Cottage Grove Early Learning

Behind every warm welcome, meaningful relationship, nourishing meal and quality learning experience is a dedicated team working together to make the magic happen. ✨

We were so touched to receive this beautiful feedback from one of our families.

While our educators create incredible experiences with children each day, we also want to acknowledge the dedicated leadership team working behind the scenes — supporting families, mentoring educators, maintaining quality practice and helping our centre feel like a true home away from home.

We are incredibly fortunate to have a highly skilled and experienced leadership team, bringing over 50 years of combined Early Childhood Education experience to our service. Their passion, knowledge and commitment to excellence help shape the culture of care, connection and belonging our families experience each day.

To our amazing management, educators and kitchen team — thank you for the heart you pour into what you do. 💛

📚✨ What a special day at Cottage Grove! ✨📚

On Wednesday we were so lucky to welcome our wonderful librarian from West End Library for National Simultaneous Storytime 2026!

Together, we joined children all around Australia in sharing this year’s beautiful story, Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller by Adam Jackson & Adrian Lloyd, illustrated by Jake A. Minton. The story celebrates courage, teamwork, determination and believing in yourself!

Our children were captivated as they listened, laughed, joined in the storytelling and immersed themselves in the joy of books and literacy. 💛📖

A huge thank you to our lovely librarian Peita for bringing the magic of stories, connection and community into our centre today — we absolutely loved having you!

🌟📚

🌿 Bush Kindy at Cottage Grove 🌿

There’s something special about watching children slow down enough to truly notice the world around them.

Through Bush Kindy, our children are given opportunities to climb, balance, problem solve, explore, assess risk, collaborate and connect deeply with nature. Whether it’s collecting treasures, navigating uneven ground, listening to birds, creating imaginary worlds or simply sitting quietly amongst the trees, these experiences support confidence, resilience, curiosity and wellbeing in ways that cannot be replicated indoors.

At Cottage Grove, we see nature as more than a backdrop for play — it is a teacher. Bush Kindy invites children to move their bodies freely, build authentic autonomy, develop social competence and experience the calm that comes from meaningful connection with the natural world.🌱

Today was a big day at Cottage Grove… our very first Bush Kindy 🌿✨

And what a way to begin!

We spent the morning exploring, noticing, and wondering together. The children discovered a termite hill, spotted a praying mantis, and shared so many thoughtful conversations about the world around them. There’s something pretty special about slowing down in nature and seeing where children’s curiosity leads.

Bush Kindy will now be part of our rhythm every Monday and Friday for our 3–5 year olds, and if today was anything to go by, we have so many more adventures ahead.

We can’t wait to see what we discover next 🌱

New banner is up!

🐣 **Our Chick Hatching Adventure!** 🐣

Over the past couple of weeks, the children at Cottage Grove have been part of a very special experience through our Chick Hatching Program.

From patiently watching the eggs in the incubator, to the exciting moment of seeing the chicks hatch, the children have been fascinated by the whole process. It has been a beautiful opportunity to talk about life cycles, care for living things, and the importance of being gentle and respectful with animals.

Once the chicks arrived, the children took on the important role of helping to care for them — making sure they had fresh food and water and checking in on them throughout the day. Of course, one of the most exciting parts was also choosing names for our fluffy new friends!

One of our chicks has been given a particularly special name… “Cat.”🐥
This little inside joke is a nod to our friends at St Nicks Aged Care, who have a cat named Chicken! We love the playful connection and the smiles it brings.

It has been such a joyful and meaningful experience for the children, filled with curiosity, care, and plenty of proud moments watching these tiny chicks grow. 💛

🦷 **Reminder for Families – Dental 2U Visit This Thursday!** 🦷

Just a friendly reminder that **Dental 2U** will be visiting Cottage Grove this **Thursday** to provide dental checks for children who have returned their consent forms.

This is a wonderful opportunity for children to become familiar with dental care in a relaxed and supportive environment, helping to build positive habits around oral health from a young age.

If you have already completed the consent form – thank you! Our team will ensure your child is ready and comfortable for their visit.

If you still have a form at home and would like your child to participate, please return it as soon as possible before Thursday via the link:

https://www.dental2you.net/consent-form/

We look forward to welcoming the Dental 2U team! 😁

Our team recently came together for our Annual Re-Induction, an important part of ensuring Cottage Grove continues to be a safe, professional and high-quality environment for every child in our care.

Re-induction gives our educators the opportunity to refresh their knowledge, revisit key policies, and ensure we remain up to date with best practice across child safety, wellbeing, and professional responsibilities.

A strong focus for us this year is our Child Safe Commitment. Every member of our team plays a vital role in creating an environment where children feel safe, respected, listened to, and protected. Taking the time to reflect, learn, and strengthen our shared understanding helps ensure we are always acting in the best interests of the children and families in our community.

We’re proud of a team that is committed to continuous learning and to upholding the highest standards of care. 💛

If you’ve ever wondered whether adding a Friday might suit your child — we’d love to chat.

Fridays offer a beautiful rhythm for connection, regulation, and belonging.

📸 Photo Day Backgrounds – We’d Love Your Input!

We’re getting ready for our upcoming photo day and have the option to choose between two different background styles for the children’s portraits. Before we lock anything in, we’d love to hear what our families prefer!

🌿 Option 1: Leafy Green – a natural, outdoor-style background with soft greenery.

🩶 Option 2: Modern Grey – a simple, clean studio-style background.

Our photographer will provide each family with an online gallery, where you’ll be able to view and choose your favourite images before deciding whether to purchase – there’s no obligation to buy.

Take a look at the examples below and let us know in the comments:

Team Leafy Green 🌿 or
Team Modern Grey 🩶?

Your feedback will help us choose the background that best suits our centre and families!