How we learn

We have a special pre-school room where we adapt our approach to make learning fun. The children's enthusiasm for learning makes this age a joy and we take advantage of their curiosity by creating fun games with rules which are a bit more complex and with goals and rewards for good behaviour.

This is also the stage when we can start introducing letters and numerals. We really focus on FUN and learning through play. We think that children should have FUN at this age. We focus on introducing academic concepts and refining their social and independence skills.

The pre-school features two additional levels of the childrens supervised access; a "Tree House" and a "Castle". The Tree House area is predominantly used for practitioner supported interactions with technology, whilst the Castle is used for a plethora of activities to support childrens learning and wellbeing, such as turn-taking games, interactive stories or language enhancement groups.

Activities

The activities we provide in our Pre-School room are similar to those in the toddler room. We use similar activities but take them a step further to help the children develop their skills.

Sticking - lots of brightly coloured paper and kid-safe glue
Painting - every child's favourite (and ours too !) We never cease to be amazed at the wonderful creations they make and the fun in their eyes as the paint goes (almost) where they hoped!
Sensory play (rice / flour / sand) - this helps our children to understand how different things feel and move
Water play - we have objects that float and sink and squirt and swim!
Music time - sing-a-long with nursery rhymes and rattles
Being imaginative - this is a time for children to mirror, initiate and extend their imagination about the world around them
Story time - short stories with fun, puppets and acting.
Finger Gym and large scale writing area to enhance writing skills. Here children can access a malleable tray and a creative station
A mathematics area where children can self select materials, games and activities

Choices

Learning how to make choices and decisions are an important part of a child's personal and social development and we involve them in deciding what they will do each day. The activities are a mixture of what a child chooses to do and what is initiated by us.

Personal care

Hygiene is also important and we aim to teach the children about the importance of washing their hands before meals and after the toilet.

We encourage each child to develop the social skills they need to be ready for school; taking themselves to the toilet, keeping themselves clean and safe, being able to put on their own coats and shoes, be kind to their friends and sharing, and, of course, good table manners.