Kindergarten
Eltham Woods Childcare Cooperative operates a government approved kindergarten program for 4-year-olds and 3-year-olds.
The wombat room is our 4-year-old kindergarten room, there are 16 children each day in our wombat room with 3 educators. An early childhood teacher delivers our kindergarten program in the wombat room. The possum room is our 3-year-old kindergarten room, there are 19 children each day in our possum room with up to 6 educators. An early childhood teacher delivers our kindergarten program in the possum room.
Both our 3-year-old and 4-year-old kindergarten programs operate 5 days per week for 7.5hrs per day. Families may choose their child’s days of attendance based on availability of days. Children must attend a minimum of two days per week to ensure they receive the allocated 15 hours per week of kindergarten. In addition to receiving the child care subsidy children taking part in our kindergarten program are provided with an additional $2000 of funding by the government which is credited to each families account throughout the year.
Our wombat room educators focus on developing each child’s love of learning and preparing them for primary school. Our educators foster children’s individual needs by identifying areas of interest and using these to extend children’s development and knowledge. Our 4-year-old kindergarten program follows the Early Years Learning Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. Our educators work closely with families to support children’s development across all five areas of the early years learning framework. Children are provided opportunities to develop their interdependence, self-confidence and resilience in a safe and secure environment. They are given opportunities to engage with the community through the many educational visits and excursions we hold throughout the year. We have strong relationships with Edendale farm, our local apple orchard and a local scientist, they frequently visit our service to carry out lessons with our kindergarten children. We also offer weekly sport and music programs to strengthen the children’s gross motor skills and coordination. The kindergarten children are also provided with many incursions throughout the year to extend their learning, these incursions are based on the centre philosophy and the children’s interests.
Our possum room educators focus on building children’s social skills and emotional development. Educators support children’s communication development and assist them to build strong connections with their peers and educators through play. Our 3-year-old kindergarten program is a play-based program based on children’s individual interests and their developmental needs. The program follows the Early Years Learning Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. Our children explore their interests through play and provided opportunities to engage in cooking, science experiments, craft experiences, construction activities, sensory play, fine motor activities, small world imaginary play and gross motor play. The children are also provided with many incursions throughout the year to extend their learning, these incursions are based on the centre philosophy and the children’s interests.
Both the possum room and the wombat room are connected to our large outdoor play yard, this yard is a beautiful natural play space where children can connect with country and all the beauty that Eltham has to offer. The yard offers multiple play zones including natural small worlds, a bike track set amongst gum trees, a large open sandpit, a sports field, fixed structure playground with multiple slides and open plan cubby houses that offer a multitude of imaginary play experiences.
We are very fortunate to have an open reserve surrounding the centre, this reserve is often used as an extension of our play yard and offers an opportunity for the children to explore their world beyond our fence line and use their imagination to engage with nature. Our kindergarten children regularly utilise this space to explore nature and engage in a bush adventure program, the children enjoy utilising the open space to run, play, explore and build their imaginative skills.
