Grow To Reception

Welcome to Week 3!

We thought it pertinent to provide you with some detailed information about our Grow To Reception program.

In term 3 and 4, we offer extended preschool hours, which we call Grow to Reception.  The children can attend the preschool Monday to Friday.

This program will be based in the preschool and adjacent classroom, with the children having access to areas within our school.  This will allow them the opportunity to develop relationships with other staff and familiarise themselves with the broader school and events such as assembly and community prayer.  There will also be a focus on collaboration between the two preschool groups, allowing them to form a broader social network for when they all begin school together.  As with preschool, children will wear their school sports uniform throughout the whole week.

 

The philosophy behind our program…

We believe that all children are competent and capable with endless possibilities. Our Grow To Reception program offers extended preschool hours and the opportunity for children from both groups of our preschool to meet, collaborate, form positive relationships and friendships and to further get to know our school and school staff. Grow To Reception has a strong focus on:

  • social and emotional development (research tells us this is where children are most lacking as they transition into school)
  • children growing in their understanding of themselves as learners
  • developing relationships with the wider preschool group
  • developing relationships with school staff
  • familiarising the children with the school and school activities such as specialist lessons, community prayer, Mass, Assembly, location of classrooms and other buildings

 

The Significance of Social and Emotional Development

Nurturing and responsive relationships build healthy brain architecture, providing a strong foundation for children’s learning, behaviour and health. The environment experienced by a young child literally sculpts the brain and establishes the trajectory for long term cognitive and social-emotional outcomes. To improve outcomes in adult life, there needs to be a focus on these early years.

In the early years brain has critical and sensitive periods when particular experiences are necessary to stimulate development of specific brain functions. Providing children with a wide range of experiences both within the family and at preschool assist in building brain architecture. Areas of the brain associated with social and emotional functioning develop via the interactions that occur in significant relationships.

Good social and emotional skills are the foundations of optimal learning and development.

 

Our days will involve exploration of own and shared interests. The curriculum addresses the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), a document aimed at extending and enriching children’s learning from birth to five years and through the transition to school. It has a specific emphasis on play-based learning and recognises the importance of communication and language (including early literacy and numeracy) and social and emotional development.

 

Individual and shared investigations have been introduced to encourage the children to explore their play more deeply. The children  choose an area to work in to explore their interests on their own or in a small group. They are encouraged to remain in that area for a designated period of time. Educators move between the groups facilitating the learning by providing resources, asking questions and playing alongside the children, sharing in the conversations. The children will be encouraged as the term progresses, to plan what they are going to be doing in a particular area in their journals to assist them to focus their thinking and connect more deeply with their play. Learning to ponder, to question, to use trial and error and to revisit play, are important skills that foster our learning and give us an understanding of how we learn. After the allocated time the children undertake  sharing with others, describing what they have been working on, how it evolved and what they might do next time. For our first investigation times, it was amazing to witness the conversations; the explicit topical vocabulary that emerged from the small group interactions and the deeper thinking that came from the children piggy backing their ideas on those of others in the small group.

 

We had a discussion after Project Time about our learning and experiences. Here’s a snapshot of a few conversations!

Evie: I put streamers on the side so they are beautiful. I love kites. Mummy teaches me making kites. I’m going to run and fly it.

Molly: I was making a book. I like making books. It’s about Mummy and me going for a walk. The writing was tricky so I looked at the chart and asked the teacher! I knew I could do that. Then I discovered I could do it myself!!!

Noah: I was building with Harry a Police Station. We made a ramp for when the police car gets out. Next time I could build a fire station and a hospital and an ambulance station!

Chiara: I was building blocks. I made a castle with Lauren. Next time for Project Time I think I might use the lego to build a town.

Oliver: I was making a mask. A super hero mask like my super hero kite. I used golden string and drew on some paper to make it. I’m going to make another kite next project time.

 

 

We have a strong focus on developing dispositions for learning. These are skills that children can apply to ANY learning experience they encounter in their life. The children are learning to learn. We will see social constructivism as we are social beings. Children construct knowledge through their interactions with others. We will see collaboration. There will be many opportunities for small group workshops, projects, group sharing and reflection on learning. A focus on positive education and well-being is interwoven throughout all of the children’s experiences at Preschool and within our Grow To Reception program.

