An engaging, stage appropriate, positive start to their learning journey; A Smart Start!
As parents we want what is best for our children. Often, family and friends voluntarily and with the best intentions issue advice on 'What is best'. Many parents often ask 'At what age should I send my Pre-schooler to big school?' My answer is simple; 'There is no one right answer'.
Whilst the Australian government mandates an age when students should start school, what we now know is that each child develops at an individual pace. Our decision to send our children to 'big school' at either 4 or 5 years of age should be based on exactly this; the individual and their academic, social and emotional readiness.
Smart Start Education provides parents with an opportunity to delay their child's first year of 'formal' education. By providing them with engaging, outcome based experiences which assist in improving confidence and most significantly, a love for learning.
Why school readiness?
Smart Start School Readiness - The benefits:
Based on over 15 years of Primary classroom experience, almost a decade as a lecturer in Teacher Education and primarily, as a mother of three, I was driven to improve the quality of the experience during the transition between pre-schooling and primary education.
Academic development:
Smart Start Education provides 3-5 year old children with play based, stage appropriate learning activities in both literacy and numeracy. In addition to the EYLF, the program intrinsically exposes students to the language and outcomes of ES1 (K) curriculum. Through strategically developed play based strategies, students are gently exposed to the outcomes that will be introduced in their first year of school.
"The experience of sitting for the mathematics interview the week before starting Kindergarten was all new to my son however, the kindergarten teacher was impressed that my child understood the expectations of more than and less than. He was confident with the academic side of things because at Smart Start he had seen it before and was familiar with the language and expectations. More than anything else, I feel comfort in knowing that in the first week of school he is a confident learner regardless of his academic level; it is about much more than that."
F. Kim (2015)
Social and Emotional development:
Research strongly supports the value of recognising the social and emotional development of children in their academic success at school. At Smart Start Education we pride ourselves on supporting all areas of the development of the child. This has been achieved though a structured routine, engaging stage appropriate tasks, valuing the individual (including celebration of individual success) and developing close relationships with parents.
The academic experiences at Smart Start Education assist in improving student confidence in their learning. As a result, students experience a smooth transition into the 'big school' setting as they have the capacity to focus on the social and emotional experiences which are difficult to plan for.
- Readiness for school is about maximising the quality of the journey.
- Australia continues to have one of the world's youngest age entries into school
- Successful education is more than an academic score at the end of year 12 of secondary school.
- The academic expectations of children in the first years of school have significantly increased in the past 10 years.
- Major international studies including the Cambridge University Primary Review (2009) strongly recommend increasing the school entry age
Smart Start School Readiness - The benefits:
Based on over 15 years of Primary classroom experience, almost a decade as a lecturer in Teacher Education and primarily, as a mother of three, I was driven to improve the quality of the experience during the transition between pre-schooling and primary education.
Academic development:
Smart Start Education provides 3-5 year old children with play based, stage appropriate learning activities in both literacy and numeracy. In addition to the EYLF, the program intrinsically exposes students to the language and outcomes of ES1 (K) curriculum. Through strategically developed play based strategies, students are gently exposed to the outcomes that will be introduced in their first year of school.
"The experience of sitting for the mathematics interview the week before starting Kindergarten was all new to my son however, the kindergarten teacher was impressed that my child understood the expectations of more than and less than. He was confident with the academic side of things because at Smart Start he had seen it before and was familiar with the language and expectations. More than anything else, I feel comfort in knowing that in the first week of school he is a confident learner regardless of his academic level; it is about much more than that."
F. Kim (2015)
Social and Emotional development:
Research strongly supports the value of recognising the social and emotional development of children in their academic success at school. At Smart Start Education we pride ourselves on supporting all areas of the development of the child. This has been achieved though a structured routine, engaging stage appropriate tasks, valuing the individual (including celebration of individual success) and developing close relationships with parents.
The academic experiences at Smart Start Education assist in improving student confidence in their learning. As a result, students experience a smooth transition into the 'big school' setting as they have the capacity to focus on the social and emotional experiences which are difficult to plan for.