About Us

We visit Flinders House fortnightly and engage in varied learning experiences that are of benefit to both residents and children. We always end the day with the children singing a song to their elderly friends. This time is also used as a way to promote communication and language acquisition. Elderly residents can be hard of hearing, so children have to learn to moderate their speech, be clear and decisive, and at times improve on their ability to use non-verbal cues. Quiet children in this space develop confidence to talk in a group, whilst all children develop their language fluency and become better ‘fluent speakers’. They also learn how to share and take turns during a conversation, be kind and considerate members of their community, and give to others who may not be able to give back.

We visit Quorn Area School every fortnight. We have a yearlong transition program that starts with us visiting the library, playground, and going in search of drink fountains. We lead up to class visits and share in class activities well before the expected term 4 transition schedule. Future school teachers and leaders have a sound awareness of your child’s strengths and abilities well before they start school, and your child has the benefit of being familiar with their future school over a whole year transition approach! The Kindergarten also works closely with the school and attends school focused professional development days. The Kindergarten wants to link learning with your child’s school so that we have similar goals, strategies and practices. When they start reception, they have had a full year of visits and shared practices.

We visit local shops, go for local walks, and visit tourist attractions like the train station, Warren Gorge and playgrounds. Whenever we go on our walks, we are learning about weekly focus sounds and letters in our environment. Children and educators are encouraged to try to find as many things starting with our weekly sound as possible. If we can we collect the items and take them back for sharing during our group times. This process encourages children to notice sounds and letters in their environment and they begin to make letter sound connections.
During these walks, children are given the opportunity to carry their own water (we provide specially made bags) and take care of their friends. We have noticed that children become very capable and confident walkers and as a result learn how to be persistent through struggle and how to manage their own bodily needs for water and rest. We talk to children about the community that they live in as we want them to learn about their environment and town. We really do have a greater sense of community connectedness when we go on our local walks!