Our 3 Year Old Program
Attending a three-year-old program is often a big step for both children and families
Our three-year-old program is aimed at introducing your child to a variety of learning experiences which are intended to prepare your child for further growth and learning beyond the preschool environment.
— Grace Debono, 3 year old teacher
Often three-year-old kinder is the first time where young children learn to separate from their families.
Separating from loved ones is a BIG step and often a difficult and anxious time for young children especially to a new and strange environment. It is for this reason that in the beginning of the year our three-year-old children are provided with a few sessions of orientation which gradually increase in duration. This enables the children to gradually become accustomed to separating from their families and hopefully help them to quickly feel at ease and not experience too much distress.
In first term, the children’s sense of ‘Belonging’ underpins our learning program.
Belonging is one of the main objectives of the Early Years Learning Frameworks (EYLF) and as such we have made it our aim to ensure that all our three-year-old children and families feel a true sense of belonging to their new learning environment. Children learn most when they feel safe and supported and it is for this reason that in the early part of the year the children are encouraged to play with familiar experiences such as play dough, easel painting, puzzles, drawing and Duplo to help them feel comfortable and at ease. The early time of the year is when the children will begin to start establishing bonds with staff and observe other peers in play; therefore, it is crucial that during this time the children’s learning is promoted through positive feelings of belonging and security.
We provide a play-based program which is structured to promote the children’s interests and learning, together with intentional teaching practices.
The children’s input is encouraged and important. Our three-year-olds are often asked to choose their own experiences and voice their learning within the program. Some topics we may cover during our program include; Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer, animals, dinosaurs, colours and shapes.
During the year we will also enjoy a number of sensory experiences.
The children will participate and enjoy activities such as shaving cream, clay, play dough, sand and water play. Messy play encourages us to extend and explore science concepts such as floating, sinking, soft, hard, smooth, rough, heavy and light. Art and craft experiences such as, drawing, painting, pasting and threading, help to extend the children’s imagination and creativity and promote their fine motor and pre writing skills.
Sitting down at group time is also a learnt skill and valuable in preparation for school readiness.
At three-year-old kinder the children are provided with a mat time experience at each session. During group time the children learn to sit in a circle, listen to stories, participate in song and dance, share in cooking experiences and play with musical instruments. As part of our transition during group times the children are introduced to various concepts such as name recognition games, shapes, numbers and counting. Name recognition games, not only help children identify with text but importantly help to promote your child’s identity and to help them feel special and valued.
As the year progresses the children will extend upon their social skills by eating together during snack times and learning to take turns and being encouraged to do many things for themselves.
Emphasis is placed on extending the children’s independence through various routine opportunities. We do this by encouraging the children to put on their own art smocks, to put their own bags in their lockers, to open up their own lunchboxes and learning to put on their sun hats and button up buttons or zipping up their coats and jackets. Participating in dress ups which is a regular feature of our program will also help to provide the children with extending these self-help skills as well as encourage social games and imagination.
