Merri tailors it’s curriculum to four developmental stages preceding school. Correspondingly these four distinct curriculums take place in a room that reflects the needs of the children working their way through this stage of development. These rooms are called the Explorers’ Room, Discoverers’ Room, Inventors’ Room and Kindergarten Room.
Merri CCC & K incorporates high quality educational programs based on the principles of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) – Belonging, Being & Becoming – as well as the Centre’s philosophy on how children learn and develop through play. The learning experiences implemented within our curriculum focus on developing children’s strengths and interests using evolving, natural and open-ended materials.
Children’s e-Learning Story Portfolios
All children at Merri have their own e-Learning Story Portfolio, to share and record their development as they move from room to room. On Storypark, we record each child’s development on a spontaneous basis, through observations that focus largely on their interests, interactions and conversations with their peers, rather than their ability to meet developmental norms.
On a daily basis, we use various observational tools as evidence to support educators’ observations and knowledge of each child. Our observations also include relevant information regarding each child’s families and communities, and highlight their strengths and capabilities.
All educators value and respect parental input and feedback with the observations taken. We encourage all family members to connect with Storypark and read their child’s e-Learning Story Portfolios home and write anything that is important to parents and their family.
Program planning, modifications and reflections:
The program planning for both indoors and outdoors is innovative and continuously evolving. We modify the learning experiences around children’s development. These modifications /changes are documented and reflected upon on a daily basis, and are communicated to parents in each room’s Reflections book for parents to read at drop off and/or pick up times.
All educators at Merri undergo continuous training to ensure they are up-to-date on the latest issues in early childhood education.
