Preschool children learn best through a mix of open ended and structured play. At ages, 3-5 children are becoming readers, writers, counters and collaborators. The early skills they showed in complex concepts as toddlers and babies are now becoming more defined.
Children are gaining more independence and confidence, learning to cooperate and collaborate with others and experiment with creativity and imagination. It is also where literacy and numeracy skills are developing in preparation for further education.
Leading up to formal schooling, children are typically showing signs of early writing skills.
At this age, children are able to use language to ask questions and communicate their thoughts and ideas, while also listening and responding to others.
As projects form and deeper thinking start to occur, children are given the opportunity to use art to develop their thinking and ideas.
In the year leading up to formal schooling children have begun to recognise numbers in theory environment, communicate using numbers and want to know how to write and use them in everyday life.
Children at this age are also aware that numbers have numerical sequence and are beginning to understand maths concepts such as bigger/ smaller / heavier / lighter. They will start to copy and create patterns and group items according to similarities and order of size and or length.
Our educators incorporate numbers in everyday experiences to create more meaningful learning opportunities. By using numbers daily and incorporating counting, number recognition and sequencing children learn quickly that a number represents a real object.
Our preschool program focuses on the skills that children require before entering more formal education such as recognising and writing their names, numbers, colours, shapes as well as practical skills such as taking care of their own belongings, self-help skills and independence.
School readiness also includes actions like being able to open own lunch boxes, use scissors and glue sticks correctly, independent toileting and taking care of their own belongings.
At Little Explorers we also incorporate the NSW Dept of Education ELLA language program, where we are learning Spanish.