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!

When I first started looking for daycares in the Ellerslie area the thing that stood out about this…read moreone was how friendly the staff are and it seemed to me like it was just one big family. The daycare has a nice indoor area which has a separate area for under 2's, it also had a large outdoor area with a large sand pit and once again a separate area for under 2's. They have their own kitchen so food is always made onsite so they provide 2 nutritious snacks and lunch. My daughter was only at the daycare for 5 weeks as we moved out of the area however I was really sad that she was going to be leaving them. They are a great daycare and also in a very handy location.

My religious upbringing stems from the old Dutch Reformed teachings, and my morals are Calvinistic…read moreat heart - conservativeness was a word I used to lived by. These days I've loosened a bit, and I'm a lot more liberal. Hell, I'm okay with gay marriage, aren't offended by nudity, and I play golf on Sundays... A regular heathen you would say. But I still go to church every now and again, and I still see myself as a Christian. So visiting the City ImpactChurch opened my eyes a bit... I expected it to be somewhere between an American style evangelical experience and a Crossing Over with John Edward episode. And I wasn't too far off the mark, as they did venture into areas that are beyond my reality. This church is not for me, too much bling and too many lights and mirrors. I'm not into over the top happy clappy Christianity, and I will not be returning, but thank you, I enjoyed the show, and everyone was really friendly.

I love this childcare centre, I've sent all 3 of my children there. The teachers are so caring and…read moremy children are very happy there. Recommend!

I've had an unusual experience trying to enrol my son here because I am a student at AUT and it…read morewould obviously be super handy to have him at the campus daycare! I've been for a few visits and the place is great - clean and heaps of facilities and the teachers are actively involved with the children, who all seemed like they were having fun. I have had great communication from the manager there about my prospective enrolment. I would give it a 5 star rating if I was actually able to enrol there, but since they were very inflexible about their 2 day minimum policy, I was turned away and told to 'find somewhere else that better suited my needs'. Where else better suits than on campus??! I have 1 daytime class at uni and the rest of my classes are at night when the daycare is closed, so I only wanted to enrol for one day. They would rather have no enrolment than only one day. I was very disappointed.

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.

The Parnell Community Centre runs an excellent community activity programme at very reasonable…read moreprices. They run a great programme that encompasses creative arts and designs, languages, culinary courses, exercise and healthy body courses, photography, technology and sustainability courses. The community centre is located conveniently, just a short walk from Broadway, a short walk from Newmarket train station and it's on the Inner Link bus route. A great option if you're centrally based (living or for work) and also really great for people on a tight budget who would like to try something different. And they also offer discounts for people with a community services card.

I have been to Parnell numerous times for weddings, hens parties, church services and parties. it…read moreis a perfect place for one to host their event at. They are several rooms on offer such as the Jubilee Room which my friend used as the venue for her wedding reception. This room has a kitchen facility which is perfect for self catering. There is the Parnell room which is much small which we used for my friends Hen's party. Another room which isn't too big or small and can be separated into two spaces is the Hobson room which we have used for church services, The Parnell community center is absolutely perfect, has lots of parking on the site and on the street, The prices for the rooms are extremely affordable and range from around $40 and hour or less. Apart from venue hire, Parnell also has a childcare centre and hosts small classes that range from salsa to cooking lessons.

On Sunday I was driving to my boyfriend's place out in West Auckland and came across the coolest…read moredaycare centre I've ever seen. IT IS SHAPED LIKE A CASTLE. YES. A CASTLE. Fittingly named, The Little Castle is a daycare centre for children under the age of 5, and not having had any kids myself, I cannot comment on whether it is a good place to send your kids. All I can say is it looked like a good time, and I'm 21. I can only imagine how it must look to children! Fun times a million - that's what I'm guessing. When I was little all I wanted was to be a princess like Jasmine from Aladdin, and if I'd had the chance to go to a daycare that looked like a castle I would have been ecstatic. Next time you're out in West Harbour, whether you have littlies and are looking for potential daycares or just a Disney-loving adult like myself, keep your eyes peeled for The Little Castle, and you'll see why I was so excited to discover it.

Wonderful daycare, my two children have been attending for the last 2yrs. Great atmosphere, plenty…read moreof resources and huge outdoor area