A play-based and developmentally appropriate program promotes the greatest success in learning within the early childhood years. At Brayside we draw on children’s current interests and strengths for the content of our program. Our staff ensure children achieve the skills, attitudes and values as set out in our group program objectives by engaging them in the learning process through play. This promotes success, and in turn a love of learning. The success of this approach is achieved through collaboration with parents, careful observation by our trained and experienced staff and consideration of our community context.
Parents participate in partnership with staff through the contribution of information about their child as you would have recorded in the Enrolment form. Your family background, culture and values are identified so that they may be respected and affirmed in the centre. Over the year you will also be provided with a feedback sheet titled Observing your child. This is an opportunity to provide updated information about your child’s knowledge, skills, behaviours and topics of interest as demonstrated in the home and other contexts. You are also asked to record current areas of focus you have for your child’s individual program.
Group Time Experiences
Group experiences occur spontaneously over the day but there are planned group experiences at both 11am and 1:30pm each day.
Children attend the morning group experience with both the same staff member and the same group of children.
Morning group experiences build on both social and language skills as they explore a range of concepts identified in our group program objectives. E.g. weather, time, emotions and body awareness.
Afternoon group experiences are based on the two class groups and focus on language, music and literacy activities such as big book readings, puppet plays, felt board stories, group dances, singing and use of musical instruments.
Daily diary
Each day the staff record a description of each of the morning group time experiences and include a photograph. The diary also provides outline of the afternoon group experiences and is located on the table in the foyer next to the television.
Literacy and Numeracy
Literacy and numeracy are integrated throughout the program. Children are provided with both modelling and prompting from staff using foundation font script (NSW English curriculum). Children are encouraged to explore the concepts of number and print through access to resources and support from staff. The literacy and mathematics learning centres offer a range of materials that can be used by children at a time and pace of their own choosing. The resources cater to a range of developmental levels and so offer the opportunity for consolidation of skills and challenge. Staff interact with children as they explore the resources and offer scaffolding to their learning experience.
Examples of experiences include making pretend money in shop play, counting games in group time experiences, writing letters to family and friends in the literacy centre and prompting by staff to write names on their art and craft work. Daily story reading experiences occur and children participate in mind mapping and recording information gathered in their project explorations. Through this integrated approach children identify with the many purposes for literacy and numeracy and are motivated to continue in their efforts to become members of the reading and writing community.
Our reading tree is also a great opportunity to promote an interest in reading with your child. As you read a story to your child or they tell you the story from the pictures you can add the name of the book and your child’s name to a leaf from the foyer and add it with blue tac to the tree that is displayed on the wall near the kitchen area.
Projects
At Brayside we promote children’s exploration of their social and physical world through projects. Projects involve staff recording children’s questions and knowledge about a topic of interest. E.g. fire, babies, spiders or cars. Staff then design the environment to provide the children with a range of resources and stimulus to support their investigations.
Staff facilitate the children’s investigations by supporting them in experimenting, researching information, inviting visitors and undertaking excursions. The children and staff present the information gathered by the children so it can be shared with others.
Projects offer the opportunity for children to be involved in planning, organising, problem solving, decision making, communicating, experimenting, observing and researching. Children have a real sense of ownership of their learning and are engaged in each step of the learning process.
Documentation of projects will be provided for parents and children to view together, in the rooms
