Pre school questions.

[Guest MMPD]

Hi guys,

We are hoping to be in Brisbane about September/October this year at the latest, would i be right in thinking that my daughter starts prep school in January 2009 - she just turned 4 in March?

 

Also what do they expect the children to know at this stage, alphabet, numbers, writing etc?

 

I also have a little boy who is 2 1/2 and would have been eligible to start our local nursery in January 2009, is there anything similar available for him in Brisbane?

 

Any help or advice appreciated.

Maria :smile:

[Guest TheBrowningFamily]

Hi, yes she would be due to start in Jan 09,

As for what she would b expected to know...not alot. To give you some idea, my daughter is 5, and started school in the UK in Sept, she has been going to prep sicne March. What she is 'learning' at school, is the same as her 3 year old brother was learning in UK playschool!!!! eg, phonics, opposites etc.

Your son will be eligable for assistance with a daycare place, depending on your income. Age does not matter, he can't start kindy until he is 4 (unless they have spaces which is very unlikely) as theb government assist with childcare from babies upwards. My son goes to daycare 2 days per week and it costs $12 a week, with family assist. The min government will help with is 2 days care, if you work/volunteer for 15hrs+ per week, they will help with 5 days care.

Hope that helps

[Jo&Rich]

Hi, see this link about enrolment in QLD; Enrolling your child

You can view the curriculum here;

Curriculum

It states that;

Preparatory Year

 

The curriculum offered in the Preparatory Year is guided by the Early Years Curriculum Guidelines which promote the development of play and inquiry-based learning as essential in supporting the learning and development of young children.

In Prep, children:

 

• actively make choices about what and how they learn
  
• investigate and learn how to inquire about their interests
  
• plan collaboratively with the teacher
  
• participate in music and language experiences
  
• investigate and play independently, in pairs, small groups and as a class
  
• participate in dramatic play to build an understanding of themselves and the world
  
• draw and paint to encourage oral language, reading and writing skills
  
• use blocks to develop early mathematical concepts and skills.
  

My son starts prep next January too, (hooray!) here on the Gold Coast. He did a year of nursery full time in the UK (sep 2006-july 2007), and seemed to do similar, if not more advanced things then! Just as well for us though, as he's forgotten it all now!

As for your youngest child, I paid $67 a week for two kids to do two days. The full fee is about $50 a day, varying kindy to kindy. The amount you pay does vary due to your income as said before. Centrelink pays part of the fee directly to the kindy. See

www.centrelink.gov.au for help on that.

Sorry for the essay; it's raining, and I have time on my hands! Hope it helps though:smile:.

Jo x

[Guest MMPD]

Hi, yes she would be due to start in Jan 09,

As for what she would b expected to know...not alot. To give you some idea, my daughter is 5, and started school in the UK in Sept, she has been going to prep sicne March. What she is 'learning' at school, is the same as her 3 year old brother was learning in UK playschool!!!! eg, phonics, opposites etc.

Your son will be eligable for assistance with a daycare place, depending on your income. Age does not matter, he can't start kindy until he is 4 (unless they have spaces which is very unlikely) as theb government assist with childcare from babies upwards. My son goes to daycare 2 days per week and it costs $12 a week, with family assist. The min government will help with is 2 days care, if you work/volunteer for 15hrs+ per week, they will help with 5 days care.

Hope that helps

 

That's a great help thanks alot, will be looking into toddler groups in the short term to make new friends for the kids and me too of course - just can't wait to get out there though and enrol in prep etc soooo excited!!!

By the way i notice that your little girl is wearing a Stage Coach T-shirt in pic, well Parisa attends this in Edinburgh, Scotland, i have been advised by the coach that they also have classes in Brisbane..is this true? bcos i know Parisa has immensley benefitted from the classes and will really miss them, plse send any info.

 

Thanks again for replying

Maria

[Guest TheBrowningFamily]

I'm afraid the only stagecoach centre in Australia is in Perth (you can check this out on stagecoaches website)

You may be lucky in Brissie as I think they have similar things, but in a much more competative way (ie not so much for fun - at least the ones I rang were like that - what agent did she have in UK etc!!!!!)

Ther is no drama school I can find near us, and Holly misses it like crazy. I have located a singing and dancing class near us, but it's the drama she really misses!

[Guest MMPD]

thx for replies, sorry not got back to you sooner...big probs with laptop!!! Don't think they're sorted yet cos screen still goes blank sometimes and have to keep restarting and don't alway's go back to the message i started, so will finish asap b4 i'm cut off again and bid you guys farewell until things are back on track.

Ps to the Browning family our agent is Steven Valvona from Currie, Edinburgh, will try to have a chat with him soon to establish if classes exist in Brisbane for sure and will get back to you, as i know how important they are!!!!!

Thx again for ur replies.

Maria x

[Guest TheBrowningFamily]

Thanks Maria, I got the info from the stagecoach website, so it may not be up to date. Would appreciate that, thanks