# PreSchools Tauranga/Mt Maunganui



## Simonajane (May 17, 2016)

Hi,

Does anyone have any personal opinions/experience of preschools in the Tuaranga/Mount Maunganui area?

I have a 3 year old daughter who currently attends a Montessori nursery in the UK. She has already been taught her phonics and every day they have a morning and afternoon session of more academic focused tasks/games that she thrives on. I am looking for something similar for her for when we move to NZ at the end of this year.

We are coming to the Mount for a holiday to visit family in April and would love to use the time to view some preschools.

Does anyone know of any that have a more 'academic' element to them? I'm aware that it is all about learning through play at this age, but the more academic focused part of her day is her favourite!

Also the nursery she currently attends is small, 20 children max and they are all in the same room from 2yrs old to 5. This is another element which I like and would love to replicate. Perhaps I am asking too much!

Thank you,
Simona


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

There's four or more Montessori pre schools in the Tauranga area. We didn't like the regime too much so opted for a kindy called The Village in Bethlehem close to where we were living at the time. They have three different groups and area's so they have baby's/toddlers in one area, then toddlers upwards in another then proper pre-schoolers in another which is more getting them ready for school than learning through play.
First thing in the morning and later on in the early evening depending on how many children are there and how many teachers are on site they tend to have all the children above toddler age together.
Not sure which kindy's will offer a more academic element to them. You'd have to go through them individually.
For a kindy with smaller numbers you'd likely have to go further out of the city limits where there are less children. Bethlehem isn't a huge place but there may have been at least half a dozen tiny tots, then around 15 or so kids in each of the other two groups.


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