Inspiring a love for learning
Curriculum
Children learn about themselves and their world by exploring their environment and interacting with others. We’re intentional about fostering a genuine curiosity in children, and encourage them to discover the awe and wonder of their world.
The curriculums are intentionally and thoughtfully planned to reflect the services philosophy, our educators, families and children’s voices.
The curriculum is based on children’s fascinations and what fills them with curiosity, wonder and delight. We strive for in-depth learning, teaching the children life skills through experiences such as gardening, cooking, music, sensory investigation, yoga, art, construction, stories, and dance. These ‘wow’ moments capture the essence of true learning. Children learn through play and the environments are beautiful and authentic with the environment as the ‘third teacher’
In addition, a number of specialised programs within our preschool are on offer from bush kindy explorers, mindfulness matters sessions, language lessons to preschool enrichment programs.
We build relationships with children and families right from the very start using a range of sources to build a picture of learning and development, such as information gathered from our personalised orientation prior to commencing, children’s interests, daily play experiences and opportunities for regular meetings with families. We believe families are children’s most influential teachers and it is through these relationships we can build holistic learning for children.
Our daily routine
Morning 8.00am
On arrival at preschool, each child is encouraged to sign in their name to support their sense of belonging, name recognition and handwriting skills.
Intentional teaching areas are set up based on our children’s interests, observations and goals set by families and educators. These areas are deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful for the children’s ongoing learning. Throughout the morning, the children are involved in spontaneous group experiences within the environment. Educators engage in experiences with children to extend their learning through conversations and questions, whilst forming warm supportive and familiar relationships.
At 9.30am we have progressive morning tea where the children share fruit and conversations with their peers. After morning teatime the children are free to explore and move throughout the indoor and outdoor environment and further develop life skills such as problem solving, curiosity, inquiry, hypothesizing and researching while educators support and extend their learning.
From 11.30am onwards, together we pack away and clean the environment before transitioning to a centre group time with all children and educators. During this group time we have roll call, Acknowledgement of Country, and have open discussions, read books and sing songs based on the children’s interests to foster higher level thinking skills.
Lunch time 12.00pm
We have a progressive and relaxed lunchtime where the children can choose to sit indoors or outdoors with their friends. After the children have finished their lunch they pack up their lunch boxes and belongings and put them into their school bags. This transition supports children to take responsibility of their belongings and will assist them with school preparation.
After lunchtime, the children who sleep will find their bed and enjoy their rest time.
Afternoon 1.30pm
At this time of day we have guided mindfulness. This supports children becoming strong and rested in their emotional and social wellbeing. We provide a variety of well researched experiences such as yoga, focusing on our breathing, or follow a guided meditation.
After our mindfulness, the children are feeling refreshed and ready as we progress to school preparation groups where we concentrate on varied skills in relation to “big school” and life skills. These groups include literacy, numeracy, investigation, language and social skills. Educators apply a wide range of teaching strategies to plan, implement and evaluate children’s learning and support their progression in achieving their developmental milestones.
At 3.30pm we begin progressive afternoon tea where the children gain confidence in communicating with their peers and enjoy an afternoon snack.
The children have the rest of the afternoon to continue their play based learning until our centre closes at 5:30pm.