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Literacy Development

Literacy Development

Early childhood educators understand that play is the most important work of childhood. It's through play that young children come to understand the world around them. At Engadine Kindy Castle we focus on promoting early literacy through developmentally appropriate activities that are based in play.   It is critical to help young children be ready for school by working with them to develop early literacy and learning skills. Strong reading skills form the basis for learning in all subjects, it is important to begin developing literacy skills. Childr...

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Graduation Ceremony

Graduation Ceremony

We would like to wish our Graduates all the best ! It has been a pleasure looking after all of you and we cant wait to see you visit in your school uniform! 

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Getting your child ready for scho...

Getting your child ready for school - Preschool Program

What does a Transition to School program involve? Transition to school is also known as a Preschool Program or School Readiness. This program aims to assist children to have a positive transition to kindergarten.     Foundations for success involves developing skills in literacy, numeracy, self care, social competence, self esteem and resilience. At Engadine Kindy Castle our main objectives include;  1. Developing social skills  2. Understanding emotions and self regulating feelings  3. Develop self esteem through focusing on child’s s...

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Relationships and Brain Developme...

Relationships and Brain Development

Relationships built with children have a significant impact on their brain develops and growth.  One of the first things a baby learns to do is express their emotions and how to regulate them. Emotional skills are developed in the first weeks and months of a baby’s life. Their emotional development in this early stage lays the foundation for a baby’s future mental health. These skills are developed with significant caregivers when they develop secure attachments with them. Our educators achieve secure attachments with children by; •    A warm and f...

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How does the new Child Care Subsi...

How does the new Child Care Subsidy Impact you?

The new Child Care Subsidy (CCS) system has come into effect from the 2nd of July 2018. This has replaced the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR).    How do I get assessed for CCS? When you get assessed for CCS there are 3 factors that are considered;  1. CCS Percentage: Your family’s combined income will calculate the CCS percentage you’re entitled to. 2. Level of activity: CCS is linked to how much a family contributes to the Australian economy through activity. This activity level is calculated from the parent with the lowes...

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Learning through Dramatic Play

Learning through Dramatic Play

  Dramatic play is a play type where children suspend their beliefs to engage in an alternate reality. Children accept and assign roles and then act them out. Children dramatise situations through exchanging dialogue and carrying out actions that go along with their roles. Dramatic play offers children the opportunity to develop a range of skills such as; role playing being imaginative being resourceful learning to use props extend attention span engage in the same...

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Completing Activities at Kindy Ca...

Completing Activities at Kindy Castle

By: Ahmed Khalil There are certain approaches educators take in order to teach children. At times this can appear to be simple play or meaningless activities and is often misunderstood. For this reason I chose to write this blog in order to explain and clarify that even the simplest of approaches educators may facilitate can have deep meaning and will benefit your child in the future. One of these simple approaches with hidden meaning is encouraging children to complete their activities and tasks. It is so important to teach children to stick to their tasks until the child truly bel...

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Teaching through Play

Teaching through Play

Dinosaur World is one of the children's favorite play areas. It seems like simple play from a distance, but we have incorporated the various developmental areas; mathematics, social and language development. Children learn to count, subtract and add dinosaurs. Children learn to construct and work in a group to role play. Children have even learned to say the different types of dinosaurs and group them using descriptive words and differentiating features. There are so many opportunities to extend their learning. An example of this was when a child said  "Where did these Dinosau...

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7 School Holiday Tips

7 School Holiday Tips

School holidays is a busy time for already busy parents. Here are a few tips if you're planning to go away for the break; Research about your destination - the more you know the better you can plan ahead Make a list of things you need to bring and check before you go Pack healthy snacks - if meals are delayed there is no drama! Make time for rest time - children can get overstimulated and tired quickly, try to incorporate some down time throughout the day. Remember routines may be harder to follow. Pack childrens cl...

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NAIDOC Week 2017

NAIDOC Week 2017

NAIDOC week, which is celebrated annually in the full first week of July, stands for ‘National Aboriginal and Islanders Day of Observance Committee’. It celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and communities and recognises the valuable contributions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make to our country. The NAIDOC Committee has announced the 2017 National NAIDOC theme – ‘Our Languages Matter’. Children will be celebrating by reading and discussing dream time stories by implementing a yarning circle. We will also ...

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Sharing

Sharing

Learning to Share   Practice makes perfect - provide your toddler with opportunities to share. Learning to share is apart of their emotional and social development. Frequently reminding, praising and encouraging your child to share will support this. Sharing leads to children making friends and maintaining relationships.    How can you teach sharing? Demonstrate how to share and label this action e.g. “I can share my water bottle with you” Praise e.g. “it is nice that you shared your toy with your sister” Direct atte...

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Transition to School

Transition to School

Starting school is an exciting time of change for children. There are many things you can do to prepare your child for this change. Helping a child feel confident and optimistic about starting school will support a positive transition. Children begin to view themselves as learners in early learning settings and this assists them in developing a sense of belonging in a school environment. Before transitioning to school our children engage in a Preschool Program or Transition to School Program. This program aims to develop the foundations of success for school. This includes developing sk...

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Child Behaviour

Child Behaviour

Children experience ups and downs when they are trying to deal with their emotions. Helping children find ways to manage their emotions is referred to as self-regulation. Self-regulation assists children to develop other skills such as concentration, sharing, social interactions and engaging in group experiences.    Sometimes as a parent you may feel frustrated or sad. Over time we have developed our own ways of managing our own behaviour. When it comes to children we need to remember to not deny their feelings of anger, sadness or frustration. If you were feeling angry or...

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Our New Website

Our New Website

Today we’re happy to announce the launch of our new website. It’s been a busy few months of preparation and we really hope you like the result. We’ve tried to make the design much easier for you to use. Some of the new features we think you’ll enjoy include: News page to keep you up to date with information Blogs to provide you with information on what’s going on or any creative ideas you can share with your kids. Links to our social media   As well as the new look site, we’ve also created a new Facebook page to bring to...

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NAIDOC Week 2016

NAIDOC Week 2016

NAIDOC Week commences this year on Sunday 3rd July 2016 and ends on Saturday 9th July 2016.  Celebrations are held to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This week is celebrated by all Australians including our service. This years’ NAIDOC week theme is Songlines: The living narrative of our nation. Our service acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present. By celebrating this week with children and their families, it gives us an opp...

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