About Us
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari taku toa he toa takimano
My strength is not mine alone but the strength of many
This whakatauki or Maori proverb, emphasises the core belief that we have here at Big Little Moments, that it's not one person's sole responsibility to raise a child, but rather it is a collective responsibility where the community rallies together to support one another.
Our Story
Amy and Lisa were raised on a dairy farm in Whangarei, New Zealand, cultivating their appreciation and connection to nature, family, and early childhood development. After receiving their Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education with Honors, they ventured to Munich, Germany and began working in local Kindergarten and Kitas.
In Munich, Amy and Lisa found themselves dreaming of an educational setting owned and run by qualified educators that blend the best of New Zealand educational curriculum with that of Germany.
After meeting Andrea Klinger in 2017, caring for all four of her children, a connection and friendship was made. Drawing inspiration from their diverse backgrounds and the best practices from both New Zealand and German education systems, they poured their hearts and souls into creating Big Little Moments.
With hard work and determination Big Little Moments opened its doors for the first time in January 2023. From the moment families stepped inside, the team knew they had found something special.
Today, Amy, Lisa, Andrea and their cherished team continue to lead Big Little Moments with the same passion and dedication that created a fun, educational and family focused bilingual learning environment.
New Zealand Inspiration
Big Little Moments is inspired by the world-renowned pedagogical approaches of the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum: Te Whariki. Te Whariki translates to ´Woven Mat´ in english. This is used as a metaphor to explain the structure of the curriculum, as it is created by weaving together four guiding principles—empowerment, holistic development, family and community, and relationships—with five strands—wellbeing, belonging, contribution, communication, and exploration.
These strands and principles together create the ´mat´ that children stand upon for their life long learning journey. Unique in its bicultural framing, Te Whāriki expresses our vision that all children grow up as competent and confident learners, strong in their identity, language and culture. This concept is at the heart of Big Little Moments pedagogy and practice. Using this focus, educators create a place of security, trust, inclusion, holistic learning and fun.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy is focused around teaching German and English simultaneously in an integrated bilingual setting with quality qualified educators. We encourage children to participate with their own ideas, to accept challenges as we are there to support them.
Our goal is to carefully nurture and foster the physical, emotional, mental and social nature of our children, to allow them to unfold at their own pace in a healthy and supported way. To help us do this we implement and utilise nature whenever possible. Giving children the freedom to explore and play in the outdoors; to feel grass under their bare feet, to jump in puddles with their friends and to feel the calming and fulfilling energy that nature gives.
We believe in creating a peaceful and fun environment that allows each child to learn through hands-on and meaningful experiences. Our dedicated Educators are at the heart of creating and maintaining this environment. So, at all times we give back to our team and cherish them dearly so that they know that they too are valued and heard.
Our Vision and Values
We are dedicated to creating a fun, educational and family focused bilingual learning environment.
We focus on respect, responsibility and community, brought to life through exploration, discovery and play.
We provide a nurturing environment where children can flourish intellectually, emotionally, and socially.
We support your child to be bold, creative, curious learners.
We want to connect with families, so you are directly involved in your child’s learning and growth, showing you what your child is learning through daily conversations, frequent messaging and weekly PLAYBACKS, so that you have a voice in your child’s care.
We believe our team are at the heart of your child’s learning and development while at Big Little Moments. We support our colleagues with opportunities to grow. Valuing, supporting, and empowering them so that they can then create the best learning outcomes for your child.
