Bright Beginnings Preschool, at Gateway to Grace church, opened in Papamoa 19 years ago and has a strong reputation in the community.
In her four years as manager Katie McQuilter said she had never advertised or even had a website for fear of adding to the 64 children currently on the waiting list. Saying "no" to parents was the worst part of her job, she said.
The wait for children over 2 was already about a year and this week parents were booking in their younger children for 2016.
In 2011 there were about 30 on the waiting list, rising to 40 in 2013. At points last year staff joked they needed two more centres to cater for the 70 children on the waiting list.
Parents could expect to wait at least six months for one of the 35 spots, depending on how flexible they were about days and hours, Miss McQuilter said.
Children who were already enrolled but waiting for specific times and days took priority over those on the community waiting list. Miss McQuilter said a lot of parents wanted their children to learn the Christian values the centre offered. "I think a lot of people went to Sunday school themselves and that's what they want for their child."
Tauranga Region Kindergarten's principal Peter Monteith said demand was highest in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa, where a new kindergarten was due to open next term.
Wairakei Kindergarten will open on the corner of Wairakei Ave and Golden Sands Dr at the beginning of term 2, bringing the number of kindergartens in Papamoa to three. The kindergarten will cater for 40 children, between 2 and 5, and a playgroup.
Mr Monteith said the association had also purchased land in an undeveloped area of Papamoa East to cater for future growth in the suburb.
Demand for childcare in Papamoa would also increase once a special housing area of about 500 homes, fast-tracked under the Government Housing Accord and Special Housing Area legislation, was developed in Papamoa, he said.
"It's just going crazy every time you go out there there's another 50 houses, the houses are just growing street by street."
There was also a long waiting list for Mount Maunganui's one kindergarten.
Otumoetai Kindergarten in Karaka Rd also had a waiting list, fuelled by young families flocking to the Bay from Auckland.
"Otumoetai is pretty full these days and talking to parents up there, there seem to be a lot of escapees from Auckland and other cities," Mr Monteith said.
Kindergartens are owned by the Ministry of Education, are not-for-profit and ask parents for a donation of $2 per day, per family.
Provided the job market in Tauranga continued to improve, Mr Monteith expected the MOE would invest in more kindergartens in the Western Bay.
In Welcome Bay The Children's Garden Preschool and Childcare manager Judy Forbes said they had waiting lists "now and then", particularly for full-time places and children aged from birth to 2. It was becoming increasingly common for parents to book their child into full-time care while mothers were pregnant to ensure a place once they returned to work, she said.
Manager of Kidzone, which owns two centres in Brookfield and another in Otumoetai, Megan MacPherson said there were waiting lists at both the infant and toddler centre and neighbouring pre-school centre in Millers Rd.
"More recently, with the 20 hours' free, more and more people are taking advantage of that. It's not as easy as it was to just turn up and start the next day. Often people want childcare right then, they need it for their work or study," she said.
Parents needed to book into the childcare facility they wanted, whether it was close to home or work, as early as possible.
"I've had parents book in when they're pregnant just to ensure they get the hours that they need."
Waiting lists fluctuated throughout the year, she said.
"It's swings and roundabouts. Different times of the year can be slow, people finishing study or the school terms."
Kid Country, which opened in Tauriko in December 2013, can cater for 80 children and is now "two children away from a waiting list" on a Monday, centre manager Justine Dale said.
"We've just grown each year," she told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend. The centre has large grounds and a "freedom to grow" philosophy, encouraging children to climb trees and ride bikes.
"The children can experience the good old Kiwi upbringing that we used to have," Ms Dale said.
A lot of their clients were stay-at-home mums who enrolled their children for 20 hours funded childcare to allow them to socialise with other children.
"It's kind of a unique centre in that way," she said.
Ms Dale was aware of the new early childcare centre due to open at ACG Tauranga, a new private school in Pyes Pa, later in the year. She had also heard of an additional childcare centre being considered for Pyes Pa and another for The Lakes.
In the last five years Papamoa (around Doncaster Dr), Yatton Park, Arataki and Welcome Bay East have been identified by the MOE as priority areas for Targeted Assistance for Participation (TAP) funding. TAP grant recipients increase the availability of quality early childhood education for Maori and Pasifika children, and children from low socio-economic families. Three of these grants, which came into effect in 2010, have been awarded in Tauranga.
