Red Kite Preschool is centrally located in Epsom Auckland and my two children attend. When I…read morecollect them each day they are animated and happy. The teaching staff is 100% qualified and children's individual interests are valued and built-on. My children have positive and nurturing relationships with their teachers. I would highly recommend Red Kite Preschool for your children.

From the owner: Red Kite is a happy, welcoming preschool with committed and well qualified teaching staff. We…read moreoffer your child quality care in a safe, warm and supportive environment, with teacher ratios well above industry norms. Our playgrounds are large so that children can enjoy plenty of age-appropriate opportunities for play. Timetable options are flexible, and we can accommodate part time attendance from as little as 9hrs per week.

I will always have a soft spot for Mt Eden Kindergarten. As the kindergarten I attended as a child,…read morethis place has been around for decades and still attracts hundreds of locals. Conveniently situated on Milton Road off Dominion Road, this kindy offers all sorts of fun games and activities for kids. Painting, dress ups, miniature houses, puzzles, building blocks, picture book, a sandpit, swings, lots of balls and a whole playground are part of this place. The children I babysit both went to this kindergarten, so while I haven't been enrolled there for over 16 years, I have visited in regularly in the past few years and the feedback from the kids has always been brilliant. The staff that work at this kindy genuinely love children and are very good at teaching them the basics - reading, writing, sharing - in a fun and innovative manner. Mt Eden Kindy is a small community - everyone there knows each other, and I actually found myself recognising many of the parents and being included in their conversations. An extremely friendly, welcoming kindergarten that I would happily send my own kids to!

My 1 year old daughter goes to this centre and she loves it. She is so lucky, it is like home away…read morefrom home. The women there are like second mothers/grandmothers to her. It is almost one on one care with their 1 adult to 3 children ratio. I would definitely recommend it.

My kids went here for over two years and I have friends with wee ones still attending. It's a…read morepurpose-built childcare centre with all the mod cons and they recently extended by taking over the entire site next door and doubling their size. It's a big move to send your poppets off to daycare but Little Wonders makes the transition easier. There is a real family feel to the place and the staff seem to really enjoy being with the kids which makes a big difference. There's a cook to cook healthy lunch every day so you don't have the morning drama of sorting out the lunchbox. They get to do all those activities that you don't want them doing at home like play dough, water play, messy painting, cooking and more. I'm not sure where the fees are at these days but whatever they are it's probably worth it.

My daughter only got to spend one term here as our circumstances changed and the short sessions…read morewere no longer possible. It was such a shame because it's a lovely kindy and she made some really good friends. Many of those friends went on to the same primary school as her which was a real bonus in terms of making her feel more secure and confident when she started school. When I was researching the public kindergartens available in my area, Lady Cobham was by far the best with wonderful caring teachers and a great community network of parents. The downside of course with any public preschool is that it feels like you just dropped them off before you have to go back and pick them up again as sessions are either morning or afternoon. Also, most people with preschoolers will know there are lengthy waiting lists but as long as you are ON the waiting list, the oldest children take priority, hopefully giving all the kids at least a couple of terms before they turn 5. Kindies are a great option if you can make the timings work with your routine and Lady Cobham is one of the best.

My eldest went to Epsom South Kindergarten (formerly known as Lady Cobham) and my youngest is on…read morethe waiting list to attend. Although we now live outside the local area, it was and is easily the best kindy I have visited. The staff there are supportive and welcome all cultures with open arms. I really enjoyed all the celebrations shared with the kindy community (children and families) and they have a great open door policy with parents wanting to help out.

When I walked through this childcare centre in Henderson I was blown away…read more The exterior doesn't really give anything away, it looks more like a corporate office space, however step indoors and all is revealed. This is an amazing, modern and inspirational space with children's rooms carefully crafted to cater to babies and preschoolers. Bright colours, designer couches, stylish cushions, artwork and lots of room for the children to move. The outside playground is just as cool and has loads of different things for kids to explore on. My kids are way too old for this early childhood centre now but I'd recommend them to new families. The centre also has community rooms so offers family service facilities on site like teen and young mum programme, plunked and budgeting services. I think that families involved in the centre would take advantage of these services.