Our Philosophy

At Frog Puddles, we aspire to achieve equity and excellence for all children. We strive to create a community of learners who are capable and confident as they explore the world around them.

Children learn and explore in an environment where they feel confident and safe. We believe in the Reggio Emilia concept of the environment as a “third teacher”. Taking inspiration from the Scandinavian concept of Hygge, we strive to provide a comfortable learning environment that nurtures children’s Hauora (wellbeing) and sense of whanaungatanga (belonging). We believe that the environment plays an important role in this as it supports children’s curiosity and relationships with others based on aroma (love) and respect.

We value children’s uniqueness and individuality; their way of thinking, seeing and doing. We believe children are capable learners and explorers, able to able to investigate, create and discover. We acknowledge children as the agents of their own learning, able to critically reason and create working theories of their world.

We acknowledge children’s mana, whakapapa and whānau and their importance of supporting children’s growth and development. We believe in respecting and valuing the diversity of our tamariki and their whānau. We understand the importance of Te Tiriti O Waitangi. The principles of Partnership, Protection and Participation are upheld and valued to further enhance children’s relationships with each other, their whānau, Kaiako (teachers) and Papatūānuku.

We are committed to protecting Papatūānuku for our tamariki and future generations. We understand that environmental education starts with us and our Frog Puddles whānau. To further this goal, we are encouraging gardening and recycling of both organic and inorganic materials. We strive to purchase sustainably sources resources from small, local businesses which helps to lessen our carbon footprint on our world.

We view teaching as a shared learning experience between children, families, teachers and with wider community. We aim to provide experiences that build on children’s strengths and interests through opportunities ot explore, create and experiment. We believe strong communication and reciprocal relationships are vital to support tamariki as they navigate their way through their learning journey, and we endeavour to provide the verbal and non-verbal skills to build successful relationships which will support them throughout their lives.