Pakenham Kids Early Learning Centre in Pakenham, Victoria | Nursery

Pakenham Kids Early Learning Centre

Locality: Pakenham, Victoria

Phone: +61 3 5941 5209

Address: 150 - 152 Princes Highway 3810 Pakenham, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.kidselc.net.au

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• Nursery

24.01.2022 Additional Child Care Subsidy (temporary financial hardship) and COVID-19 I have had a few families asking about what help is provided to families who are struggling financially while dealing with this pandemic Covid-19. I have attached a link with some information about ACCS to see if you qualify and how you can claim. if you have any questions please feel free to come and see me and i can help you through the steps. Thankyou, Jessica Morley... https://www.dese.gov.au//accs_temporary_financial_hardship

24.01.2022 This weeks recipe of the week is Sausage Rolls As we are finally getting some warmer weather, we are currently creating our new spring and summer menu. Sausage rolls are always a favourite in all our rooms and help us to ensure we are providing children with well balanced meals while in our community by encouraging children to eat some hidden vegetables.... We would love to know your favourite meals for the warmer weather that we could incorporate into our healthy menu.

23.01.2022 Daffodil Day is Friday 28 August This year may feel a little different but the need to stop cancer is just the same.... If you would like to donate to find a cure, please use the link below https://www.daffodilday.com.au/donate

23.01.2022 Lest we forget On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, a minutes’ silence is held where we will remember them. Within our service the children have been learning about the ANZACS and the importance of Remembrance Day. We have extended on this throughout the rooms with all children and educators getting involved. Take a look at what we have been up to!

23.01.2022 National Science Week 15th-23rd August We are so excited to be participating in National Science Week and doing a variety of science experiences in each room this week. For some ideas of experiences you can do at home please see the links below:... https://www.kidspot.com.au/things-to-//science-experiments https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au//10-science-experimen/ See more

23.01.2022 Enquire now via our website - www.kidselc.net.au #kids_elc

22.01.2022 Meet our Educators Hi, my name is Mandy. I am the Kinder Teacher at Pakenham Kids Early Learning Centre, where I have worked since 2008. I hold my Bachelor of Early Childhood and have always had a passion for education.... I really enjoy my job, helping and guiding the children through their learning. I enjoy watching how the children grow and develop over the year and flourish. I have two children of my own, Brodie and Mackenzie and two dogs Molly and Frankie. I enjoy being involved in local basketball teams by playing myself and being involved in my childrens teams. My focus while being a Kinder Teacher is to support each childs individual growth throughout the year and help them to achieve their goals.

22.01.2022 Healthy eating is essential for your childs good health, growth and development. Healthy eating in childhood means they will have less chance of developing chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers. It will also mean they feel better, look better and enjoy life more. What is healthy eating? To stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight, children need to be physically active and eat the right amount of nutrients to balance the energy they ...use. The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend children should enjoy a wide variety of foods from these 5 food groups: fruit vegetables, legumes and beans cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives milks, yoghurts, cheeses and/or alternatives (children under 2 should have full-fat milk, but older children and adolescents can have reduced-fat varieties) Healthy eating from the 5 food groups is essential for all children. Children should limit their intake of foods that contain saturated fat, added salt or added sugar. They should also be encouraged to choose water to drink. For a chance to meet people from your local community, share information and support each other in all things healthy eating have a look at the training below. Free for all to attend.

21.01.2022 Hi, my name is Kate. I have been working at Pakenham Kids since 2011 and I am very excited to be the Pre-Kinder Room Leader this year! In my spare time I enjoy being an active member of the community through art and local sporting events. Education has always been a strong passion of mine. I love being able to educate the young minds of our future. I endeavour to provide all children with the skills and development needed for their next adventure and create meaningful relationships throughout the year.

21.01.2022 LOOKING FOR AN AMAZING SERVICE... Early Learning that is truly exceeding! Come down and book a tour! Spots filling up fast for 2021!

