The holiday period is such an exciting time for children and families, but it can also be busy and stressful. When your child is enrolled in a Lifelong Learning Centre, you can be assured that while you are busy navigating through the silly season, your child is experiencing an environment rich in meaningful learning opportunities and building the foundations for a successful transition into 2024.
Summer Holiday Program
The summer program is our fun educational program that your Educators have intentionally designed to maximise the excitement over the December and January period. Not only does it cover different types of festive and messy fun, but it also ensures children’s learning is prioritised throughout the busy season.
Creative Festive Fun!
Children (and our Educators) love engaging in festive activities in creative ways; think glitter, paint, and messy fun! While these creative experiences are a lot of fun for children, our Educators also intentionally tailor them to suit children’s learning, especially their language and social development, which is a focus of our Lifelong Learning Curriculum for our Toddler 1-3 age group. For some children, Educators may intentionally role model different words to enhance children’s vocabulary and their confidence in expressing their thoughts verbally. For others, Educators may add in partner work or group work to build their language and social skills. Want to join some of our festive fun?
Come for a free stay and play session and see our Summer Program in action!
Water Play, Cooking and More
Our Summer Program is also filled with non-festive learning experiences to make the most of our Australian Summer climate! We know how much children love experimenting with messy play, and our Educators set these experiences up intentionally as they offer opportunities for children to touch, feel and learn to explore their surroundings using their developing senses. Exploration is crucial for them to make sense of their world!
Moving up to the Big Room
Moving into a new environment can be quite an emotional experience for you and your child, and it can take weeks for a toddler to settle into a new environment! Therefore, at our Lifelong Learning Centres, we do ‘transition visits’ from early December to provide plenty of time for your child to stay and play in their new classroom as they wish to get comfortable and build relationships with their Early Childhood Educators and friends.
Building Strong Relationships with your Child’s New Educators
Transition is about more than just the first day. It is a process that happens over time. In these transition visits, your toddler will play and explore from zone to zone and experience different care routines and parts of the day alongside the educators. To ensure a successful transition where your child can feel secure and supported, Educators seize the opportunities to learn about your child’s interests, abilities and strengths and develop individualised and effective learning goals for your child in 2024.
You matter! - What you can do to support a smooth transition in partnership with our Educators:
- Ask Educators how you can help your child prepare for the new classroom.
- Offer your child’s new Educators tips to help them care for your child.
- Work with your child’s new educators to develop and maintain a consistent drop-off and pick-up routine in the new classroom.
Building on Friendships and Expanding Social Skills
Transitioning to a new room with current friends during the holiday period is such a positive experience for children. The continuity of friendships provides a sense of familiarity and support, helping children feel more comfortable in their new environment. The shared experience of transitioning with friends also encourages a sense of belonging and community. It enhances children’s existing relationships, communication and cooperation, as they can rely on the presence of familiar faces to navigate the changes. The shared experience of adapting to a new room can help create lasting bonds among the children, contributing to a supportive and cohesive group dynamic. Overall, the benefits of transitioning with current friends extend beyond the physical space, promoting a smoother adjustment and a more enriching social environment for the children involved.
Our Summer Program extends beyond the summer festive fun; it is also a valuable time for our Educators to set children up for success in 2024, starting with a transition process that we implement in collaboration with you and your children. We have much to offer in our Summer Program, and research-informed practices support our everyday Lifelong Learning Curriculum.
Healthy Beginnings Curriculum
The Lifelong Learning Healthy Beginnings Curriculum for babies’ birth–1-year-olds emphasizes the establishment of secure attachments and positive relationships between babies and educators through the use of Circle of Security and learning zones focused on play schemas.
Early Experiences Curriculum
The Lifelong Learning Early Experiences Curriculum for 1-3-year-olds emphasizes the development of Toddlers’ language and social development using the Abecedarian approach within our intentional learning zones focused on play schemas.
School Readiness Curriculum
The Lifelong Learning School Readiness Curriculum for 3-5-year-olds emphasizes enquiry-based projects and foundation academic skills to support children’s development of key 21st-century school-readiness.