Our Programmes

ABOUT

Here is some additional information on some of the ways learning is supported within different age brackets:

Babies and young children up to the age of 2

Fundamentally babies and younger children first and foremost need to build secure attachments to their carer’s and to their environments. The educator’s role is vital in providing warm responsive and engaging relationships with children within this age bracket. It is suggested that when babies and younger toddlers feel secure, they will feel safe enough to explore their environment and all that is provided in it. In order for them to feel that sense of security, our environments in this age range are created to be calm, soft and soothing. Our highly trained educators are very responsive to the children’s needs and spend most of their time engaging in meaningful interaction in the form of singing, using rhymes, books, and simple games such as peekaboo. Experiences are repetitive as children of this age learn through repetition.

Routines, which are predictable and designed in consultation with parents or guardians are a must and are tailored to meet the individual needs of the child. As children from birth to the age of 2 years go through the most rapid growth then any other time in their life, this can create the need for changes in their dietary requirements and often children can be hungry more often. Due to this, children within this age group are provided with a lot more flexibility with meal and snack times in order to meet their growing needs.

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

Picture books, flash cards and hand puppets

Musical instruments

Spatial recognition- crawling through, around, over and under

Table top activities to encourage children to pull themselves up and begin walking around objects

Language is encouraged by repeating sounds such as babbling and repeating basic words to encourage their use in the older children. Turn taking is an important part of learning to converse, educators take the time to listen and then respond to babies and young children to teach these rules of conversation

Cause and affect are taught through equipment such as toys that can be pushed to make a sound, or balls that roll through equipment when placed in a hole etc.

Sensory exploration such as water, playdough, and finger painting are offered regularly.

Brain development

Our knowledge of early childhood development informs us of the importance of what is called crossing the midline. This is an area of development Hippity Hop early Learning prioritises.

The midline is an imaginary line down the middle of your body from your head down to between your feet. To cross that line and reach across your body from left to right and vice versa is considered crossing the midline. This is an extremely important skill for all children to develop as effectively it means they are using both the left and right side of the brain to coordinate movement. As both sides of the brain are responsible for different functions, they both need to be able to work together. Being able to cross the midline is required to assist in appropriate crawling, pre- reading, and writing skills, coordination, completing tasks that require 2 hands such as tying shoelaces, putting on socks etc. This skill starts to develop early on in babies and when poorly developed is suggested to affect future learning and coordination. Children in this age group are purposefully encouraged to develop this skill while at our Service during everyday play. Infants are encouraged to visually follow objects across their midline with their eyes when educators hold toys or instruments and move them from left to right, older babies and young children are encouraged to reach for toys and objects by holding them across the midline and songs and rhymes are used to cross the children’s midline through actions.

Toddlers 2 to 3 year old age group

Children of this age are energetic and eager to explore their environments. They are now gaining more control over their larger muscles and enjoy practicing their use. They enjoy the predictability in routines such as before meals we wash our hands and after lunch we all rest. They form strong bonds with their carer’s and learn through observation and imitation and are often seen using their imagination in playing out experiences familiar to them, such as talking on a play telephone, pretending to wash dishes, etc. Their language begins to increase, and they begin to assert their independence and will tell you what they do and don’t like or and do not want to do. Parallel play, whereby children play alongside each other but not necessarily in a coordinated way is often used and sharing can be an unrealistic expectation. In order to support children of this age group our environments are created to include duplicates of certain equipment to lessen the need for sharing, activities are set up on tables to include 2 children where they can play alongside each other, children are offered controlled choices to support their independence such as ‘would you like to read a story or go outside? Rather than an open-ended choice which can be overwhelming to a child of this age. Plenty of opportunity is provided to practice running, climbing, digging etc. and new words are taught and encouraged through books, songs, flash cards etc. Art experiences and messy or sensory play is greatly enjoyed and offered regularly.

toddler energetic and eager to explore their environments

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

Toilet training may begin, and support is offered to children and their families in achieving this huge milestone

Early numeracy- where children begin to recite the numbers

Providing a variety of art mediums for children to engage in and manipulate such as crayons, chalk, paint etc.

Other concepts are taught during play such as over, under and through with the use of obstacle courses.

Children begin colour recognition, and this is supported through everyday play

Early mathematical concepts such as balance when building basic towers

Dramatic play areas like a kitchen home corner.

3 year old kindergarten

Our 3-year-old kindergarten program is designed to work with your child to develop the required skills to successfully transition to our 4-year-old kindergarten program. Children in this age group become more interested in playing with friend rather than just beside them and begin to learn skills required in forming early friendships. Their imagination grows and imaginative play is strongly engaged in. Sharing is more easily achieved, and they begin to learn the skills of turn taking. As their emotions get bigger sometimes their reactions can too. This is a time to start extended conversations regarding different emotions as children now know when they feel happy or sad and early self-regulation skills can start to be introduced. They enjoy flexible routines and boundaries, and simple consequences are required in order to start in the preparation of expected behaviour for the 4-year-old kindergarten.

