Kia ora, my name is Marie Hindle and I am the licensee of TLC. TLC is a family affair, owned by myself, my husband Chris Barrett, and the Hindle Family Trust (my father Liam Hindle, my mother Pauline Hindle, and my sister Kate Vusoniwailala). 

I am originally from an IT background, and TLC came into being as the result of my search for childcare for my children Zach and Annelise, who are both TLC Alumni, and are now at school. What has grown into the TLC philosophy is the result of the kind of loving care that I wanted for my children. I have attended the RIE® Foundations Intensive Training and am fully committed to seeing TLC align as closely as possible Magda Gerber's Educaring® Approach. 

Elena Marouchos  - Upstairs Mentor Teacher.

RIE® Associate

Kia Ora , my name is Elena and I hail from South Africa but have made New Zealand my home.  Becoming an ECE teacher was my dream but prior to this I had a rich and rewarding career as a systems analyst and business consultant.  My education as diverse as my career which afforded me the opportunity to work in various positions which I constantly draw upon.  My primary degree is in Psychology, Public Administration and Personnel management with a few others
collected along the way.  

My passion for working with infants and toddlers began when I visited TLC on a practicum and never left!  My image of children and notions of what quality childcare looks like forever changed and thus began another journey fuelled by a desire to know more about the works of Magda Gerber and Dr Emmi Pikler.   I completed the Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood from Auckland University in 2010.   I have attended the Pikler intensive summer course in Budapest.

Ania Wojcikowski - Downstairs Mentor Teacher.

Ania is a qualified and fully certificated teacher. Ania has attended the RIE® Foundations Intensive training, and is part way through the RIE® centre based practicum (sometimes referred to RIE® II). Ania has also been to the Pikler Summer School.

Ania is on the board for the New Zealand Infant and Toddler Consortium (NZITC), a charitable trust. Ania moved downstairs to work with the Kea and then the Tui children as part of a continuity of care. Ania is one of the mentoring teachers for our teacher certification programme using the Educative Mentoring approach. 

Ania has two sons Zachary and Manawa, who are TLC alumni and now at school.

Mia Tang - Is a qualified teacher and fully certificated teacher.

Originally from China, Mia came to New Zealand to study Early Childhood Education.

Mia came to TLC to do her practicum while studying, and we liked her so much we invited her back as a reliever, and when a full time teaching position became available, we offered her the position.  

Mia has worked with our older Tui children and as a Kākano & Weka key teacher.

Samantha Kingsbeer

I am a qualified and provisionally registered early childhood teacher with six years of experience and am very passionate about the Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach. I love all age groups but my passions lie with infants and toddlers.

Janine Brooker  is currently a Kea key caregiver. Janine is a qualified and fully certificated teacher, who has completed the RIE® Foundations training and attended the RIE® Conference in Los Angeles. 

I am a mother of 3 children and have lived in  the beautiful Waitakere area for over 35 yrs.  I found my passion for working with young children  15yrs ago when I worked in homebased care. I enjoyed meeting the wonderful families and loved the diversity of my community. I was also a passionate playcentre mum and was able to see the benefits of free play for young children, and how adults could support them. I began my formal qualifications in 2005 and gained my diploma in ECE in 2010.  I worked with infants and toddlers in a large centre for 4yrs and it was there, I discovered Magda Gerber's RIE® philosophy and Emmi Piklers revolutionary beliefs about how infants learn and develop.  It was a life changing moment and shaped my teaching practice, personal beliefs and values from then on. In my practice I also worked alongside young children and  found magical moments, surprises, challenges and inspiration in each age group. Teaching children under the RIE® philosophy just made sense to me, and as I learned more, it answered many questions. It became a way of understanding infants, toddlers and young children as unique individuals and seeing relationships as an integral part of teaching young children.  As my learning journey continued I was honoured to be a part of the RIE® foundations course and eventually my biggest wish came true when I got a job at TLC. I am excited to be part of this learning journey and to meet amazing children and their families.  My goal is to continue to learn and grow as a RIE® inspired teacher and to feel the joy, working alongside  unique, capable and confident children who teach me something new everyday.

Dianne Dawsin - I am a qualified and fully registered Early Childhood Teacher. I have over 20 years experience caring for a range of age groups, and love meeting new families and children from diverse backgrounds. I describe myself as very organised, honest, reliable and hard working. I am friendly, with a sense of humour, and I promote respectful relationships with children and families. My approach to teaching is one of dedication and enthusiasm, and I’m aware that I am always learning and adapting my practice.

I live in Mt Wellington with my husband Peter. I have two adult children Scott and Gemma, and four grandchildren aged four years and under and they are all my pride and joy.

I fell in love with TLC’s natural play environment and I am very excited to be part of their team. I am looking forward to getting to know the children and families that attend the centre as I love the relationships that can be built with families that can last long after they’ve finished at TLC.

Peng Zou - is a qualified and fully certificated teacher and has complete the RIE® foundations training.

Peng is passionate about Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach, and has been working as an ECE teacher since 2013.

Peng love’s the fact that TLC has a strong focus on research because of her background in social research and passion for continuous learning.

Peng has a one year old son Cheng, who is attending TLC.

Sanna Cooke is a qualified and fully certificated teacher. Sanna has attended the RIE® Foundations intensive training.

I have a little girl, Minna, and a little boy Moe who are TLC alumni, and who are now at school, a little boy, Moe, My third child Suski is at TLC.

I am committed to, and passionate about, the philosophy of free movement and respectful interaction. I am a dedicated Early Childhood Professional with diverse industry experience working alongside teachers and families from varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. With over 13 years experience in early childhood education and development, I have a strong background in teaching with the Pikler approach.

Mikayla Brooker - is an Arts graduate who has chosen to study early childhood education.

Mikaya is a permanent reliever at TLC.

Helen Holmes - is our wonderful cook. Helen is a long time Ponsonby resident. Helen is also an artist and jeweller. 

Amy Heslop - Is our Administrator.

Amy is a qualified and fully certificated teacher and has a little girl Ivy with her partner Tom, who is at TLC.

Amy has worked at TLC for 8 years, as a teacher and brings all that TLC knowledge to the Administrator role.

Plonie Hill - was our Administrator for 10 years and also worked as a relief teacher in that time. Plonie retired as . our Administrator in December 2018. Plonie has returned to TLC as a reliever.