Explore & Develop Macquarie Park in Macquarie Park, New South Wales | Nursery

Explore & Develop Macquarie Park

Locality: Macquarie Park, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 9889 1200

Address: 6-8 Giffnock Avenue 2113 Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia

Website: http://exploreanddevelop.com.au/

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24.01.2022 #earlylearningmatters If you have been following our social media you will have seen the progress reports on Jenny's Garden which is dedicated to natural sensorial learning experiences. One of the new additions is this water ways track, which allows children to create multiple designs, heights, configurations of the water- using scientific exploration and trial and error to see how they can make the water move, learning about gravity and setting up the track so that it waters the base of the new plants, learning in turn how to care for the environment. It develops their collaborative skills as they need to work together and agree on which set up is the best to meet their end goals.

23.01.2022 #earlylearningmatters Sustainability rules at Macquarie Park! The children and the educators have always been adept at finding new and creative ways of recycling the boxes that remain from our deliveries at the centre. It is an important way of stimulating children's creativity which many of us experienced in our own childhoods- a box can be a car one day, a rocket ship the next.... All it needs is some paint, some colour.....and some imagination. Fostering children's imaginations in this way is a great way for them to think outside the box and to make something new while working collaboratively. See more

22.01.2022 Explore & Develop Macquarie Park together with Explore and Develop North Ryde were proud to be able to participate in the United Way Australia Guinness World Record attempt for the most people jumping together (in a one hour window) to raise awareness and funds to support Children’s Literacy. United Way Australia sponsors the Imagination Library program, which is the primary charity sponsored by Explore & Develop Macquarie Park and North Ryde. As of Thursday afternoon, the fu...ndraising for United Way has raised over $53000, of which over $3200 was raised by the families of both the Explore & Develop Macquarie Park and Explore & Develop North Ryde centres. Thank you to all families who sponsored our children, for while we have had fun attempting to win a world record, the best part of the day is how many children we have been able to support in the program as we promote children’s early literacy. The photos of children and adults jumping for literacy are currently under review by the Guinness World Records team and we will update you with verification if we have been successful or not in our attempt! See more

17.01.2022 At Explore & Develop Macquarie Park we have benefited in 2020 from utilising the planning wall, a great feature of Kinderloop that allows educators to have a central ideas resource for their learning experiences. Whether it is planning for schematic play, or group experiences, fundamental movement skills or prepared learning environments, these are then incorporated into our learning programs. Proud to be a part of the #kinderloopcommunity

16.01.2022 We are so proud to have collaborated with Kids and Traffic to promote safe transportation for children to and from early childhood services. Our Beyond the Classroom program is one of our integral core educational programs for children to learn about the local community and being able to safely transport the children in our care is a fundamental part of that.

16.01.2022 Educators Day 2020 Every year has a different focus as we celebrate our educators on Educators Day. Last year we were able to celebrate our exceeding 7/7 Assessment and Rating results which were a wonderful testament to the work of the educators, the leadership team and to Libby our Approved Provider. This year the world, the industry and our centre has worked hard as we adapt to the necessity of change life has brought to us all because of Coronavirus. Throughout it all, it ...has been the work of the educators that have helped keep it all together. It is the educators who have taught the children how to take care of themselves through safer handwashing and coughing techniques. It is the educators who have reflected on how to improve cleaning processes to ensure the highest possible standard of health and hygiene. It is the educators who implemented a "Learning from Home" educational program, adapting their lessons to be able to be delivered to the families who stayed at home during the height of the Covid crisis, so that no child would miss out on the learning experiences we offer. It is the educators who have worked tirelessly to assist the children and families readjust to the centre after this period of separation. While we have not being able to host our traditional in-house family events this year due to the Covid crisis, the educators have found other ways to keep families connected, through sharing experiences on Kinderloop as well as our current Father's Day raffle (tickets still available!) Thank you to our amazing, dedicated and hardworking team of educators at Macquarie Park who every day in every way embody the phrase "Educate, Innovate and Celebrate". The community we have here at the centre is 100% because of you. The Explore & Develop Macquarie Park family would like to thank our Approved Provider Libby Klingberg for putting on such an amazing morning tea for us as seen in the below photo as a way of showing her appreciation. We appreciate you too Libby! #LovemyECE #EarlyChildhoodEducatorsDay

16.01.2022 #EarlyLearningMatters In the Frogs 3-4 classroom the children will participate in experiences such as puzzles, which refine the child’s fine motor skills and reinforce muscle memory. This benefits their transition to working with writing materials such as brushes, pencils and pastels as they learn to progress from a younger palmer grip to a pincer and later a tripod grip. It helps to establish the habit of having the fingers pointing down towards the paper, preparing them for later writing work.

