Kate's Place Kindergarten & Early Learning in Toowoomba, Queensland | Nursery

Kate's Place Kindergarten & Early Learning

Locality: Toowoomba, Queensland

Phone: +61 7 4636 1554

Address: 206 Ramsay Street 4350 Toowoomba, QLD, Australia

Website: https://www.katesplace.com.au

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• Business service
• Childcare service
• Nursery

25.01.2022 A staff member found a dead snake in her back yard and thought this would be a great opportunity to talk to the children about how to stay safe if you see a snake. The children were only allowed to look at the snake but not touch for safety reasons. The educator discussed with the children the importance of why we never touch a snake if we see one, where we might find a snake and what to do if you see a snake. This is very important to children to have an understanding and being aware of safety in their environment.

25.01.2022 The Joeys children are continuing their learning of sea creatures, through the use of technology we have discovered different species that come in all different shapes and sizes. The children through their learning look at the animal before we start the morning and choose which animal they would like to learn about. The children saw the sea horse on the table and showed to the educator, together we looked at it on the internet and discussed it colours, structure, habitat and ...diet. After we used our imagination to paint our sea horses we used the colours yellow, blue and black and used two different types of utensils to create the picture such as sponges and a paintbrush. The children enjoyed this experience having the different elements to it and then looking at the picture when it was finished and seeing the vibrant colours of the sea horse. See more

23.01.2022 Thank you to this lovely family for your kind words and amazing ginger bread house. All the children at our centre have a special place in our hearts. Our focus is to ensure all our children feel safe and secure while in our care and our parents feel comfortable to leave their precious little ones with us each day.

21.01.2022 Last week we discussed how the sky looked hazy and the air smelt of smoke. The children said that it was because of all the fires. They went on to explain that the fire fighters and their fire trucks were trying to put out the fires. We decided to make a special book to thank all of the fire fighters who are being so brave and fighting the fires. The children are understanding the roles of the people in our community and how they keep us safe. We will continue to support them as they discuss events that are occurring in their community.

21.01.2022 The children in the Possum’s room talked about how they have grown since the start of the year. We then read a book called When I Grow Up. The children then drew pictures of what they want to be when they grow up. We asked the children a lot of open questions to encourage them to use their language skills and imagination. We will continue to encourage the children to extend their thinking and literacy skills.

19.01.2022 Joey's Room. Throughout the month the children are continuing to learn about all different sea animals. This week the children noticed the turtles. We learnt a few facts about turtles and the children help collect the colours green, dark green and yellow by referencing to the pictures we could see. The children picked up their paintbrush and had their paper ready, they used the pictures to see what a sea turtle looked like and let their imagination create their interpretation for them. The children really enjoyed this activity using the space of the paper to create their individual sea turtles.

18.01.2022 The Bilbies educator is scaffolding on the children’s interest with the recycled box structure. The children just love playing in and around this structure, popping in and out, following each other and sharing humour and happiness as they enjoy social interactions. This week the children where attempting to ride their bikes into the large box, however the entrance was too small. The Educator responded to the children’s interest by cutting the entrance bigger. The children were delighted, riding the bikes in and out of the box. Since Monday the box structure have been added to and we now have a box town. The children are enjoying directing the course of their play. There are many advantages for the children as they decide on their own ideas for their play time.

17.01.2022 During the vacation care program, the children were into physical activities. The benefits of physical activity include: developing strong bones and muscles, healthy heart, lungs and arteries, improved coordination, balance, posture and flexibility. Physical activity is also great for helping your child to be happy and well in other areas of life. For example, active children are more likely to be confident and feel like they belong, be relaxed and sleep well, concentrate better, get along with others and make friends easily. They are learning to share, take turns and cooperate with others. We will continue to provide opportunities for the children to be active.

15.01.2022 In 2018 Kate and her two brothers bought Middle Ridge Centre from their parents Linda and Noel, since taking over Kate has done numerous renovations both indoors and outdoors to ensure the centre felt warm and just like another home for the children. Kate kept all staff upon take over so children and parents had a smooth transition and works at the centre herself. To ensure children feel safe and secure we have a permanent team, by doing this children have a strong bond with all our team.

14.01.2022 Today we asked the children if they know what Remembrance Day means. We then watched an internet story where Charlie Brown discussed Remembrance Day. In the video the children noticed all the red poppies on the fields and we discussed that they grow where the men fought in war. To extend the activity we added red, black and green paint to the table so the children could express their ideas trough their art work. We also discussed the importance of the 11th hour on the 11th da...y of the 11th month to our Australian history. The children are becoming aware of how we commemorate past events relating to our cultural history. We will continue to engage the children in our national celebrations and commemorations to extend their understanding of historical events. We then looked at a book called 'What does peace look like '. The children then brainstormed what the word Peace means to them. They identified that peace is associated with things that make you fell happy. We then looked at what makes us happy and what peace would be like using our 5 senses. We will continue to provide a variety of ways so the children can express themselves and their feelings. See more

14.01.2022 With the windy weather the Koalas have shown an interest in kites and how kites can fly. The educator spoke to the children about how it works, the children made their own kites to fly in the wind, from this it has lead to an interest in paper craft, the children have been creating lots of origami art works such as Paper planes, Boats and Helicopters. This is a great way to improve and engage their fine motor and cognitive skills.

