Homeschool → Australia → Foundation
Foundation homeschool curriculum
Called Kindergarten in NSW and the ACT, Prep in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, Pre-primary in WA, Reception in SA and Transition in the NT.
In the Foundation year, children build a feel for numbers by counting real things, comparing small groups and noticing how numbers can be split and joined. They explore shapes, patterns, length and mass through play, and start sorting objects and talking about what they find. Short, hands-on sessions with everyday household items work best.
In the Foundation year, children begin to connect sounds with letters, hear the separate sounds in spoken words and blend sounds together to read simple words. They learn that a sentence is a complete idea that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. Shared stories, rhymes and conversations build a love of language, listening skills and the confidence to retell and talk about what they hear.
In Foundation, children use their senses to explore the world around them. They notice what living things need, describe what everyday objects are made of, watch how the weather and seasons change their day, and play with how objects move. Learning is hands-on, talk-rich and full of questions.
In Foundation, history begins with the child's own story and the people closest to them. Children talk about their family, compare how they have changed since they were a baby, and learn simple time words such as past, present and future. In the Australian Curriculum v9.0 this learning sits within the HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) learning area.
In Foundation, geography starts with the places children know best: their home, their street and their local area. Children name and describe features of places, learn that places are special to people, including First Nations Australians who have a deep connection to Country, and begin to use simple maps and direction words. In the Australian Curriculum v9.0 this learning sits within the HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) learning area.