Kindy graduation books for a New Zealand centre
One personalised hardcover for each child leaving kindy for school, each the hero of their own story. Printed in New Zealand, one parcel to the centre.
New Zealand kindy leaving runs through Term 4 and into mid-December, and the thing worth knowing before you plan anything is that your books are printed here rather than shipped in. That gives a New Zealand centre about a week of margin an Australian one does not have.
Printed here, which changes the timing
Delivery inside New Zealand is 6 to 8 days from the moment you approve the class, because the books are printed in-country. An Australian centre waits nine to fourteen for the same book, imported - so do not take Australian timing advice for a New Zealand kindy.
Term 4 runs from mid-October to mid-December and the summer break starts no later than 19 December, though the exact last day differs by centre. Work back from your own date, not the national one.
The part that is not fast is the families. Collecting a photograph from every home takes about a fortnight whatever the printing does, so send the parent links around the start of November.
Who this suits, and why the minimum matters here
Kindergartens, early learning centres, home-based services and playcentres marking the children who are leaving for school. Because New Zealand children start school on or near their fifth birthday, a leaving group is often a trickle rather than a cohort.
That is exactly why the minimum matters more here than anywhere else on this list: five children is enough for an order, so a centre can run a small group in November instead of waiting for a class-sized one that never forms.
The centre pays, or the families do
You choose at the start. If the centre funds it, the books are a leaving gift, and a child whose family never sends a photograph is refunded to you when you print the rest.
If families fund it, the centre spends nothing: each parent buys their own child's book from the link you send, and the one delivery charge is split evenly across the group.
Prices are charged in US dollars and your card converts - about $39.47 a book for ten children and $36.47 for thirty, plus a single delivery charge for the parcel, quoted to your address before you pay.
Photograph consent
You confirm at the point of ordering that you have each whanau's permission to use their child's photograph, and every parent confirms it again on their own upload page before they can send anything.
The photograph is used to draw that child's illustrations and is then deleted. It is never shown to another family and never published anywhere findable.
Common questions
When should a New Zealand kindy order for the end of Term 4?
Send the parent links around the start of November. Photograph collection takes about a fortnight, and delivery inside New Zealand is 6 to 8 days from approval - the books are printed here, so the window is shorter than Australia's.
Are the books printed in New Zealand?
Yes. That is why the window is 6 to 8 days rather than the nine to fourteen an Australian centre waits for the same book, and there is one delivery charge for the whole parcel.
Our children leave one at a time, not as a class. Does this still work?
Yes, and it is the common case here - New Zealand children start school near their fifth birthday, so a leaving group is often small. The minimum is 5 children, low enough to run a small group in November rather than waiting for a cohort.
Are prices in New Zealand dollars?
No - charged in US dollars and your card converts. About $39.47 US a book for a class of ten and $36.47 at thirty.
What if a family never sends a photograph?
Leave that child out when you send the rest to print and their book is refunded to whoever paid for it.
More for schools
Last updated:
Links at the start of November, books before the break.
Set up a class