Activities

Activities in Foundation School


Children are involved in daily group time activities, which involve small groups and a wide choice of activities. The children are supervised by Preschool staff.

There is no set lunchtime. The children are encouraged to eat when they are hungry and rest when they are tired. Staff members prompt children to remember to eat and drink during the day. This helps the child to first get accustomed to the feelings related to hunger and thirst and then conditioning them to eat at pre-assigned time. This helps the child to get aware of their primary needs and feelings.

Each child has a diary in which staff members document observations, anecdotes, photos and the child’s work. Parents are welcome to borrow and contribute to their child’s journal.

The Preschool offers the following:
Regular craft classes almost on a daily basis.
A library where children may borrow books of interest. This encourages a child to develop a reading habit early.
Preschool hours are; Monday to Friday 9.00am to 2.30pm. All parents are encouraged to have their child at Preschool by 9.30am in time for morning meeting.

Communication

Staff members are available before and after school to talk with families.
Please come and make interview times for specific issues.

Decision Making

The children are involved in making agreements around their play and behaviour, and as such the children are encouraged to take responsibility by being part of the decision making process. We give the children freedom yet have expectations of responsibility.

The children are involved in regular class meetings.
They are involved in making agreements rather than Preschool rules.
The children’s opinions are heard and acknowledged.
Children from the age of three are engaged in conflict resolution strategies that encourage them to speak with confidence and get their needs met.
The children are involved in the whole school meeting.

What your child should bring


Please provide lunch for your child.
Preschool children should have a change of clothes in their bag even though we do have some emergency spare clothes.
Preschool parents should provide a piece of fruit for the fruit bowl daily. This is cut up and shared with all the children.
We encourage you to send your children in old clothes so that creativity is not hampered by the need to keep clothes clean.

Key Points


Parents welcome to take part in daily activities
Minimum age is 3yrs old
Children attend from 2 to 5 days – parents chose days subject to availability
Enrolments are accepted all year round, if there are places available

Play

We at Foundation School believe that play is an essential tool that encourages the children to learn. During the preschool day the children have the opportunity to play and experiment through a range of small group and individual activities and experiences which promote physical, social, emotional, cognitive and linguistic development.

Relationships

Our main focus in Preschool is on building relationships with children and families within the Foundation School community. We teach the children conflict resolution skills and support them while they develop the skills to resolve conflicts, to speak up and say how they are feeling, to talk about what they need and to take responsibility for their own actions. The children develop self-confidence and positive self-esteem through participation in our indoor/outdoor program, which provides a mixture of fun, challenge and choice.

Parent participation

Preschool welcomes help from parents and their involvement is highly valued. There is a blackboard over the sink where we keep a note of jobs needing to be done in Preschool and a calendar over the desk where parents can sign up to help. Parents are welcome to volunteer their time and bring their expertise to share with the preschool children.