Graduating from the junior rooms to the older 3-5-year old programs is a significant and exciting transition for young children. In this article, we unpack what families can expect as their child begins this next exciting stage of their educational journey.
The graduation of your child from our younger room to our 2-year School Readiness Program for 3-4 & 4-5-year old children is an exciting event that many parents have lots of questions about.
So, what does this transition mean for your child? Our learning programs and curriculums become a little more detailed and are designed to broaden your child’s horizons; the Lifelong Learning Curriculum begins to include a stronger focus on foundational learning of numeracy and literacy and specialty programs such as our Big Thinkers STEM program (science, technology, engineering and math) and conservation programs with our Aussie Wildlife Champions program. Our School Readiness program also includes inquiry-based projects where children get the opportunity to explore a topic of interest. For example, the children may do an investigation on dinosaurs or mini-beast. The projects in our school readiness programs are so interesting, and what the children learn may well surprise you with the depth of their thinking and understanding.
The routine in the school readiness program may be a little different than in the younger rooms; for example, your child will participate in slightly longer group times with the other children for shared reading or singing & music sessions. There will be more choices for them in terms of the number of learning experiences and areas that they can explore in the room and from the program, but we will ensure that they are guided through this choice until they find their feet.
Another aspect of our School Readiness Program is regular opportunities for you to discuss your child’s learning with your child’s educator and teacher. We feel it is important that you get the chance to have a more in-depth discussion about how your child is progressing throughout the year. These meetings provide an opportunity to work together to set goals for your child throughout the year.
There is always something exciting to be involved with in our school readiness rooms. While our learning experiences are play-based and involve hands-on learning, they represent deep thinking about the educational value of each experience for children and how this builds towards helping your child develop the dispositions and confidence needed as they progress towards more formal learning.
The transition into these rooms is one that children usually find exciting, and these rooms are larger and sometimes feel busier than you may expect in the junior rooms for our younger children. So transitioning children in ways that make them feel comfortable and confident in the change is very important to us. We also know some children take a little longer to build a comfort zone and adjust to change; we will discuss this with you and keep you informed along the way as to how your child is adjusting. They may also make this transition with a friend or two, which often helps build that comfort zone a little quicker. Our educators and teachers will also buddy your child with one of the existing children in the school readiness room. Having a buddy to show you around is one of the nicest aspects of a transition experience and can be the beginning of some lovely new friendships.
To support this transition, your child’s existing educators will pass on to the teachers and educators in the School Readiness Program (3-4- & 4-5-year-old rooms) all the information about your child’s learning and development so far, along with their most recent progress record. They will also have a discussion about your child’s interests and anything that may make them anxious about the change.
Transitions can take, on average, between three and four weeks, but we are guided by how your child responds. We will discuss the final move with you so we are all beginning the next stage of your child’s journey together. Moving into our 2-year School Readiness program is an exciting move, we encourage you to speak to educators and teachers should you have questions.