Language develops a lot during this year and children often engage more in conversations and enjoy telling stories. They are extremely curious and often ask why? Their larger muscles are more developed, and they become more coordinated and more confident to engage in risker play such as jumping off play equipment or climbing higher or more challenging obstacles. Self-help and self-care skills are developing, and their independence and confidence begins to grow. Messy play and art experiences are greatly enjoyed as is uninterrupted indoor/ outdoor play. To support children in this age group our environments allow for lots of time for uninterrupted play both indoors and outdoors. Our educators may help children to engage or settle in play then step back to observe allowing the children to take over and direct the play within their group. This is important as they being to learn important skills such as communication and problem solving. Mealtimes are progressive and run over a longer period, this enables children who are engaged in play to finish, allowing them to come to the natural conclusion of their own play without fear of missing out. Smaller group experiences are set up to encourage children to interact with each other and not all equipment offers duplicates so that children learn to share and take turns. Emotions such as anger, frustration, sadness, fear, happiness, and excitement are discussed regularly with books, stories and pictures used to help children understand these very normal feelings. Work begins in teaching children what we can and can’t do when we feel a certain way. ‘I’ messages are introduced, for example’ I can see you feel angry because your friend took your toy and eventually moves to the children being able to use the ‘I’ messages themselves to describe their own feelings to others. Short group times such as story time, singing, poems and rhymes are engaged in, and children are provided the opportunity if desired to stand up in front of the group to share ideas, items from home or exciting news. This aids in building confidence and preparation for more engaged show are share once they reach the 4 year old kindergarten.

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

More complex puzzles are offered

Play dough is a staple in this room as the hands are used to manipulate, pinch, roll and squash it

Self care discussions form a more complex part of the program with ‘why we wash our hands’, ‘what germs are and how they get on our hands’, dental care and healthy foods are discussed and experiences set up to teach and embed these practices.

What we need to be healthy and happy form part of the program and the children start to learn about the body structure.

Sustainability activities are more involved, and the children enjoy taking care of the vegetable gardens

Games and songs that have more complex actions are engaged in and crossing the midline is extended on.

Balance and core strength is extended on through obstacle courses. Rolling and jumping with 2 feet together as well as throwing and kicking becomes more purposeful and coordinated and children are provided lots of opportunity practice.

Our greater community becomes more a focus and children enjoy having other programs from external visitors such as animal encounters, puppets shows, traffic safety etc. They also start to have small group outings into our community through the use our enrichment program.

4 Year old kindergarten

At Hippity Hop Early Learning our 4 year old kindergarten is designed to work with your child to develop the skills required for an easy and successful transition to school. The program is run by highly experienced Bachelor trained teachers and is purposefully dedicated to school readiness. School readiness refers to a much broader range of skills such as social and emotional maturity, wellbeing and self-help and care skills rather than just the academics. To successfully navigate the school environment, children need to be able to communicate their needs and wants confidently to both their peers and their teachers, they need to be able to take care of their belongings, take their jumpers on and off, open their lunch boxes, toilet independently, be able to navigate friendships and conflict in the school yard, be able to follow directions, sit upright for extended periods and be able to self-regulate. In order to support children in the 4 year old kindergarten, our environments are designed to promote cooperative play.

The play spaces are developed in a way that allows for children to work together in small groups enabling them to engage in reciprocal conversations and interactions as well as to problem solve by brain storming ideas together. Some experiences are placed on low tables that encourage children to sit up on their knees with their back straight for extended periods. This assists in the development of core strength which is required first and foremost before children can sit at a table to begin learning to write. Large group learning opportunities in the form of group times and story time are developed to work on the children’s abilities to sit and concentrate, Show, and share times are utilised to promote confidence and language development in all children as well as listening skills while being an observer. We place a big focus on self-regulation with discussions on feelings and strategies on how the children can navigate and deal with them. Sometimes this means assisting them with the words to use with their peers such as explaining why they didn’t like what another child may have done and how it made them feel. Children in this room are also given greater responsibility with things like dishing up their own lunch, toileting, and cleanliness, applying their own sunscreen, finding their own hat, placing their own belongings in their bag and choosing of resources.

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

Finer muscle development in their hands in order to support writing, with the use of scissors for cutting and pasting, small beads for threading, finer paint brushes, thinner pencils and textas, smaller puzzle pieces.

