waterford west education and care centre

Starting school can be quite daunting, overwhelming and not the happy time that we expect for some children. However for some it can be an exciting, positive and joyous time. As an early Childhood Education Centre we look at preparing our children well for the transition to big school, by making it familiar to them and getting to know the routines and the environment. Visits to the school are scheduled at different times and children get to spend time in the classroom environment as well as participate in school activities.

As we engage in activities at the centre that supports independence, which they will be needing once they get to “big school”, we consistently talk to the children about what may happen when they are there. Lunch box days help children to know what to eat at little break and big break. Inviting the local school’s teachers into our classroom allows them to build relationships with the children and gives children a familiar face when they arrive on their first day. 
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However, as much we do in the Centre, it is important that parents begin to prepare their child for school as well. It is important for your child to see you as being calm and in control. Like you have got this! When your child sees you in control and prepared then they will feel less stressed or anxious about starting school. 

Here are some simple steps to help you prepare for the transition to school;

• Visit the school and if possible meet your child’s teacher. Let your child know that teachers are there to help, and they can ask for help any time.
• Show your child around the school before starting showing them where the toilets and office blocks are. It is also good to let them know where you will be picking them up from at the end of the day.
• Explain the basic school rules and why rules are important. For example, ‘If you want to go to the toilet you need to ask. Otherwise the teacher won’t know where you are’
• Talk positively and confidently about starting and attending school
• Speak with your child about the change in their daily routine, how will they get to school, what time they have to get up in the morning and what they will have in their lunch box
• Tell your child about support systems that the school offers e.g. if there is a buddy system where an older child supports your child in their first year of school
• Read books together about starting school. You could try Starting school by Janet and Allen Ahlberg, or Starting school by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker.
• Establish good attendance patterns for your child
• Develop family routines at home to support your child’s learning at school e.g. read with your child each night, help them with any homework etc.
• Think about how you’ll manage your feelings on the first day. Even if you’re feeling sad or worried, it can help to keep these feelings from your child. Instead, try to see your child off with a happy, confident goodbye – and plan something nice for yourself too, like coffee with a friend.

No matter what; this is a big transition for your child. Try to remember to allow your child time to settle in. Avoid overloading your child – when children begin school, they tire easily. It may be worth considering fewer extracurricular activities such as swimming, music or dance lessons, until they adjust to their new routine. If you have any concerns on preparing your child for school please come along and speak with our Directors or Teachers.
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Reference
https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/school-learning/school-choosing-starting-moving/starting-school
https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/other-resources/factsheets/transition-to-school/

Day for Daniel is about educating children and adults about keeping kids safe
through child safety and protection initiatives.  It aims to help empower our children
to Recognise, React and Report if they feel something is not right.

Daniel Morcombe was a 13 year old boy, living with his parents and brothers on the
Sunshine Coast in Queensland. While on his way to buy Christmas presents for his
family at a local shopping centre, he went missing.

He was last seen wearing a red t-shirt, waiting for a bus on Sunday, 7th December
2003, after years of searching and an incredible undercover police investigation
Daniel was finally found in 2011 and his deceased body laid to rest.

Daniel’s parents, Bruce and Denise started the Daniel Morcombe Foundation to give
back to the community who had supported them from the day that Daniel went
missing. Today, the Daniel Morcombe Foundation is one of the most well-known
not for profit child safety organisations in Australia. Daniel’s story changed child
safety in Australia and the determination and dedication of his parents has inspired
the entire nation.

The red t-shirt Daniel was wearing the day he went missing has become a symbol
of child safety awareness. Every year, thousands of people dress up in red for an
annual National Day of Action for Child Safety, held on the last Friday in October:
Day for Daniel.

As we approach the heart of winter, and it seems like keeping warm is becoming increasingly harder, especially as the cold night air sets in, we thought we would share with you three ways to beat the winter blues. . .

1) Exercise - Walking is a great way to circulate heat in your body, once the body starts moving and the blood starts flowing you will soon stop thinking about how cold you are. Not only is it a way to keep warm, but it will also help to clear your mind.

2) Prevent Illness – Minimise colds and flus, by getting the flu shot at the beginning of the month in addition to taking some good multivitamins will help to keep the coughs and sniffles away. Model good hygienic practices in front of children and encourage them to do the same to minimise the winter germs spreading.

3) Eat Well - Break away from your traditional winter food like stews and soup, why not try a new type of cuisine. For instance, visiting your nearest Indian restaurant and trying their hottest dish on the menu. Not only will you break out a nice sweat, but you will also get rid of that flu brewing inside of you that won’t seem to leave you.

Exercise, Prevent Illness and Eat Well, are just a few of many ways that will help to beat the winter chills. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you take advantage of the season, gather around camp fires, toast marshmallow, and catch up with family and friends.

Staying healthy in childcare in an important factor for both Educators and Children. Infections are common in children and often lead to illness. Whilst at home children are protected from infectious diseases because they are not in contact with many people. Generally, the adults they meet or are around are immune to many childhood illness due to either having them themselves or they have been vaccinated. Because of this immunity, adults cannot transmit those infections to children.

Once a child begins spending time in child care centres or other facilities and being
exposed to a large number of children, an opportunity is presented for infectious
diseases to be spread. It is not possible to prevent the spread of all infections and
illnesses, however, a lot of illnesses from infectious diseases can be prevented or be
reduced.

