About Us
Featherfoot Friends was established 22 years ago by Elmine Anderson, a qualified Foundation Phase teacher and mother of two. We focus on building confidence, encouraging curiosity, and helping every child feel safe, valued, and at home. Each day is filled with opportunities to play, explore, and learn in a way that feels natural and joyful.
Child-Centered Spaces
At Featherfoot Friends we understand that young children learn best when they move. Our school is designed in such a way that it allows for plenty of movement between areas while learning indoors, giving children a sense of choice and independence. Our environment is beautifully prepared to allow children to move freely from one centre to another.
When creating art, we allow children to develop at their own pace and according to their artistic ability. Activities include, for example, painting, box construction, drawing, printing, cutting, sticking, collage and handicrafts.
Our doll corner, kitchens, the dress-up corner, and an indoor tree house all play an important part in encouraging role-play and dramatic play.
It is important to instil a love of reading and books in children from a young age. Our reading nook provides a quiet space away from the busy energy of the classroom.
We expose young children to blocks, Lego, magnetic tiles, etc. These activities help children understand the physical properties of their environment, forming an early foundation for problem-solving and critical thinking. Our building zone is a firm favourite, especially among our little boys.
A wide variety of educational games and puzzles are used throughout the week to help develop all areas needed for school readiness.
Our Playground
Welcome to our outdoor wonderland designed for endless discovery. Moving beyond the traditional playground, we have created dedicated zones that spark immediate imagination. Children can navigate our classic jungle gyms or dive into a massive sandpit. Our driveway area is specifically designed for early traffic play and physical development. From our hands-on construction pit and pretend kiddies' café, complete with mud kitchens, to a cosy Wendy house and walk-in bunny enclosure, every corner offers a new tactile adventure. Apart from jungle gyms, swings, slides and climbing apparatus, which play such an important role in gross motor development, we involve the children in other activities involving balls, hoops, bean bags and other apparatus. Learning at Featherfoot Friends happens everywhere. The outdoor area is an extension of our classroom. Art easels, books and blocks are often moved into the playground with fresh air and sunshine forming part of our daily schedule. Nature is our co-teacher with bugs and plants often helping to guide some daily lessons. It is important that we instil a love of nature and animals in our children. The children are involved in caring for, feeding and loving our animals at school. In spring, we plant beans and “grass people”, which the children need to care for and maintain. During autumn, we learn how to rake and collect leaves.
Special Occasions
Mom’s Night Out
This is a wonderful opportunity for the moms to relax and get to know the other moms a little better. Once a term we plan an evening out at a chosen venue. It could be at someone’s home or a restaurant.
The Annual Featherfoot Concert
Moms and dads, siblings and grandparents pack a picnic supper and blanket and arrive on a Saturday evening to be entertained for an hour by their delightful children. There is song and dance, costumes galore, and brave little children who, for the first time in their lives, are performing on a stage in front of an audience. It’s a very special evening not to be missed.
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Graduation Day & Our Christmas Party
The year ends with a special graduation ceremony for the children who are leaving. We keep this short as it becomes incredibly emotional for the teacher, parents and the children. Fortunately, the mood soon improves when our faithful Father Christmas arrives at the gate to hand out presents. This is followed by a Christmas party for the children as we end the year.