Books, songs and rhymes are used for early literacy.

Concepts such as small and big, in front and behind, light and heavy, sink and float.

Mathematics including numeracy such as counting, sequencing, and patterning. Balance in the elaborate block building and measurement such as length of objects or people, weight during cooking experiences etc

Games that allow sharing, waiting and turn taking

Imaginative play such as home corner, dress ups, dolls etc

Concepts such as small and big, in front and behind, light and heavy, sink and float.

Science concepts are taught during experiments and experiences and lots of questions to encourage hypothesising.

Name recognition by using placemats, bag hooks etc.

Coordination through obstacle courses, using wheelbarrows, kicking and catching balls, building with larger blocks. Songs and with actions that require jumping, hopping, balancing on one leg, crossing the midline.

Confidence and life skills through excursions that engage with the local community such as purchasing items from the supermarket.

Service and kindness by supporting the local community. This can be in the form of donating items to community organisations or visiting and sending pictures and gifts to our local nursing home.

Overall knowledge with new topics such as space, dinosaurs, life cycles of bugs or animals

Extensive projects and art experiences.

TESTIMONIALS

Our Programmes

Babies and young children up to the age of 2

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

Picture books, flash cards and hand puppets

Musical instruments

Spatial recognition- crawling through, around, over and under

Table top activities to encourage children to pull themselves up and begin walking around objects

Cause and affect are taught through equipment such as toys that can be pushed to make a sound, or balls that roll through equipment when placed in a hole etc.

Sensory exploration such as water, playdough, and finger painting are offered regularly.

Brain development

Toddlers 2 to 3 year old age group

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

Toilet training may begin, and support is offered to children and their families in achieving this huge milestone

Early numeracy- where children begin to recite the numbers

Providing a variety of art mediums for children to engage in and manipulate such as crayons, chalk, paint etc.

Other concepts are taught during play such as over, under and through with the use of obstacle courses.

Children begin colour recognition, and this is supported through everyday play

Early mathematical concepts such as balance when building basic towers

Dramatic play areas like a kitchen home corner.

3 year old kindergarten

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

More complex puzzles are offered

Play dough is a staple in this room as the hands are used to manipulate, pinch, roll and squash it

Self care discussions form a more complex part of the program with ‘why we wash our hands’, ‘what germs are and how they get on our hands’, dental care and healthy foods are discussed and experiences set up to teach and embed these practices.

What we need to be healthy and happy form part of the program and the children start to learn about the body structure.

Sustainability activities are more involved, and the children enjoy taking care of the vegetable gardens

Games and songs that have more complex actions are engaged in and crossing the midline is extended on.

Balance and core strength is extended on through obstacle courses. Rolling and jumping with 2 feet together as well as throwing and kicking becomes more purposeful and coordinated and children are provided lots of opportunity practice.

Our greater community becomes more a focus and children enjoy having other programs from external visitors such as animal encounters, puppets shows, traffic safety etc. They also start to have small group outings into our community through the use our enrichment program.

4 Year old kindergarten

Other ways we encourage learning and development in this age group include.

Finer muscle development in their hands in order to support writing, with the use of scissors for cutting and pasting, small beads for threading, finer paint brushes, thinner pencils and textas, smaller puzzle pieces.

Books, songs and rhymes are used for early literacy.

Concepts such as small and big, in front and behind, light and heavy, sink and float.

Mathematics including numeracy such as counting, sequencing, and patterning. Balance in the elaborate block building and measurement such as length of objects or people, weight during cooking experiences etc

Games that allow sharing, waiting and turn taking

Imaginative play such as home corner, dress ups, dolls etc

Concepts such as small and big, in front and behind, light and heavy, sink and float.

Science concepts are taught during experiments and experiences and lots of questions to encourage hypothesising.

Name recognition by using placemats, bag hooks etc.

Coordination through obstacle courses, using wheelbarrows, kicking and catching balls, building with larger blocks. Songs and with actions that require jumping, hopping, balancing on one leg, crossing the midline.

Confidence and life skills through excursions that engage with the local community such as purchasing items from the supermarket.

Service and kindness by supporting the local community. This can be in the form of donating items to community organisations or visiting and sending pictures and gifts to our local nursing home.

Overall knowledge with new topics such as space, dinosaurs, life cycles of bugs or animals

Extensive projects and art experiences.

What Our Clients Say

AARON PEACHEY

PAKENHAM

AMI PRICE

PAKENHAM

MADELINE ABBOTT

BERWICK

ALANA MAREE

BERWICK

DEM PAPS

YARRAMBAT

KATELIN

ENDEAVOUR HILLS

SARAH

YARRAMBAT

REWA

ENDEAVOUR HILLS