Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) Founder of the Kindergarten The play of children is not recreation; it

means earnest work. Play is the purest intellectual production of the human being, in this stage for the
whole man is visible in them, in his finest capacities, in his innermost being.

At Little es we believe that children will benefit from a play-based, child-centred and holistic curriculum.
Like Froebel, we understand that humans are creative beings, who have many different learning styles. In
planning our curriculum we therefore use the emergent approach, incorporating childrens emerging
interests; the services goals; ideas and intentions of teachers and educators; family involvement and
parent input; local and global community connections; the Christian Ethos; our understanding of early
childhood development and the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines. The result is a carefully
planned learning environment which is flexible and opens up many possible avenues for exploring, being
creative and becoming resourceful. Our service is committed to providing this holistic curriculum to every
child, recognising their varying abilities, cultural diversity and ensuring that any specific needs for inclusion
are supported to ensure that each child can participate to the best of their ability.

We believe that all children should be allowed periods of time to fully explore their interests. As with the
Reggio Emilia approach, educators notice and encourage an emerging interest and allow it to take shape.
Children are provided with assistance in planning, resourcing and creating; all the while developing a
collaborative approach, building their identity, connectedness, wellbeing, communication skills, using their
bodies and developing an understanding of technology. When projects are child-centred and child
initiated, the learning that takes place occurs naturally.

Little es educators focus on discovering what each child knows or the skills they already possess, through
observation, family input and through discussions with the children. Sociocultural Theorist, Lev Vygotsky
developed the concept of the zone of proximal development, which is applied in our practices. This zone
is the gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and what they can accomplish with the
guidance and encouragement of a more skilled partner. Skills within the zone are ripe for development
and are the focus towards which intentional instruction should be aimed. Skills outside of the zone are
either already well mastered or are still too difficult. Determining this zone for each child is therefore
essential knowledge for dedicated educators. To assist in each childs development, planned activities and
experiences should fall within this zone. Every activity and the entire environment at Little es will be
carefully planned with this purpose in mind. What may seem to the onlooker as simply play will actually
be an opportunity for individual or group learning.

Supporting the whole child, a theme developed by proponent of early childhood education, Maria
Montessori, is also important to educators at Little es. Montessori believed that children absorb
information from their environment and that they naturally possess a strong capacity for mental
concentration if they are truly interested in their activity. Looking after the social, emotional, spiritual and
physical areas for each child are foundational to our practices and ensuring that the curriculum is child-
centred and child-interest directed enables this support of the whole child.

Every aspect of our service is built upon Christian foundations. We believe that each child has been
uniquely created and that our responsibility is to support the wellbeing and development of these children
in ways that recognise their individual capabilities, interests and learning styles. The Bible encourages us
to Train up a child in the way they should go and even when they are old they shall not depart from it
(Proverbs 22:6). We have been entrusted with the privilege of guiding unique individuals as they explore
the elements of being, belonging and becoming, as set out in the Early Years Learning Framework.
PHILOSOPHY