School Readiness

Is your child starting school next year? Are you unsure that they’ll be ‘ready?’

At Monkey Minds we unlock your child’s potential by bridging the gap between Kinder and formal schooling so that YOUR child will start school with the independence, confidence and resilience to soar!

Our holistic, bespoke approach takes your child’s school readiness journey to another level.

We run weekly in person classes which are tailored to your child’s specific needs to ensure they have the best start to school as possible. 

Tell me more

We nurture and support your child as they build their independence, confidence and resilience plus we support and empower you to have an active role in your child’s transition.

Our two hour sessions include both whole group and small group activities with modelled teaching and hands-on learning experiences to allow a gentle introduction to classroom dynamics.

We would like to invite you to come along and

‘Try with your child for FREE’.

We’d love to meet you and your child and show you our beautiful space. You’ll be able to chat with us and experience first-hand how we structure our sessions, the topics we cover and observe the skills your child will develop. This is a perfect opportunity for you to ask any questions you have and watch the other children join and interact within the session.

Yes please! Class details

Written feedback

We provide weekly written feedback so you are able to engage in positive conversations with your child after each session

Tailored Program

We personalise and adjust our program to cater to your individual child’s needs.

2 hour Sessions

Our weekly sessions are set up to mimic a classroom where parents get to drop and run. 

We accept NDIS Funding*

Sessions run in Dromana

Monday 9:30am – 11:30am

Tuesday 1:00pm – 3:00pm or

Thursday 12:30pm – 2:30pm

Click below for more information on pricing

We accept NDIS funding*, please contact us for more details

Enrol now Pricing

Check out what other

mums are saying

We were unsure whether or not to send our son to Prep this year or repeat Kinder.  He is in speech therapy but I felt he needed more help with his confidence. He ended up doing two terms at Monkey Minds and I couldn’t be happier with his progress. We highly recommend Monkey Minds school readiness program to anyone that wants to give their child the best start in Prep.

Fiona

Our son had surgery on his tongue just before he turned 4yo and had to learn to speak again. Due to this he lacked confidence in groups, as he was embarrassed that people couldn’t understand him.

We enrolled him into Monkey Minds and he was thriving in a classroom setting. He has only been in prep for a few weeks so far but has already made new friends and was excited to pick out two reader books that he remembers reading at Monkey Minds and he still asks about Jenna.

Mrs O

Did you know there is so much more to School Readiness than just academics?

Social + Emotional skills

Expressing needs and feelings, self regulation, taking turns and sharing, joining in with others, confidence and resilience, empathy and conflict resolution.

Fine motor skills

Strengthening hand, wrist and finger muscles, pencil grip, cutting

Physical and gross motor skills

Endurance, balance, throwing, catching, learning songs and actions

Self care

Opening a lunch box, taking off own jumper, asking to go to the bathroom, routine, independence

Language skills

Asking questions, developing expressive language, improving topic based language, following rules

Attention and concentration

Sitting for extended periods, focussing on set activities, completing tasks ie. A puzzle

My son loves coming to Monkey Minds and is often talking about the fun games they played and songs they sang. His confidence has sky rocketed and I can’t wait to see him succeed at school after all Jenna’s hard work she’s put into the program. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.

- Mrs B

Jenna’s passion and dedication to what she does is evident in the quality of the School Readiness program. My only wish is that we met Jenna earlier and that I sent my child to the Pre-Kinder Program. My child loves it and actually would prefer this over their ‘normal’ kinder class.

- Emily

FAQs

Is there a cut off date for enrolment?

No. You can enrol at any stage during a term, however we do suggest starting at the beginning of the term if possible to allow for consistency and routine.

What is the maximum number of students in one class?
  • School Readiness classes: 8 children
  • Pre-Kinder Classes: 8 children

This allows us to have a more personal interaction with your children. This ratio is much smaller than the 1:11 ratio in a kindergarten/daycare setting.

Does your program cater for my child with special needs?

This is a case by case situation. We do our best to assist all children, however we also need to consider the needs of all our students.

We accept NDIS funding, so if your child has special needs, please contact us so we can discuss the best way to support them.

Does my child need to be immunised?

Yes they do, or a letter from your GP stating otherwise.

‘No Jab, No Play’ is the name of legislation that requires all children to be fully vaccinated unless they have a medical exemption to be enrolled in childcare or kindergarten in Victoria.

As we run and abide by the Childcare regulations, we are also required to adhere to the ‘No jab, No Play’ rule.

What if my child has special health requirements?

All our staff are trained in first aid and have experience in using epi-pens and asthma inhalers. If your child has any specific health conditions, please discuss this with us prior to our classes so we are able to discuss a plan with you.

Do you offer free trials?

We suggest to parents to come along 10 mins prior to the session so we can have a chat, discuss what we do and show you our lovely space. This also gives you the opportunity to ask any questions you have. You will have the opportunity to see the other children arrive, and jump straight in and chat to the other parents.

You’re welcome to stay for the first 15-20 mins to join in and see how our sessions run.

Can I come to the class to?

As your child eases into our classes, we are happy for parents to stay for a short while at the beginning, however we are encouraging resilience and independence as an important pre-school skill and therefore this is better developed without parents in the class. If your child is upset or not coping with the class we would contact you and discuss a plan.

What do they need to bring with them?

We ask that your little monkey brings a small bag with a drink bottle and healthy fruit snack. Due to allergies, we ask that you avoid nuts and eggs.

School Readiness children will also be asked to bring their Learning scrapbook with them too (provided in their first session).

What if my child is not toilet trained?

This is fine. Please make sure you send them in a pull up nappy for the class and provide some spares in their backpack.