The Staying healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and
care services provides educators and other staff working in education and care services with simple and effective methods for minimising the spread of disease. It contains more ‘how to’ advice on procedures and discussing exclusion periods with parents. It also represents an increased focus on a risk-management approach to infection prevention and control principles in daily care activities.

Breaking the chain in infection outlines some simple methods that can be implemented at home to help control the spread of infection.

You can download the information sheet from the link below:

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/staying-healthy-preventing-infectious-diseases-early-childhood-education-and-care-services

The concept of STEM is based around four principles (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and uses hands on activities to challenge the child’s current level of thinking and past learning, by building on what they know, using positive encouragement and meaningful experiences. 
 
There has been a significant correlation with programs recently, that embrace the concepts of STEM and cognitive development in children, which is why, we at Waterford West Education and Care Centre, have embraced the STEM curriculum into our programming this year, and would like to share with our families and friends the benefits of this way of learning for children at our service. 
 
There are Three Major benefits to the concepts of STEM, including;

1. Practical Knowledge They Can Use Now
2. Lifelong Benefits of Program
3. Parents Are Partners​

Waterford West Education and Care Centre provides a government approved Kindergarten Program based on the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline.  The Program is delivered by a Fully Qualified and Registered Teacher, who ensures that the program meets the National and State Quality Standards and Regulations.  The Kindergarten Program is designed to develop children’s physical, social, intellectual, language and emotional abilities.

Children enrolled in our program are eligible for funding from the government, this funding is an incentive to parents to enrol their children in a recognised program, in order to support their child’s learning and development and ensure that their child is ready for transitioning into the school environment. 

QKFS (Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme) Plus is available to eligible families with a child enrolled in an approved kindergarten program.  This subsidy is provided directly to the service to reduce your out of pocket expenses.  To be eligible for QKFS Plus, parents will

• hold a current Australian Government Health Care Card (or have a child who does), or
• are a foster family with a current Australian Government Health Care Card, or
• hold a Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card or White Card, or
• identify as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (or have a child who does), or
• have 3 or more children, of the same age, enrolled in the same year.

At Waterford West Education and Care Centre, we are fortunate enough to be in a “socio economic area” and therefore our parents automatically receive SEIFA funding in addition to the QKFS Plus.  This also means that even if you do not qualify for the Kindergarten funding support due to ineligibility you automatically qualify for the socio economic area support for attending our program. With the help of QKFS Plus and SEIFA funding, some of our families only pay around $10 for two days a week in our Kindergarten program.
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At Waterford West Education and Care Centre we pride ourselves on providing the best quality of care in the area for the most affordable prices.  Please contact our centre director to learn more about out of pocket fees and expenses, and enrol in our Kindergarten Program today!!!

​In 2019 Edens Landing Childrens Centre and Waterford West Education and Care Centre are launching, our new and exciting “Nature Explorer” program which will be run as a routine excursion for both Early Childhood Centres on a weekly bases.

With the launch of the program on Monday 4th February, 2019, the program will run throughout the 4 school terms. The program will run on different days of the week over the term so that all of our children will get to experience this program.

The program adheres to the policies of Edens Landing Childrens Centre and Waterford West Education and Care Centre, with the addition of specific policies, and policy amendments, relevant to running the kindergarten program in a bush setting.

Nature Explorer’s Program was developed in response to research that shows outdoor activities in a natural environment are extremely beneficial to children’s health, wellbeing and development. Many preschools around Australia have already implemented Bush Kinder into their kindergarten program with great success.

Miss Rosina, our Area Manager has had extensive knowledge and experience setting up a bush kindy program. She co-developed a program 5 years ago for 3 centres on the gold coast. These Centres have successfully run the program weekly with the benefits to the children seen daily in their growth and development. She has also attended trainings on Bush kindy.

Originating in Scandinavia in the 1950’s, the forest preschool approach has been used as a framework for Bush Kinder in Australia, where children are encouraged to play in, and learn from, our natural environment.
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 Key features of the Nature Explore approach include:

• Children spend long and regular periods of time in unstructured or semi structured play in natural environments all year round
• Children experience the daily and seasonal fluctuations in weather and seasons
• No toys, tools or art supplies, the Bush Kinder experience enables children to play with whatever nature has provided, and leaving only a footprint behind

 
Current research on children who regularly play in outdoor natural settings has concluded that they have:

• Increased confidence, motivation, concentration and resilience
• Increased social, physical and language skills
• Deeper conceptual understanding and respect for the natural environment
• Mud, sand, water, leaves, sticks etc. can stimulate children’s immune systems making them sick less often
• Children are more physically active and more likely to be a healthy weight
• Children are more resistant to stress, have lower incidence of behavioural disorders, anxiety and depression, and have a higher measure of self-worth
• Nature Explorer programs deepens children’s understanding of community and where they fit in and offers better opportunities for children to be present and authentically engaged in real life
• Encourages a well-connected, cohesive community that is environmentally aware

 
References:
http://www.wgkg.vic.edu.au/bush-kinder
From forest preschool to Bush Kinder: An inspirational approach to preschool provision in Australia (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/AJEC-Vol39-No4-2014.pdf)

If you would like more information regarding this program please give us a call on 
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Edens Landing Childrens Centre: 07 3200 7222
Wateford West Education and Care Centre: 07 3805 2092