Learning
Programme

Programme

Our child-initiated curriculum and semi-structured programme recognises the learning and developmental needs of children and their cultural backgrounds. Our professionally developed educators tailor learning programmes to suit each individual child as we seek to nurture their strengths and emerging interests.

At Milford Baptist Kindergarten, your child’s prior knowledge and experiences are respected and through participation, new knowledge and skills will be taught. Literacy and numeracy are woven through their learning as they discover more about themselves and the world around them.

Types of Activities

Music and movement

Children participate in music and movement during the mat time. Play instruments, singing, and dancing, action songs and dramatisation.

Storytelling

Listening, focusing, body control, question and answer, retelling, news time and memory.

Arts and crafts

Self expression, self direction, creativity, planning, designing, fine motor skills, imagination, satisfaction

Exploration

Innovation, imagination, self expression, cultural, dramatisation, developing skills and understanding.

Science

Developing skills and understanding, problem solving, enquiring, questioning and find out.

Language

Self expression through play, imagination, dramatic play, role play, peer interactions, news and conversations with adults.

Dramatic play

Self expression, creativity, becoming something/someone else through dress up, role play, cultural, imagination, prior experience and fun play.

Puzzles

Hand eye coordination, knowledge, language expression, special awareness and fine motor skills.

Mathematics

Developing skills and understanding, problem-solving, enquiring, and questioning.

Fine and gross motor skills

Playdough, art and craft activities, writing, lego, magnetic shapes, buttons and zips, weaving, reading, hammering, monkey bars, cargo net, sandpit play, water play, tracks and runways, digging, and mixing.

Programme Structure

We run an exciting high-quality educational programme, built around the children’s dispositions, interests and community focus. Our days are split into morning and afternoon sessions and your child will develop a sense of trust in the world, seeing and experiencing the same people in a familiar environment until they go to school. As part of the Milford Baptist Church, we also include Bible stories and Christian songs as part of our daily learning programme.

Term Dates for 2023/2024

Healthy Nutrition

Enjoying morning and afternoon tea together is a fun time for socialising and learning together as whanau (family). Children share lunchtimes as they sit at tables together with their lunch boxes filled from home. They are also served with fruit and honey and vegemite sandwiches and every child is encouraged to bring some fruit to share. All food served is recorded in the Food Register. Allergies are taken note of and we have a ‘NO NUT’ policy to protect children with allergies.

Transition to School

The child, family, teachers and environment are all part of the woven strands that ensure your child’s holistic growth and development are nurtured. However, the main emphasis of the “Rocket” pm programme is to develop ‘transition to school’ skills and abilities including emotional and social awareness, early literacy and numeracy awareness, exploration, communication, well-being and belonging.

We organise visits to local schools, as well as inviting schools to visit us. We establish good communication between our centre and the local schools for meeting with parents at the centre. Individual school visits are reinforced with photos of the classroom, teachers, playground and other elements of interest, to engage our children in talking about where they are going next.

Knowledgeable of current theories, our experienced educators will ensure all professional measures are taken to promote and support each child’s potential through the curriculum plan. The Rocket instruction time is project-based where teachers follow closely the interests of children, including topics initiated by staff or parents. Activities can be done either short or long term, weaving other components of the curriculum to extend the level of children’s interests and dispositions.

In response to the changes taking place with the E.C.E and the government, we at MBK welcome flexibility in our special Rocket programme. We will accept over 3 year olds to participate in the program, If we have space. We will communicate the nature of the program with parents, ensuring a steady progress of their child’s learning development.

Collaborative Development

We believe that in the early years especially, parents and caregivers are their children’s primary teachers and at Milford Baptist Kindergarten, we encourage families to have an active role in their child’s education. As such, we have an open door policy with parents and whanau of enrolled children where we welcome parents and caregivers to spend time with their child during sessions.

Our parent roster is another opportunity for you to see your child get involved at kindy, help our staff, and to see our learning programme in action. We relish constant communication with families and see it as fundamental to the curriculum while creating a rich, positive and social environment for everyone involved.

Documenting the entire learning process creates a fuller picture as we partner with you in the shared goals of your child’s learning and development. Learning stories are posted on our online portfolio software; Educa, where you can comment and share your thoughts. Photos and stories are collected in your child’s portfolio and every term, each child is provided with one learning story, a follow-up story of the learning story, or one snippet of news time, birthdays or some artwork that is linked to Te Whāriki.

Holiday Programme

We are now open for the school holidays for parents that are working or just want to spend individual time with their other children. It has been a great success and will be continuing to open in the three holidays during the year; the end of term 1, 2 and 3. We will close over the Christmas holidays at the end of term4  and reopen again at the beginning of term 1.