Goodstart Early Learning Kangaroo Flat

Introducing Our Centre Director, Joanne Russell

We are delighted to introduce Joanne (Jo) Russell, who is currently supporting our centre as Centre Director.

Jo is a highly experienced Lead Centre Director within our region and has been part of the Goodstart family for over 20 years. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to delivering high-quality early learning and creating positive outcomes for children, families, and educators.

As Centre Director of our Golden Square service, Jo also provides leadership and support across a number of centres. Whether she is mentoring new Centre Directors, guiding teams through periods of transition, or supporting services to achieve their goals, Jo brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion to every centre she works with.

Jo will be supporting our team while we recruit for our permanent Centre Director, and we are excited to have her leadership, expertise, and dedication supporting our children, families, and educators during this time.

Please join us in giving Jo a warm welcome to our centre! 🌟

❤️

🏗️✨ Planning, Building and Imagining ✨🏗️

Levi has been deeply engaged in his play as he takes on the role of a builder, constructing a house using blocks. What made this experience even more meaningful was his thoughtful approach—drawing plans and carefully measuring his materials using a measuring tape 📏

Through this process, Levi explored how to plan, design, and build, showing great focus and problem-solving as he worked out how his structure would come together. His use of tools and measurement highlights his growing understanding of early mathematical and STEM concepts 🔢🧱

Engaging in pretend builder play allows children like Levi to step into real-world roles such as architects and construction workers, supporting both imagination and practical learning. It also encourages the development of fine and gross motor skills, as well as opportunities for collaboration and communication when shared with others 💛

Links to Learning:
🔗 Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners – Planning, experimenting, and problem-solving through building and design.
🔗 Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators – Representing ideas through drawing plans and symbolic play.
🔗 Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing – Developing coordination and confidence using tools and materials.

It’s wonderful to see such thoughtful planning and creativity come to life through play 🌟

🏠🐾 Collaborative Building and Imaginative Play 🐾🏠

Maylah and Logan have been enjoying working together to create a big house for their animals. Using their ideas and teamwork, they carefully built a space where their animals could live, showing creativity and shared problem-solving along the way 🧱✨

Once their construction was complete, they proudly invited an educator to come and see, excitedly showing the way to enter their house. Their enthusiasm and pride in their creation were wonderful to witness 💛

Through this experience, Maylah and Logan are developing important skills such as cooperation, communication, and imaginative play, while building strong connections with one another 🤝

Links to Learning:
🔗 Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world – Building relationships, working collaboratively, and sharing ideas.
🔗 Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners – Using creativity, problem-solving, and persistence in play.
🔗 Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators – Expressing ideas, inviting others to engage, and sharing their thinking.

We love seeing children work together and take such pride in their creations 🌟

🎂✨ Creative Play, Learning and Discovery ✨🎂

Peggy enjoys spending time exploring playdough, engaging her senses as she squeezes, rolls, and shapes the soft textures. During her play, she created a pretend cake, carefully decorating it with natural materials 🌿—bringing her imagination to life through creativity and design.

A lovely moment was when Peggy proudly traced the letter P, demonstrating her growing awareness of letters and early literacy skills 🔤 Her focus and determination showed in the care she took with each movement.

Through this experience, Peggy is building important skills including fine motor strength, hand-eye coordination, and creative expression, all while connecting play with early learning concepts 💛

Links to Learning:
🔗 Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing – Developing fine motor skills and coordination.
🔗 Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners – Using imagination, creativity, and persistence in play.
🔗 Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators – Exploring early literacy through letter recognition and symbolic play.

We love seeing these rich, playful moments that support both creativity and learning 🌟

🧱✨ Exploring, Building and Learning Together ✨🧱

Leo is often drawn to our mirror hexagon blocks, where he enjoys exploring construction and creativity alongside his peers. During these moments, Leo and a friend take turns carefully building towers, experimenting with different sizes, balance, and placement to see what will hold strong.

Through trial and error, they problem-solve together—adjusting blocks, negotiating turns, and working collaboratively to keep their structure standing. The excitement builds with each added piece, right up until the final block is placed!

