The Kindergarten year provides many opportunities for children. They explore experiment, observe, participate and communicate. They are learning and gaining skills that will equip them for life. They will learn about making decisions and choices, about following directions, interacting with peers and adults other than family members, dealing with conflict, sharing and caring. Through incidental conversations and activities they will begin to develop literary and numeracy skills.
The Kindergarten year is not just a year where we aim to prepare the children for the School year ahead. No single year is simply a preparation for the next year. Each year is to be valued for the time and experience and stage of life and learning that each child is at.
Therefore, the Kindergarten year is really about enjoying and learning in the here and now and this in turn helps children prepare for life. The year aims to build on the support and learning experiences that each child brings with him or her from home.
Being prepared for life is about learning how to get along with others, both children and adults. It’s about making choices and solving problems, asking for help if you need it. It’s about thinking creatively and persisting even when it is difficult. Being prepared for life is about developing an understanding of yourself and how you can have an impact on others and the world.
Through the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework we provide a program for each child that encompasses all of these things work with families to provide the best possible outcomes for each child.
This is what we see the Kindergarten year being about preparation for life. Isn’t it great that these are also the very skills you child will need at School?
“The objective of education is to prepare that young to educate themselves throughout their lives”
– Robert Maynard Hutchins