Little Tamariki Montessori Preschool is a childcare centre on Ludstone Road in Kaikoura, running on the Montessori method. A Montessori classroom mixes ages together, usually three to six year olds in one room, so younger children learn by watching older ones, and older children reinforce their own learning by helping, rather than being split by age like a standard centre. The day tends to run on long, uninterrupted blocks of child-led work rather than a fixed timetable, with materials designed so a child can correct their own mistakes without needing an adult to point them out. Practical life skills, pouring, sweeping, dressing frames, sit alongside more academic materials as a part of the approach rather than an add-on. Because "Montessori" isn't a protected term, quality varies between centres using the name, so it's worth asking about staff training rather than assuming the label guarantees the method. On Ludstone Road in Kaikoura, this preschool offers that style of early learning.