens/welcome children
8:30 am: Outside play is available
9:30 am: Rolling morning kai starts/free play and planned experiences
11.15 am: Mat time
11:30 am: Lunchtime/free play and planned experiences
2:30 pm: Rolling afternoon kai time/ free play and planned experiences
4:30 pm: Late kai
6:00 pm: Centre closes
This routine is flexible to meet children’s needs throughout the day. Children sleep and have bottles as required for their individual routine, and meal times are also flexible depending on their needs. Learning experiences are provided throughout the day. Nappy changes are done 2 hours after children arrive and every 3 hours after that unless needed sooner.
Rimu Room
Vibrant and inspiring, our Rimu Room is ideally equipped for our 2.5 to 3.5 year olds. Many learning provocations are set up in this room, supporting the children’s inquisitiveness. The Rimu and Kauri Rooms work closely together and through doing this tuakana-teina and ako are evident.
Daily Routine
7:30 am: Centre opens/ free play and planned learning experiences inside
8:00 am: Outdoor play areas open
9:30 am: Rolling morning kai time
10:00 am: Free play and planned learning experiences inside and outside
11.25 am: Lunchtime
12:00 pm: Mat time
- Songs
- Dance
- Stories
12:15 pm: Sleep or free play and planned learning experiences inside and outside
2:30 pm: Rolling afternoon kai time/free play and planned learning experiences continue
3:00 pm: Rimu Room closes/children play outdoors or in Kauri Room
This routine is flexible to meet children’s needs throughout the day. A sleep room is available for the children who require a sleep or rest. Planned learning experiences are provided for the children throughout the day. Nappy changes are done 2 hours after the children arrive and every 3 hours after that unless required sooner. Toileting is encouraged and supported when the child and whanau are ready.
Kauri Room
This is the biggest room and supports the learning and development of children aged between 3.5 and school age. There are challenges and a range of resources and experiences for the tamariki to engage in.
Daily Routine
7:30 am: Centre opens/free play and learning experiences inside
8:00 am: Outdoor play areas open
9:30 am: Rolling morning kai time
10:00 am: Free play and planned learning experiences inside and outside
11.40 am: Kai mat time – Kea Club
12:00 pm: Lunchtime
12:30 pm: Sleep or free play and planned learning experiences inside and outside
2:30 pm: Rolling afternoon kai time/free play and planned learning experiences continue
4:45 pm: Late kai/mat time
Our Kea Club mat times are an opportunity for tamariki to work collaboratively alongside others, explore cultural identity and develop confidence. Tamariki are encouraged to explore concepts such as days of the week, weather, and extend on current interests. They develop physical skills through music and movement. The Kaiako (teachers) also provide experiences to support tamariki in building their numeracy and literacy skills.