Kinder · Age 4
Kinder at 4: naming feelings and taking turns
In most of Australia, kindergarten or kinder is the year before school, at around 4. In NSW and the ACT, Kindergarten is the first year of school instead. Here is how to tell which one people mean, and games for 4-year-olds at home.
Getting started
A five-minute game for today
Make faces in the mirror: happy, sad, cross, surprised. You pull one and your child guesses; then swap. Ask: “When did you feel like that today?”
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Which kindergarten?
If you are in NSW or the ACT, Kindergarten is the first year of school, the one the Australian Curriculum calls Foundation. In the other states, the first year of school has another name — Prep, Reception, Pre-primary or Transition — and “kinder” usually means the year before. This page is about that year before school, at around 4.
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Feelings in Ziippi
In Feelings, the voice says “Tap the sad face” and your child chooses between a sad face and an angry one. Telling two feelings apart on a face is a first step to recognising them in themselves.
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Taking turns
At kinder, children share and wait. At home, any game where you take turns — rolling a ball back and forth, adding one block each to a tower — practises the same thing without a lecture.
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When something is hard
Name the feeling out loud: “You’re cross because the tower fell.” Naming it, without punishing it, helps your child recognise it next time.
Frequently asked questions
Is kinder the same as Kindergarten in NSW?
No. In NSW and the ACT, Kindergarten is the first year of school. In most other states, kinder is the year before school.
How long should my child play?
A few minutes is enough. Stop when they lose interest and come back another day.
Where do I download Ziippi in Australia?
Use the download buttons on this page: they open Ziippi’s listing on the App Store or Google Play.
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