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Welcome from our Centre Manager
Leonie Martin
My name is Leonie Martin, and I am a mother of four adult children and two beautiful granddaughters. I am a qualified ECE teacher and carry a huge passion and enthusiasm for young children.
I have seen lots of changes in early childhood over my long career, but at the end of the day I believe our authenticity and genuine love is what our tamariki need to learn and thrive. Having a sense of humour and fun-loving nature the children want to be around you and I want to be around them.
I love Busy Bees Hamilton East as we have outdoor spaces that allow our tamariki to explore, BEE Curious and have the space to ride bikes, scooters, and skateboards. Our indoor spaces are filled with natural light and an atmosphere that is warm, friendly, and inviting. I love that as you enter our centre you are warmly greeted and made to feel part of our whānau immediately. I get excited to show you around the centre and I carry a sense of pride as you get to meet teachers who are also passionate and caring towards our tamariki. These are all important to me. Everyday here I experience special moments with children, with the teachers and with the whānau. I take ownership of Busy Bees Hamilton East, and this is my absolute pleasure. This is my home away from home, come and visit, it will be my pleasure to meet you. What is the most important thing in the world? He tangata, he tangata, tangata. It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.
At Busy Bees Hamilton East, our kaiako encourage open-ended learning through the provocations they provide within the centre environment. The identity of the capable learner is visible throughout the centre. Strong relationships with children and their whānau are fostered and we actively work towards engaging with the local Hamilton community.
Manuka | 0-2 Years
Our children in Ruma Manuka are growing quickly. Every week, we see them developing new skills, challenging themselves, taking risks, and forming closer friendships. Our planning is centered around 'Te Whare Tapa Wha', with a focus on taha tinana (physical well-being) as the first pillar.
Kowhai | 2-3.5 Years
The Kowhai room focuses on helping your child build relationships with others and a sense of belonging while they embark on their journey toward independence. We encourage and support this through participation, observation, exploration, and social interaction. At this age, children are active, curious, and beginning to make sense of the world.
Pohutukawa | 3.5-5 Years
The Pohutukawa room's planning focus is on fostering social competence which we are integrating into different learning areas such as language and literacy, motor and coordination skills, arts and crafts, science, numeracy, self-help skills, music, and movements. Kaiako continually observe and converse with children to develop projects based on their interests.
We believe that through nourishing food, children are fuelled to thrive physically and mentally, whilst enjoying the benefits of coming together and connecting as a group at mealtimes.
Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea is lovingly prepared daily by our onsite cook. Our menus and recipes are dietitian-approved and have been thoughtfully designed using The Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award for Early Childhood Centres. Our fabulous centre cook provides food that is minimally processed, avoiding recipes that are high in added sugar, instead using fresh, real, and wholesome ingredients.
Our centres philosophy and culture is deeply inspired by Te Whariki (The New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum) and also seeks inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach. Our centre environment is very unique and acts as the third teacher for the child.
Our Learning Journey
At Busy Bees Hamilton East, we nurture confident, curious learners through our Bee Curious framework—encouraging tamariki to Bee Connected, Bee Inspired, Bee Expressive, Bee Active, and Bee Creative. Our play-based approach builds essential attitudes like curiosity, confidence, and creativity, while supporting growth across all key learning areas—communication, wellbeing, movement, literacy, numeracy, creativity, and understanding the world.
With our MOVE programme for active bodies and Nourish for wholesome meals, we grow thriving minds, active bodies, and nurtured hearts every day. Our kaiako encourage open-ended learning through provocations within the centre environment, and the identity of the capable learner is visible throughout. Strong relationships with tamariki and their whānau are fostered, and we actively engage with the local Hamilton community.
Our Programmes
Bee Curious, our Busy Bees Curriculum Framework, has been created to guide and inspire kaiako in supporting tamariki through rich, interconnected learning experiences. Built on the strong foundation of Te Whāriki, it reflects the principles of Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum and the aspirations we hold for our children as they grow.
Nutritious food is the foundation for healthy growth and development in our children. Our Nourish menus fuel our children and support full, healthy tummies enabling clear minds to focus on the learning and set children up to thrive at our centre.
Our MOVE programme deliberately sets out physical activities that give children the opportunity to learn, practice and master physical skills whilst developing their resilience, perseverance, patience, co-ordination, gross-motor skills, teamwork and much more, all while having loads of fun!
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