A natural place for kids to shine – this is at the heart of everything we do at Gems. You’ll see it as soon as you walk through the door. Nothing bright or garish.  No ‘plastic fantastic’. No lurid colours.  Only natural materials, soft shades, well maintained, cared for furniture that feels, well… just like home. 

To flourish, children need to feel safe and secure. As well as the relationship with their primary caregiver, the environment is critical for them. A child thrives at home, so we’ve made Gems a natural extension of home for them. This is central to our underlying philosophy.

The warm reception, the easy approach to settling the children down, it’s comforting for all involved - which makes you, the parent, feel so much better too. If you trust, your child will trust too. Parents often comment that at Gems they feel like they are dropping their child off to an aunt or neighbour’s house. That tells us we’re doing our job right! 

We provide a range of service offerings to meet the needs of our local communities including early starts, food, farm school, sessional and all day care. Please click below for details on the combinations of service offerings per site.

 Natural environment, natural learning, natural fun.  This is Gems. This is where your child will shine.

Natural Environment

A natural place for kids to shine – you’ll see it as soon as you walk through the door. From our resources to our learning philosophy- everything is about giving every child the gift of natural learning. To flourish, children need to feel safe and secure. As well as the relationship with their primary caregiver, the environment is critical for them. A child thrives at home, so we’ve made Gems a natural extension of home for them. This is central to our underlying philosophy.

The warm reception, the respectful approach to settling the children , is based around nurturing relationships and connections. As a parent if you’re connected with the adults in your child’s life, so will your child be.

Our resources are based around the use of natural, real, open ended items 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.   

Our outdoor area feels more like home too. We go beyond Ministry of Environment minimum standards, providing a kitchen garden, fruit trees and plenty of natural outdoor space for play and discovery. Our four year olds also get to enjoy the adventure and challenges of farm school.  And all the older children can experience excursions in our local environment and enjoy the seasonal aspects to our learning programme.

Natural Goodness

Sharing a meal is an integral part of family life.  And so naturally we make it a crucial part of your child’s day at Gems too.  Yummy, nutritious home-style food fuels our pre-schoolers, keeps them healthy and helps them develop and appreciate the rituals of eating and drinking together. 

By sharing a meal around a table, children eat a variety of food (often happily trying things they won’t eat at home), learn about healthy eating, have social interaction and give thanks to those who prepare their food. They become independent through serving their own food, setting up for meal times and clearing the table at the end. Fantastic life skills that our families appreciate now and after the children leave for big school!

Much of our food comes from our own kitchen garden – fresh organic vegetables – often planted and picked by the children themselves.  It’s just another example of our commitment to bringing nature and its wonders to the children.

See our sample menu!

Offered at Gems Rata and Kowhai only.

Natural Play

We believe that being connected to nature is the basic right of every preschooler (and indeed, every human being).  

Gem’s Farm is where our four year olds get to enjoy regular visits to Mike and Gemma’s (the proud owners of Gems) farm for a day of exploration, discovery and play. We go whatever the weather – gumboots and raincoats, or sunhats and sunblock. Experiencing the seasons is experiencing nature at her best! 

Our farm school is based on the theory of “Forest School” – a concept becoming increasingly popular throughout the world – whereby children have the opportunity to learn practical skills in the outdoors. Innovation, problem solving, risk taking, teamwork, creativity and developing self-esteem. These are all character-building lessons that bring a child’s self-confidence to the surface and help them shine in their own individual way. 

The farm is a working sheep and beef farm where children can experience the seasonal nature of a real farm, such as lambing, tailing, weaning and helping sick animals. Days are spent exploring the property, visiting the places the children are naturally drawn to. The rope swing, willow tree bank and creek, the horse jumps. There’s an adventure around every corner. The ponies are always a big hit, and the children learn how to care for animals by brushing them and enjoying the occasional ride. 

We encourage parents to join us on our magical days at the farm. Those that do tell us it reminds them of their own childhood memories and love that we are keeping the very real New Zealand experience of the outdoors alive and well for their children. 

We do have a word of warning about farm days though… be prepared for very dirty children at the end of the day!