What a great night! Who didn�t enjoy watching The Incredibles on the big screen while kicking back in their pyjamas with their friends? It was great to see people meeting new parents and sharing stories...of course it wouldn�t have been possible without the help of a few people. A special thank you to Wendy, Gabriel, Anne, Jono, Kath and Sarah for making it happen and Hugh for lending us his DVD.
Accreditation
Quality Area 4 � Programming and evaluation
This area measures the activities that are on offer for children, specifically that the:
� Programs reflect a clear statement of the centre�s philosophy
� Programming caters for the needs, interests and abilities of all children
� Staff work collaboratively with children to plan and implement experiences
� Programs are evaluated regularly
Thank you to those parents who completed our questionnaire on this area. Most parents told us they had enough information about what we do. There were a few suggestions which we are working on. For example we now have a playstation free day once per week. We feel this makes children more aware of searching for other activities they can do.
You�re probably aware that specific activities for the week are written on the whiteboard. However you may not be aware of the planning behind the scenes, nor how we try to meet the needs of all the children. The following tells you a little bit about how we go about it:
The way we think about the Centre is underpinned by our philosophy which is we aim to create a safe, relaxed, respectful, trusting, atmosphere where children are nurtured and encouraged to pursue interests and develop friendships in an inviting and exciting environment.
The program is developed both in response to children's interests and carers� own individual strengths.
- The Italian week came about when the children wanted to have a �kids caf�. When we asked
them what they wanted on the menu it was all Italian foods, so we decided to structure a whole
week around it.
- The hippy week idea came from when the children were tie dying last term and asked Jono if they
could do �hippy stuff�.
- When children started bringing light sabers to the Centre Jono sat down with these children and
developed a Kent Road Jedi Code of Conduct. The children have been very good at monitoring this
play and �fighting� safely.
In general we try to make the program unstructured, which we believe is very important on either side of a highly structured school day. It is a guide to the choice of available activities and it is modified by the children's interests or abilities. We try to make these fun, focusing on the process rather than the end product. It parallels a regular, balanced choice of active and passive play whilst recognising the need for solitude.
With this in mind we have tried to create spaces that provide for individual or group time such as the playstation and the book corner inside and different physical activities outside such as cricket, soccer, wrestling. Then every week one carer is responsible for coming up with a program of additional activities for the week.
For those of you who pick up their children later in the day you may often have seen carers writing in a diary. We record events of the day, what worked well, suggestions children might have made and what the children liked and didn�t like. We use this as a basis for sharing communication between staff and to inform further programming.
We also have monthly staff meetings where we discuss and plan further programming, share ideas and make decisions about further professional development. For example Sarah is about to attend a workshop on creating spaces in child care centres.
Who looks after your children?
James - Thanks to all those who attended James� farewell at the Ranch. He was very touched by the card the children had made � some of their comments made us realise that children often see things differently to us. For those of you already missing James he has promised to drop by from time to time.
Holly - Holly will join us on a very casual basis, mostly relieving while Kathie works on accreditation. Holly is a third year arts student at Sydney University.
Kathie - Kathie has a teaching degree (primary), and is currently working on her PhD in education. She teaches part-time at Macquarie University as well as occasionally teaching at schools within the local area. Kathie began at the Centre when Manni (her daughter) was in kindergarten and has tried to develop a sense of community, where families know and support each other.
Sarah - Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education and teaches causally in local primary schools. She enjoys spending time with her family (you will sometimes see Kye and Charlotte), friends and reading. What she enjoys most about the Centre is the relationships that she develops with children and their families.
Jono - Jono is working towards a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma of Education (secondary) at Macquarie University. He holds a Queens� Scout Awards and a Senior First Aid Certificate. His interests include abseiling, hiking, camping, ultimate Frisbee, movies and Rovers (part of Scouting). At the Centre he likes that the kids enjoy being there and that the staff are a pleasure to work with � overall a great environment!
Kath - Kath joined us having worked at previous after care centres. She is currently taking a break from a Diploma of Fine Arts and has her Senior First Aid Certificate. Like Jono she is an avid Rover.