Our Kindergarten Program- The Red Room
We are proud to offer a high quality and innovative QLD Government Approved Kindergarten Program in our Red Room. The educational program is led by our qualified and experienced early childhood teacher and her assistant educators. They work together each day to promote the children's engagement and learning. At Carina Heights Child Care and Development we pride ourselves on providing a high quality of care and educational programs suited to each individual child’s needs.
Our red room offers an exciting educational program, engaging children naturally in our well-resourced learning environments. Our registered early childhood teacher aims to lay firm foundations for successful lifelong learning as she prepares the children for their transition to prep. As in all our rooms, active participation is encouraged and supported.
Our red room offers an exciting educational program, engaging children naturally in our well-resourced learning environments. Our registered early childhood teacher aims to lay firm foundations for successful lifelong learning as she prepares the children for their transition to prep. As in all our rooms, active participation is encouraged and supported.
Our early childhood teacher believes in developing the whole child, emotionally, socially, academically, creatively and physically in an environment where children feel safe, secure and supported. She believes that children learn, remember, understand and perform in many different ways. With this in mind she believes it is imperative to ensure children are provided with different opportunities to learn in a variety of ways to ensure all children’s learning styles are catered for.
Through engagement within the kindergarten program we aim to challenge children’s thinking to manipulate ideas in ways that transform their meaning and understanding. This allows children to activate their higher-order thinking and encourages children to further question and construct knowledge on a higher level and understanding. We encourage children to be involved learners within the classroom and provide input about their interests to create a child initiated and therefore engaging program.
Through engagement within the kindergarten program we aim to challenge children’s thinking to manipulate ideas in ways that transform their meaning and understanding. This allows children to activate their higher-order thinking and encourages children to further question and construct knowledge on a higher level and understanding. We encourage children to be involved learners within the classroom and provide input about their interests to create a child initiated and therefore engaging program.
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In 2010 our centre applied for and was granted the status of being able to promote ourselves as having an “Approved Kindergarten Program” being run by The Queensland Government (Office for Early Childhood Education and Care). The QLD Government seeks to ensure all children have access to a Kindergarten Program in the year before formal schooling. We meet the strict criteria they impose to ensure programs are of a high standard, and therefore continue to be successful in having our program recognised.
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The Government believes for children to get full benefit of the Kindergarten Program, they must utilise the program for 15 hours per week. Therefore we’ll ask all families to consider the numbers of days their child attends the centre when calculating an attendance time of 15 hours per week. Children attending 3 days or more will not have any problem reaching the 15 hours. However, if your child only attends 2 days, you may have to be a little more mindful of hours of attendance.
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Our Approved Kindergarten Program does not operate in ‘ school terms’ or in 'school hours'. Our Kindergarten program, guided by the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines, operates in-line with teachers’ roster (8am- 430pm daily) and can be accessed 48 weeks per year. Our program is available within the wrap-around long day care that we offer – meaning on your child’s booked day he or she can be at the Centre as long as you need from 7am to 6pm, receiving the Kindergarten Program while the Teacher is in attendance.
When developing the program for the Red Room, our teacher considers many factors. These include:
1. The individual needs of each child
2. The observed interests of the group
3. The needs of children as they move into formal schooling
4. The guidelines of the National Framework ( The Early Years Learning Framework.)
5. The Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines (The Kindergarten Curriculum used by all recognised kindergartens)
6. The Continua of Learning and Development (QLD Kindergarten learning guideline companion)
As all children are different the program is designed to cater for each child’s individual needs. Daily we gather individual and group observations. From these, goals and learning experiences are developed, based on developmental needs and personal interests. These goals and learning experiencess are implemented into the daily program. Play or discovery based programs offer children the opportunity to explore and discover at their own pace. Our role as educators is to offer engaging and varied opportunities for discovery and to extend children’s knowledge as they learn new things.
We implement a program to develop your child as a ‘whole’. Using professional knowledge and observations, we plan a program for the children to:
We implement a program to develop your child as a ‘whole’. Using professional knowledge and observations, we plan a program for the children to:
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• have the ability to communicate needs, wants, ideas and feelings
• be aware of self as a separate identity • have the ability to think, remember, observe and investigate • have hope, faith and belief that the world is a good place • set and follow direction • have the ability to take initiative, to be curious and explore • have freedom of movement and verbal expression • co-operate and respect others • develop language skills • building attention spans through play • have the ability to control impulses and express them • use verbal and non-verbal methods of communication • develop self confidence in a group • initiate and determine their own activities • gain increasing control of their body co-ordination • be independent • be motivated to broaden their knowledge of self and others. |
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