14.01.2022 The Possum children went to the Darling Downs Zoo last week. They enjoyed learning about the different animals and experiencing first-hand how the animals are cared for. The children then noticed all of the animals such as the koalas in the tree and some sleeping wombats. They talked about how they sleep during the day and move about at night time. They are understanding how animals function. The little wallabies were eager to come right up to the fence where the children wer...e standing. The children noticed their claws and we discussed how they use them. They said that they use them to find food, dig the ground and scratch animals. They are becoming aware of how animals protect themselves. We will continue to engage the children into thinking about how animals and people stay safe. We looked at the gibbons and the children noticed how physical they were as they swung and did big rolls on the ground. The zoo keeper also explained what they eat and how old they are. The children were engaging with the zoo keeper showing their confidence and asking questions. The children watched as the giraffes were being feed. The giraffes were eating the leaves off a big branch. They noticed how tall they are. The children then enjoyed a picnic style sausage sizzle before we returned back to the centre. They were retelling and sharing which part of their zoo adventure they liked the best with their friends. They were using great language skills as they did this. It was a great opportunity for the children to engage and witness close up how animals live and look like. They were enhancing their understanding of the natural world. We will continue to provide opportunities for the children to explore their natural environment. See more

13.01.2022 Pyjama Fridays 17th & 24th National Pyjama Day is all about wearing your favourite pair of PJ's to help The Pyjama Foundation raise much-needed awareness and funds for children in foster care. All our children can have fun wearing their Pyjamas on this coming and next Friday in hopes our contributions can better another child's life. ... Please click on the link if you are able to donate. Our goal is $500 and you can contribute at any time. https://the-pyjama-foundation.giveeasy.org//pyjama-frida/

13.01.2022 The Bilbies children are enjoying expressing their creative side as they participate in a variety of Christmas crafts. We have been manipulating crayons, makers and finger painting. As we produce our artwork there is opportunity for creativity and imagination. The children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, inquiry, experimentation and investigating. We have made lots of lovely Christmas presents for our families.

12.01.2022 Today is World Kindness Day. We took the opportunity to explore what is kindness. We read a story 'Be Kind" and we discussed how the girl felt when she was being laughed at and how she felt later when her friend was kind to her. We then decided to be kind and comment on what each child in the room is good at. The children were very excited when they heard the others saying what they are good at. The children are becoming aware of their feelings and how we should treat others.... We will continue to provide opportunities for the children to explore feelings. and emotions. We then extended this by asking the children if we could be kind to the neighbour as he is kind to us when he throws our toys back over the fence. The children suggested that we could hug him or play with him but then some one also suggested that we cook some cookies for him. As we were cooking the cookies the children were becoming aware of how we use text in a recipe and also how we measure the ingredients. They were exploring early numeracy and literacy skills.

09.01.2022 The babies are building on their gross motor and balance skills as we have introduced a variety of bikes to their room environment. The Educator will continue with this learning through play as the children are clearly enjoying it. They are demonstrating confidence and a strong sense of independence as they manoeuvre around and through their environment, utilising the recycled box structure. The younger Bilbies are building their strength through tummy time. They enjoy the encouragement and support they receive from their Educators as they assist them, providing an interesting variety of toys and musical instruments for them to investigate.

08.01.2022 Our magpies have become very close with the children over the past few years. The centre began feeding the magpies due to them nesting in the yard. We have continued to feed them to help during the drought especially why they have two young ones. The centre leaves water out regularly for the local birds to have a drink when needed. This is very important to educate the children at the centre about ensuring our wildlife are looked after. Since we have built this friendship with them the magpies never swoop the children and often sing to thank us for our help.

07.01.2022 The Bilbies are being encouraged to use their language and self help skills at mealtimes. We encourage the children through conversation to say Please and Thank you. we are also having conversations around the table at this time, sharing stories and tales with each other. Children are never too young to begin communicating, they learn pre language skills as they listen to conversation.

06.01.2022 The Joeys children are enjoying lots of water play throughout this hot weather. The educator has placed small tubs of water in the playground for the children to play in but during this we discussed conserving the water due to the recent fires. The educator explained that once we had finished, we would place it into the gardens for the plants so we are recycling the water. As the children had the interest in the water the educator placed in the sea life for the children to play with, the children enjoyed this, talking about what animals they were and talked about where in the world we might find those specific animals.

05.01.2022 Middle Ridge State School kindly supplied a book which highlighted a day in the life of a Prep Student at their school. We read the book and the children discussed how the book was similar to their Prep visit experiences. They also were able to look at the similarities between the kindy and the school. The children drew a picture to show what they are looking forward to when they go to prep. By engaging and exposing the children to the different aspects of Prep assists with their anxieties about going to a new environment. Thank you Middle Ridge State School. We will continue to work with all of the different schools that our children are going to so that they can transition to Prep with ease.

03.01.2022 Today the Bilbies have acknowledged Remembrance Day, painting paper plate poppies. We then introduced the babies to our beautiful Armed Forces Cuddle Bears. The Babies were delighted, embracing the bears as their Educator spoke of the meaning of Remembrance Day.

02.01.2022 In the Bilbies room the Educator is continuing scaffolding on the children’s interest with the recycled box structure. The children just love playing in and around this structure, popping in and out, following each other and sharing humour and happiness as they enjoy social interactions. The Educator extended on the interest by placing the home corner basket in the middle of the structure, as she noticed the children enjoyed taking them into the boxes to play with. There are many advantages for the children as they decide on their own rules for their play time. In the boxes they can relax and enjoy solitude play or simply just get away from the noise and action of the room.