Excursions at St Joseph’s Family Services Centres

Excursions at St Joseph’s Family Services Centres

Well-organised excursions at early childhood centres provide valuable opportunities and experiences for everyone including the children, educators, parents and the local community.  They broaden the depth of learning and help to contribute to and develop insights in children as to the role that they play in the community. At our centres we recognise the importance of excursions in early education for all age groups from 0 to school age and make sure we include them in our programs on a regular basis.

Beyond the centre environment

Taking your child out of the centre and into the wider community is a valuable part of Early Childhood Education. It allows them to connect with and explore their local community and as they become more familiar with their surroundings, outings such as excursions help to build their confidence.

Benefits of regular outings

  1. Developing social and communication skills

Your child develops their social skills through meeting new people.  Excursions provide opportunities to meet new people within the community – it’s an important way to develop intergenerational relationships and communication.

  1. Becoming more confident

Getting out and about is essential for your child to develop their confidence.  By exploring and understanding the outside world (as opposed to a focus only on centre-based learning), your child is able to become more familiar with their community environments and learn.

  1. Experiencing real-life learning

Off-site learning encourages your child to participate in more hands-on activities such as planting vegetables, feeding animals or helping out in the kitchen at home.

Activities outside of their usual environments are a great way to motivate, interest and inspire your child. On these excursions, we provide a safe place for your child to ask questions and explore their surroundings.

Excursion Programs

We plan lots of excursions from our centres, for example our regular excursions to our Parish Primary Schools, where we visit the school’s library, canteen, playground and experience their assemblies and classrooms. Apart from it being a good experience of “big school”, it familiarises children with primary school and contributes to a positive transition to kindergarten when the time comes.

Our community connections program has provided intergenerational connections for over 10 years. We run this program, and all our programs, in line with COVID-safe guidelines.

Our children particularly loved a previous excursion at TAFE Playworks that extended their social skills, confidence, curiosity and creativity as they engage in age-appropriate experiences set up by Early Childhood TAFE students.

Other excursions have included:

  • Sea Acres – appreciating our natural environment, Bush Tucker and aboriginal histories.
  • Port Macquarie Library – extending a love and appreciation for literacy and awareness of the wide range of services provided by the library.
  • Newman Senior Technical College’s Marine Discovery Centre – expanding on environmental awareness, caring for marine creatures and environmental stewardship.
  • The Glasshouse – teaching about exploring and engaging with the creative arts such as drama, music and visual arts.

For more information contact us.