Care and Education

• “Play is the highest form of research” – Albert Einstein
• F.P.C.C Learning and Development program is based on the principles of play pedagogy. Educators observe children’s play to extend their emerging interests as these are relevant to their lives and also provide opportunities to involve the community within our program.
• Our emphasis on learning through play stems from the belief that children are intrinsically motivated to engage and extend in ‘life experiences’ they deem as meaningful. It is through play that they draw on and develop their past experiences and are prompted by their interaction with materials and other people to explore new knowledge, language and skills. – Building a strong, reciprocal and responsive relationship with each family is paramount to our teaching philosophy at F.P.C.C.
• We provide an inclusive environment, where diverse social and ethnic backgrounds and abilities are respected and celebrated.
  Our teaching and resources reflect a commitment to gender, cultural and social equality.
• Indoor and outdoor experiences are devised by educators and children throughout the Centre. These experiences support children’s current knowledge, creativity, social and emotional development, cognitive and physical ability, language and independence skills.
• Teaching and Learning
  Each room has a developmentally appropriate program, designed for the individual needs of the child.
• At Fawkner Park C.C. the program is based around an ‘intention led’ emergent curriculum that is scaffolded by a team of teachers who endeavor to extend, encourage, guide and facilitate children through their individual and group interests. We aim to meet set intentions and develop key skills using a rich environment full of open-ended questions, meaningful interactions and exploration and discoveries.
• Storypark is a secure online tool to communicate children’s learning journey. It creates a secure online network of the people that matter most to your child. It helps working parents, far-away family, educators and specialists ensure children receive the best opportunities possible. It is used to document children’s learning and plan curriculum by accessing updates, observations, stories, photos and videos via the Storypark App. – In addition to Storypark, group learning portfolios are available in the Rooms and are used as a tool of reflective practice for Educators and, for children and their families, to look back on learning experiences.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Once a week all Rooms have music sessions with an experienced teacher from Hey De Ho Music (older children have the’ Active8′ movement program once a week).Set up in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Music and Childhood Development, all hey dee ho programs are aligned with the National Quality Standards and support the Early Years Learning Framework. Since our establishment, our priority has been to explore new ways to embrace the education of pre-school children.
For more information click on this link http://heydeeho.com.au/

KICKSTART SOCCER

Kickstart Soccer sessions are conducted weekly throughout the year for Junior Kindergarten and Large Kindergarten.
Kickstart works to promote the game of soccer in a variety of schools and early childhood settings in southern and metro Melbourne for South Yarra Primary School, Christ Church Grammar School, Toorak Primary School, Middle Park Primary School, Stonnington Primary School, Caulfield Primary School and Lauriston Girls School

EVENTS CALENDAR – EXTRA CURRICULAR ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

Events Calendar – Extra Curricular Enrichment Program
A regular program of workshops and visitors to the centre broadens children’s experiences and enriches the program!
Incursions are planned throughout the year and include music performances, drama workshops, puppet shows, storytelling, healthy eating, and environmental education sessions, to mention just a few.

– Early years learning and development framework – the emergent curriculum – The National and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework have five learning outcomes:
Identity
Community
Wellbeing
Learning
Communication
At Fawkner Park Children’s Centre we evaluate our programs against these five learning outcomes in the National and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and modify it to cater for the children’s current level of skills and interests.
An emergent curriculum is one which develops from exploring what is “socially relevant, intellectually engaging and personally meaningful to children” – that is, the curriculum emerges from responses to children’s immediate interests.

An emergent curriculum is one which develops from exploring what is “socially relevant, intellectually engaging and personally meaningful to children” – that is, the curriculum emerges from responses to children’s immediate interests.
Goals of the emergent curriculum are to;
Inspire delight, curiosity, celebration and inquiry
Build intrinsic motivation and a long-term love of learning in children Help children craft an internal compass to guide them as a learner, rather than relying on instruction and direction from others
Inspire children to be authors, inventors, illustrators, designers, dancers, singers, actors etc and to celebrate their unique talents and abilities Encourage consistent self-reflection and professional growth among teachers so they may always improve the quality of experiences
Allow the natural pace of individual and group learning to emerge and not be guided exclusively by the clock
Recognise that critical learning takes place during conflict, negotiation, brainstorming and resolution
Support the varied learning styles (visual, auditory, sensory, verbal etc) in ways that are also aware of gender differences.
Practice supportive social learning rather than punishment.

Please click on these links for more information on the Early Years Learning Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.