Kindergarten
All children participate in a funded kindergarten program from the age of three, regardless of whether they are part of our kindergarten or long daycare program. This ensures that no children miss out on our kindergarten program.
There are two kindergarten teachers, Elise and Dianne. Each teacher brings unique qualities to the program. For example, Dianne has a strong connection to Indigenous culture and cultivating the land, whereas Elise has a strong literacy focus and enjoys running her beach kinder program. We also have two almost qualified kinder teachers, Sue and Kaili. Sue is passionate about teaching Chinese culture and Language and Kaili is always integrating cooking and art activities into the curriculum.
Our kindergarten program recognised the importance of social and emotional intelligence. We embed the ‘zones of regulation’ program into our curriculum to ensure all children can recognise and regulate their own emotions, as well as knowing how to support those around them. We also embed social skills into their everyday activities and call on the experts when early intervention is needed.
“Altona Early Education is fantastic and it’s really great to have a kindergarten near me”
A wonderful melting pot of diverse cultures
As Altona and surrounding suburbs are a wonderful melting pot of diverse cultures, the room enjoys celebrating cultures and traditions from around the world. We integrate different languages such as Italian and Filipino into the room and our centre project is for Sue to teach basic Chinese to all the children in the Centre. Our kindergarten programs include many wonderful cultural experiences.
The kindergarten room focus is supported by the Early Years Learning Framework and we work with children to achieve the 5 outcomes as prescribed by the framework for preschool aged children. These are:
- Identity;
- Community;
- Wellbeing;
- Learning;
- Communication.
Extra Activities and Programs
At Altona Early Education Centre, we include activities that will challenge the children’s skill sets as well as be of interest to them. The children have input into the kindergarten program, and we cater for all types of learning styles.
Each week our 4 year old kindergarten/preschool children take part in our Beach Kinder program. This program encourages our children to explore their community and connect to nature and the world around them. Included in this program are excursions for our preschool program as well as incursions for the entire kindergarten group, monthly.
Our kindergarten children also have the opportunity to tend to our centre veggie patch and experience the joy that comes from using their produce in their cooking experiences here at preschool.
The children also learn about our environment and sustainability through the use of our worm farm for food scraps. Our children have helped to make a rain catcher, which allows us to gather water to water our centre garden.
At Altona Early Education our preschool and kindergarten aged children also have the wonderful opportunity to look after our classroom frogs and “Tommy The Turtle”, who is our centre pet. Tommy spends time in his land tank that is kept in the kindergarten / preschool room, so that our children can experience all that pet ownership brings.
Our kindergarten program continues through school holiday periods, when our Kindergarten teacher is on leave, as our co-educators are well equipped to facilitate the program as directed by our Kindergarten teacher.
Why Choose Us?
Hear From Our Parents
“ We love Altona Early Education Centre, and so does our three-year-old son who has been attending for 18 months. The staff are amazing, and we feel so comfortable leaving our child in their care. It's a warm and nurturing environment for children to feel safe and thrive.
- Chelsea
“ This day-care couldn't be any more helpful, supportive and caring to our family and our son who is enrolled. I feel so lucky that we have a spot here. The leaders are amazing with the children, the food is always amazing and the amount that my son learns is astonishing! Thank you to everyone for such a great experience!!
- Reagan
“ We are thrilled that our little man has a spot with the team at AEEC. We’ve always felt that the team care about him as a human, his wellbeing, his early education, his routine and (most importantly) his happiness as much as we do, and this means everything to us. Tate loves his friends and carers at AEEC.
- Erin
“ Our kids have attended the centre since its opening and couldn’t be happier. We love the fact that it’s an independent family owned centre. You can tell that they really care about providing service excellence in all areas and most of all wanting to make it a happy experience for all. We also love all the extras they do to celebrate special occasions such as Christmas, Kinda Graduation etc. We certainly give the service a gold star.
- Louise
“ This day-care has made such a positive difference in my son’s life and by extension, our whole family’s wellbeing. From 6 months old to now 2.5 years, my son has grown into a caring, articulate, sociable, and well-behaved little boy. This is largely because of the meaningful interactions and relationships he has built with all of the carers and other children. I never take for granted how lucky we are to have this day-care in Altona and that we are a part of it. Thank you so much!
- Monica
“ We have been very happy with the care at AECC. It’s a very friendly and supportive place. The educators in my sons’ rooms have been amazing. The management team are approachable and very supportive. We are very happy to have the team at AECC as part of the village helping us raise our son.
- Liz
“ Since their opening in July 2017, our son (7 months then) has been attending EEC. A five-star boutique childcare experience for first time mum and dad, and the best in the Inner West. Grace (owner) and ALL the STAFF are so amazing, affectionate, caring and very accommodating of our needs. The facilities are fantastic and modern which is only complemented by the healthy food they provide for my little boy. I cannot recommend this centre more highly. This place is like a 2nd home for my son and the best decision we made for his early childhood learning.
- Lisa
“ I cannot recommend this centre more highly. Sarah and her team are caring, compassionate, flexible and make leaving for work that much easier. Due to its size it feels more intimate than others in turn making the care very individualised and keeping the children engaged.
- Kylie
“ My baby currently goes to Altona early education. I could not feel more comfortable leaving her there each day!! A fantastic centre and fantastic educators.