Aberglasslyn & Rutherford Daycare and Preschool

About Kids Cave Early Education

  • We aim to achieve a safe, welcoming, and adaptive environment which is inclusive of all children and families.
  • We believe that children are shaped by their life experiences and the values and morals inspired from birth. We recognise all children as individuals with rights and encourage the children to be involved and included in an environment that is free from stereotypes, discrimination, and judgements.
  • We believe a consistent and safe environment is vital for children’s growth and development.
  • We model positive behaviours and provide positive feedback to children in hope to support their learning journey and enable children to develop lifelong skills of resilience, empowerment, social competence, and independence.  We are continually looking for ways as a centre to improve, and understand that through this reflective process, our philosophy, environment, curriculum, and knowledge will evolve and develop.
  • The learning environment incorporates various natural materials which allows for children to become familiar with the natural environment, while also incorporating sustainable practices into their daily routine.
  • Our play-based learning program allows for a holistic and adaptable approach to teaching and learning. This is apparent as children can play, explore, imagine, experiment, enquire, research, investigate, and make decisions in a resource rich environment.
  • We seek to collaborate with families when providing education and care to their children. OWNA offers families opportunity to provide feedback with regards to their child’s learning, which educators use for future planning.
  • Through respect, acknowledgement, appreciation, and acceptance of diversity our service embraces, celebrates, and shares traditions and cultures throughout our curriculum.
  • Within the service the educators appreciate that; all life experiences shape children both at home and within their community and we believe that we are an important aspect of their community.

Preschool Program

In the preschool room we provide diverse learning opportunities to cater for the interests of all our children. This promotes our central goal which is for all our preschoolers to develop into confident , involved learners that are ready to take on new experiences and challenges for their future learning. We offer an approved kindergarten program delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher.

We also aim to prepare children for the transition to formal schooling as moving to kindergarten can be daunting for many children and their families.

In preschool we focus on:

Area 1: Creative Arts
Area 2: English
Area 3: Mathematics
Area 4: Human Society and its environment (HSIE)
Area 5: Science & Technology
Area 6: Personal Development, Health & Physical Education.

In addition to this we provide individual transition statements at the end of the year to provide vital information to the relevant school in order to make the transition to school a smooth and an effortless process.

Our preschool program is separated into two educational categories, scholastics and everyday learning.
Our ‘scholastics’ experiences will cover areas such as literacy, numeracy, S.T.E.M (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and the creative arts and our ‘everyday learning experiences’ will cover learning that is based around exploring, researching, problem solving, conflict resolution, gardening, animal care, independence, self help skills, excursions and incursions and most importantly building friendships and having fun with lots of laughter.

Our Preschool Program incorporates a holistic approach to your child’s development. Your child’s educators will nurture and extend on your child’s competencies and skills, using a combination of intentional teaching and a play based approach to learning, while helping your child make a smooth transition from childcare to formal schooling. Our preschool program is specifically and exclusively designed for preschool aged children (3-5 years) while providing families with the convenience of longer hours of 6:30am-6:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Our Preschool Program is led by University qualified Early Childhood Teachers who are dedicated and devoted to their profession. This allows your child a head start in their education as they are immersed in a stimulating learning environment with educators who are not only passionate about teaching but also passionate about learning.

Our Preschool Program is grounded by the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. The Early Years Learning Framework talks about early learning being based around children belonging to the environment, being in the moment and becoming me. Taking this into consideration we believe that each child is an individual with unique abilities and interests and so, this is incorporated into our curriculums and programs.

The Australian Curriculum (used in all schools across the country) is designed to help all young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens, and so, our preschool program is based off the six learning areas for Kindergarten as outlined by the Department of Education.
Area 1: Creative Arts
Area 2: English
Area 3: Mathematics
Area 4: Human Society and its environment (HSIE)
Area 5: Science & Technology
Area 6: Personal development, health & physical education

YES! We utilize Early-Stage Mathematical Concepts such as, one to one correspondence, shapes, sorting/classifying, problem solving, comparing, patterns, spatial sense, measurement, number recognition and other fundamental skills in a fun and engaging environment.

YES! We execute Early-Stage Literacy Concepts such as Jolly Phonics (teaching phonological awareness – letter recognition, sound recognition), stories, song, rhymes, drawing and writing and name recognition.

YES! Parents who are involved in their child’s education create a positive connection between home and the learning environment for their child. Recent research also shows that children will have better academic and social outcomes when their teachers and parents work collectively. We encourage goal setting for each child which are established in conjunction with long-lasting relationships between educators, children, and their families.

Our Preschool Program is backed by extensive research. Current research and literature regarding early childhood Learning and development has shown children learn best and develop genuine understandings through play. This research is increasingly being adopted by primary schools as well as many Kindergartens.