Our programs are reliant on the emerging interests of the children and community. We create a space for children to explore through a play-based program, which links ideas and theories from a global pedagogy.
Fundamental to our planning is the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework which sets the highest expectation for each child. It identifies five key learning outcomes for all children:
Fundamental to our planning is the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework which sets the highest expectation for each child. It identifies five key learning outcomes for all children:
- Children have a strong sense of identity
- Children are connected and contribute to their world
- Children have a strong sense of well-being
- Children are confident and involved learners
- Children are effective communicators
What is kindergarten?
Kindergarten is a time for your child to be immersed in all the wonder and learning that derives from being with friends, interacting with adults and belonging as part of a community. Play is integral to how we provide for and nurture a child’s learning, and it sets the foundation for everything we do at kindergarten. Children’s learning and development is holistic, advancing health, cognition and social development, and wellbeing simultaneously. Play is the best medium for sustaining interest and mental energy as children become involved in developing ideas with various materials. Play is the business of childhood.
We support children’s learning through the following experiences:
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Art exploration - Children will be provided with opportunities to interact, unpack and understand various art techniques, mediums and learn through engaging in collaborative art experiences. They will use glue, paint, clay, wood, textiles, natural resources and writing tools to develop and create from their own ideas and concepts. The provision of art exploration allows children to develop fine motor skills, develop deep cognition as they interact with the materials and provides a time for children to use imagination and creativity through exploration.
Sensory play - The children are given the opportunity to see, feel and use a variety of sensory mediums such as clay, finger-paint, play dough, mud, water and sand. Children use their whole bodies as they delight in exploring the texture and consistency of these mediums. Such activities also allow children to explore, be messy and can be very therapeutic. As they play; talking, sharing, laughing and learning all take place. Children are provided with the opportunity to discover the properties of water, share materials and ideas, solve problems and develop physical skills such as pouring and measuring. Building blocks – This experience provides a rich avenue for the development of cognition, reflection, engineering, problem solving, spatial concepts, trial and error, persistence and imagination. Block play is vital in the kindergarten environment and many provisions are made for sustaining and allowing this open-ended play experience to be available to children, both the indoor and outdoor environment. Books and stories – Early literacy development comes straight from reading books and allowing a child to become deeply immersed in the love of literature and storytelling. Stories provide avenues for children to make deep and long lasting connections between themselves and the world around them. Kindergarten is a wonderful time to nurture a love of literature with young children. |
Outdoor learning environment – Children will play and interact within our wonderful natural outdoor space. They will engage with various play experiences that will enhance their cognitive, gross motor, fine motor, social and emotional development. The outdoor learning environment provides a foundation for children to learn and understand about our natural world. They will engage in gardening projects, gain deeper understanding around eco-systems and how these affect us, learn about issues of sustainability and acquire new skills to become strong and empowered global citizens.
Group time/meetings – Over the course of the day at kindergarten children will be engaged in various whole group meetings, stories, games, songs, musical experiences, puppet shows and dances. These meetings provide a wonderful social experience where children learn to take turns, listen to each other, follow simple instructions and share in the joy of being together as part of a group. Excursions, Incursions and Local Outings – Over the course of the year our educator’s will facilitate a variety of excursions, incursions and local outings to enhance the learning programs. These experiences allow children to explore the world around them, develop understanding of their community and engage in hands on learning. Our Local Outing perimeter map can be found at the end of this booklet. For excursion events our educators will prepare a risk assessment and permission forms outlining all the event details for families. Dramatic play – This type of play allows a child to explore the world from a different perspective, and to make sense of concepts and ideas that directly influence them. We provide children with resources, such as dress up clothes, props and real objects to facilitate and enhance their ideas. The children learn a lot about the people in the world around them and their own place in the world through role play. Sand and mud – This type of play provides opportunity to experiment, share ideas and equipment and to engage in role play. Play with sand and mud provides experiences which lead to the beginning of mathematical and scientific discovery. The children have opportunities to recognise similarities and differences in shape, colour and texture as well as improve their muscular co-ordination whilst they dig. This natural resource can be manipulated in all sorts of ways; and has the provision for adding other materials such as water to enhance the learning. |
