Junior Inventors

What is Government funded kindergarten?

The government has recognised the importance of kindergarten and fund our program through:

• teacher employment
• educator training
• resources
• incursions and excursions
• curriculum

There are two types of Kindergarten programs that the government funds. Long day care kindergarten and sessional kindergarten. Sessional programs have set hours to attend across the week equalling 15 hours. Our long day care kindergarten program is available over 5 days per week, with the care and education between 6.30am – 6.30pm. It is recommended by the government that each child has 15 hours access to the program per week. Our Kindergarten Teacher works a 7.6 hr day with at least 5 hours direct contact with the children with the remainder of the day designing, resourcing, researching and setting up the curriculum/program.

Walker learning approach

We pride ourselves on implementing the Walker philosophy of learning. The Walker approach grasps children's interests as learning experiences alongside the explicit teaching of skills and understandings in literacy, numeracy and the world around them. Basically children's interests are expanded, scaffold and supported as a means of ongoing engagement in particular learning areas. We focus on inquiry based learning topics that are extended by the children’s questions and thought processes.

Some of the key goals for children's learning are to promote in them the ability to think laterally and creatively. To be able to self-initiate, to problem solve, to think deeply, to construct ideas and utilise their own understandings and discover new ones, to become interested in endless possibilities and opportunities and to become increasingly intrinsically motivated to learn.

We believe through implementing this approach, we achieve:

• Higher levels of engagement and motivation.
• Higher oral language skills
• Increased writing
• Increased prosocial skills
• Improved problem solving and creative thinking

We achieve this through Investigations. The formal discovery, group time teaching, presentations of work and manipulation of equipment.

Bush kindergarten

We believe childhood is precious and that an important part of childhood is being outside in nature. We know in our hearts that children need more time outside in nature. This knowledge is supported by research.

Children are natural learners. Nature Kinder will provide your child with the time and an ideal environment for them to learn in: two hours of uninterrupted play in nature, using what is provided as learning materials. Bush Kinder will be a special part of your child’s total kinder experience.

They will have opportunities to play in the rain, roll down grassy mounds, balance on fallen logs, get involved in dramatic play, find insects, draw with sticks in the ground and make mud pies. Each session we have a number or letter intention to make connections to, find and create with loose objects.

Each child’s developmental progression, advancing skill levels and particular interests will be noted by their educators. This knowledge will be used to support the children’s learning.

Teachers will support children as they take risks and face challenges essential to well-rounded learning.

Stories will be told, knowledge will be shared, songs will be sung. Through play your children will connect with and respect this space. They will connect with their land in a way that cannot be done under a roof or within walls.

School readiness preparation

We aim to best prepare your child for their first primary year. However there are many myths and facts in relation to school readiness and what the school requires. School readiness involves these fundamental concepts:

• Physical health
• Gross Motor Skills
• Fine Motor Skills
• Perceptual Abilities
• Social Adaptation
• Intellectual Ability
• Concentration and Perseverance
• Skills in Categorizing
• Language Development
• Pre literacy and numeracy
• Emotional Readiness
• Critical Thinking Skills 
• Thirst for Knowledge

We recognise that children reach milestone learning’s in their own time and we lay the foundations for this learning to occur. We focus on where they are at and how we can take them further. Our main focus is on social and emotional abilities to ensure a smooth transition but also confidence to learn in a new environment.