Activities

Cooking

Understanding food, it’s nutritional value, and how to prepare and cook it properly are all essential life skills. That is why we place great emphasis on exposing children to this early on in life. Children are taught the importance of a balanced diet, with all meals prepared in line with Australian Nutritional Guidelines. They are given the opportunity to prepare, mix and cook food in a supervised and safe environment, before enjoying their creations with their friends!

Children are given the opportunity to use a variety of materials and tools to transfer ingredients, pour liquids or solids from one vessel to another, spoon dry ingredients into bowls, sift flour, squeeze oranges, peel carrots just to name a few.

Children are given the opportunity to use real objects and through the use of these objects children quickly learn the need to use these items with care and precise movements. The necessary tools are then available for the children to assist with cleaning up any spills.

Even the younger children are given the opportunity to take part in cooking experiences where they can assist in the pouring and scooping of ingredients.

Washing

Founder of Montessori Education, Maria Montessori, found that every child is eager to work, even when their work is considered a chore by their parents. Through learning to wash things such as laundry, children develop concentration, become increasingly independent, and learn to care for their environment, both at home and in the centre. They are taught the importance of cleanliness, including maintaining good personal hygiene to avoid catching nasty bugs!

In addition to children gaining practical life-long skills, activities such as sorting and hanging laundry have other amazing benefits. For example, the motion of ‘pegging’ works to increase pincer grip in finger muscles, in preparation for holding a pencil! Additionally, it helps to expose children to other age groups and abilities, with one team delivering laundry, the next team washing, and the third responsible for hanging out to dry. Our activities are very much centred around achieving physical and emotional growth to help children progress to their next phase of life.

Agriculture

Several of our centres have animals, which complements our focus on sustainability and sensory development. Children are given the opportunity to interact with these animals in a safe and nurturing environment, enabling them to build on their skills socially, developmentally and responsibly. It also provides them with valuable knowledge about animals and their lifecycles! They have proven to be extremely cute and calming additions to our centres, and we look forward to gradually extending this feature to other centres.

Vege Patches

Another aspect of our sustainability focus comes from our beloved vege patches. It is here that children can get their hands dirty! This is an extremely rewarding and exciting experience for children, who get to enjoy their accomplishments in a cooking class, or take the fruits of their labour home to show off to their families! As a result, children become curious and more willing to explore and try things, because they have literally grown, picked, chopped and cooked the ingredients themselves. There is an overwhelming sense of ownership that makes them think, ‘I did this’. 

Music

Music and movement is an essential part of the Precious Cargo curriculum. Children are stimulated by a range of sensorial materials to develop their intelligence, while teaching them vital life skills such as sharing and teamwork. In addition to song and dance, the music room is also a place of expression and creativity. It is somewhere that children can go to do yoga, learn about different cultures & languages, and enjoy all kinds of music genres. 

While always an exciting time of day, the ultimate objective of our music room is to refine the children’s auditory skills to help them hear slight differences in sounds, or recognise sounds they hadn’t before heard. Classes in the music room are also fantastic for shy or new children in the centre. There is no pressure for them to be involved, but it often becomes so exciting that they can’t resist!