Our Philosophy
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” Fred Rogers
In life our days should always include chances to connect with Mama Nature; ask questions and wonder; satisfy our curiosity; take time to be creative in some way or form and apply our way of thinking to work through parts of our day on our own or as part of a village…and in our world all of these aspects of life are truly part of every day that we get to be a Small Friend!
When a Little Person feels free to explore, imagine and create, their memories will be wondrous, and we believe our program and the learning spaces within our world allow all of our Small Friends the freedom to create these memories. We recognise and encourage the importance of play for a child’s cognitive, physical, emotional, communicative and social development, and that all forms of play, individual and shared, facilitate learning and support our Small Friends in all areas of development.
Our world is a reflection of a home, with Small Friends being part of a space where they can feel secure and comfortable. In our house they feel respected and have ownership of our house and backyard, Bunny Den, making choices for where they play, and what they create within learning areas. Each Small Friend is seen as an individual, and we encourage them to make choices in play and learning throughout their day. Our program reflects the individual needs of all children and is reviewed and revised depending on the vibe of our day, and thoughts of everyone in our house.
Our Small Friends engage their minds in open ended activities within learning spaces, and all resources and materials are accessible to encourage them to problem solve, make decisions and creative choices to enhance their ideas and thoughts on life. There are times for group and individual activities and quieter areas for individuals and groups to take time for quiet reflection, or to just recharge their batteries! And even though we have a daily timetable, it is flexible, allowing time for everyone to finish or extend on the activity, game or space they have chosen to engage in. Role play is a major focus for a majority of our learning areas, with support for program themes and extension of learning being made by including community involvement with the planning of incursions and outings.
Our outside spaces reflect our ideas within a variety of learning areas that can be extended and modified during the course of any day. Our Small Friends senses are the foundation for the creation of our learning areas, using plants, trees, our pets, textures and sound to inspire their imaginations and inspire their creativity. Everyone is encouraged to care for our house, and join in with the organisation of activities and learning areas. We invite families to give suggestions (and be included where applicable) in house activities, incursions and outings so that they may understand the process of their Small Friend’s way of life in our house, and encourage them to feel that our house is theirs as well.
Our Teams observations of our Small Friends and reflection and evaluation of our Term programs are ongoing and always evolving, so that themes and concepts included in learning activities are kept up to date with regards to changes in our local, national and international communities.
When we say goodbye to a Small Friend and wish them luck on they Big School Adventure, we have every confidence that their time in our house has given them the confidence they need to take on the next part of their life with a smile on their dial, a skip in their step and a song in their heart!