Angaston Child Care & Early Learning Centre

21/08/2026

17/08/26 – 21/08/26
What a lovely week we have had in the Under 2’s Studio! 🌿 The children have enjoyed exploring a range of sensory and creative experiences, as well as spending time outdoors.

This week, the children enjoyed painting with pom poms, exploring colours and textures while developing their fine-motor skills. We also had lots of fun with playdough, encouraging the children to squeeze, roll, poke and manipulate the dough through hands-on sensory play.

Our outdoor play has continued to be a favourite, with the children enjoying the fresh air and opportunities to explore our climbing equipment. These experiences support physical development, coordination, balance and confidence.

A reminder for families 🌞
As the weather is starting to warm up, could parents please bring a sun hat for their child each to stay at the centre, having these items ready will help make our transition into warmer-weather routines smooth and enjoyable for everyone.

20/08/2026

20-8-26
A highlight of this week in preschool was witnessing these two mechanics busy at work, fixing their bikes! Clinton shared “my bike is broken”, as he peered underneath. Hugo said “I move my bike”.
They negotiated their roles and shared their knowledge as they worked collaboratively in their pretend play.

18/08/2026

https://childcarealliance.org.au/latestnews/aca-new-advocacy-campaign

A new campaign celebrating Australia's 3,000 independently owned early learning centres is shining a spotlight on the 79% of providers that operate just a single service.

14/08/2026

This week in our Preschool Studio, 10/8/26- 14/8/26 we have been exploring the world of design with our very own mannequin! The children have been experimenting with different ways to fold, twist and manipulate fabric to create interesting textures and unique designs. Through this process, they have worked collaboratively, sharing ideas, negotiating choices and problem-solving together as they decided how to bring their creations to life. It has been wonderful to see their creativity, confidence and teamwork shine throughout this hands-on design experience! ✨🧵👗

14/08/2026

Toddlers Week
This week we have been busy creating our market to go with our theme following the book “Off to the Market”. Using scissors, we practised cutting around in a circle to create some pumpkins. We also coloured in some apples and pumpkins, looking at the colours of each before having a go at cutting them out. We will laminate these to add to our market.
Using some big cardboard boxes, we created our market stall. Here the toddlers were interested in how we were going to create the stall. Using an inspiration off the internet, we cut and manipulated the cardboard to bend and stand together.
With water paints, the toddlers decorated it, creating different vegetables and fruits along with some flowers.
Through creating the market, the toddlers practised using scissors, colouring and cutting out their pumpkins and apples. They explored how cardboard could be cut, bent and made to stand together, while using paint to represent vegetables, fruits and flowers for the market stall.

13/08/2026

10/08/26 - 14/08/26

This week in the Under 2’s Studio, the children have participated in a range of creative arts experiences while exploring colours, with a particular focus on primary colours. The children have been developing their colour recognition skills as they identify and explore different colours through a variety of hands-on experiences.

During group time, the children have enjoyed participating in nursery rhymes and musical experiences. They have explored different sounds using objects and instruments, as well as using actions such as clapping and moving their hands along to the music. These experiences have encouraged the children to express themselves, develop their coordination and engage with others.

The children have also enjoyed exploring books and stories, both independently and alongside educators. They have shown interest by pointing at pictures, turning the pages themselves and engaging with familiar stories. These experiences are supporting their early communication, language and literacy development while encouraging a love of books and storytelling.

07/08/2026

🎨This week in our Under 2s Studio the children explored painting while building on important early learning skills.

As they dipped their brushes, made colourful marks, and mixed different colours, they were strengthening their fine motor skills.

🌈Painting also encouraged colour recognition, as the children discovered and explored a rainbow of colours through hands-on play.

07/08/2026

This week in the preschool studio, we have been recording our daily temperature and rainfall measurements in our observation books. Children have also been exploring Aboriginal symbols to represent different weather conditions, including the sun, clouds, and rain. This learning was inspired by the story The Big Rain, providing opportunities to connect literacy with symbolic representation and our observations of the natural environment.
Together, we have also been investigating the properties of materials by exploring what objects are made from and discussing why different materials are used for different purposes. During a walk around our learning environment, the children searched for items made from metal, plastic, and wood. They made thoughtful observations, including noticing that the mud kitchen sink and several of their drink bottles were both made from metal. These experiences encouraged children to compare materials, identify similarities and differences, and develop their understanding of the world around them.

06/08/2026

Toddlers

Off to the Market
This term our book focus is “Off to the Market.” This week we looked at the different types of pumpkins and potatoes you can buy.
Potatoes to Touch and Explore
We looked at brushed potatoes, sweet potatoes, white potatoes and red potatoes. The children felt the texture of the skin and we talked about whether they were hard or soft. We cut open the potatoes and found they were all a white/yellow colour apart from the sweet potato, which was orange. The toddlers showed enthusiasm as we looked at all the different potatoes and there shapes.
Pumpkins in Different Shapes and Colours
We looked at a butternut, QLD Blue and Japanese pumpkin. We took note of how they all had different colours on the outside, but the inside was all orange. We cut into a pumpkin again and looked at the hard or soft texture.
Talking About Cooking
We discussed how to cook potatoes and pumpkin, with the oven being the most common answer.
From This Experience it was noticed the children were keen to look closely, touch, compare and talk about what they could see and feel. This book focus gave us a simple way to explore everyday foods and to name their colours, textures and uses together.
Learning Outcomes / Learning Links (EYLF v2.0)
Children are confident and involved learners - the children explored, compared and discussed the potatoes and pumpkins with interest.
Children are effective communicators - the children joined in the conversation about hard and soft textures, colours and how to cook the vegetables.
Children are connected with and contribute to their world - the experience linked our book focus to everyday foods children may see at the market and in the home kitchen.

31/07/2026

This week we welcomed new friends into the toddler studio as they graduated from the under 2 studio. In keeping with our Reggio Emilia approach, we supported each child as a capable learner by giving them time to explore the environment, become familiar with new routines and remain in preferred activities.
The studio offered many experiences for children to explore: colour identification and sorting, creating with paints, markers and play dough, and moving their bodies outside through balancing, running and going down the slide in Jarjum. These experiences gave all children opportunities to express their ideas through materials, movement and play while building relationships within their learning community