20.01.2022 Hi Everyone, I have attached a letter that outlines the Roadmap to getting back to childcare. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a call.... We look forward to seeing everyone again on 28/9 if all goes to plan. Thank you

17.01.2022 Wow, how exciting to see our new yards are almost complete! Make sure you come down and have a look!!

16.01.2022 Child Care Family Helpline Please let families know there is a national toll-free helpline available for those looking for child care during COVID-19. ACECQA has established the helpline to support families, including essential workers and those with vulnerable children. Families can call the helpline on 1800 291 041 from 9am to 5pm (AEST), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). ... https://education.us17.list-manage.com/track/click

15.01.2022 Benefits of play - Playdough The benefits of playdough are numerous. What is it that makes this wonderful substance a favourite for messy play and what are they learning while moulding it? Did you know there are many reasons why moulding playdough is a highly educational activity? Children learn and build foundational skills through it. Here are 7 of the major benefits of playdough for young children:...Continue reading

15.01.2022 HAPPY THANKSGIVING It is a high priority at Pakenham kids to be inclusive of all cultures and communities. With all that is happening in America at the moment it is so important to us to show our respect and support! This is a wonderful day to celebrate and a reminder to us Australian’s to embrace the wonderful traditions that other cultures embrace. ... Thanksgiving is a day in the United States that the celebrate the harvest and the blessing of the past year. Today we have had discussions with the children about what they are thankful for and reflecting on the little things in life that we are so lucky to have. Join us in the trail and comment below what you are thankful for.

15.01.2022 In this Together National Reconciliation week 2020 This week we have a special focus on making sure we incorporate traditions This year celebrates the them (in this together). In support of shaping Australias journey to a more just, equitable and reconciled nation. During this week the children will be incorporating this into their program. We have shared some photos of some of these special moments

14.01.2022 Recipe of the week Penne Bolognaise A favourite throughout our centre is penne bolognaise. We would love to know what your favourite meals are at home, please feel free to let us know below.

14.01.2022 What a amazing day we are having in Pakenham today! We are so lucky to have a amazing outdoor environments that foster the children’s imagination and exploration. At Pakenham kids we incorporate play- based learning while scaffolding of the children’s interests! ‘Teach what can’t be taught’

13.01.2022 Its a real milestone in your childs development when your child learns to use the toilet. When they are ready for this important step they begin to recognise the feeling that they need to use the toilet, and they can hold on until they are in the appropriate place. Developing this skill in a supportive and positive environment promotes positive self-esteem and is an important aspect of the development of your childs self-help skills. Not only does it give them a sense of...Continue reading

12.01.2022 Learning through play, every day! To enrol your child, please call us on 03 5941 5209 #pakenhamkidselc #kids_elc

12.01.2022 At Pakenham Kids we are lucky enough to have a variety of pets throughout our service. We would love to introduce you all to our nursery pet guinea pigs Albie and Archie The children in the nursery and throughout the centre love playing with Albie and Archie and giving them lots of cuddles. ... Brooke enjoys teaching the children about how to care for the guinea pigs and what they eat. We would love to see pictures of your pets at home. See more

11.01.2022 What a great start of the week we have had enjoying the sunshine!! We are missing all of our friends at home, please feel free to post some photos below of all the fun activities you have been up to at home. Stay safe everyone!

10.01.2022 Dear families As you know over the weekend there were further announcements by the Victorian Government in relation to COVID-19. We have looked into the current situation, the ever increasing risk and are taking proactive steps to keep everyone safe. As of Thursday all adults, including families will need to wear a face mask or face covering when dropping off or picking up children from the centre. In order to minimise any risk of infection coming into our centre we are also ...trying to keep families stay within our rooms to a five minute maximum time to collect your child. Please be assured that staff are following detailed cleaning and hygiene procedures. You will see more of our staff wearing masks. The Government at this stage has not recommended face coverings for staff when working directly with children so the staff within the room will likely not be wearing masks unless this advice changes. We will continue doing our temperature checks on arrival and the staff members taking temperatures will be wearing a mask. We thank you for all of your support through this time. We again ask that if you or your child shows any signs of illness to please keep them home and away from the Centre. Also if any member of your family is isolating or has been COVID tested, please remain at home until your test results are clear. This will help us all to slow the spread together. Thank you for your ongoing support. If you have any worries or questions please feel free to come and see me in the office. Thank You Jessica Morley