Beyond the construction, it’s been wonderful to see the joy they share in each other’s company 💛 Their teamwork, patience, and shared sense of pride in their creation highlight the importance of social connection in learning.

Links to Learning:
🔗 Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world – Working together, taking turns, and building relationships with peers.
🔗 Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners – Exploring problem-solving, experimentation, and persistence through building.
🔗 Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators – Sharing ideas, negotiating roles, and celebrating success together.

We love seeing children collaborate, explore, and feel proud of what they can achieve together 🌟

📚✨ Joyful Reading & Storytelling in Our Learning Space ✨📚

Our book area has become a much-loved space where children independently explore their love of reading. Without any prompting, they browse the shelves, thoughtfully selecting books that spark their curiosity—whether it’s animals 🐾, colourful illustrations 🎨, or familiar characters 🌈.

After choosing their books, many children enjoy settling into the big chair 🪑, carefully turning pages, pointing to pictures, tracing letters with their fingers, and sharing their thinking with friends. Some children confidently retell stories in their own words, using the illustrations as cues—bringing stories to life through their imagination 📖💬

A special moment was observed when Sunny selected a cultural story featuring diverse families. As she turned the pages, she paused, smiled brightly, and shared, “This looks like me!” 💛 This highlights the importance of children seeing themselves reflected in books and developing a strong sense of identity and belonging.
Throughout this experience, the children demonstrated independence, focus, and genuine engagement. They are beginning to see themselves as readers and storytellers—active participants in their own literacy journey 🌟

Links to Learning:
🔗 Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity – Recognising themselves and their experiences in stories supports a sense of belonging.
🔗 Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners – Children show curiosity, independence, and persistence as they explore books.
🔗 Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators – Engaging with texts, retelling stories, and sharing ideas builds early literacy and communication skills.

We love seeing the joy, confidence, and pride growing in our young readers each day 💕

🐾 A Special Visitor in Kinder Today! 🐾

Today our Kindergarten children were delighted to welcome a very special visitor from the Responsible Pet Program—along with her gentle and friendly dog! 🐶

From the moment they arrived, the children were full of curiosity, gathering eagerly on the mat with wide eyes and excited whispers.
Our presenter shared important messages about how to care for pets, helping children understand that animals need food, water, exercise, shelter, and kind, gentle care to stay happy and healthy.
Through engaging conversations and demonstrations, the children learned essential safe pet rules—how to approach a dog calmly, when it’s not safe to pat, and how to notice a dog’s body language. They even practiced important safety strategies like standing still like a “tree” 🌳 and curling up like a “rock” 🪨 to stay safe around unfamiliar or upset dogs.

Children who felt comfortable were able to put their learning into practice, carefully following the steps:
✔️ Ask the owner
✔️ Let the dog sniff
✔️ Pat gently on the back

The pride and confidence on their faces was wonderful to see 💛
We love providing these real-life learning experiences that support children to build confidence, empathy, and safety awareness in their everyday lives.

For more information about the Responsible Pet Ownership Program, visit:
https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals/animal-welfare-victoria/community-and-education/responsible-pet-ownership-for-children 🐾

🏊‍♀️💦 What a splashtastic finish to swimming! 💦🏊‍♂️

Today we celebrated a wonderful final day of swimming for our Kinder children — and what an incredible journey it has been! 🎉

✨ Each week, they have splashed, laughed, and grown in confidence in the water, and today was the perfect way to celebrate all their hard work 💙

From learning to blow bubbles 🫧, kick their legs, and move through the water, to listening carefully to their instructors and cheering on their friends — their progress has been amazing to watch 👏🌟

These experiences have supported not only their physical development but also their confidence, resilience, and sense of achievement 💪😊

🌱 This learning connects with:
Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity (confidence and pride in their achievements)
Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing (physical skills, coordination, and active participation)
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners (persistence and growing capability)

We are so proud of how far they’ve come and the joy they’ve shown along the way 🌈💖
Great job, our amazing little swimmers — you did it! 🏅💦