About Me
I’m a qualified and fully registered teacher, primary trained but happily immersed in ECE for the past five years. Teaching has always been where I feel most myself — being hands‑on with tamariki, building relationships, and creating meaningful, play‑rich learning experiences is what truly inspires me.
I live on a lifestyle block just out of zone in Rolleston with my husband and our two children. We spend a lot of time outdoors and love heading off on family adventures in our caravan. That connection to nature and exploration naturally flows into my teaching, where I create calm, hands‑on, real‑world learning experiences that grow from the environment around us.
I’m now moving into home‑based education to make life easier for my whānau while continuing my passion for teaching. This shift feels like the perfect balance — a way to offer warm, responsive, individualised learning for tamariki in a peaceful home setting, while keeping my own family’s rhythm steady and connected.
Places We Like To Visit
Tiny Nation events
Pop-up playgroups
Library visits
Local parks and playgrounds
My Availability
Monday to Friday hours negotiable between 7:00 am and 5:30 pm.
My Philosophy
As a qualified and fully registered early childhood teacher, my teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that children flourish when they feel deeply connected to people, to place, and to their own unfolding interests. In my home-based setting on a lifestyle block, the natural environment becomes an extension of our learning space. The rhythms of the land offer calm, spacious opportunities for exploration, sensory engagement, and authentic discovery. Learning here is unhurried, meaningful, and woven into everyday life.
I am committed to providing high quality, individualised learning experiences that reflect the principles and strands of Te Whāriki. Small ratios allow me to observe closely, respond thoughtfully, and plan intentionally, ensuring each child’s strengths, culture, identity, and learning dispositions are honoured. Through inclusive, strengths based practice and the gentle integration of te reo Māori, I support tamariki to grow confidence, resilience, and a strong sense of belonging.
Relationships sit at the heart of my teaching. I value open communication, shared aspirations, and genuine partnership with whānau. In my home-based environment, I create a warm, predictable space where children feel safe to explore, express themselves, and take supported risks. The land around us provides rich opportunities for inquiry, problem solving, and imaginative play, nurturing holistic development across cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual domains.
My role is to guide, extend, and celebrate learning in ways that are responsive, respectful, and connected to real life. I strive to cultivate a learning community where tamariki feel empowered, curious, and confident in who they are and where they come from.
My Environment
Inside, I offer a warm, open space with plenty of room for tamariki to create, play, and explore. Over the years, I’ve built up a rich collection of board stories, arts and crafts, baking experiences, science experiments, building materials, and hands‑on activities that I rotate and extend to keep learning fresh and engaging.
Outdoors, we have a large, natural space with a garden perfect for bug hunting, grass areas for running, kicking balls, and active play, plus a big playhouse with a play kitchen inside. There’s also a sandpit, hoops, and lots of opportunities for imaginative, physical, and nature‑based learning.
Being on a lifestyle block means we can head out on farm excursions — visiting the veggie garden, checking the fruit trees, and spending time with the different animals we have on-site. These experiences give tamariki real‑world learning opportunities and a chance to explore at their own pace in a calm, rural environment.
My home‑based setting offers the flexibility to change, rotate, and extend activities depending on children’s interests, making each day responsive, meaningful, and full of discovery.
My Training
I hold a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning and am a qualified, fully registered teacher with a current practising certificate. My professional learning includes a Level 1 Certificate in Te Reo Māori, current First Aid certification, and a current Child Protection certificate. I have completed both the Incredible Years Teacher Programme and the Incredible Years Autism Programme, which strengthen my relationship‑based, responsive teaching practice. Alongside my education qualifications, I also hold a Level 4 Certificate in Applied Exercise and Sport Coaching, a Level 3 Cookery Certificate, and a Level 2 Small Business Certificate, supporting my ability to create active, engaging learning experiences and confidently manage a home‑based teaching environment.