27 Jul Ready? Set? Let’s go to School!!
At Kids Cottage, each and every day we actively prepare children for their upcoming start to school. Our programs are designed to empower our preschool children to meet new challenges with confidence and feel a sense of belonging to the community they are about to be a part of.
To succeed in school, children need a sense of personal well-being that is created from stable, caring relationships at home and in child care in the early years. High-quality preschool programs can make a difference and get children off to the right start.
We strive to provide the best foundation for all Kids Cottage children to successfully start school with confidence by:
- Establishing the foundations for lifelong learning, developing skills and abilities which give children the ability to learn effectively
- Familiarise children with the school environment and associated routines, tasks, rules and expectations within that environment
- Focusing on social and emotional wellbeing along with the traditional academia.
In line with The Early Years Learning Framework and The NSW Early Stage One Australian Syllabus our Educators design and deliver tailored lessons and concepts. The focus of our curriculum is to develop the foundations for lifelong learning. Developing skills and abilities give children the ability to learn effectively, whilst sparking their imaginations and activating a love of learning. Some key features of our programs include:
- Hands on learning, to develop problem solving skills
- STEM based experiences supporting inquiry based learning, encouraging team work and language skills to communicate their ideas
- Children being actively involved in decision making opportunities that supports them to learn about responsibility, voicing their ideas and leadership capabilities
- Working in small groups, giving children the opportunity to understand different points of views/perspectives, communication skills, empathy and understanding of others
Social and emotional skills enable children to enter kindergarten ready to learn and socialize. They enhance children’s ability to remain academically engaged throughout their schooling
Providing interactions throughout the day with children of the same age and younger, learning empathy and ‘teaching’ showing the children what they have learnt. Children have more opportunities to ‘help’ e.g. helping set up environments for the younger children. They get to be part of the ‘family’ for another year before formal schooling
Being part of our local community in Oatlands and the Parramatta district and at citizen of the earth is a concept that is explored daily. We regularly invite local community members to join us for information and activity sessions, we visit our local community and frequently donate to various charities that support children to understand community living, helping each other and being aware of the world around us.
In the months leading up to the time your child leaves Kids Cottage and heads to ‘big school’ we liaise with local schools in the area to orientate your child for the start of the school term. Our transition system enables us to work collaboratively with each child, family and school to deliver a seamless and supportive transition into formal education. This can involve information sessions for families on essential schooling information and visits to local schools to promote children’s awareness of the school environment. It is important for the children to become familiar with the new Primary School environment including such things as:
- Where to put their school bag, hats and belongings
- Meeting their teacher and seeing the classroom
- Trying on their uniform and checking they have everything they need such as library bag, school hat and drink bottle
- Knowing where facilities are within the school environment such as where the toilets are, where the bubblers are and how to use them
We liaise with parents in group information sessions as well as one on one, to ensure they are aware of each child’s progress during this important/ special time.
Learning skills development + Familiarity + family support = successful transition to big school.
If you would like to stop by and have a chat with one of our KC Educators we would love to meet with you and show you around. Simply call us on 9683 2770 or book online, click here