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Term Three has been a wonderful term of growth, confidence and discovery at the ELC. It has been particularly rewarding to see our children develop as increasingly confident, capable and independent learners. Across our classrooms, children have approached new experiences with curiosity, embraced challenges with growing resilience and demonstrated an increasing confidence to share their ideas, ask questions and contribute to their learning community. These moments of growth, both big and small, are an important part of each child’s journey.
Farm Week was a wonderful highlight of the term, providing children with authentic opportunities to connect with animals and nature. Beyond the excitement of encountering and caring for the animals, Farm Week created a meaningful context for our children to live our HARK values of Humility, Aspiration, Respect and Kindness. Children were encouraged to approach the animals gently and respectfully, consider the needs of living things, work collaboratively and support one another throughout their experiences. These authentic opportunities are central to our approach, as they enable children to understand that our values are not simply words, but are reflected in the choices we make and the way we care for ourselves, others and the world around us.
Our K2 and K3 learners have continued to thrive through our Expressive Arts Specialist Program. This term, children have explored a rich range of materials and creative processes, with charcoal, plasticine and wire among the many mediums they have investigated. These open-ended experiences have encouraged children to experiment, revisit ideas, problem-solve and develop their own ways of expressing their thinking. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they engage deeply with the creative process, discovering that there is not always one way, or one answer, when communicating an idea.
For our Pre-Prep children, Community Walks have provided a valuable opportunity to observe the changing seasons within their local environment. As winter transitioned into spring, children noticed changes in the trees, plants, weather, light and sounds around them. These regular experiences have encouraged children to slow down, observe closely, ask thoughtful questions and make connections between their experiences and the natural world. In doing so, children are developing a growing sense of belonging and connection to the community in which they learn and live.
As we reflect on Term Three, we are incredibly proud of the growth, confidence and curiosity demonstrated by our children. We look forward to building upon this strong foundation and continuing to create meaningful opportunities for learning, connection and discovery throughout Term Four.
Katarina Hills
Director of Early Learning Centre
What a wonderful morning we had in the Banksia Room as we welcomed our dads and special family members to celebrate Father’s Day together! The morning was filled with laughter, creativity and lots of special moments. The children and their dads enjoyed creating their very own colourful ties at the drawing table, which they proudly wore throughout the morning. We then moved to the handprint table, where the children created a beautiful keepsake to take home and treasure.
The fun continued with a lively music session, where the children and their dads enjoyed singing, moving and sharing a little dance together (Rock Around The Clock). It was lovely to see the children proudly showing their dads around the room and including them in their morning experiences. A very special thank you to our lovely dad, Robert, Leonardo’s dad, who generously shared one of Leonardo’s favourite stories from home with the group. The children listened with great interest and enjoyed being part of this special shared reading experience.
Our robot construction experience was full of creativity, laughter and teamwork! The children worked alongside their dads, grandparents and special people, sharing ideas and helping bring their robot designs to life. It was wonderful to see the children compare their original blueprints with the robot as it was created, noticing what was the same, what had changed and what they could add along the way. Everyone had a chance to contribute, and the room was filled with plenty of fun, jokes and creative thinking! The children and parents absolutely loved watching their ideas come together to create one very special robot.
It was such a joyful morning filled with connection, creativity, music and plenty of smiles. Thank you to all our wonderful dads for joining us and making our Father’s Day celebration so memorable!
Melissa Manaras
Early Childhood Teacher
The Lilly Pilly's were very lucky to welcome the Farm to our Early Learning Centre for a wonderful farm animal experience! The children were so excited to meet and interact with a variety of animals, including little bunnies hopping around, a turtle swimming, chickens digging, sheep, and guinea pigs running around. The children had so much fun exploring the different textures of fur and feathers, gently patting and feeding the animals, and even having the opportunity to brush them. We talked about the different sounds animals make, what different animals eat, and how we can care for and safely pat animals.
Our Lilly Pilly's were full of excitement and curiosity throughout the experience.
Sophia: “Look, so big!”
Anton: “Chicken.”
Antonio: “Wow, a duck!”
William: “Baa.”
Sophia: “I want to pat it.”
Cleo: “Can I brush?”
We are so proud of our Lilly Pilly's for their curiosity, confidence, kindness, and enthusiasm for learning today. What a wonderful day of learning and discovery!
Melissa Manaras
Early Childhood Teacher
Literacy has such a beautiful way of opening the door to a child’s imagination. Through stories, children are invited to dream, wonder, laugh and explore ideas that can take them far beyond the pages of a book. In a Reggio Emilia environment, we can nurture this imagination by noticing what captures the children’s interest and giving them opportunities to explore these ideas in their own creative ways.
Our interest in The Faraway Tree has provided a wonderful starting point for artistic expression and imaginative thinking. Children can create their own magical lands, characters and adventures through drawing, painting, clay, collage, construction and dramatic play.
Our visits to the library has assisted this exploration as our time there is greatly valued by the children and where our first book in the series was borrowed.
A much-loved story can then grow into something truly special, a shared journey filled with creativity, friendship, wonder and endless possibilities.
Our Faraway tree creations are truly taking shape in the Bluebell classroom!
Bernadette Campbell
Early Childhood Teacher
This term in the Banksia Room, we have been exploring the solar system through the Greek language, with the children enthusiastically participating in group discussions and sharing their ideas and knowledge.
We have also been learning new Greek songs with actions, which the children have particularly enjoyed joining in with. Alongside our space learning, we have been developing our Greek language and literacy skills by recognising and exploring our Greek names through a range of creative experiences. The children participated in dot painting their names, created bracelets using Greek name and alphabet beads, and designed their own planet lights.
It has been wonderful to see the children’s enthusiasm, creativity and growing confidence as they continue to explore Greek language and culture through play, music and hands-on experiences.
Patricia Keramidas
Early Childhood Language Teacher
Grevillea - R U OK Day?
We recently explored R U OK? Day, with the Grevillea class. We talked about what “R U OK?” means, why it is important, and how we can check in on our friends and show kindness and support. The children shared their ideas about the many different ways we can help someone who may be feeling sad, worried or upset.
We then shared ‘The Colour Monster’ storybook and explored different emotions, such as happy, sad, angry, worried and surprise. The children had lots of fun acting out different feelings using their facial expressions and body language, with their peers guessing the emotion they were portraying. The children then created their own colour monsters using straws to blow watercolours into abstract shapes, with each colour they chose representing an emotion. Once dried, using their creativity and imagination the children added details to their watercolour shapes, turning them into colour monsters. Throughout the day, we continued to provide a range of experiences to support the children’s knowledge and understanding of their own emotions, the emotions of others and the ways we can support and care for each other.
Jackie Walker
Early Childhood Teacher
