Our Curriculum
“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence”
-Maria Montessori-
The Integrated Curriculum: Australian Early Years Learning Framework and Montessori.
Early childhood development sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behavior, and health. The experiences children have in early childhood shape the brain and the child's capacity to learn, get along with others, and respond to daily stresses and challenges. We have adopted Montessori and Australian Early Years Learning Frameworks as the foundation of our curriculum.
The Montessori methods and the Australian Gorvenment’s Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) work hand-in-hand to positively support children’s learning and development from birth to age six. The EYLF offers a vision where all children experience learning that is engaging and builds success for life.
The Montessori curriculum enhances the EYLF by providing children with the optimal learning environment, materials, and guidance to discover their full potential and inspire a love of learning. Both curriculums cover five key learning areas that focus on nurturing strong academic and well-being foundations.
Targeted Areas of Development
Children have a strong sense of identity
Children learn about themselves and construct their own identities within the context of their families and communities. This includes their relationships with people, places, and things and the actions and responses of others. Identity is not fixed, It is shaped by experiences. When children have positive experiences they develop an understanding of themselves as significant and respected and feel a sense of belonging. Relationships are the foundations for the construction of identity – ‘who I am, ‘how I belong’ and ‘what is my influence?’ At Bright Little Stars we develop their strong sense of identity by:
Providing opportunities for children to engage independently with tasks and play.
Displaying delight, encouragement, and enthusiasm for children’s attempts.
Supporting children’s efforts, assisting, and encouraging as appropriate.
Motivating and encouraging children to succeed when they are faced with challenges.
Providing time and space for children to engage in both individual and group activities.
Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Having a positive sense of identity and experiencing respectful, responsive relationships strengthens children’s interest and skills in being and becoming active contributors to their world. As children move into early childhood settings they broaden their experiences as participants in different relationships with their friends and teachers. At Bright Little Stars we support their well-being by:
Modeling language that children can use to express ideas, negotiate roles and collaborate to achieve goals.
Ensuring that children have the skills to participate and contribute to group play and projects.
Planning opportunities for children to participate in meaningful ways in group discussions and shared decision-making about rules and expectations.
Children have a strong sense of well-being
Well-being includes good physical health, feelings of happiness, satisfaction, and successful social functioning. It influences the way children interact in their environments. A strong sense of well-being provides children with confidence and optimism that maximize their learning potential. It encourages the development of children’s innate exploratory drive, a sense of agency, and a desire to interact with others. At Bright Little Stars we support their well-being by:
Showing genuine affection, understanding, and respect for all children.
Ensuring that all children experience pride in their attempts and achievements.
Promoting children’s sense of belonging, connectedness, and wellbeing.
Challenging and Supporting children to engage in and persevere at tasks by maintaining high expectations of each child’s capabilities.
Respecting children’s personal decision-making.
Acknowledging and affirming children’s efforts and growth.
Children are confident and involved learners
In a supportive, active learning environment, children who are confident and involved learners are increasingly able to take responsibility for their own learning, personal regulation, and contribution to the social environment. Connections and continuity between learning experiences in different settings make learning more meaningful and increase children’s feelings of belonging. At Bright Little Stars we support their confidence and involvement by:
Providing babies and toddlers with resources that offer challenge, intrigue, and surprise, supporting their investigations and sharing their enjoyment.
Providing experiences that encourage children to investigate and solve problems.
Encourage children to use language to describe and explain their ideas.
Provide opportunities for involvement in experiences that support the investigation of ideas, complex concepts and thinking, reasoning, and hypothesizing.
Children are effective communicators
From birth, children communicate with others using gestures, sounds, language and assisted communication. They are social beings who are intrinsically motivated to exchange ideas, thoughts, questions, and feelings, and to use a range of tools and media, including music, dance, and drama, to express themselves, connect with others and extend their learning. At Bright Little Stars we support their communication by:
Engaging in enjoyable interactions with babies as they make and play with sounds.
Responding sensitively and appropriately to children’s efforts to communicate.
Engaging in sustained communication with children about ideas and experiences, and extending their vocabulary.
Reading and sharing a range of books and other texts with children.