Choklits 2022 funded 3-year-old and 4 year old Kindergarten Program, open letter
Published August, 2021.
Dear Parents and Carers,
As yearend is fast approaching its time to start considering your choices for 3 year old and 4 year old kindergarten education in 2022. Ordinarily we would invite you to our live event here at Choklits so you could speak with our educators and learn more about our program, but as we all know (almost) everything seems to have been turned upside down over the past 18 months and we’ve all had to adjust.
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is our commitment to deliver a high-quality program that will help ensure our children are ready to start school.
The government is introducing funded 3 year old kindergarten for the first time in 2022. So to simplify, you have two basic options for kindergarten, enrol in an outside sessional kindergarten program or stay within the familiar surrounds of the Choklits Community and be part of our very own kindergarten programs which are now partly funded by the government.
You will obviously need to do your own investigative research if you are considering an alternative to Choklits. That should include visiting different kindergartens, speaking with teachers and ensuring the facilities are suitable. Most importantly, you should look for an environment your child feels safe and comfortable.
As we cannot be together, the kindergarten educators and I have again put our best technology feet forward and recorded the presentation in audio format. Please have a listen, we’d love to hear any feedback you have-
The Choklits kindergarten program has adapted and continued to evolve over the past 18 months. We launched very own sports and movement program called Choklits Activate because the government coronavirus restrictions have meant we’ve had to limit visitors to Choklits during certain periods. Running our own program internally has meant we can deliver the program twice a week, every week, without interruption.
During the 2020 and 2021 restrictions we delivered part of our program online (see video below) so we also have the ability to move in and out of a remote based learning environment, if required. Our aim is to deliver a comprehensive and holistic program regardless of the restrictions we may find ourselves dealing with.
Lockdowns certainly place limitations on the way we all do things but at Choklits we’ve always maintained the attitude that we can be a little bit better today than we were yesterday. If we can’t visit our friends at Estia Health, we write to them. If we can’t go into the library, we arrange for the librarians to choose the books so we can walk and borrow them while maintaining a contactless environment.
We’ve included answers to many of the questions we’ve already received regarding the program below. Please feel free to reach out to the kindergarten team with any of further questions.
We are looking forward to an exciting 2022,
Jade and the Choklits Team
Acknowledgement to Country during our 6th covid-19 lockdown
The Choklits 2022 kindergarten program…
In our large, purpose-built room at Choklits, we offer two programs for our children. A pre-kindergarten class also known as 3 year old kindergarten which will be partly funded by the government in 2022 and a funded 4 year old funded kindergarten class. Our team collaborates together to share the space at different parts of the day. Typically, the pre-kinders and kinders separate during the morning and come together in the afternoon.
We believe the value and benefits of collaborative learning are key in setting your children up for transition to school. The environment is a more holistic and child-responsive curriculum practice that considers the understandings, capabilities and dispositions that children need for the future.
We have found that because of the mixed age group, the younger children benefit from the positive models of older children, often aspiring to their levels of capability. At the same time, the older children rise to the expectations of the younger children and teachers, are more responsible and enjoy having opportunities to lend and use their expertise.
The advantage of working together with children for more than one year enhances continuity of learning and the forming of positive relationships between educators, children and their families.
Co-learning is the way of the future which , as we are learning, will include the need for lots of resilience and adaptability. We realize we cannot predict the careers they will have, but what we can predict is the skills and dispositions needed to have lifelong success.
The Basics
You’ll notice the Victorian kindergarten tick is displayed at Choklits because we are accredited to deliver a funded program for both 3 and 4 years olds in 2022. We are fortunate to have two Kindergarten Teachers, Jaya Kasavaraj and Elena Ermakova who hold Bachelor’s of Education and are approved with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
Both the Choklits 3 and 4 year old kindergarten programs run each day from 8:30am to 4:30pm. The hours before and after each program will be dedicated to additional education and play in line with the Early Learning Centre environment.
Our kindergarten program is developed from the National Early Years Learning Framework and The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
The Choklits Kindergarten Program for 2022
- Promotes children’s development across the Early Years Learning and Development Framework
- Is planned for and run by qualified kindergarten teachers.
- Provides families with progress reports about their child and opportunities for formal family/teacher interviews twice a year.
- Provides a yearly calendar of events including special days and educational visits.
- Supports a kindergarten to primary school transition program including the preparation of a transition statement for each child in collaboration with the parents. We also facilitate visits to their school of choice during the year.
- Prepares each child to be a confident learner for the next phase of their life – Primary School.
Benefits
Attending Kindergarten at Choklits offers many benefits for both children and parents.
- Children who are already attending the centre stay in familiar surroundings and with friends they have known for some time
- Children have the benefit of being part of a small group
- Parents can take advantage of the extra hours that long day care offers, enabling them to work or attend to other responsibilities, confident their child is receiving the kindergarten curriculum and being cared for
- Running a full program five days a week offers even greater flexibility and support for families
- Although not a requirement at Choklits, we love and encourage as much family participation as our families need
Please feel free to contact us and talk to the educators in the Kindergarten room at any time. We are happy to talk to you and discuss the program and answer any questions.
The Choklits 3 Year Old Kindergarten Program in 2022 Includes
- A focus on group activities including how to be a part of the group, building confidence in communicating in a group, and sharing ideas.
- Dramatic play which children in this age group are typically passionate about so we provide the children with lots of opportunity to explore, whether it be animals, families or super heroes.
- Weekly excursions to the library at the Salvation Army for additional literacy education, beginning in term 4
- Loose part play where the children learn how to use a range of thinking and problem solving skills to use and utilise the materials provided in innovative ways.
- Structured routine times such as group learning times, meal times, and rest time, plus
- All the incursions the 4 year old kindergarten program includes, listed below.
The Choklits 4 Year Old Kindergarten Program in 2022 Includes
- Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) second language program, we are currently learning Chinese
- Extension of our music program which runs throughout the term including school holidays
- The Choklits Activate Sports program, where the sessions are tailored to be age appropriate and run separately from the younger Choklits children
- Weekly excursions to the library at the Salvation Army for additional literacy education
- A monthly excursion to Estia Health Aged Care Home
- A weekly yoga session, plus
- Many other events and visits throughout the year including drama and wild animal incursions, Road Safety Awareness, Water Safety Education, free dentist and hearing check-up, pet awareness activities, indigenous education incursions and spontaneous excursions.
Meet the Choklits Kindergarten Team
We are very proud of our all our Educators and the fantastic work they do for all our early learners here at Choklits. To meet our entire team click here. Some of our staff even have video messages waiting for you!
The Choklits Kindergarten Program in review
We love documenting and reflecting on our kindergarten program, the lessons we learn and the education and experiences we provide. We have produced many videos and written many blogs on our program activity. To review what a day in the life of our kindergarten program may look like for your child, please click here for videos and here for blogs.
If you are considering sending your child to our excellent kindergarten program in 2022 please complete form below before 24th of September 2021, we will do our best to accommodate your preferences. We will confirm all places in October and provide you with the Victorian government funding letter and information for you to complete.
For further information please see the following helpful links–
https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/articles/is-your-child-ready-for-big-school
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/parents/kindergarten/allaboutkinder.pdf
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