Our Programs
School Readiness
Preparation for school
Within an early education program, school readiness is a complex term.
Our Preschool educational programs are run by university qualified teachers and meet the same requirements of any preschool in Australia. There is no difference in the education provided in our curriculum, to that a formal preschool setting, apart from our education being offered over longer hours.
We begin school readiness in our Nursery rooms as we build towards foundational skills for learning. This skill level is then increased as children grow in preparation for a smooth transition to school at the end of their early childhood years.
In addition to the outcomes of the EYLF, we have formed 5 goals we would like to see children develop prior to starting school. These goals were developed in collaboration with families and children in the community, teachers from local schools and Handprints university qualified early childhood teachers.
GOAL 1: Build each child’s sense of identity, their confidence, their self-esteem and their emotional resilience.
GOAL 2: Build a lifelong love of learning.
GOAL 3: Encourage children to wonder, question, think and build understandings of their world.
GOAL 4: Encourage self-help skills
GOAL 5: Consider the transition from the EYLF to Australian curriculums for English, Maths, Science etc.
Another strength within the Handprints educational program is our commitment to ongoing learning for and from the educators. Educators will constantly be encouraged to reflect and build on their practices through asking questions, to build that sense of wonder that we so passionately believe in within our centre philosophy. This is evident throughout the documentation within the setting, and by the involvement of our educators within the wider early childhood sector.
Our 5 goals of school readiness have strong foundational links to our philosophy, the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards.
Jim Jam Music
Music classes to our Nursery, Junior Preschool and Preschool
Handprints began a partnership with Jim Jam Music in 2017.
Over this time, Kylie and her wonderful team have become like family to the Handprints centres, the educators and the children. Jim Jam offer music classes to our Nursery, Junior Preschool and Preschool classes across all four centres each week.
The aim of these classes is for the children to build connections and community through music. The Jim Jam teachers have an incredible ability to treat every child as an individual and value them for their contribution to the class, in whatever capacity. The classes follow a world-renowned music program called Kindermusik, which has been proven to improve a child’s brain development. Music actually helps children’s brain cells to make the connections needed for virtually every kind of intelligence.
At Handprints, we find that through Jim Jam Music time, the children not only have fun, the classes also assist them to thrive in an early childhood environment. The classes foster children’s social/emotional, cognitive, physical, language and literacy development, all the while developing a sense of rhythm, tone and melody. Our educators anticipate that on each music class day, the children will happily arrive in a chorus of “Is it a Jim Jam day today?”.