Kia Ora , I’m a qualified and registered early childhood teacher. Since 2007, I have worked in various centers in Hamilton and Morrinsville , gaining valuable skills and knowledge that I can pass on to tamariki. I believe in actively engaging with children, having conversations with them, and providing experiences that leave them curious. While I enjoy all aspects of teaching, I have a particular interest in music, art, messy play, and outdoor activities. I have two amazing children, Kiaan (age 7) and Sofia (age 10), and I love spending as much time as possible with them.

 

I’m very excited to be part of Child’s wonder, to be working with a team of teachers to welcome children and their families into amazing centre and to be part of the team that gets to know your children and provides an amazing programme to further extend their learning and development.

Kia Ora. I am Karen Neubrandt, mother to two adult children, and “Gogo” to two grandchildren. As a young mum, Maria Montessori’s forward-thinking approach to teaching the whole child resonated with me, and a few years later I gained my Montessori Diploma. After teaching for about two years, I embarked on a delightful five-year journey of home schooling – which I believe has made me more intuitive and creative as an educator, with a special interest in and compassion for neurodiverse learner identities.

After immigrating to Aotearoa, I spent about ten years in corporate before returning to Montessori. I realised there was so much more to learn so I took the deep dive to work towards gaining a Bachelor of Education – ECE Teaching, which is where I became irresistibly drawn to the philosophies of Reggio Emilia, Emmi Pikler and play based learning. So, I decided to be a Reliever for a few years to explore these philosophies in real life.

Working in a variety of ECE settings has certainly helped me appreciate how open-ended play creates a safe space for tamariki to tap into their natural curiosity and creativity – devising and testing their wild hypotheses to make sense of their world.

I am a passionate life-long learner – about myself, and how I can better support tamariki from infancy until they transition to school. I am very interested in how to effectively (calmly) co-regulate and support emotionally dysregulated children back to a state of self-regulation. I feel it all starts with building mana enhancing relationships based on trust, non-judgement, and aroha

I strive to be intentional about hearing the holistic voices of children and then reflect these back to them by modelling positive language/dialogue so that they constantly get feedback on their learning dispositions, their positive learning attitude, and thus embrace their unique learner identity.

It is truly a privilege to be a part of the Child’s Wonder learning community, especially during these precious early years of our tamariki and their whanau.

Tenā Koutou,

Kia ora whānau

I gained my Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood) back in 2008, and last year I completed a teacher refresher program. My daughter, also attends Child’s Wonder.

I consider myself an advocate for our young tamariki and I whole heartily believe that the Te Ao Māori concept ‘Whanaungatanga’ should guide my practice indefinitely. I endeavor to collaborate, learn alongside you, your wider whānau and tamariki.

Hi , I’m Sofi  I am a nursery teacher. I’m from Argentina but I’ve been living in NZ since 2016. I’m a friendly person with an eternal young soul and a big smile. Sensitive, affectionate and care-given. My curious mind always leads me to study new things. There is always comething new to learn!

I’ m fully passionate about art. When i’m not drawing , I’m probaly writing soemthing, I usually write short stories for children, and I’m currently illustrating two books that I can’t wait to be published.

Kia ora, my name is Dani and I am a teacher in the Preschool Room. I have an almost 2 year old son Quinn who also attends Child’s Wonder. I have been here for one year now and love our beautiful centre. My little family (husband Johan, Quinn and our golden retriever Loki) moved down to Papamoa 1.5 years ago and think this is a pretty amazing place.

I am a fully qualified primary school teacher by profession. I have taught in primary schools in Auckland, Hamilton and Paeroa. I have since shifted my practice to Early Childhood Learning and enjoy supporting our tamariki with their learning, development and growth.

I love travelling and have travelled a few countries with many more to tick off my list. You will find me hanging with my family and friends on the weekends, walking, gardening, and enjoying our beautiful beaches in Aotea.

 

My name is Angelica. I am originally from Brazil and I have been living in New Zealand for 19 years. I started working within Early Childhood Education over 5 years ago, working with preschoolers for one year and toddlers for four and a half years.

I am very happy to join the Nursery room at Childs Wonder and support your children in the coming months.

My passions are making connections, messy play, loose parts, arts and crafts, music and dancing. I love supporting children to become confident in themselves and develop their own special gifts.