What is ELF?
For parents/carers with small children, ELF's aim is to provide a caring, stimulating and structured learning environment for children aged between 1-4 years of age. Duration
Monday - Friday during school terms. 10:00am - 12:00pm Function
HBC Early Learning Foundations (ELF) provides care for some 20 children each day from Monday to Friday. The ELF community is made up of around 110 families from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. The current ELF Coordinator has been involved in facilitating these programs for nearly 21 years and holds an Associate Diploma of Childcare qualification. PhilosophyPlay is the child’s work – it is their primary means of discovery, exploration and learning. In this environment the child will grow through a diverse range of both indoor and outdoor play experiences, including language and story groups, music and movement groups, arts and crafts, songs and various outings. The social, creative, cognitive, physical and spiritual development of each child is achieved in the following ways:
• Assist each child to feel happy, confident and eager to experience new opportunities of self-discovery about themselves and the world around them.
• Create sensitive learning opportunities through the structuring of the environment and the provision of appropriate equipment.
• Facilitate creative expression through the provision of appropriate materials and to allow parents and care-givers to show interest and give encouragement to their children.
• Provide an open environment in which the child can make their own choices and direct their own play and interaction with others.
• Support each parent / care-giver and child relationship to experience its fullest potential in the years before kindergarten, preschool or school.
• Offer support and counseling (through HBC) to parents in response to requests or perceived needs. Daily Program | Time | Activity | Learning Outcomes | | 10:00 – 11:00 | Thera-play: Play-dough, Painting, Toys, Puzzles, Sandpit, Outdoor equipment, Dress-ups. | Social, Physical, Cognitive Parents are able to engage with their children in a number of activities. This is supervised by the Playtime Coordinator and takes place both indoors and outdoors, in 2 learning areas. | | 11:00 – 11:15 | Morning Tea | Social The children are arranged at a table and are encouraged to practice appropriate manners with their food and drink. They learn to share, look out for the needs of others and to interact during a ‘meal-time’. | | 11:15 – 11:45 | Craft Time: Specifically themed crafts that change each School term. Utilize a range of materials and mediums. | Cognitive, Creative, Physical The parents and children participate in preparing the materials for craft and putting it together. The craft is taken home at the end of the day as a reminder of the progressive theme of the term. | | 11:45 – 12:00 | Song and Dance / Story Time: Children are asked to choose songs to sing and act out in front of the group. The stories connect with the craft theme and incorporate the reading of the Christian story. | Cognitive, Creative, Physical, Spiritual The Playtime Coordinator leads the singing and dancing. Each child is asked to think of a favourite song and to demonstrate the appropriate actions. The story is then told to the group and the children are encouraged to sit and listen and to ask questions about the story at the end of the reading. | Other ActivitiesEach term an outing is arranged that supports the curriculum theme of the term. Featherdale Wildlife Park, fire brigade, Kalkari National Park and local animal farms are some of the places the children and their parents / care-givers will attend and interact in a different learning environment. For further details, contact Carolyn Esson or the Church Office. |
ELF - Early Learning Foundations
