Encouragement
Encouragement helps provide Children with a serve of mastery and self-worth.
We believe that the process of creativity is more important than the product.
We encourage the Children to be enthusiastic and interested in painting, singing or moving rather than making a perfect picture or singing the right words to the song.
Story Time / Reading Aloud
Story Time/ Reading Aloud is one of the very best things that grown ups can do for Children. Children delight in being read to and learning about reading. Our children are read to throughout the whole day. Reading to the Children develops auditory perception that allows them to think about how words sound. Reading stimulates Children’s language development and enhances their vocabulary. Reading to Children increases their attention span and ability to focus. Reading to Children makes them more curious and their knowledge of the world will expand.
Drawing
Drawing is a wonderful way for Children to creatively express themselves. Children use their own symbols and squiggles to tell a story. Their artistic communication is a fascinating way to understand more about them and what they like and gives them the opportunity to create and share meaning through drawing. Children love to verbally talk about their drawings which is a great way to get to know them better.
Pre-Writing
Before learning to write, it is important for Children to practice tracing and drawing with a pencil to gain basic pencil control and grip. Our older Children have many opportunities to trace, write numerals or letters with pencils, crayons, using them in sand, with finger paint and using many other materials.
Bikes
We have lots of bikes and scooters and they are the best on the range.
They are safe and very sturdy. The Children develop their gross motor skills and coordination and learn to balance while riding the bikes and scooters.
Rock Climbing
The boys and girls have so much fun rock climbing at Kindy. It’s a great way to exercise as it uses lots of muscles in the body. The Children gain good teamwork skills and increase not only their physical strength but also their mental strength.
Sandpit
Our Children love playing in the sandpit. Each day the Children have different experiences and learning activities in the sandpit. The Children love having the cubby in the sandpit, or making huge sand volcanoes with red lava sand pouring out or just making sandcastles.
Cubby
Our Children have tea parties in the cubby, they play shops in there and they even battle dragons! Their imaginations run riot!
Reading Corner
Every room at Gumleaf Gully has a quiet, cosy reading corner where the Children can experience the joy and wonder of looking at books, predicting what the story is about, making up their own words to the book and identifying familiar letters or sounds.
Creative Play
They use a wide range of materials from crayons, paint, scissors, glue, play dough, glitter, clay and lots of other craft materials. Creative play allows Children to express ideas and feelings about themselves and the world around them. Creativity provides for intellectual growth.
Dancing
The Gumleaf Gully kids love expressing their ideas and feelings using bodily movement. They love dancing and using their body to make different movement.
Music
Music is the expression of ideas and feelings and our Children love singing, playing instruments and love participating in clapping games.
Lunch Time
The Children sit down together to enjoy their lunch. It is very social and a great opportunity to connect with each other and talk about lots of things from family and friends to the family pet. It’s a lovely time for the teachers to talk with the Children about everyday things and healthy eating and healthy choices.
Show and Tell
The Children get very excited about `Show and Tell` time. They share their thoughts, dreams and experiences with their friends. Their friends love hearing their class mates talk about their interests and see things they have brought in. It is great for building confidence and a good way to teach Children the skills of public speaking.
Cooking
When Children cook, they are learning many skills, including math and reading skills. They experience, pouring, stirring, measuring, estimating, following directions, using sensory awareness and they learn to cooperate and take turns in a group and most of all they get to eat yummy food with their friends.
Experiments
Experiments are full of fun, they are exciting hands on experience that will help answer lots of questions the Children may have. Experiments help understand the world around us. They give the Children the opportunity to invent, create and learn how things work.
Fine Motor
Fine Motor Development is crucial in babies as it is needed to manipulate toys and to acquire self-help skills such as feeding and dressing. All the Children at Gumleaf Gully are encouraged and are given the opportunity to develop their fine motor skills through using crayons, pencils, painting, gluing, building blocks, using scissors, playing with clay, ribbons, buttons, sand and much more. All these skills also assist with early writing and drawing.
Painting
Our Children have the opportunity to paint daily. Painting requires Children to analyse, organise and synthesise their experience – it requires them to think!‘Very young Children may draw what they know, but it is said that they paint what they feel.’
Craft
Lots of craft is done at Gumleaf Gully. The Children have loads of craft supplies to create their masterpieces. It is fun, educational, great for developing fine motor skills and good camaraderie for the Children.
Gymnastics
The Children are taught by a Professional Gym teacher. They learn rhythm and coordination which provides them with a strong sense of body awareness. It is also good for balance and flexibility but most of all it’s loads of fun!
Gross Motor Obstacle Course
All the Children are involved with many gross motor activities which are the larger movement of the arms, feet or the entire body eg: crawling, running and jumping. We encourage gross motor skills and give the Children lots of opportunities to develop their skills in this area.
Home Corner
Dressing up encourages imaginative play in which the Children have the opportunity to explore ideas and issues in a safe and unrestricted way. It allows the Children to learn about what other people do. It can be a way of exploring their relationships with other people, or helping them come to terms with new events or people in their life. It’s a way of processing new ideas and experiences. It’s also an opportunity for the Children to understand the different ways people around them think and act.
Play Dough
Most Children find playing with play dough great fun. Toddlers love squeezing the soft material in their hands, exploring the texture and consistency of the dough. Older Children enjoy playing imaginatively, making things with it. Play dough is also a fun way to develop hand skills as young Children poke, pinch, roll and cut. Play dough can be soothing and help them express their feelings.
Word of the Week
Every week the preschoolers focus on a special word, our word of the week. We discuss what the word means and how we can use it in our conversations. This is a great activity to broaden and extend the Children`s vocabulary.
Gardening
We have our own vegie garden at Gumleaf. Our Children show a keen interest in learning how plants, vegetables and flowers grow. The Children water and care for the garden daily. We use our fresh produce as the ingredients for our cooking.
Caring for our Resident Pets
We love caring for our resident guinea pig and hermit crabs. By caring and being responsible for looking after our pets teaches the Children responsibility and they also love watching them grow.
Self Help
The Kookaburras demonstrate self help skills by serving their own morning and afternoon tea. They also care for their own belongings, make their own bed and help pack away throughout the day.
Social Stories/Role Plays
Role Play can be one of the most important activities for young Children, it not only stimulates their imagination but can helps with their social development and gives them the confidence to enter into social situations and maintain friendships that may flourish well into the future.