10.01.2022 Lucis Vegetable Garden Over the past three months children throughout the centre have enjoyed caring for our new vegetable patches and watching our vegetables grow. Our vegetable patch in the Nursery and Toddlers yard is growing celery, broad beans, peas and leek. Each morning the children from each room take turns to help Luci water the plants and checking how big they are growing. We cant wait to see what we can grow in our Pre-Kinder and Kinder gardens.... People of all ages can enjoy gardening, children in particular have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including: Responsibility: Derived from the need to care for plants and vegetables Self-confidence: Developed through achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown Understanding: Conceptualise the process of cause and effect (for example, plants and vegetables die without water, weeds compete with plants) Reasoning and Discovery: Learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, nutrition and simple construction Physical activity: Participating in an activity that is both fun and productive Exploring texture: Gaining insight on density, weight, malleability, permeability etc. Love of nature: An ideal opportunity to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place Cooperation: Including shared play activity and teamwork Creativity: Finding new and exciting ways to grow and use food Nutrition: Learning about where fresh food comes from and the importance of healthy eating

10.01.2022 Yard renovations are coming along nicely

10.01.2022 Whilst being creative, children spend time practicing their concentration skills, fine motor skills and their problem solving skills. To enrol your child, please call us on 03 5941 5209 today! #pakenhamkidselc #pakenhamchildcare #enroltoday

10.01.2022 What a great initiative from the Cardinia Shire Council! Sustainability and waste reduction is something that we are very passionate about at Pakenham Kids and we endeavor to embed sustainable practices into our way of life and the future generation. From Monday 28 September, youll be able to put food waste in your green waste bin. Instead of going to landfill, your food waste, along with your garden waste, will be turned into compost for gardens and farms across Victori...a. Residents who already have a green waste bin will receive a free information kit including a benchtop kitchen caddy, flyer and sticker during the rollout period of 28 September to 19 October 2020. Once received, it can be used immediately. If you dont have a green waste bin, but would like to order one, you can do so easily online at www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/orderbins To read more about our new food waste collection service, visit https://bit.ly/34ZQ5nt Or, to join one of our FREE online information sessions, visit www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/greenwaste See more

09.01.2022 SunSmart Just a reminder to all families that we are proud to follow the SunSmart policy all year round, which includes wearing hats whenever we are outside. As the weather warms up the UV is beginning to go over 3 which means we must slip, slop, slap, seek and slide whenever we go outside in these conditions. This is just a reminder to make sure you pack the correct clothing for your child to be SunSmart. Please see below for examples of appropriate and inappropriate clot...hing. At our service we find it very important to lead by example, as you can see by our educators around the service. For further information please have a look at the SunSmart websites at www.sunsmart.com.au

09.01.2022 WELCOME TO OUR NURSERY Within the Nursery we aim to provide the highest quality standard of care for all babies and growing children, we are extremely passionate about building strong, positive and meaningful relationships with not only your children, but all families too! We ensure communication is crucial for all families such as mid day updates, communication books and many photos of your child’s day on top of phone calls as many times a day as families may need to ensu...re their babies are settled. We understand the importance of working in collaboration with families and educators in reaching goals and achieving developmental milestones for each child and their individual progression within their early years! Children’s interests are our main goal when providing an educational program and we cannot wait to see what the New Year brings us!! Don’t forget bookings are limited so get in quick to secure your child’s spot in the Nursery for 2021.

09.01.2022 What a beautiful day in Melbourne today!! Dont forget its R U OK day today. At Pakenham Kids we believe its the little things in life that matter. We have been busy drawing rainbows today, we would love to see what you are busy doing in this beautiful sunshine.

