Paua Room – Social Competence/Transition to School Programme

This programme helps the children to become life-long learners because they are:

• curious, interested in the world around them and keen to learn
• prepared to “have a go”, to take risks and accept challenges
• willing to ask and answer questions and share ideas
• understanding that making mistakes is an important part of learning

Early writing activities are chosen to teach children:

• to develop fine motor control of hand and fingers
• to develop hand and eye co-ordination
• to write from right to left, starting at the top of the page to draw basic patterns that form letters
• to recognise shapes and learn their names
• to understand that letters go together to form words
• to match the lower case letters with the corresponding upper case letters

Early reading activities are chosen to teach children:

• to look closely at objects, shapes, letters and words
• to match simple objects and shapes
• to identify similarities and differences
• to sort objects and shapes by the direction they face
• to sort pictures into a story sequence
• to predict story outcomes
• to read a picture story
• to develop early reading skills

Rhyming activities are chosen to teach children:

• to develop more refined listening skills
• to identify similar sounds
• to recognise word families and different word endings
• to broaden vocabulary

Children discover that reading and writing activities are fun and interesting!!

Early maths activities are chosen to teach children:

• to recognise, identify and match shapes
• to draw shapes
• to identify similarities and differences
• to sort things into sets
• to recognise what a pattern is
• to understand the concepts of before and after
• to put events in a sequential order

Maths 1-20: children learn:

• names of the numbers 1-10 and 11-20
• sequence of numbers
• number values, understanding the quantity that each number represents
• how to recognise written numbers
• how to write the numbers

During daily play children frequently match, sort, create patterns and talk about sequences
Most children learn to count from an early age
The activities provided during the programme reinforce and establish these concepts and skills in a fun way

At Playhouse, alongside our regular learning opportunities we also run a programme where extra experiences are offered to extend the older children’s learning. We choose to implement this extension programme between 12.30-1.30pm while the younger children are sleeping. Resources include board games, manipulative activities, puzzles, beads, pencils, paper, art media etc. The activities are centered around the interests of the children and a focus can last for several days.

The main focus for children in these sessions is to develop their skill and knowledge across a wide range of subjects, while co-operating and contributing in the group.

These sessions provides children with opportunities to extend basic skills in preparation for school as well as encouraging deeper concentration and perseverance with activities. As a part of this, children will be encouraged to complete projects, some of them over time and think about their work reflectively. During these times children will experience a range of literacy, numeracy, science, creative, physical, social/emotional and cultural activities.

This includes, amongst other activities, the following:

• Phonics
• Days of the week
• Numbers
• Letters
• Holding a pencil correctly
• Left to right eye movement
• Listening skills
• Colours
• Shapes
• Writing own name / Pukeko room signing in sheet
• Ruling lines
• Shapes
• Alphabet

Although early literacy and numeracy skills are an important part of these sessions, at Playhouse Early Learning Centre, we believe in developing the whole child and skills will be explored and taught according to both individual and group needs.

It is also important to realise that skills such as turn taking, sharing and listening can be invaluable in creating effective learners and that children also need a sound social and emotional base to cope well with the increasing independence and opportunities they face.

Ideas, activities and projects in each session will usually be as a result of the children’s ideas and interests, however our skilled teachers know how to extend these ideas and incorporate a range of skills and activities to support the developmental needs of the children. Although many of the sessions involve group work and discussions, there will also be opportunities for individual extension work.

To compliment this programme we also take small groups of our eldest children on visits to our local library and also to Green Bay School which helps support the children’s transitioning to the school environment when the time comes.

Please note that although this extension programme will be offered to the older children, and they will be encouraged and supported to join in and contribute, it is not mandatory and children will not be forced to participate.