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A Typical Day in The Edge Kindergarten Program
15 February, 2022
Have you ever wondered what a day in kindergarten is like? Well, wonder no more. Here, we walk you through each step of your child’s day at Edge Early Learning to give you a better understanding of not only their routine, but how it is designed to support their needs.
Morning Drop-Off
At Edge, we know that the morning drop-off can be a dreaded part of the day – not only for you as a parent, but for your children. Whether it’s due to separation anxiety, a recent life change or simply because your child woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, we know that parents need all the support they can get when it comes to the morning drop-off. That’s why we give you the opportunity to nominate your preferred drop-off and pick-up times upon your child’s enrolment. We also offer different session times at each of our centres, so please chat to your Centre Director to work out a duration of care that works best for you.
To help your child keep track of their belongings, we have pigeonholes in each room. One of the first parts of your child’s day in kindergarten will involve putting their belongings away in a pigeonhole. Please note that we also have a parent information area above these pigeonholes, to ensure you see any necessary announcements and updates as to what your child has been learning about.
Small Group Learning Sessions
Part of your child’s kindergarten day are small group learning sessions. Your child’s entire class will be divided into smaller groups, where they will then learn about things like problem solving, communication, concentration, school-readiness and more. Depending on your child’s age, these sessions may include singing, playing games, building, reading, writing, drawing, climbing or dancing… but the list goes on. Thanks to our inquiry-based approach, these activities are led in part by your child, too! We find this small group approach aids in your child’s learning and growth, ensuring they are seen and heard by their peers and educator while developing important skills.
Entire Class Lessons
Another part of the kindergarten daily routine are entire class lessons. These larger learning sessions involve every member of your child’s class, and may also include activities like singing, dancing or climbing that we mentioned above. But while small group learning sessions are designed to focus more on your child’s individual skills, large group sessions are more about fostering collaboration between your child and their peers. These kinds of sessions help create a sense of community and encourage relationship building, which is just as important for your child’s personal development. We call these sessions Group Mat times.
Balanced Meals
We all know how important proper nutrition is for a child’s physical and mental development – and we also know that proper nutrition can be one of the first things to fall to the wayside when the day gets hectic. With the help of the Wellbeing Food Co.’s Childcare Meal Solutions, we are able to provide your child with a balanced diet as a standard part of their day at Edge. Food is included in your child’s enrolment, and thanks to the clever people at Wellbeing Food Co., you can rest assured that your child’s nutritional needs are being cared for.
Creating Healthy Habits
Taking on responsibility – no matter how small the task – is an important part of your child’s development, and something we prioritise here at Edge. We regularly give age-appropriate tasks and responsibilities to children to foster not only a sense of responsibility but also confidence. This could mean reminding them to put on sunscreen before they go outdoors or having them wash their hands before mealtime.
Outdoor Play
No day at Edge is complete without an element of outdoor play. It’s why we spend so much time designing intuitive, captivating outdoor play spaces for each of our centres! From learning to climb safely on play equipment to developing their fine and gross motor skills through physical activity, the benefits your child will gain from outdoor play are countless. Beyond their physical health, we also use our outdoor spaces to teach sustainability. The vegetable gardens in some of our centres become fun classrooms for children to learn about nature, nutrition, and responsibility. You can learn more about outdoor play and our play-based learning approach right here.
Pick Up Time
The day is almost over, and it’s time for you to pick up your child. Much like with the drop-off process, we offer session times to allow parents to nominate a time to pick up their child that works for them – again, you’ll inform your Centre Director of this upon enrolment. Our long daycare hours mean that, while each of our centres have different closing times, you can pick up your child as late as 6.30pm (so long as this is their nominated pick up time). When you collect your child after their day of fun and learning, make sure to get their belongings from their pigeonhole.
Then, it’s home time where you and your child can relax, catch up and get ready to do it all over again tomorrow!