As the end of the year fast approaches, it is almost time to say goodbye to 2018 and goodbye to many children at our centres who will be heading off to primary school next year. Preparing children for this huge transition and ensuring their school readiness is the best it can be is such a crucial part of our role in early childhood education. With an innovative strategy in place, we can keep enhancing children’s school readiness right through to the end of their early childhood education experience in everything we do!
Boost school readiness through end of year concerts
While the year is almost over, our efforts toward school readiness don’t have to be! In fact, the end of year concerts for your children can be a powerful platform to give children a self-esteem boost and sense of support that will add to their confidence in moving on to school.
Now is the time to plan. Your end of year concert presents an opportunity to add to your efforts in shaping school ready children.
Why? Music concerts can be an amazing exercise in building confidence and self-esteem in children, allowing children to express themselves through music and movement, bringing community and families together and of course celebrate children’s achievements and letting them know how wonderful they are!
Of course, musical concerts and performance are important for children of all ages, and the sooner you harness the power of music for the children in your centre, the better! We even believe that these benefits can be utilised throughout the entire year – by embedding music into daily routines, and singing songs throughout the year, children can enjoy that confidence, self-esteem, sense of belonging and self-expression every day! Not to mention, the preparation for a concert becomes fun and stress-free.
Focusing on school readiness with School Readiness Funding
Now is also the time to look at how you will get the most out of your School Readiness Funding. The Bonkers Beat programs are featured as an evidence-informed option for your centre to give children the skills they need for a smooth, empowered and confident transition to primary school, along with a range of other programs focused on school readiness.
What all the programs on the School Readiness funding menu have in common, including Bonkers Beat programs, is that they address these three priority areas:
- communication (language development)
- wellbeing (social and emotional)
- access and inclusion.
End of year concerts with a purpose
To add to your end of year concert, optimise engagement and give children the maximum enjoyment out of the experience along with the benefits. Involve children in the planning process, talk about themes that are meaningful to them – did everyone have a favourite event or story that can be at the heart of the concert? Will you focus on Christmas or make the event more about a summary of your year? Can you incorporate many cultures into the event to ensure it’s representative of your centre’s families?
Let us know how you are seeing out the year at your centre and share ideas with us on Facebook or through email – we’d love to feature what you’re doing and inspire one another!