What school readiness looks like at preschool

Every week at Sophie’s Cottage, our 3 to 6 year olds are quietly getting ready for big school. Not with worksheets and drills, but through hands-on play, small group work and lots of conversation. Here is what that looked like in the week of 26 to 30 October.

Building letters and words with pop sticks

As part of our School Readiness Program, the children explored patterns and shapes using wooden sticks and pop sticks. They worked together, shared ideas and created their own designs.

Then came the challenge: using the pop sticks to make letters, and then whole words. This simple activity builds letter recognition, early literacy and problem solving, and because the children are building the letters with their hands, it sticks.

Matching words to pictures

Next, the children worked in small groups to match words with pictures. They sounded out each word, had a go at reading it, and then practised writing it. Small groups mean every child gets a turn, and the quieter children build confidence alongside their friends.

Our educators keep learning too

On Thursday, Miss Laila attended the Ready to Read Program at Telopea Public School on behalf of Sophie’s Cottage. She came back with new strategies to support language, communication and a love of reading, which she is now sharing with the whole team. Staying connected with the local primary schools helps us prepare children for exactly what Kindergarten will ask of them.

Water safety before summer

With the warmer weather arriving, we welcomed a visit from Blue Swimming Fit to talk about water safety. The children learned the key rules: always stay with an adult near water, never run around pools, and listen to safety instructions. They answered questions confidently and finished the day colouring in their own sharks.

Grandparents’ Day

On Tuesday we celebrated Grandparents’ Day with our families. It was lovely to welcome grandparents and other special people into the cottage, and to see how proud the children were to show them around their preschool.

Try this at home

• Make letters from what is around you: pasta, sticks from the garden or pegs.
• Draw three simple pictures (cat, sun, bus) and write the words on separate cards. Ask your child to match them.
• Before a swim this summer, ask your child to tell you the water safety rules.

Coming up next week

We are starting a sourdough science project. The children will feed and watch their own starter as it bubbles and grows, before baking bread together. We are also beginning rehearsals for our Christmas concert.

Visit Sophie’s Cottage

Sophie’s Cottage Kindergarten is a small, family-run preschool for children aged 3 to 6 at 9 Sophie Street, Telopea, open 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. Families join us from Dundas Valley, Carlingford, Eastwood and the suburbs around us.

Most families with a 4-year-old coming 3 days a week pay $0 to $60 a week after government funding. Check your cost with our fees calculator, or book a tour to see our School Readiness Program in action.