Katie, parent of two

“My children have really strong relationships with children that they will end up at school with. They have also spent a lot of time getting to know their friends’ parents at Playcentre. All these connections provide a great sense of belonging and set them up well for learning”

Katie has two children aged three and five. Her and her husband moved from the United Kingdom and didn’t have any family or friends in Mount Maunganui. Katie is a real asset to the Mount Playcentre and claims that there is no question that going to Playcentre is the best decision I could have made. “For me personally, I have made really great friends and now have such a wide community around me. I have a really strong sense of belonging that I don’t believe I would have found anywhere else - I think this is mainly due to being part of such a loyal and passionate group”. 

Katie was attracted to Playcentre as she believes in parents being the primary educators of our children and could see that this would be a place to explore this much more deeply than she could at home. She has completed some Playcentre education courses and feels that they have been such a valuable resource for understanding Te Reo Māori as well as how young children learn and how to support their learning through building positive relationships.