Pussycats 2 & 3 Years

 

Our program guides children in developing their social skills in preparation for school in the safe purpose built centre where your children will learn through play to become independent, develop self-control, share with others, gain self-acceptance and enjoy their time at preschool.

Very young children are growing and developing rapidly and can be profoundly and positively affected by the types of stimulation and interaction to which they are exposed. For this reason our experienced and well-qualified staff work hard to provide your children and your family with suggestions and ideas, materials and activities designed to stimulate their physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual and creative development; all of which are interrelated.

We believe that rich early learning experiences- including thosee that interest your child from home and the world they live in, best support very young children in the development of the knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes which will introduce them to a lifetime of learning.

Through play children learn to express, explore and extend their understandings of the world. develop symbolic thought, expression and the basis for mathematical and scientific reasoning; both adult and child-directed play are a central feature of both our curriculum and everyday schedule.

 

Starting the day

Our centres open at 7.30am, and depending on what the weather is like we may start with play outside or inside while the classrooms and playground are set up. This period of time from 7-30 till 9-30am, starts with" family groupings" of the younger and older children together. This time can be anything from arts and crafts, obstacle courses, sandpit play, ball games and a whole lot more. This is free time when children can explore and engage in activities which interest them and hopefully find something to help them separate from mum or dad at their drop off time. There's a lot on offer, and if your child wants to play with the trains and they aren't out to play with, we will happily help them say goodbye to you and try to set up their prefered activity where possible. This helps accommodate the various drop off times which parents have, due to work commitments, the school run for older siblings and getting their days underway.

 

The younger children have the job of finding their name tag on the hooks and hanging up their bag. This also means putting their drink bottle in the tray and finding a sun hat or beanies to wear in the playground.

 

Mornings...

 

At about 9:30 the older children separate into their class group, and the pussycats then have the playground to themselves for half an hour. We love playing in the water troughs, making sand creations and developing our gross motor skills with climbing, running games and playing on the slide.

 

Morning tea is usually around 10am. We usually eat outside most days but sometimes if the weather is not looking good we'll eat inside. After morning tea we head inside so that the big kids can have a turn in the playground. This is where we say goodmorning, mark the roll, read stories, sing songs. We try to vary this time making it interesting and exciting for the children, adapting our programs according to the interest of the group.

 

After our grouptime we have our more structured activities, this can be anything from painting, duplo, puzzles, dancing & dramatic play in the home corner (doctors/hairdressers/mums and dads) depending on what we are interested in or learning about. Craft may focus around our letter of the week, our current interests or whatever the children choose on that day. We try to provide a range of materials including clay, crayons, paints, leaves, sticks, feathers, paddle pop sticks, cotton wool or an intriguing combination of all these things to create anything we set our minds to. Some times we will have group activities like cooking or large scale craft, and other time we will have observation based activities whe we are focusing Ina particular skill for the children. We do believe that play is the way to achieve these skills so its always done in a fun and engaging way.

 

Just before lunch, it's pack up time and time for some focused grouptime like Letterland, news or finding out about what "Bo & Lovelace" our class toy penguins have been up to with the children and their families. The classrooms are where the children eat, sleep and play so there is lots of practising packing away and keeping our room tidy.

 

Lunch time

 

We have a very varied lunch menu, offering all the requirments of NSW health that rotates weekly for approx 6 weeks. We can cater for children with allergies, and help the fussy eaters with trying foods they may not have at home. All our meals are fresh daily and the main components are fresh fruit and vegies, along with protein and carbohydrates! Of course for the REALLY fussy ones there is always the gourmet vegemite sandwich, so no one ever starves or gets hungry. Fruit is always offered for children who are hungry, andwe only serve milk or water at the centres.

 

Afternoons

 

After lunch it's rest time. Approx 12-45 till 2-30pm. No-one is forced to sleep, however  many of the younger children do, as being at kindy can be quite busy!  This is important for recharging those batteries after a busy morning!! We have the lights turned off for earth hour ever day!  There is usually restful music playing and for those who don't sleep, books and quiet activities are offered.

Then we sun cream up and get ready to go outside, hats, shoes and jackets... and it' s outside for afternoon tea usually at 3pm. If its someone's birthday and they have brought in cakes, then we have the celebration at this time too. Sometimes our siblings from the older class join us for this meal, it's great to see your big brother or big sister!!

 

The day will be rounded out with one more healthy bout of outside time with all the children. As the day winds down, around 4.30pm (later in summer), we pack away slowly and it's back to indoor games, drawing, constrcution and more while we wait for our families to come and pick us up. Our centre closes at 6pm (sharp!!)

 

There's nothing typical about what we do from one day to the next - it could include a visit from the lizard man with his plethora of snakes, frogs and other reptiles, a visit to the park for a game of soccer, a grandpa with his bowls set, it could be bike week, we could be starting a veggie patch, we might be hatching baby ducklings, or we could have a yoga lesson. t's the perfect balance of fun, exercise, learning, resting and eating well. We love when our families come in to visit and talk to us about what they do for their work etc!