Country Kids

Our History

Neudorf Rd, looking toward Mt Arthur range

Located in the picturesque Moutere Valley at Upper Moutere in Nelson, Country Kids, an Early Childhood Centre was opened in 1987. The original building and land was given to Country Kids by the Moutere Hills Uniting Church. The Centre was established for the children and families of the local district, especially through the busy harvest season. The district has a rich and diverse background with many of our families from the original pioneering English and German settlements. In 1987 there was a strong rural base with tobacco, hops, apples, saw milling and sheep farming. Back then the Centre was called the Moutere District Child Care Centre and initially established with a role of six children. Today families come from a much more diverse range with grapes replacing tobacco and many parents commuting to work in town or bringing their profession to the country.

In 1996 the name was changed to Country Kids.  An additional programme was started for the older children to help them to prepare for their future learning and in 1999 a second classroom was added.

Today Country Kids has a roll of 80 children with a maximum of 50 children attending at any one time between the ages of 0 to 5 years. We now have 80% registered teachers and have recently extended our building again to provide better learning facilities for children and teachers. We now have two new classrooms, one for under 2’s and one for the over twos, a  staff room for non-contact and administration area to cope with the increased demands.

Looking across valley to Mt Arthur

Over looking Moutere Sports & Rec. Centre