Choosing a centre is a big decision, and starting at one is a big step for your tamaiti and for you. Thank you for considering Little Parrots. This post covers the practical side of starting with us: what to put in the bag, how settling visits work, and what you’ll hear from us about each day. If you’re still weighing up centres, it should give you a clear picture of what the first few weeks involve.
What to pack
Most of what tamariki need each day is ordinary and practical. A few things make a real difference:
- Spare clothes, and more than you think. Play gets wet and messy, and a change or two in the bag means your child can get stuck in without anyone worrying about it.
- Names on everything. Jackets, drink bottles and hats all look much the same once there are a few of them together.
- Something familiar, if it helps. A comfort toy or a small photo from home helps some children feel settled. Others don’t need one at all.
The rest of it is kai and nappies. Whānau send morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, a drink bottle with water in it, and nappies plus any cream your tamaiti uses. Tell us if a particular brand of wipes does not suit them. Formula, milk and bottles too, if those are needed.
Two things you do not need to buy. The sunhat is ours: every tamaiti gets one with their name embroidered on the front, so just tell us what colour they would like. Sunscreen is ours as well, from September through April, going on around half past nine and again around half past one.
If your tamaiti is two or over there is a KidsCan lunch available every day. They can have it instead of their lunchbox, alongside it, or not at all. Plenty of whānau pack a lunch anyway and let their tamaiti choose on the day.
The only things we would ask you to leave at home are chocolate and lollies, and anything other than water in the drink bottle. Go easy on packet food where you can, and ask any of the kaiako if you would like lunchbox ideas.
If you’re unsure about anything on the list, ask us before the first day. It’s an easy question to answer, and it saves a rushed morning.
How settling visits work
Settling visits give your child, and you, a chance to get to know the people and the space before the first full day. They’re also a chance for kaiako to get to know your child: what comforts them, what they’re curious about, and how they let you know they’ve had enough.
Come in as often as you like before the start date, even just popping in on your way past. There is no set number of visits and nothing to book.
Try a few different times of day, so the busy parts and the quiet parts are both familiar. A parent stays for these ones, and they are also when you meet their Hoa Ako, the kaiako who holds the learning relationship.
Closer to the start date we will suggest leaving your tamaiti with us for about an hour. That is the first practice at the goodbye, and at you coming back.
Every child settles differently. Some walk in and get on with playing. Others take a few weeks and want a familiar person close by for a while. Neither is a problem. You know your child best, so tell us what you’re noticing at home and we’ll work it out together.
A few things tend to help, whichever way your child starts:
- Say goodbye, even when it’s tempting to slip away. Children usually cope better with a clear goodbye than with discovering a parent has gone.
- Keep the goodbye short and warm. A long one is often harder on both of you.
- Talk about the centre at home. Once you know the kaiako, use their names. It helps the new place feel like part of your child’s world.
If your tamaiti is upset once you have gone, a kaiako who already knows them stays with them, one to one, until they have settled. Not passed around, not left to cry it out, and not handed to whoever happens to be free. The same person stays until they are ready to go and play.
And you do not have to wonder about it from the car park. Send a message through the Home app and we will answer from one of the tablets around the centre, or ring us on 020 472 7768. Being upset at the door often does not mean an upset day, and we would far rather tell you that than leave you guessing.
What we’ll tell you each day
When you leave your tamaiti with someone else, you want to know how their day really went. Not just ‘had a good day’, but the actual things: whether they ate, whether they slept, who they played with, and what caught their attention.
Kaiako will catch you at drop-off and at pick-up, and the end-of-day one is where you hear how it actually went.
The Home app carries the rest as the day goes: nappy changes, sleep times, anything that happened, and the learning stories for your tamaiti. Your enrolment details and account statements sit there too.
It has a messenger as well, for anything quick. Running late, a question, or just wanting to know they settled. We still love a phone call, and the door is always open.
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum in Aotearoa, treats learning as something kaiako and whānau build together. So what you tell us matters as much as what we tell you. A rough night, a new word, a visit from grandparents: small details from home help kaiako make sense of your child’s day and respond to it.
A note on cost
If your child is three or older, the 20 hours ECE subsidy may help with fees. Ask us how it applies at Parrots when you get in touch, and we’ll talk it through with you.
Come and see us
If you’d like to visit Little Parrots or ask about a start date, send us an enquiry or call 020 472 7768. We’re at 32/34 Gloucester Road, Arataki, Mount Maunganui.
