Shine By Five Educational Program

Why Have We Developed a New Program?

· We have chosen the best elements from different pedagogies and practices. We have bought resources to support this approach.

· We want to achieve a unified approach to education including school readiness through our new structure.

· We have designed practical, meaningful experiences that will engage and involve children in their learning.

· Our aim is to ensure we have the best learning environment we possibly can.

· The Program starting February 2021 supports children based on their abilities and interests, not just their age.

What Are The Changes?

· Activities have been preplanned based on the educational program outlined below.

· We have documented all activities and resources for the year. We have also allowed for children's interests and spontaneous experiences.

· We are breaking our educational program into the following learning areas:

Educational Program Overview

Early Years Learning Framework

We are targeting developmental milestones (based on the Early Years Learning Framework).

Fine and Gross Motor Skills

· We have adapted the Montessori Practical Life Approach to build the fine and gross motor skills of children

Social and Emotional Development

Social and Emotional Development. We have come up with a particular focus skill each month. The is based on Emotional ABC’s featuring “Moody”. It demonstrates a specific set of tools that children can use to identify feelings and make good choices.

Language and Literacy Skills

· Language and Literacy Skills. Younger age groups are introduced to sign language and Finger Play activities. We also follow a Synthetic Phonics Approach to teach phonemic awareness and introduce how print is decoded. Learning letters and sounds is made more fun with Read, Write, Inc. (by Ruth Miskin) letter writing rhymes. Through Whole Language Learning, we also immerse children in good books to produce fluent and capable readers. We also lean on Blacktown Council’s libraries as we have become a Institutional member. We send them the theme that we are focussing on and they will send us the relevant age appropriate books.

Cognitive Thinking Skills

· (Numeracy and Problem Solving Skills) We use a lot of Symbolic Play activities to illustrate maths concepts and ideas. In symbolic play, children have the opportunity to use symbols to represent objects, make decisions, rethink and solve their own problems.

Childrens Interest

These are explored in the form of “Mini Projects”, inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. For preschoolers, it is an innovative and a well explored pedagogical method to learn about the world and the way how to express themselves. The children-led learning experiences are infused with STEM activities, arts and crafts and other interesting activities. For younger children, we follow the Discovery Play approach which utilises natural household objects found in home and in the environment allowing babies and children to experiment and discover independently.

· Note: We are an “Institutional Member” of Blacktown Council Libraries. We inform them of the topics and themes and they supply us with subject and age relevant books.

Celebrations

We love being a part of every celebration that is important to each of our families in our Centre. We make it a priority to undertake cultural celebrations by acknowledging customs and traditions. This yearly calendar has a variety of monthly cultural celebrations which can be acknowledged within the program and adapted to suit the needs of the children and their families within the service. Some of the celebrations we take part of are Chinese New Year, Australia Day, and Diwali. During the time these events take place we usually take a week to celebrate through arts, crafts, music and we encourage parents to get involved and bring a part of their culture to share with us!

Munching and Moving All The Way!

Kellyville Ridge Preschool and Long Daycare is a part of a NSW Health initiative called "Munch and Move". This initiative is in place to support the healthy development of children by promoting physical activities, healthy eating and reduced small screen time through fun play-based activities. These activities are a part of our weekly program. Some of these include cooking and baking healthy treats with the children as well as fun outdoor games that encourage physical exercise.

School Readiness

Transitioning into big school is a big step for all children. It is a very exciting time which brings many changes to both your child's life as well as yours. At Kellyville Ridge Preschool and Long Daycare we aim to make this transition period a smooth and enjoyable experience.

We strive to support all areas of children's development and focus on building the children's skills and confidence to continue along the path of lifelong learning and prepare them with the skills and confidence to continue along the path of lifelong learning and prepare them with the skills and the qualities they need as they progress in their learning and development.

We integrate school readiness through many aspects of our daily routine and program including the continued support and encouragement of social skills, language skills physical skills, cognitive skills and self-help skills. Ultimately it is our responsibility to prepare children for school by promoting all areas of growth and development, whilst closely observing and responding to their needs and interests that allow us to plan appropriate activities and programs that are of best interest of the child.

In addition to the meaningful activities that are provided by educators, we further support your child's readiness for school by helping them to complete school readiness booklets. These booklets incorporate basic literacy and numeracy concepts that support the learning and development of your child at an age appropriate level.

Healthy Eating and Movement

Healthy eating and physical exercise is the foundation of living a healthy lifestyle. Here at Kellyville Ridge Preschool and Long Daycare we know the importance of teaching children how they can make good choices in their eating habits and lifestyle choices to live a healthy and happy life. This program is part of munch and move initiative at KVRPS. This is a teacher initiated program to support children in learning and making healthy life style choices through healthy eating and taking upon physical challenges.