📚 Woodlands Kindergarten Education, Development, and Curriculum (4 to 5 Year Old Kindergarten School Readiness Programs)

📚 Woodlands Kindergarten Education, Development, and Curriculum 4 to 5 Years Old

At Woodlands, we believe access to a full-time Kindergarten Program in the years proceeding school provides children with the best opportunities to thrive. At Woodlands, we provide high-quality Kindergarten programs that are specifically designed and delivered to ensure that children are academically and emotionally ready for their transition to Primary School. Our Bachelor Qualified Teachers and passionate Educators are dedicated to the development of the whole child through allowing time for a focused indoor curriculum and a focused outdoor curriculum where children discover and learn new skills in all aspects of their development.

 

Woodlands value the importance of meaningful partnerships between Families and Teachers. We recognise that this requires continuous collaboration. Upon your child’s first day, their Teacher will spend time getting to know you and your Preschooler. We will complete a personal profile about your child, including any dietary requirements, interests, dislikes, and events that are important to your family. This ensures that your child’s transition into care and education at Woodlands is positive and familiar.

 

Woodlands 4-Year-Old Kindergarten classrooms are thoughtfully designed to be stimulating and challenging for children as they prepare for primary school. Our experienced Early Childhood Teachers design and implement engaging, child-centered environments and experiences that embrace the individuality of each child by extending skills without limits to ensure that your child has every opportunity to reach their full potential and develop their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive skills before they begin Primary School.

 

At Woodlands, we truly care about the development of your child, which is why our kindergarten program runs, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with Bachelor Qualified Teachers and qualified additional educators.

 

Furthermore, our Kindergarten Program offers a wide range of extra programs to actively involve children in meaningful learning experiences, including phonics, numeracy, physical activity, music and movement, creative programs, and excursions. Woodlands has made connections with local schools to support the transition to school process and towards the end of the year closely mimics the routine of a school day.

 

Woodlands Kindergarten sets children up for a bright future, supporting health and wellbeing, developing strong social skills, scaffolding a love of learning, and inspiring independent and confident learners who are ready for school. Woodlands achieves this by setting up learning spaces in ways that;

• Encourage self-help, independence, and agency
• Promote opportunities for small and large group experiences
• Promote physical activity and fine/gross motor development
• Promote social skill-Support self-awareness and self-regulation 
• Focus on numeracy and literacy skills
• Exposes children to new concepts and ideas
• Promotes emotional resilience
• Promotes 21st-century thinking skills
• Promotes communication, teamwork, and problem-solving
• Intentional and spontaneous teaching and learning

🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ What is School readiness, and why is it important?

School readiness refers to a set of skills that a child practices in preparation for formal schooling. While many people think of academics (e.g. writing their name, counting to 10, knowing the colors) as the important school readiness skills, school readiness actually refers to a much broader range of skills. In addition to some academic basics, school readiness skills also include self care (independent toileting and opening lunch boxes), attention and concentration, physical skills (e.g. having the endurance to sit upright for an entire school day), emotional regulation, language skills and play and social skills.

🌏 Learning experiences in Woodlands 4-5-Year-Old Kindergarten Classrooms include: 

• A predictable and consistent daily routine
• Time for focused indoor learning experiences
• Time for focused outdoor learning experiences
• Physical activities to develop coordination, vestibular, motor skills, and teamwork
• A curriculum that this planned for and extended according to children’s
• interests and abilities
• A phonics and numeracy program (Language and Literacy experiences - Numeracy through counting, measuring, and hypothesising)
• Practical life experiences (using ‘everyday materials and tools, being part of the routine)
• Self-help experiences
• Group experiences with other children
• Music and Movement
• Storytime
• Supporting interests in learning to write familiarise with letter sounds
• Learning about the world around us
• Becoming self-aware
• Experiences that support the development of hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills
• Crafts and painting
• Gardening/sustainability experiences
• Excursions – bus trips, nature walks, nursing home visits
• School readiness experiences and reciprocal school visits.

 

These experiences are opportunities for Pre-schoolers at Woodlands to achieve significant milestones in their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development and reach the Outcomes within the Early Years Learning Framework, and have a smooth and positive start to Primary School.

 

🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ What are the building blocks necessary to develop school readiness?

• Self Regulation: The ability to obtain, maintain and change emotion, behaviour, attention and activity level appropriate for a task or situation.
• Sensory processing: Accurate processing of sensory stimulation in the environment as well as in one’s own body that influences attention and learning that effects how you sit, hold a pencil and listen to the teacher.
• Receptive language (understanding): Comprehension of spoken language (e.g. the teachers instructions).
• Expressive language (using language): Producing speech or language that can be understood by others (e.g. talking to peers).
• Articulation: The ability to clearly pronounce individual sounds in words.
• Executive functioning: Higher order reasoning and thinking skills (e.g.What do I need to pack to take to school?).
• Emotional development/regulation: The ability to perceive emotion, integrate emotion to facilitate thought, understand emotions and regulate emotions (for a child’s own responses to challenges).
• Social skills: Determined by the ability to engage in reciprocal interaction with others (either verbally or non-verbally), to compromise with others and to be able to recognise and follow social norms.
• Planning and sequencing: The sequential multi-step task/activity performance to achieve a well-defined result (e.g. a cut and paste task).

🔢 Mathematics and Literacy: 

Woodlands places great emphasis on the power of play as the most useful tool for literacy and numeracy learning. The educational program is purposefully designed and implemented based on children's interests to support the development of reading, writing, counting, classifying, sorting. analysing and problem solving. 

 

🔭 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics): 

Woodlands aims to strengthen children's interest in STEM domains (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to develop skills that are critical to 21st century learning, including problem solving, collaboration, innovation and critical thinking.

 

🎒 Lunch Box Program: 

In term 4, Woodlands introduces the ‘lunch box program’ where all children who are transitioning into primary school have the opportunity to bring in a packed lunch box. The aim of the program is for children to practice a lunch routine similar to a primary school setting, with the support and encouragement of our Teachers and Educators.

 

💬 Parent Information Night: 

Woodlands offers Parent information nights for a chance for the team to inform parents about their Pre-Kinder and Kinder programs. The night will provide Information for parents to know the difference between integrated Kinder and sessional Kinder and provide an explanation of the Kindergarten funding and what it means for their school fees. Families will receive the opportunity to meet the educators, understand room routines and contribute to the educational program.