 

                 Dismissal – 3.15pm

 

Throughout the week children will also have the opportunity to be involved in:

  • continuing our library borrowing
  • continuing our specialist Italian lessons
  • Attending and contributing to Assembly
  • Attending and contributing to Community Prayer
  • Attending and contributing to School Mass

 

We are frequently asked; “are children ready for school?”. It is important to be aware of the most significant skills, dispositions and attributes that children require to be successful as they transition to school. These skills and dispositions include:

  • the ability to make meaning and transfer knowledge from one context to another
  • creativity
  • developing positive learning relationships
  • resilience
  • flexibility
  • growth orientation
  • enthusiasm
  • persistence
  • confidence
  • cooperation
  • curiosity
  • reflexivity

It is also important that children are developing learning processes such as:

  • problem solving
  • inquiry
  • experimentation
  • researching
  • investigating

 

How does the Grow To Reception Program foster the development of these skills and dispositions?

We believe in a holistic approach to learning that recognises the connectedness of mind, body and spirit. We see children’s learning as integrated and interconnected; as a social activity that values collaborative learning, connections to the natural world and community participation. Active involvement in learning builds children’s understandings of concepts and the creative thinking and inquiry processes that are necessary for lifelong learning. Through their play and authentic experiences and interactions with others, children develop their literacy and numeracy skills. The children are immersed in provocations and inquiries that assist them to develop their learning behaviours of noticing, sorting, patterning, wondering, communicating, reasoning, generalising, visualising, comparing, creating and making meaning, encoding and decoding and reflecting critically.

Through play and intentional play orchestrated by the staff, the children’s gross and fine motor development will be fostered. Having the ability to move with strength, balance and coordination is important in maintaining our well being. Having the ability to draw, cut, paint and execute fine motor movements, increases our ability to use our hundred languages of expression in our communications with others through designing, creating, painting, writing, drawing and making.

The benefits of being active for young children include:

  • promoting healthy growth and development
  • improving cardiovascular fitness
  • improving balance, coordination and strength
  • maintaining and developing flexibility
  • improving posture
  • assisting with the development of gross motor and fine motor skills
  • providing the opportunity to develop fundamental movement skills
  • helping to establish connections between different parts of the brain
  • improving concentration and thinking skills
  • improving confidence and self-esteem
  • relieving stress and promoting relaxation
  • providing opportunities to develop social skills and make friends
  • improving sleep.

Our program recognises parents and families are the first and most significant educators in a child’s life. We acknowledge the importance of family, community, children’s experiences and the significance of positive transitions and continuity of learning in the lives of young children. We acknowledge the importance of relationships and the social construct of learning through play.

We view each child as a competent, capable, unique and curious, with diverse knowledge and experience and as an important contributor to our community.

As educators we listen, plan, facilitate, co-construct, communicate, observe and document the learning of our children. We are researchers of children and learning. Our pedagogy is influenced by contemporary research, neuroscience, Reggio Emilia, Positive Education, nature play, Social Constructivism and play based, deep learning experiences. We believe in providing a learning environment that is purposeful, secure, inspiring, open, nurturing and an expression of our trust in children. We facilitate learning experiences that enable children to inquire and explore through play, provide opportunities for collaborative learning and co-construction of knowledge. All children have a strong voice within our learning environment. They are encouraged to be researchers and scientists, to develop their own theories, explore, experiment, to be curious and learn interdependently.

We aspire to develop life long learners. We assist the acquisition of skills and dispositions necessary for learning. We nurture wellbeing and authentic relationships, fostering confidence and joy in learning.

Transition to Grow to Reception Between now and the end of the term, staff will begin a process to assist the two groups of children to view the coming together of the two groups in a positive, joyful and open manner. In this way it is hoped the children experience lots of positive experiences and embrace the opportunity to make new friends and build wider relationships. The staff have already begun talking to the children about the process but will also have a focus on the following:

  • Increased interactions via letters and videos between the two groups introducing themselves to each other and assisting the children to learn about each other
  • Viewing the photo display board and beginning to learn each others names
  • Involving the children in lots of discussion about how next term will look and the new experiences they will have such as the opportunities to participate in assembly and Community Prayer.
  • Encouraging the children to ask questions about next term
  • Involving the children in setting up the new preschool room to ensure they have ownership and experience anticipation in being able to use the new room
  • Streamlining some of the daily procedures to ensure all children understand the routines and rules in their Preschool

 

Staffing:

Emma and Carreen will each be working more days across the week to ensure continuity for the children. Peta and Alison will continue working as co-educators in the Preschool. New staff will be an added excitement and will ensure we adhere to the correct ratio of staff to students. They will bring their experience, individual flair, interests and ideas to the Preschool and the program. The increased staffing is exciting for everyone. Each staff member has their own individual lens from which they view the interactions and learning in the Preschool. As more staff will be on the floor, the discussions around learning and development that will arise will enrich our program.

 

If you have any questions regarding the Grow To Reception program, please contact us.