Early Learning

What can we say about our beautiful babies in the Koala’s room! They are super cute, cuddly, playful and love their days at Maitland Kids. We provide a fun and stimulating environment for these beautiful little bundles of joy who are learning all new skills at a rapid rate. Our trained Educators enjoy developing relationships with each child and family and making sure the individual needs of each child are met. To ensure a smooth transition between the home and care environments, we will regularly communicate with you regarding your child’s home routine including sleep, bottles and meal times. At Maitland Kids we use a range of methods to communicate with you, including our online child portfolio program Storypark. Through this program you will be updated on your child’s day.

The Possums are creeping, crawling and toddling around exploring their environment and developing their sense of independence. This is a wonderful age where Educators can develop a program that extends on the children’s curiosity through a range of fun and educational indoor and outdoor activities. The Possum’s Educators will carefully cater to the individual needs and interests of each child whilst providing a safe and nurturing space. To ensure a smooth transition between the home and care environments, we will regularly communicate with you regarding your child’s home routine including sleep, bottles and meal times.

At Maitland Kids we use a range of methods to communicate with you, including our online child portfolio program Storypark. Through this program you will be updated on your child’s day.

In the Joeys room, we have a room full of social butterflies practicing their social skills, chatting away and making friends. The children are starting to develop their communication skills and expressing their feelings. In this wonderful stage, the Educators encourage children in initiating play and teach children how to make positive choices. The children will enjoy a range of indoor and outdoor activities closely reflected on their interests that will not only stimulate their inquisitive minds but be fun and engaging. Our aim is to build strong partnerships with families through ongoing communication. At Maitland Kids we use a range of methods to communicate with you, including our online child portfolio program Storypark. Through this program you will be updated on your child’s day.

In the Bilbies room, we are extending on strengthening the children’s self help skills and independence as they enter the pre-kinder phase. The Bilbies room has a flexible routine, allowing the children to transition smoothly throughout the day but also to be able to stay and extend an activity that the children are interested in. Educators will provide opportunities for structured and un-structured play incorporating intentional teaching and child initiated learning experiences. The Bilbies will start working on projects collaboratively, where the Educators will encourage children to share ideas and refine their communication skills, an example of this would be learning together about the lifecycle of a butterfly.

They will come together to learn as a group and then incorporate the learning through combined research, play and craft activities with quality resources and toys. These projects are generally child led from children’s specific interests and the Educators will guide them through the learning experience. Educators will encourage and support children to use their language to convey messages, share ideas and continue develop the correct pronunciation of words. Communicating with families is really important, especially when there are new and exciting things happening every day. We encourage families to chat with the Educators, look at the daily posts on Storypark and let us know what your child’s interests are so we can incorporate them in the curriculum.

The Kookaburras are the “big kids”, this is where the Pre-School program is delivered by an experienced Bachelor of Early Childhood qualified Teacher. The program is developed with school readiness in mind to support the learning and developmental needs of each child in the year before school. The program will provide learning experiences with a focus on developing an understanding of numeracy and literacy skills along with language and communication skills and self help and problem solving skills. In a supportive learning environment each child will build on their self confidence and be encouraged to contribute to peer discussions and group times. Children will continue to learn about their feelings, emotions and self regulation whilst being guided to learn how to connect with each other.

The Kookaburras will still enjoy learning through a play based program that is based on the children’s needs and interests. In this pre-school year Educators will ensure that each child is prepared with the necessary skills for their first year of schooling. To start ramping up the transition to school, we will have various activities in the curriculum to help children prepare i.e. wearing their school uniform to preschool, having a lunch box week where children learning to open their lunch boxes and eat independently etc. We welcome communication not only with parents in this year, but also with schools to ensure the best possible transition for our Kookaburras.