PLAY IS LEARNING
Play is very important for children. Through play young children explore and learn to understand the world around them as they come to communicate, discover, imagine and create.
When children play they are showing what they have learned and what they are trying to understand. This is why play is one of the foundations of our Program. By using it, our Team will guide your child’s play by carefully designing learning activities and stimulating indoor and outdoor learning environments.
HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?
The program focuses on your child’s learning. Our Team will work with you to get to know your child well. They will create a learning program that builds on your child’s interests and abilities, and keep you in touch with your child’s progress. As outlined by the Framework, our teachers will assist to ensure that:
- Children have a strong sense of their identity
- Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
- Children are effective communicators
- Children are connected with and contribute to their world
- Children are confident and involved learners; and
WATCHING YOUR CHILD’S PROGRESS
We will observe your child’s learning so that we can build on it and plan the next steps. We do this by listening, watching and talking to your child. We will of course chat with you regularly, and also engage via Fitkidz: Connect! – our online learning portal, and our smartphone app.
Parents provide us with a valuable link to the uniqueness of each individual child. We value our parent input/suggestions into our curriculum and enjoy hearing about special events or weekend activities that may add a unique and different aspect to our daily activities. Please feel free to share and swap information with your child’s room teachers or the Director at any time.
 | Broadening Brains – Children have a thirst for knowledge, and our program offers them a variety of stimulating activities to encourage the desire to learn and encourage further brain development. All of our fun experiences have a purpose and although the children see these experiences as just “play”, they are learning experiences that will enrich their individual minds. Activities and experiences such as matching and sorting, exploring colours, counting, and categorising objects assist children in learning about the world around them and how things work and operate. |
 | Communicating Connections – A foundation for reading success begins as early as the first few months of life. Introducing toddlers to books and language nourishes early literacy development. Toddlers focus on first words and phrases, vocabulary development, following simple directions, and identifying and naming familiar items. To encourage this growth and development we offer a variety of different experiences including language groups, individual work, visual displays, flash cards and constant communication. |
 | Construction Zone – During the early years in a toddler’s life, development of coordination and motor skills are important. The construction experiences we offer are varied and may include anything from building with blocks to digging in the sandpit or assembling a herb garden. Through involvement in these types of experiences children will develop physical strength as well as enhance their motor coordination. Through the continual involvement in these types of hands-on experiences toddlers will develop and increase their general whole body coordination and movement and extend upon their knowledge of the world. |
 | Awareness Of The Arts – Awareness of the Arts incorporates expression of creativity through craft, music and dance, and drama experiences. During the toddler stage we see an increased response to the awareness of the arts. If nurtured, creativity will grow and expand throughout a young child’s lifetime. In the toddler age group we use music and dance as a focal point for creative development. The children are exposed to many types of dance and music from around the world to allow a broad appreciation and understanding to occur. Tactile experiences such as painting, goop and dough are also an integral part of art. We also encourage creative expression through spontaneous activities such as drawing patterns in the sand or viewing patterns of rain as they fall from the sky. We provide aesthetically pleasing environments in which the children can learn, create and appreciate. We encourage all children to express their ideas and thoughts in order to build confidence, independence and imagination. |
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 | Fitness Fun – Being healthy physically is a necessary pre-condition to being able to develop in all areas. Physical health is the basic foundation for children’s learning and development. Physical development of coordinated motor skills is a large part of a toddler’s first year. Fitness Fun activities help build physical strength and motor coordination with daily experiences that allow toddlers to practice fine-motor skills, hand/eye coordination, hand and full body movement, and more. |
 | Inspiring Imaginations – Imagination is at the heart of all creativity. One way we can help children develop their imagination further is to transform the space they play and learn in, so that children are inspired by their surroundings to engage in play. Hands-on, sensory spaces encourage children to experience new things and give them the opportunity to play and learn at their own pace, and in their own way. By letting the children direct their own activities they become more confident about their own creativity, and value it more. In this spontaneous area of our program we also encourage family involvement. We welcome your suggestions and want to work in partnership with families to help all the children in our care reach their full potential. |
Thank you for taking the time to read our program information. We feel that it is important for all of our families to know that we strive to develop and enhance the abilities of each individual child in our care. As part of our OPEN DOOR policy we absolutely welcome parent comment and discussion. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you would like to discuss any area of your child’s development.
We look forward to providing your children with a safe, warm and caring environment in which to play and learn, and you with the peace of mind that this will bring.