At Day One we generally have 2 rooms catering for children who are 3 years to 5 years old
Our Pre-Kindy Room is for children 3 to 5 years who are NOT entering school the following year, while our Kindy Room and the Kindergarten Program is for children 3 to 5 years who ARE entering school the following year.
Both are conducted by qualified educators, with the Kindy Room being led by a degree-qualified Early Childhood Teacher. Both maintain the value of play and focus on learning as it best suits the individual child. We take an enthusiastic approach designed to motivate the children in a fun and exciting way to learn some very important skills to assist each child to ultimately transition to school successfully.
Developmental goals and objectives for children in the preschool room are supported by Day One’s bespoke programs and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), as well as the Queensland Kindergarten Guidelines in the Kindy Room only.
3 to 5 years
Physical
- Dresses and undresses with little help
- Hops, jumps and runs with ease
- Climbs steps with alternating feet
- Gallops and skips by leading with one foot
- Transfers weight forward to throw ball
- Attempts to catch ball with hands
- Climbs playground equipment with increasing agility
- Feeds self with minimum spills
- Dresses/undresses with minimal assistance
- Walks and runs more smoothly
- Enjoys learning simple rhythm and movement routines
Social
- Enjoys playing with other children
- May have a particular friend
- Shares, smiles and cooperates with peers
- Jointly manipulates objects with one or two other peers
- Develops independence and social skills they will use for learning and getting on with others at preschool and school
Emotional
- Understands when someone is hurt and comforts them
- Likes to give and receive
- May praise themselves and be boastful
Cognitive
- Understands opposites (e.g. big/little) and positional words (middle, end)
- Uses objects and materials to build or construct things, e.g. block tower, puzzle, clay, sand and water
- Builds tower eight to ten blocks
- Answers simple questions
- Counts five to ten things or more
- Has a longer attention span
- Talks to self during play – to help guide what he/she does
- Follows simple instructions
- Follows simple rules and enjoys helping
- Write numbers and letters
- Engages in dramatic play, taking on pretend character roles
- Recalls events correctly
- Counts by rote, having memorised numbers
- Touches objects to count – starting to understand relationship between numbers and objects
- Can recount a recent story
- Copies letters and may write some unprompted
- Can match and name colours
Language
- Speaks in sentences and use many different words
- Answers simple questions
- Asks many questions
- Tells stories
- Talks constantly
- Enjoys talking and may like to experiment with new words
- Uses adult forms of speech
- Takes part in conversations
- Enjoys jokes, rhymes and stories
- Will assert self with words
Reading texts
- Recognises own name
- Engages in shared reading of familiar texts with repeated language patterns
- Spends time looking at books and other print materials
- Tells a story based on pictures
- Attempts to read words in the environment e.g. billboards, signs
Aspects of writing
- Engages in writing like behaviour begins to form letters and numbers
- Write own name and begins to write surname e.g. one or two letter, scribble
- Holds crayon/pencil etc. between thumb and first two fingers
- Exhibits hand preference
- Imitates variety of shapes in drawing, eg. circles
- Independently cuts paper with scissors
Phonemic awareness
- Repeats familiar rhyming verses, chants and jingles
- Notices that some words rhyme in verses, chants and jingles
- Beginning to identify words that start with the same initial sound
- Identifies letter names and sounds
Concepts about print
- Shows beginning awareness that print relates to spoken language
- Identifies writing in picture or poster
- Recognises the meaning of some letters and symbols, e.g. common logos, street signs
- Knows how to handle books e.g. turns pages, looks at detail in pictures
- Shoes awareness that print and images are different (in print and on screen)
- Shows beginning awareness of reading from left to right
- Is learning to the point to the first word to read a sentence or story
Source: Developmental milestones and the EYLF/NQS
