Engadine Gumnut Child Care Centre

QUALITY EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES AT GUMNUTS
* Sustainability and Environmental Awareness - worm farm, Vegetable garden, silk worms, rain catchment buckets, Zen Garden, sensory Garden, natural structures, recycling, solar power hot water, Earth Hour, Clean up Australia day, Walk to school day. Hatching Chickens.
* Engaging in Natural environments - Our Bush Kindy Days are making the most of the fact that we are next door to a natural environment and making this environment part of our regular program. We visit on a monthly basis allowing the children to explore and direct the play based on the resources around them. Activities include: free drawing easels, cane baskets to collect resources, dilly bags, insect hunting with magnifying glasses, kite flying, parachute games, story tree time, afternoon tea etc. We also hold "water days" in summer on the hottest days to cool the children down.
* Language and Literacy - Book week - dress up week, celebrating one Author per day, story books brought in from home. National Family Reading month Challenge in May also.
* Inclusive Environments
- Inter-generational Interactions - our pre-schoolers visit the local John Paul
Village Aged care twice per year to sing songs, interact with playdough and Ipads
and engage together.
- Aboriginal awareness embedded in our practices, cooking using bush tucker,
visitors, craft and resources.
- Assistance Dogs and Guide Dogs NSW - visit annually to speak to the children.
we hold PJ days to raise funds to say thankyou for this very special visit.
- Charity/inclusive Events to raise children awareness including: Crazy Hair Day
(Cancer), Footy Colours Day (Cancer), Big Morning Tea (Cancer), Red Nose Day
(SIDS), Stress Down Day, White Balloon Day (child Abuse), Harmony Day,
Unicef blue day
- Multicultural meals, family recipes, parent helpers, workshops such as: pasta
making, pom pom making, cake decorating etc., resources, activities and an
annual show. Cultural traditions sheets between parents and kindy for mothers
day, fathers day, birthday's and more.
* Fitness, Health and Safety - Daily Fitness morning Program, Ditto keep Safe Adventures (personal body awareness), Healthy Harold, Annual Adidas Fun Run event.
* Community Collaboration -
- Community walk around our local shops, visit to local businesses to make
purchases, local tram museum, local library, local school musical excursion.
- Ex-students are invited back every school holidays to engage with the children
and show them what things they have learnt since leaving Gumnuts.
* Modern Technology - 7 Ipads in use across the centre for the babies through to our Pre-schoolers, all journals are online, with access 24/7, including via an app on your phone, all daily diaries types up and emailed daily to parents, all communication emailed directly to parents, including monthly newsletters, upcoming events, menus, ilnesses etc.
* Highest level of access/communication with management - Owners/Directors Allyson and Kim are on the premises EVERY day from 9-3.30pm for all questions in person, via email or phone. All discussions are dealt with promptly and efficiently as all parents have quick and easy access to management.

COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY
Engadine Gumnut Child Care centre believes in the principle of “the central role of parents as partners in the education of their children” is fundamental to early childhood education.

Special activities are arranged during the year to allow all family members and other members of the community to participate in the centre’s activities.
Parents and Family members can actively participate at Engadine Gumnuts in many ways.
1. Parent Help Roster. We love having a wide variety of family members along to sing a song, read a story, play an instrument, share information about your career, family, favourite recipes or perhaps plan a craft activity.
2. We hold Easter and Christmas festivities, along with Mothers day and Fathers day, which include morning teas, activities/concerts and parties that all parents and family members are welcome to join us. Children graduating from Gumnuts also have a ceremony, which all parents attend.
3. We have a Parent Teacher Week for our 2-3 and 3-5 rooms, where parents book in a time slot to see their child’s focus teacher to discuss all their areas of development. On request interview can be setup for children in our 0-2 room.
4. A notice board in the foyer will also help to convey centre information to parents including Staff meeting minutes, community notices, upcoming courses etc.
5. Child Profile Updates are handed out at regular intervals throughout the year. This information is invaluable to connecting your child’s home experience to the centre. This also help build continuative of care for your child’s development.
6. Monthly Newsletter notifies parents of forthcoming events and will be emailed. The newsletters will also include information on matters of interest to parents regarding child health, safety and other matters.
7. Parent Committee meeting are held 3 times per year at 6.30/7.30pm. Meeting Minutes are then emailed to all Gumnut families following the meeting.
8. Communication Books. The 0-2 year olds will be given a communication book on their first day at Gumnuts. We will write in this book daily to tell you a little bit about your child’s day and to send home informal messages. It can also be used by parents to pass on any comments or requests to your child’s teacher. Please take them home, read them and return each day your child attends.
9. Email – Weekend dairy invites & other important parent information is communicated via our daily Diary email & regular messages sent to parents, including invitations to comment on curriculum, program, routines & experiences.
10. Cultural Identity pages, Birthday traditions and "All bout my mum/dad" forms are used to bridge the gap between home and Kindy life, and used throughout the year.