the children's centre

Wombat and Turtle Room: Three-year-old kindergarten

Our three-year-old kindergarten children attend the Turtle and Wombat groups. The Kinder program runs between 9am and 3pm from Monday to Friday over the school terms. On the school holidays our teachers are on annual leave, and the room is run by a Diploma trained educator in the room.  

The Wombat and Turtle rooms accommodate up to 20 and 18 children respectively, with a consistent team of experienced educators in each classroom. The Kindergarten teacher in each classroom hold their Bachelor of Education, and support team are qualified early childhood educators.  

Children have access to inclusion support services such as integration aides and allied health therapists such as occupational therapists and speech pathologists during their Kinder day.  

Experiences and activities offered are set up to be engaging and challenging, facilitating the development of confident and capable learners. An indoor/outdoor program is run throughout the day for children to enjoy a range of experiences that cater to their needs and interests. Group times for the children include stories, songs, music, literacy and numeracy experiences and group games. 

Children will be offered a range of inquiry-based learning, pre-literacy experiences, numeracy, STEM, music and movement and art. We have a bushland on our property and the children are invited on regular nature walks.  

Our specialist program includes Music and Drama, Auslan, and Active Antics, which is a PMP based program (Perceptual Motor Program). These programs alternate on a three weekly basis to ensure all children have the opportunity to participate.  

Our food is prepared by the kitchen team in the restaurant upstairs, and the children have the opportunity to visit the kitchen for cooking throughout the year. The three-year-old program has a minimum of one incursion per term, such as ocean animals, lion dance for Lunar New Year, science experiences and dinosaur workshops.  

We have a grandparents program, called the Intergenerational Program which runs each term where we invite grandparents to come and visit our program for an hour, and spend time with our children.  

The Turtles and Wombats will get to attend community walks in the local streets and have picnics and special events out and about in preparation for their bus trips in four-year-old Kinder.  

The Turtle and Wombat programs are informed by the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory, Bronfenbrenner and the Reggio Emilia approach. These influences create a holistic program that gives every child a chance to learn, be successful and achieve their fullest potential during the Kindergarten year. 

We encourage you to book a tour for our three-year-old program to find out why our Kindergarten programs are renowned throughout our local community!