Meet us

Hello, we are Catherine and Steve, the proud owners of Gumboots & Grasshoppers Childcare and Learning Centre.

We live locally in Te Kowhai and have four beautiful children, three at Te Kowhai school and one in part-time childcare. We started our childcare journey early in 2017 when we recognised the need for a centre in Te Kowhai. It felt like a natural fit for us and lined up with our family values and community focus.

We are really excited about being able to offer childcare and learning services because as working parents we understand the difference a quality daycare can make in the lives of busy families. We are also excited about being able to offer not only a lovely indoor learning space but also a beautiful rural setting with lots of outdoor space, grass, animal friends and gardens as we believe there are so many learning opportunities outdoors.

Our Commitment

We are committed to ensuring Gumboots & Grasshoppers delivers the highest quality of education and care, as well as being a real ‘home away from home’ for your child. We believe it is a huge privilege to care for your precious little people, so thank you for considering us.

Meet The Team

Our Centre Manager

Lyn - Centre Manager

Kia Ora,

I am excited to introduce myself to the Te Kowhai community. I have been very fortunate to join the Gumboots and Grasshoppers team as the Centre Manager.

I trained as kindergarten teacher in Palmerston North and my journey to this point has taken me through being a head teacher of kindergartens in South Taranaki, a home-based coordinator, Academic Services Manager for a Child Protection Training Agency, working with the New Zealand Police Education Officers at Police College, being a facilitator for Brainwave Trust, a volunteer Homicide worker for Victim Support and a Centre Manager for a couple of Childcare centres in the Waikato.

Children are my life and my whole philosophy is about ensuring children have a happy, safe and loving environment to learn and be nurtured enabling them to grow and flourish.

My partner Glen and I enjoy living on our lifestyle block in Te kowhai. Between us we have a blended family of 9 children, ranging between the ages of 26 years down to our littlest who is 4 years old, as well as a darling granddaughter. We spend our time with family, our two dogs and participating in car club cruises and activities.

I look forward to meeting many of you within the community over the next few months. My door is always open and a cup of tea always available.

Lyn