The Benefits of Attending Kindergarten 

Attending kindergarten is such a critical part of a child’s development. It is your child’s first experience with structured play, scheduled activities and socialising with other children their own age. In recent years, research has shown that children who have attended kindergarten are more engaged in activities and are more likely to utilise their natural curiosity and develop a lifelong love for learning.

At Child’s Play ELC, we have developed a kindergarten program utilising two play-based curriculums and the Early Years Learning Framework that has been awarded an Exceeding rating from ACECQA at our Tarneit centre.

Why is kindergarten at a long daycare centre is a good idea?

Kindergarten is a powerful way to support your child’s learning and development and most importantly, it assists with the successful transition to school down the track. Attending kinder at a long daycare centre allows families to receive the full program without needing to switch programs. This means your child is able to make meaningful connections with other children and teachers and further develop their skills. At Child’s Play ELC, all of our three-year-old and four-year-old kindergarten programs are run by qualified teachers and are structured around the Reggio Emilia curriculum. By doing so, often the class sizes are smaller than government-run facilities and can be driven by student interests rather than a set program.

What are the benefits of attending kindergarten?

1. Build Confidence and Independence

   Kindergarten is one of the first experiences where children adhere to a schedule and with bigger class sizes and wider educator ratios (1:11), it is not an individualistic program. It is designed to harness your child’s natural curiosity to develop their independence and confidence through group activities and open play.

   Through our program at Child’s Play, children will learn how to evaluate risks, develop critical thinking skills such as answering questions and utilise self-help skills such as tying their shoes to build independence.

   By developing these skills in kindergarten, your child will be excited and ready to transition into school when the time comes.

2. Numeracy and Literacy Skills

   Numeracy and literacy skills are crucial elements in the preparation for school. In some of their first encounters with structured education, kindergarten provides opportunities for fun and for children to engage in skills that they have already harnessed. Some of the ways we teach children maths and English is through reading, telling stories, playing games like hopscotch and incursions such as Little Sports Heroes. It allows them to engage with the activities and develop a love for learning.
   
   By attending kindergarten, your child will be able to confidently write their name, count to ten, tell stories and recognise shapes and patterns using critical thinking skills. These skills will prepare them for a successful transition to school and research indicates that they will have higher English and maths scores in high school if they attended kindergarten.

3. Social Skills

   Young children are naturally egocentric and by attending kindergarten they can develop necessary social skills so they become open, collaborative and empathetic learners. In kindergarten, they are able to develop friendships with other children and relationships with their teachers that allows them to enhance their learning. Through a play-based curriculum, children also learn how to share and collaborate with others to achieve a greater result. As they transition through the program, our children openly express ideas, follow instructions and contribute to group activities in a meaningful way.

4. Encourages Positive Wellbeing Practices

   One of the greatest benefits of attending kindergarten is the emotional wellbeing benefits that are embedded within the program. Their growth into becoming confident learners is unparalleled in any other environment and recent research has indicated that children are less likely to be vulnerable if they attend a structured kindergarten program.

   Some of the practices that they may learn at kindergarten include conflict management, meditation, and emotional self-regulation.

5. Boosts Creativity

   Kindergarten encourages creativity and allows children to be curious about their environment and their role within it. Through open play we see children make up games, draw pictures and play dress up while pretending to be one of their role models. This encourages them to further develop fine motor skills and use cognitive skills to continue playing and learning. Harnessing their creativity at a young age enables them to continue to think outside of the box as they continue with formal education.

Enrol at Child’s Play ELC

Our funded kindergarten program takes enrolments all year round, if you are interested in enrolling your child in one of our services please get in touch with our education team to book a tour and schedule an orientation.