What we provide for our children...

18-24 Months

At 18- 24 months-old your child will have learnt so many new skills, however there is still so much more to master. At this age, children love to play and explore. They are brimming with curiosity and begin to show some independence. Their communication is still emerging and they will start show preferences to things they like and dislike. Sometimes everything gets a little too much and your toddler may have temper tantrums. This is ok! It’s their way of showing their frustration as they are yet able to verbalise it.

At Old Dalby Preschool we provide experiences for children to work on the skills they’ve already learnt and then, when ready, move on to more challenging things. Communication is constantly promoted through singing, stories and general play. Children’s overwhelming emotions are validated and supported. Our equipment and play space are designed to build up all those small muscles in you toddler’s body. All of that becomes very tiring! We provide a warm, cosy, quiet place to nap and recharge.

2 Year Olds

Being 2 is hard work. The world can be big, scary and exciting all in the space of a minute. At Old Dalby Preschool we create environments and offer experiences that nurture and fuel the natural curiosity found in every toddler while also providing a safe and secure base to retreat to when the world gets just a bit too big. Every child has a practitioner, known as a key person, who will be there when they need support.

Sometimes you’re having so much fun you need a nap, we provide a space for this and monitor children while they sleep.

As your body develops you might start to want to be like the older children and use the toilet. As well as our nappy changing facilities we have a supply of potties for children and toilet rings to choose from when the time is right.

3 Year Olds

By your third year you’re starting to understand the value of finding friends to have fun with. The Preschool offers a communication rich environment to help you do this. There are lots of opportunities for children to develop social skills and team work through everyday play. From waiting your turn with the help of the sand timer to building dens with logs twice as tall as you are.

Three year olds also have a growing desire to be independent and we encourage and support this. Each practitioners key children form a team and children are rewarded with a ball in their teams jar when they achieve something for themselves or just do something amazing. Having a visual target in mind really helps children to develop their independence.

It’s also a time when you are developing your own interests and practitioners tailor activities to cater for each child’s unique passions.

4 Year Olds

At four years your ability to focus will have grown and you’ll hear lots of people mentioning a place called ‘school’. We understand that this can be a stressful time for parents and children alike and have developed a transition program that minimises the stress of starting school.

We work together with primary schools to ensure this transition is as smooth as possible. We hold teacher/practitioner meetings with your child’s teacher, whichever school they will be attending, which offer helpful insights into how each child learns. We don’t stop there! We plan a lot of fun activities for children to help them understand the concept of school, these include school role play, uniform dress up, sharing stories about starting school and many discussions with children.

We work hard throughout the year on teaching children the skills they will need to begin school.