15.01.2022 Thank you to all the families and individuals who contributed so generously to Jenny's Garden fundraiser. At this stage we have raised over $2000 to contribute to a space designed to celebrate natural, outdoor sensorial learning- just what Jenny loved. The photos shown are the progress shots as we put in a new natural creek bed and bridge. We have collaborated with the children and families for suggestions as to what else they would like to see- the next post will show the final results!

12.01.2022 Thank you to all the families who have offered to contribute to Jenny's Garden- it has been so heartwarming for Jenny's family and colleagues to see the support and love shared in her memory. There are a few options for how to contribute: -If you still live locally, you are very welcome to join us for a working bee or to donate plants for the space! Please contact the office for a list of which particular plants are suitable for the sensorial garden. -Alternatively, if you would like to contribute but are unable to attend the centre, you may prefer to donate to the GoFundMe link as shared below. This fundraiser will be used exclusively for Jenny's Garden.

11.01.2022 To promote National Reconciliation Week 2020 we are proud to share with you Explore & Develop Macquarie Park’s acknowledgement of country. The theme for 2020’s Reconciliation Week is In this together, and we could never have predicted the significance this concept would take as the year has evolved. At Explore & Develop Macquarie Park, through the CoVid-19 pandemic we have maintained both onsite learning and a Staying Connected Program with the families at home. Each Zoom presentation always begins with an acknowledgement to country designed for the children based on the elements of the Aboriginal flag- recognising the sun, the land and the people of the country we share together. #NRW2020 #Inthistogether2020

10.01.2022 This photo is from a recent experience in the Crocs classroom. The children currently have an interest in treasure hunting and buried dinosaur bones, so the educator used this interest to bury items in clay then allow the children to excavate them. That in turn led to children learning to use the clay in different ways- rolling small pieces between their fingers for finer details, practising their pencil grip by drawing through the surface to create patterns. This is one exam...ple of why early learning matters- by learning through play with a natural open-ended material such as clay children are able to prepare their hands for writing; to express themselves artistically through creating figurines; to link their experiences to previous sociodramatic play and to experiment with a malleable material, finding their own new ways to use it. #EarlyLearningMatters See more

09.01.2022 At Explore & Develop Macquarie Park we are about to commence construction on Jenny's Garden, a natural sensorial space inspired by our beloved educator Jenny Maher. Many of our current and former families have expressed interest in contributing to the project as a celebration of Jenny and how much she meant to us. We have decided to place in the garden the names of the families who have contributed to the new learning space. If you would like to contribute and have your family's name added to the garden, please contact Kim Christou at [email protected] We look forward to showing you the final result at the completion of the project!

04.01.2022 When Jenny's Garden was created in our outdoor environment, we were determined in her memory to incorporate both natural, sensory learning experiences as well as some risky play- both aspects of early childhood exploration which for Jenny were vital for children to experience. In particular, Jenny always wanted a fire pit. To that end, we were very appreciative to the Ziflian family as well as Club 4X4 for their generous donation of a fire pit. We have been able to incorporate this into our programming and the children have loved being able to roast marshmallows over an open fire! Children were able to learn about fire safety, what is dangerous about fires, flammable items and proximity, and concepts such as these are one of the reasons why risky play is so beneficial.

01.01.2022 Sustainability is one of the core programs we practice at Explore & Develop Macquarie Park. We are always searching for ways to further innovate our program so that the children in our centre can learn how to care for the world they will inherit tomorrow. In 2019 Explore & Develop Macquarie Park were the proud recipients of the Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant and now 6 months later the harvest is coming in. This allows children to have a true hands-on understanding of the food we eat by being able to grow vegetables from seed, care for them, harvest them and prepare them in the classrooms as a meal we can share together.