Kids Jungle

Our Philosophy

At Kids Jungle Long Day Care and Preschool, we believe that the early years of a child’s life are the most influential.

It is the first years of life that young children develop a sense of themselves and their place within the community of learners. It is within these years that a child develops the foundation skills and abilities that will carry them through life. Our role is crucial in fostering and facilitating the child’s development in these years.

We believe in the importance of providing a play-based program, because through play, children learn. Our program is based on the Early Years Learning Framework. It is developed using the Principles, Practices and Learning Outcomes of the EYLF Curriculum. It has a strong focus on providing learning experiences which are based on children’s individual interests, developmental levels and cultural background. 

We believe in developing a partnership with our families that will foster and facilitate a child’s development.

We will be guided by the following principles:

Encourage each child's curiosity and interest in the world around them and develop positive attitudes to learning:

• By promoting a thought provoking environment with powerful provocations that allow children to be curious, active learners;
• By observing children carefully and using children's interests as well as their emerging skills and strengths to influence programming directions;
• By striking a balance between children's interests and an educator's awareness of what knowledge, skills and dispositions a child is ready to learn. As follows, investigations are mutually chosen by educators and children.

For each child to develop respect for themselves, others and the environment:

• By carefully and respectfully documenting children's work as a way of valuing their ideas and learning, as well as showing children how closely we have listened and observed them throughout their investigation;
• By documenting a child's learning so as to provide them with a visible memory of what they said and did. Children recognise that their learning is interesting and worthy of time and attention. They learn to treat their own and other's ideas seriously;
• By presenting aesthetic environments to children, we raise their awareness to order and care, therefore encouraging them to respect their indoor and outdoor spaces.

To promote acceptance of cultural diversity and appreciation of the many groups which make up the wider community:

• By providing a program and environment that reflects and embraces this;
• By recognising that early childhood settings provide an excellent environment for children to experience and enjoy the diverse miracle of Australian society and to respect and embrace difference.

To build and foster each child's developing independence:

• By safely facilitating the natural drive in children to be independent through consistent and reasonable limits;
• By actively planning for the development of each child's emerging independence through consistent and effective observation

To cater for learning and exploration in the following areas - science and discovery, literacy, numeracy, creative arts, geography and our world, manipulation, physically active play and sensorial exploration:

• By recognising that learning is an active process and children learn most easily through repeated exposure, consistent role-modelling and from repeated opportunities to apply and practice. Children learn by doing, not seeing or listening;
• By allowing children opportunities to actively engage with materials and resources in order for them to make their own meaning and become active learners.

To provide a happy and secure environment where children feel loved and respected and can develop to their fullest potential:

• By recognising and valuing that each child possesses feelings, experiences, attitudes and beliefs as valuable and complex as their own;
• By recognising the importance of building and nurturing secure attachments with each individual child with the intention that they feel accepted, secure and free to explore different aspects of their world through their play and their relationships. When children feel safe, secure and supported they grow in confidence to explore and learn;
• By effectively enforcing rules and limits through fairness and consistency.

 

Our Curriculum

EYLF Curriculum: Belonging, Being, Becoming

A diverse range of learning experiences are provided for all the children on a daily basis, these are incorporated into our daily and weekly program. The content of these programs will reflect the individual needs and interests of each child attending the Centre, together with the shared needs of parents and families, and the valuable input from our local school community. Children will have the opportunity to engage in a curriculum which offers a wide range of stimulating and educationally challenging experiences which will encourage each child to think as an individual, and to become more curious about the world around them, in a secure and nurturing environment.

Our programs offer activities which will allow children to participate at their own developmental level and to further enhance their skills by way of opportunities to practise and reinforce existing skills and to further challenge themselves through participation in new and exciting projects. Learning experiences will be developed after careful observation of each child on an ongoing basis, communication with parents and evaluation of the child’s participation in the learning environment.

Each learning experience is aimed at enhancing growth and incorporates nine key curriculum areas:

 

CREATE

CREATE provides children with the opportunity to express themselves, their ideas and their world, through a variety of different artistic mediums. The CREATE component of the curriculum includes art, music, movement and appreciation of the arts.

 

INVESTIGATE

INVESTIGATE provides children with the opportunity to observe, classify, predict, experiment, draw conclusions, communicate ideas, as well as gather knowledge about the natural and physical world, by utilising specialized tools and technology. The INVESTIGATE component of the curriculum includes science and technology.

 

IMAGINE

IMAGINE provides children with the opportunity to express themselves and their feelings and ideas, represent their observations and make sense of their everyday experience, and explore different roles and responsibilities through pretend play experiences. The IMAGINE component of the curriculum includes dramatic play.

 

CONSTRUCT

CONSTUCT provides children with the opportunity to design, assemble and disassemble, and problem solve. Children are able to engage in creative and divergent thinking as they sesign and build construction masterpieces. The CONSTRUCT component of the curriculum includes block construction, box construction, Mobilo and Lego Construction.

 

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY provides children with the opportunity to acquire early language and literacy skills, such as letter identification, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, writing skills and pre-reading skills.

 

NUMERACY AND MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS

NUMERACY AND MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS provides children with the opportunity to acquire numeracy skills and learn mathematical concepts, such as identifying numbers, counting with one-to-one correspondence, sorting, matching and classifying different objects, patterning and sequencing.

 

MINDFULNESS

MINDFULNESS provides children with the opportunity to develop a positive self-identity and confidence in themselves as a unique and able individual, equips children with the knowledge and skills to recognise, label and regulate their feelings, emotions and develop, demonstrate empathy towards others. Children are encouraged to form positive and respectful relationships with their peers, educators and other familiar people at the preschool, and are guided by educators to acquire the skills to play cooperatively and interact with others in appropriate and meaningful ways.

The MINDFULNESS component of the curriculum includes planned and spontaneous experiences that support each child’s social and emotional development.

 

ACTIVE

ACTIVE provides children with the opportunity to acquire skills such as hand-eye coordination, strength, flexibility and balance. The ACTIVE component of the curriculum includes fine motor and gross motor skills, physical activity, body awareness, healthy living and personal care.

 

SUSTAIN

SUSTAIN provides children with the opportunity to learn about the world and the important role and responsibility they have to care for the environment, both for themselves and future generations.  Children learn about environmentally sustainable practices to reduce waste, minimise consumption and protect and conserve wildlife and natural habitats, through initiatives such as recycling, worm farming and composting. The SUSTAIN component of the curriculum focuses on geography, environmental sustainability and sustainable living.