The Hamilton and Alexandra College Newsletter

Early Learning Centre

Welcome to our new very own dedicated Early Learning Centre page in our College Newsletter.  Here we will share some of the fabulous happenings at the Early Learning Centre in both our Piccolo and Piccino groups.  We will also share information on early childhood development and any other information that primarily effects our early learning community.

 

Piccolo (ELC3)

What a terrific first half of the year we have had with our Piccolo’s.  We invest a lot of time and energy in developing our relationship with each child in the beginning, and this sets us up for a thriving second half of the year.  So far, we have been working on our name recognition and calling each other by name and we have learnt our routine/transition songs.  We have been painting, drawing sculpting, digging in the sandpit, and transporting the sand and bark from one place to another.  We have also read over 40 books (we read at least two each session). 

We will welcome our Piccolo’s back for Term Three on Wednesday 20 July.

 

Piccino (ELC4)

Term Two and Three are our Nature Exploration terms.  Each Tuesday we put on our puddle jumpers, jackets and gumboots and head off up to HIRL.  This week we walked through the Nature Trail so that the children were prepared.  We found ‘Nature Wands, we spied a family of Bush Wallaby’s and even spotted an eagle flying overhead.  We then explored the bottom edge of the HIRL grounds, where we found a tree branch the perfect height for climbing across.  We also found many muddy puddles to jump in.  We love our nature adventures each week, they offer so many opportunities and possibilities for play and learning.

 

Over the holidays we are having new flooring laid throughout the Early Learning Centre, as such ELC staff require additional time to set up our early learning space for Term Three.  Therefore, we will welcome our Piccino’s back for Term Three on Thursday 21 July.

 

Early Childhood Languages Program

We are thrilled to announce that the Victorian Government has confirmed funding for this program until the end of 2023.  This will mean we will continue to provide our Chinese Language Immersion Program next year, and Mrs Angel Weisbach has also confirmed that she will continue to facilitate our program.

 

Reading the same book ……

You can picture it now: You’re sitting down, reading your child’s favourite story, get to the end only for them to ask “again, again?”. Did you know that reading the same book over and over is actually very important!

 

It helps your children to learn and remember the story and it affords more opportunities for them to join in and make comments about the story. Here are some ways you can make repeating books easier and more fun:

  • The first time you read the book, read the words.
  • The second time, take more time to stop, talk about the pictures, make comments, and ask questions.
  • Take time to make connections between the story and real-life things happening for your child.
  • If it is the 50th repetition, you could reverse the roles and encourage your child to tell you the story in their own words.

Be creative and remember that sharing stories together is special. It helps to build communication by modelling new and different words, listening, and encouraging attention.

 

Frances O'Brien

Director Early Learning Centre