Welcome to Somers Parade Kindergarten!
We invite you to take some time and browse our kinder website; your child/children may like to join you. We hope you find it informative and interesting, and it gives you a beginning feel for what our kinder and community is about. We welcome any feedback and enquiries.
The Kindergarten Environment
Somers Parade Kindergarten provides a safe, secure environment with a rich outdoor playground incorporating large open spaces, cosy corners with beautiful native plants and mature trees. Children can explore the varied learning environments including the large sandpit, digging patch, fairy and vegetable gardens. An emphasis on teaching children the importance of sustainability through water conservation, recycling and composting is practiced.
Indoors, the environment promotes a sense of wonder, exploration and investigation. We offer permanent learning areas, such as library, blocks, painting, dramatic play, puzzles and creative arts, where children can engage in purposeful and meaningful learning. We provide natural and opened ended materials and resources for children to use within the program.
Most importantly we provide a caring, nurturing, welcoming environment where we have lots of fun!
Our Kindergarten Philosophy
The Somers Parade Kindergarten program is influenced by several different early childhood philosophies.
We Believe:
- Children are strong, rich and capable and learn in a variety of ways.
- Children come to kindergarten with a range of skills in place, and we will challenge their knowledge in innovative ways.
- Children are curious and interested in constructing their learning using everything the environment has to offer.
- Partnerships between children, families, staff and the wider community enrich the learning, lives and experiences of all.
- Teachers need to empower children to take control of their own learning, while balancing creativity with some teacher directed experiences.
- Each child’s unique qualities and potential is nurtured.
- The kindergarten environment will ensure that all children feel safe, secure, confident, inspired, comfortable and challenged.
- Children’s sensory experiences are enhanced through resources that are predominantly made from natural materials, and an outside play area that is filled with a variety of plants that promote the desire to nurture and care for the environment.
Our kindergarten offers a play based curriculum which is designed to promote the development of life skills and competencies.
This includes:
- creativity
- aesthetic awareness
- self-esteem
- empowerment
- intrinsic motivation
- curiosity
- critical thinking skills
- language skills
- analytical skills
- decision making skills
- ecological awareness
- cultural awareness
- technological awareness
- physical skills
- perpetual motor skills
- social skills
- caring
- communication skills
- sustainability
- musical appreciation
- literacy & numeracy
- cooperation & collaboration
