0-5 Room
In Koroit, we provide education and care for children aged 6 weeks to 6 years old in a long day care setting. All ages are grouped together and share our wonderful open planned indoor and outdoor environments. We have an indoor/outdoor policy where the door is always open which allows children to have a choice and move freely between the two areas.
Our experienced planners work together to set up a safe environment that enables children to work and play independently or together in small and large groups. Children have access to a wide and diverse range of activities and experiences throughout the day which aim to stimulate the children’s learning and development. Our educators regularly reflect on the environment, to ensure we are creating opportunities for children to develop a strong sense of identity and wellbeing, for children to have opportunities to connect with their world, be confident and involved learners and become effective communicators. We believe in providing play-based learning experiences which are based around the children’s strengths, interests, abilities and culture to provide a program that is catered to all children and families of our Honey Pot community.
To ensure consistency, we follow a similar routine each day which includes meal times, sleep/relaxation times, nappy changing and toileting routines, group times and more. However, we are very flexible to ensure all needs of every child are catered for. We also use these daily routines for intentional teaching moments. For example, during meal times we have many discussions about healthy eating and drinking, during group times we encourage music and movement, pre literacy and pre numeracy skills, turn taking, listening and more. These are just some of the many ways we provide high quality care and education for the children.
At the Honey Pot Koroit, we embrace the community in which we live. We love to get out and about and take the children on excursions around our local community. We believe children learn from a community and in showing children valuable experiences within it, it will help them to gain knowledge and connect their lives to where they live. We also believe children will be provided with life-long skills and a better understanding of themselves. Some of the places we like to visit include the Koroit IGA, Koroit fire station, library, local playgrounds, botanical gardens, railway station and Tower hill.
3 Year Old Kindergarten
As of 2022, our 3 Year Old kindergarten program is funded which means we provide a bachelor qualified kinder teacher. Families have access to utilise two years of funded kinder (one year of 3 year old and one year of 4 year old).
The evidence also shows that two years are better than one when it comes to early learning and a quality kindergarten program will have more of an impact for children who start at age three than those who start at four. Learning programs led by teachers are even more important for children who are in vulnerable circumstances.
Kindergarten programs delivered in a long day care setting provide flexibility for parents and carers by offering childcare before and after the kindergarten program. As of 2023, to enrol in a 3 year old kindergarten program your child must attend 15 hours per week. Our program runs Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30-4:30, and your child muct attend two of those days to meet the criteria of hours.
In a kindergarten program, children use play to build their language skills and learn about numbers and patterns. They also learn how to get along with others, share, listen, and manage their emotions. Teachers and educators help children become curious, creative and confident about learning. All children's learning throughout kinder helps develop children's readiness for beginning school.
At the Honeypot we ensure to embed routine, child's voice, group experiences, creativity, acedemic learning, cooperative play, and most of all fun! Kinder teachers work closely with families, communicating any information necessary. Our Teachers are there to help support families decisions and ensure children have the best outcome possible in regard to their future kinder and schooling years. Children are only eligable to do one year of funded 3 year old kinder, yet can recieve a second year of 4 year old kinder if the teacher observes clear developmental delays.
Our Wonderful Koroit 3-yr-old kinder program is run by Robyn who is studying her Bachelor of Education in Early Years.
Our 3-yr-old Kinder program has a big focus on encouraging children to build relationships with their peers, staff, families and community whilst also developing a sense of belonging within the kinder room. We provide rich learning experiences that are hands on, play based and extend on from the children’s interests and ideas. We build on the children’s knowledge in academic areas such as literacy, numeracy, art, history, music, our local cultures, sustainability and many more.
Throughout the day, the children are given the choice to enjoy engaging both outside or indoors to maximise their learning opportunities.
Throughout the year we offer many incursions and excursions- allowing us to connect within our community. These include visiting the library, the CFA station, playing at the parks and exploring the botanical gardens.
4 Year Old Kinder
The Koroit Honeypot 4 year old Kindergarten program runs on a Monday and Tuesday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Fees are as normal Long Day Care Fees. Included in the costs each child will receive a Kinder hat along with a Bush Kinder Program and other excursions and incursions. Your child will also receive a healthy home cooked lunch along with morning tea and afternoon tea included in the costs.
Our Kinder program provides many rich learning activities for children to expand their knowledge in Literacy, math, geography, history and cultural events through play based activities in our indoor and outdoor environment. These play based experiences are planned for, based on the children's strengths, interests, abilities and cultures to provide a program that is catered to all the children within the service.
Some of the other wonderful experiences your child will engage in at our kinder include: Many excursions and incursions – we love to get out into our local community. We will teach your children road safety, we will connect with nature, we will learn all about the culture and history of Koroit, we will attend performances at the Light House Theatre, attend art galleries and visit our local libraries and fire stations. Our excursions to Tower Hill, Flag staff Hill and the Cudgee wildlife park are amongst some of our favourite excursions of children and educators.
We are also excited to announce our new Bush Kinder Program – this will run on a fortnightly basis where we will spend time in nature. There will be no toys, no screens. Instead, the children will be exploring nature - learning about local fauna, animals, birds, rocks. We will also teach children about our rich local Aboriginal history and Bush Safety skills. The Department of Education and Training states “The development of Bush kinder’s reflects the mounting body of evidence that outdoor activities such as exploring natural environments, are beneficial to children and contribute to improving children’s health, wellbeing and behaviour by supporting personal and social development.''
To promote school readiness for your children we will teach them about their emotions and how to handle tricky situations. We will promote lifelong skills of healthy eating, dressing themselves and playing with peers. We provide many experiences to prepare your child for school, some examples include; having lunch boxes provided to teach children the art of opening packaging and managing a lunch box, engaging children in a lending library program and visiting the local schools for exciting learning experiences.
The 4 Year Old Kinder Program at Koroit is ran by our incredible Brooke. Brooke has completed her Bachelor of Educator in Early Years, has taught 4 year old kinder for 3 years, and has been an educator at The Honeypot for 7 years.
At the Honeypot Early Learning Centres, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Gunditjmara Country on which we gather on today. We pay our respects to the Marr Nation and the Elders past, present and emerging. May our work continue to build on the work of Aboriginal Ancestors and Elders; the custodians of the land, in maintaining cultural practices and family kinship, through language, song, dance, storytelling and caring for country. May our children become the teachers of tomorrow, carrying the local stories and become strong advocates of our Indigenous culture within Victoria.
