Our program

In addition to child care for under threes, we offer three and four-year-old kinder.

Staff plan a program of learning experiences according to weekly observations made on children's developmental stages. These activities include language, literature, music, movement, art and craft, dramatic play, science, math and motor experiences to promote physical development and coordination.

Our indoor activities include painting, collage, puzzles, pre-reading activities, math games and play dough. Group activities include songs, finger plays, rhymes and storytelling, all of which assist children to develop their listening and verbal skills.

Outdoor play such as running, swinging and climbing encourages children to refine their gross motor skills. Our natural outdoor areas provide many opportunities for exploration and spontaneous play.

News from the Kinder Room

March 2010

Each morning we love to see the kinder children's faces light up with excitement when they discover that they are special helper for the day! Over the month each child will have a turn of being special helper. You can look on the calendar in the kinder room to see when it is your child's turn. The special helpers' duties include assisting at morning tea by ringing the bell and handing out drink bottles and wipes. At 10am, they ring the bell for kinder, line up first and help collect they name cards at mat time. They then count how many children for lunch and tell Helen in the kitchen. After activity time is over the special helper will then set the table with face washers and cutlery ready for lunch. The role of special helper promotes a sense of responsibility, encourages each child to be involved in our daily routine and makes them feel very important which every child loves!

We always try to incorporate nature into our into our kinder program and for two years now we have been planting sunflower seeds, an exciting process that the children love being involved in. The sunflowers have not only brightened up our yard they have also been used as part of our science and art programs. After the sunflowers had bloomed we cut them down and removed the hundreds of seeds using tweezers on our science table. This encouraged the children to talk amongst themselves and with staff about the seeds and the cycle of the sunflower. This simple activity also helps the children's fine motor skills, handling the tiny seeds and tweezers. Once the sunflowers seeds were all removed we then stored them away for next spring when we can plant them again. The sunflower heads were then used as stamps and the children produced beautiful paintings of the sunflowers that were displayed around the kinder room.

After celebrating the Chinese New Year we invited Cindy the Chinese fan dancer to perform for the children. Cindy was dressed up in a traditional Chinese costume and spoke of her culture and what the fan symbolizes in her country. She danced with a variety of fans, streamers and even a sword (although it was only plastic it really impressed the children, it was funny to see them slowly keep shuffling back!) The children got to dance with fans and dress up in emperor hats, they thought it was fantastic! We always like to expose the children to different cultures and lifestyles and we will continue to do so encouraging the children to be aware of the world around them.

We have recently purchased new linen for both the kinder and babies and toddlers rooms. The "Jam Berry" linen is Australian owned, 100% cotton, brightly coloured and very comfortable. We no longer have miss-matched linen, making sleep time a lot neater and enjoyable for some. The kinder children take delight in making their beds and the babies are snuggling up to the soft fleece blankets.

Regards,
Tonia , Amber, Debbie, Joanna and Lalin

News from the Babies and Toddler's Room

Estella, Biljana, Leeann, Joanna, Michelle, Debbie and 25 children are a fantastic team in the babies and toddlers room. Nine children out of 25, aged from 9.5 months to 2.5 years started in the end of January, February and beginning of March 2010. Welcome to Amelia, Henry, Isabelle, Jett, Mia .M., Oscar Gu, George and Gregory.

We have had a very busy time getting to know all the children and families and settling the new children into their new environment. We ensure that the first separation from parents is gradual and free from anxiety, for both children and parents.

Our team can say that about 80% of the children are well settled. They're happy busy, healthy and confident. Last week we sent a "feedback about settling process" form home. We would appreciate if you could take the time to write about your child's settling experience.

The objectives for our room are to keep the children socially, physically and emotionally happy at all times as well as to encourage learning interest in play. Children show an interest in a wide variety of areas and our team is looking forward to enhance and encourage their interests.

For the next 2-3 weeks we will concentrate and work on our Easter activities. Please feel free to look at the wall planning sheets where you'll find activities and experiences we're completing in the room each week. We appreciate your cooperation and always welcome new ideas.

I am on holidays for the next 4.5 weeks and will see you all at the end of April.

Stay healthy,
Estella.