08.01.2022 Dental week!! Hi everyone! This week is dental health week! Within the rooms we are going to explore different ways on which we can promote dental hygiene! Here are a few print outs explaining different information on sugar levels, hygiene, healthy teeth and healthy foods which in turn assists us with healthy gums, clean teeth and good nutrition!

08.01.2022 Happy ‘Diwali 2020! ’ enjoy your celebrations tomorrow everyone at Pakenham kids!

08.01.2022 SHOUT OUT TIME!!! I would love to say a huge thank you to all our educators at Pakenham kids for all the hard work that they all put in each and everyday, we have had a bit of a crazy year this year but this has not stopped them from coming to work and putting in 100%! What a amazing team we have!!! It would be lovely if everyone could write something nice about your fav. Educators at Pakenham kids to show them how appreciated they really are

08.01.2022 A big thank you to our families for sharing your Fathers Day pictures with us. It was nice to see how our families celebrated Fathers Day within our community. Please feel free to add your pictures below and let us know all about how you spent your special day.

07.01.2022 Hi, my name is Brooke. I have been working at Pakenham Kids since 2014! This is my second year as the Lead Educator in the Nursery! I have completed my Diploma in Childrens Services and I am currently studying my Bachelor of Early Education. I have always had a passion for working with children, I love working in the nursery watching all the babies grow and develop new milestones in their everyday learning. I cherish the relationships made with all children and families and cannot wait to watch these relationships grow throughout the years.

06.01.2022 Red Nose Day What a busy day we have had today baking up a storm ready for our red nose day cake sale tomorrow. Each room has been creating their own delicious treats for us to sell tomorrow to raise money for red nose day. The nursery loved mixing all the ingredients together to prepare honey joys. Brooke spoke to all the babies about each ingredient and its texture. The children all had a turn at crunching some cornflakes. Toddlers enjoyed using their counting skills to... count how many chocolate chips they put into each of their cookies and then counting all of the cookies on the tray before they went in the oven. Lewis was very excited and told Jade, its a circle pointing to the cookies. The pre-kinder children helped to collect each ingredient and having a turn of mixing them all together to make some yummy cupcakes. The children helped Luci and Carly to measure each ingredient before pouring it into the bowl and mixing them all together. In Kinder the children followed on from their experience earlier in the week where they discussed sequences and what comes next. Before each step of creating their delicious Mars Bar Slice, Bec spoke to the children about what they thought they needed to do next and how it is important to follow a recipe when cooking. See more

06.01.2022 Toddler Room News Hello everyone as you are aware Julia and I (Ebony) have taken over as Lead Educator within the Toddler room. We are both very excited to take this role on and cannot wait to help guide each child in their learning and development throughout the year. I (Ebony) have been working at Pakenham Kids for almost 10 years and within the middle of the year I returned from maternity leave where my partner and I welcomed our beautiful baby girl Lucy. I am very family ...oriented and love my farm life. I have always had a passion within childcare and have absolutely loved watching and guiding each child throughout these years watching some start within the nursery then graduating kinder! Building a bond with each child is a must for myself as I like to ensure each child feels safe, secure and supported within the centre and feel they can approach me at any given time. Julia has been working at Pakenham kids for over 4 years now! Julia comes from a Mauritius background and can speak 3 different languages; English, French and Creole. She has two beautiful children that she and her husband adore. Julia has special bonds with all children and loves sharing her culture with everyone within the centre whether it be through foods or language. See more

06.01.2022 WELCOME TO OUR KINDERGARTEN Mandy Our Kindergarten teacher has a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education. Mandy’s Teaching adapts a ‘play based curriculum’ meaning that the children learn and discover through play along with intentional teaching strategies to prepare the children for the following year of primary school. ... Mandy has passion for science and loves being in the kindergarten room creating relationships with the children and helping them grow and be ready for school! Don’t forget limited spots available, enroll now for our funded kinder program 2021!

