BestStart Montessori Johnsonville

We are a small family based preschool with large classrooms, with only 18 children in each of our 2 classrooms.

This enables us to really get to know our families well and offer each child a real personal relationship with teachers. Through these relationships we are able to establish families aspirations and cultural backgrounds and weave this together with our knowledge of child development to create individual and specialized learning plans for each child. 

Although we are well known in our community, established in 1995 and now spanning generations, we can be hard to find. Up a long driveway on a back section a converted house children are becoming peaceful, connected, global learners!

We are immersed in the community, with great relationships with our surrounding neighbours and with our maunga, Mount Kaukau 10 minutes up the road. We regularly take our children to Mount Kaukau, helping us all feel connected to the community and to the wider land of Aotearoa.

Montessori Method
“Learning how to learn is a preparation for life” – Maria Montessori recognized that children have a natural willingness to explore and that the best motivation for learning is self-motivation.

In our Montessori classroom, we emphasize independence and freedom within limits. Children are provided with a carefully prepared environment that contains a variety of hands-on materials designed to stimulate their senses and develop their cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Teachers serve as guides and facilitators rather than lecturers, and they encourage children to work independently and collaborate with their peers. There is the utmost respect for the child, and we focus on nurturing the whole child, including their physical, emotional, and intellectual development perfect in preparation for school.

Find out more about Montessori here