Inside the Kindergarten
Our kindergarten program includes both personal and educational objectives which we work to accomplish over the year. The kindergarten aims to:
- Encourage separation from parents on arrival
- Encourage each child's autonomy, independence and freedom of choice
- Encourage each child's self awareness and foster individual appreciation.
- Encourage social participation and natural justice
- Establish a secure environment exhibiting tolerance, turn taking, a sense of right and wrong and a strong feeling of self confidence
- Prepare the play and learning environment for easy access and maintenance of materials
Stated in terms of the child's experience, the following areas are considered to be an essential part of the pre school education:
Language Development
- Following oral instructions
- Using language to express ideas, feelings and fantasy
- Enjoying listening to, dramatising and re-telling stories
- Conversing effectively with adults and peers
Personal Development
- Taking turns and sharing toys, ideas and experiences
- Co-operating in small and large group activities
- Respecting the rights of self and others
- Using socially accepted forms of expressing emotions
- Expressing feelings about people they have met and things they have seen, and about themselves
Cognitive Goals
- Persisting at tasks for a reasonable length of time
- Sorting, classifying and matching objects
- Differentiating and identifying common geometric shapes
- Developing problem solving skills
Physical Goals
- Self help skills e.g. dressing, eating, toileting and washing hands
- Dexterity e.g. Scissors, writing and art materials
- Large muscle development e.g. climbing, digging and jumping
- Eye hand coordination e.g. throwing and catching
Nutrition Education
- Identifying healthy foods
- Cooking
- Dental Hygiene
Nature Studies/Environment and Conservation
- Encourage appreciation and curiosity to explore and experiment
- Care for plants and animals and develop an appreciation for the natural environment
- Observe life cycles and weather cycles
Road Safety
- Encourage the children to develop safety skills required when in traffic situations
Incursions and Visitors
- Getting first hand information - know the real thing
- Adding specific information to what is already known and building on current knowledge
- Acquiring or reinforcing concepts or helping correct children's misconceptions
Creative Play
- Experimenting with art materials e.g. clay, paint and crayons
- Constructing with a range of materials e.g. blocks, re-useable materials and manipulative toys
- Experimenting with natural materials e.g. water, sand and dirt
- Focussing on the experience, not on the end product
- Helping to make sense of their world through dramatic play
Music and Movement
- Developing listening skills
- Introduction to a wide variety of music e.g. chants, nonsense songs and playing musical games
- Awareness of pitch, beat and rhythm
- Experimenting with musical instruments
- Exploring movements of their bodies and learning to control them, communication through movement
We follow a regular routine including an inside time, outside time, formal times and individual choice times. We like to provide a variety of experiences such as storytelling, discussions, games, poetry, music, movement and listening activities.