Learning continues to be child-lead at heart even as the introduction to early numeracy and literacy starts. We find ways to delight and intrigue as your child prepares for the big leagues.
As your little one progresses ever closer to the world of formal schooling, we try our best to meet their needs in terms of creativity, child-like wonder and imagination, whilst allowing a gentle teaching of early numeracy and literacy to emerge. Rather than drilling, tracing and repetition, we chose to introduce letters and numbers from a place of enjoyment and creative expression. Painting the first letter of their name, counting blocks before they fall, telling stories through their art - there are many ways to impart the knowledge of alphabet and numbers.
The Educators in our Kindy Learning Environment are often teachers or early childhood professionals who believe in setting the foundations for a life of creative and dynamic learning. They are as passionate about childhood as they are about learning and will tell you (emphatically) the two cannot be separated. Children can learn through play and fun, they just need to right guide. Let us guide your little one into this exciting new phase of their life.
The transition into formal schooling can be exceptionally daunting. We will nurture your little one through these years and the basic emotional, social and physical skill set required.
We know from our years in the School Readiness space that some children are far more prepared than others for the monumental leap into structured and formal schooling. We work with our families and all of our children to build confidence and capabilities in key areas without your little one feeling like they've left their childhood behind. We don't want to scare them. We want to encourage them.
Things like putting on and taking off coats, shoes and other clothing items. Placing our items back into our own bag. Asking to refill our water bottle and having a go ourself. Independent toileting and hygiene practices. Opening a lunchbox and closing it back up before we stow it away. Nothing overly daunting but just bit-by-bit support for the foundational aspects to their school day and building gentle confidence around them.
It's still all about play, just a little more structure to their day.
Play and structure don't appear to naturally occur in the same environment but we believe we have found a wonderful balance. A yin and a yang to early childhood that allows for freedom of expression with a side of preparedness.
The day in our Kindy Learning Environment is structured according to general happenings and experiences but there is always room for child-led exploration.
For example, we might start talking about butterflies but quickly side step into a discovery of colours and patterns. Or begin with rhyming words and spiral off into imaginative storytelling. Whatever the path, our children lead and our Educators are there to support and enhance the learning experience. That's the Atlantis way.
Kindy children are exposed to a landslide of new information and happenings. It's our job to build the emotional stability and resilience required to withstand this brave new world and tackle it head on with tenacity and confidence.
We spend a great deal of time working on self reliance and resilience. Nothing too daunting but enough to allow your little one to see that they are strong, capable and intelligent individuals who deserve to be heard and the opportunity to learn.
A core component of our Kindy Room is the preparation for the formal schooling years to come. But this must never come at the expense of childlike wonder and discovery.
For many years our Education system has been progressively moving younger and younger in terms of the expectations on young children. Whilst we work to the Early Years Learning Framework and other agreed developmental literature, we also believe that we have an obligation to children. It is our job to prepare them and to ignite in them their own innate passions, strengths and learning styles. We want them to leave us as capable self teachers with a thirst for knowledge and a curiosity for life.
We will work with your little one on crafting a path to school readiness and we will encourage self exploration, discovery and creativity as the foundation from which all their future learning can grow. After so many years in Early Childhood Education and Care, we believe children learn best when they are happy, healthy, nurtured and engaged. In the simplest of terms - they have to want to learn in order to be able to. Passive learning doesn't work. We want to create a generation of inspired free thinkers.