05.01.2022 **Whats Been Happening in Pre Kinder** In Pre kinder we have been experiencing lots of different discoveries & exploration! We have created a bears habitat and learnt that the brown grizzly bear lives in a forest/woodland! We have even gone on a bear hunt through our new yard! We have really loved our new group time song sleeping bunnies and have been really into books! So much that we will be starting a small Library in our Pre kinder room! Weve all enjoyed discovering about fine motor and using different utensils to try and pick up dry noodles and place them into containers. A few of us have really been into our writing & trying to write our own names! Have a look at our days in the Pre-Kinder room!

05.01.2022 Join with us and thousands of people from all across Australia as we get silly for a serious cause on 14 August. Every dollar raised on Red Nose Day helps stop little lives being cut short and ensures every grieving family gets the support they need. If you would like to know more about safe sleeping and helping to prevent SIDS please see the link below: https://rednose.org.au/section/safe-sleeping... To do our part for Red Nose Day we encouraged all children to dress up and bring a gold coin donation. We are also holding a contactless cake stall with yummy treats made from all the rooms. Make sure you bring your loose change to pick up tonight so you can enjoy some Friday night treats!! If you would like to donate to the Red Nose Day appeal, please use the link below: https://www.mycause.com.au/page/230973/rednoseday!

05.01.2022 Children grow and learn so quickly sometimes its easy to forget that they can learn so much through simple every day play. Block play is something that is enjoyed throughout the years and can be done in a variety of ways depending on a childs ages and development. Block play offers an open-ended, creative and valuable play and learning experience. It offers children freedom to explore, take apart and put back together any block-based creation they can think of. Here are ...some aspects of learning, enhanced through block play. 1. Imagination Through block play children are free to follow their own ideas as they embark on a voyage of discovery or share in the development of their friends creations. 2. Self-expression Children are able to express themselves through their play, creations and discoveries, a form of communication thats particularly valuable for bilingual or non-verbal children. 3. Problem-solving Blocks offer a great platform to develop problem-solving and reasoning skills. This can be deliberate, with children consciously working to develop a solution, or as a natural consequence of play, as they learn first-hand what does and what doesnt work. 4. Mathematics Due to the many shapes, sizes and colours on offer, blocks offer ample opportunity for children to practise important maths skills, covering measurement, number, symmetry, balance and estimation. By comparing shapes and sizes, creating patterns or providing measuring and weighing tools, we can extend play and exploration. 5. physical development Block play promotes the development of spatial awareness and develops hand-eye coordination as children reach for, lift, move and build with blocks, strengthening their fingers, hands and arms. 6. Creativity Blocks are loose parts, meaning children are free to combine and recombine them in countless ways. Practitioners can add alternative resources such as dough, small world characters or paint and pencils to further extend opportunities for creativity. 7. Science Through the exploration of cause and effect and experimentation, children are able to develop their problem-solving skills, test hypotheses and practise scientific reasoning. Blocks help them to become familiar with balance, weight, spatial awareness and gravity. 8. Self-esteem Children can take risks in their block play, helping them to discover that they have independent ideas. Children experience a sense of achievement as they have a go, creating and developing something new and unique. 9. Communication & literacy As children encounter new experiences through block play, there are countless opportunities for discussion and the development of new vocabulary. Social interaction with adults and peers unlocks further benefits, while using blocks can support story creation and collaborative storytelling. See more

04.01.2022 Hi everyone!!! Dont forget we need to make sure we have our face coverings on! Here is some information on hygiene and face coverings! Thank you!

03.01.2022 Due to the Spike in our local area of COVID-19 cases we need to document and take every parents and educators temperature as the enter the building. When you walk in you will see a table set you in the front Foyer, so please leave yourself some extra time to get this done each day. Thank you for all you support during this time and if you have any questions feel free to contact Jessica in the office.

03.01.2022 A huge thank you to all of our families who donated to our Red Nose Day Appeal. We raised a total of $109.30!!

02.01.2022 COVID-19 is making some Australians feel anxious and worried. Several organisations are available 24/7 that can provide mental health support. If you need help Please reach out, We are all in this together