Our Program
We are passionate and dedicated to providing high quality care and education to children in their most formative years of life, with a holistic and contemporary educational program and experienced teachers. Our environment is warm, nurturing and homelike and we ensure that each child is valued and cared for as an individual, much as they would be in their own home.
Our learning environment and educational program draws heavily on the philosophy of Reggio Emilia as well as the teachings of Maria Montessori.
All programming and curriculum planning undertaken at Natural Play Children’s Centre is informed by the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the National Quality Standards. Our educators are assigned programming time each week away from the classroom to work on the curriculum. We plan for and document each child’s progression toward five learning outcomes:
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Children have a strong sense of identity
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Children are connected and contribute to their world
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Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
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Children are confident and involved learners
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Children are effective communicators
School Readiness
We also offer a School Readiness program which is delivered by a university qualified Early Childhood Teacher. ‘Bush School’ as we call it, is a more structured and academic focussed lesson that takes place every morning up in the trees of the primary school grounds. During this lesson we use our outdoor classroom to teach concepts surrounding literacy, numeracy, maths, science and the arts. Our Transition program is not limited to our Bush School lessons however, as it encompasses a holistic view of the transition to school and focusses not only on academic readiness, but also social and emotional readiness, confidence building and instilling in children a passion and drive for learning so that they may truly thrive during their formal schooling years. These are skills that are fostered and embedded within every moment that your child spends with us at Natural Play.
Planning for the program will be carried out on an ongoing basis and will be informed by a number of sources including direct input from children and family members, planned extension activities designed to build on certain concepts or interests which the children are exploring and intentional teaching plans which are designed to introduce new skills or concepts.