Facilities
A green wall, artificial grass, a bike track that winds round the corner, and Kareltjie Kameelperd waiting on the stoep. Everything is at child height, and everything is there to be climbed, ridden and explored.
Walk into Greenhill and the first thing you notice is how much room there is. A bike track winding through the grass. A climbing frame on soft beach sand. Little horses on the stoep and a real motorbike in the hay.
None of this is accidental. Every surface, corner and piece of equipment was chosen with one question in mind: what will a child learn here, and will they be safe while they do it?
More room per child, and that is on purpose
The premises could comfortably handle many more children than we take in, and it stays that way because we choose it. That is why there is always room for one more on the mat, one more lap on the bike track, and a teacher with time to notice what your child managed today.
Generous outdoor play
A long, open area with a bike track winding through artificial grass, established trees for shade and enough room for children to really run. The premises are completely fenced and access is controlled.
The outdoor area is much bigger than our classrooms, and that is no accident. We aim for the children to be outside for the greater part of the day, because that is where gross motor skills, balance and social play happen on their own. Outdoor play is not a block on the timetable. It is the timetable.
Spacious, air-conditioned classrooms
Every classroom is air-conditioned, cool in the Pretoria summer and warm in winter, so children can concentrate comfortably all year round.
The spaces are deliberately kept open: learning corners, mats to sit on and materials within reach at child height, with enough floor left over for group play.
We use the classroom for the things that belong inside: Bible story, nap time, some activities and sometimes eating. And of course when it rains. For the rest of the day the door is open and we are outside.
Nine different textures under small feet
Sensory experience is part of how young children learn. Our premises were purposely built with many different surfaces, so feet and hands experience something new every day.
Every surface teaches something
When a child moves from grass to sand to wood to tiles, the body adjusts each time. It builds balance, spatial awareness and confidence, and it supports the sensory development the NCF describes as part of early learning.
Room to climb, ride and imagine
A big climbing frame on soft sand
Officially it is a wooden climbing frame with a slide and a deck. Ask any child here and you will hear it is a pirate ship, and the beach sand below is the sea.
It works hard too: climbing builds strength, coordination and the confidence to venture a little higher. The thick sand catches every landing.
Kareltjie and Gertjie
Our own motorised Kareltjie Kameelperd (Kareltjie the Giraffe) and Gertjie die Perdjie (Gertjie the Horse). Perfect for practising balance, and for pushing up the electricity bill.
The little ones know exactly who is who, and there is regular negotiation about whose turn is next.
A real motorbike on a spring
Yes, it is a real motorbike. Safely mounted on a spring, so a four-year-old can climb on, rev it and go nowhere at all.
This is where the stories happen. Today the rider is a policeman, tomorrow a racing driver. The spring rocks just enough to practise balance, and the hay around it gives small hands and feet something new to touch.
A real track to ride on
A painted bike track with road markings winds through the whole area. Children learn to steer, stop and take turns, and without realising it they also learn the first principles of how a road works.
Everyone gets a proper nap
Air-conditioned, with dimmed light
Everyone sleeps here, from the preschoolers to the smallest. The room is air-conditioned and the lights go off, so it stays cool and quiet no matter what the Pretoria weather is doing outside.
The babies have their own partitioned corner, away from the bustle of the bigger children.
Nanit monitors above the cots
Above the babies’ cots hang Nanit monitors that track their breathing while they sleep, and the camera shows the whole room.
So we can see and hear what is happening without opening the door and waking everyone. For a parent leaving a baby for the first time, that makes a big difference.
What parents think of first
It is the question behind every other question: is my child safe here? We built the answer into the building itself, from the gate to the sleep room door.
Nobody learns on an empty stomach
Real home cooking, fresh every day
At eight o'clock everyone sits down together for breakfast: Weetbix, oats or eggs, warm and ready before the day properly begins. Lunch is made fresh every day, not tipped out of a packet, and it is the kind of home cooking that would be on the table at home. Snacks follow after nap time. A child who has eaten is a child who can concentrate, and we are glad to arrange special dietary needs with you in advance.
Want to know more about how our day fits together? Read about our programme and curriculum, or arrange a visit to see everything for yourself.
Come and view our premises
The best way to experience our environment is to come and visit. Arrange a visit whenever it suits you.
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