Ascot Childcare & Kindy

Community Connections in Action!

Over the past few weeks, our Nursery and Toddlers children have enjoyed two exciting train adventures within our local community!

Our Nursery children visited the local train station to watch the trains arrive and depart. There was plenty of excitement as they observed two trains, listened to the different sounds, waved to passengers, and talked about what they could see. These experiences help build children's curiosity, language, and understanding of the world around them.

Our Toddlers took their adventure one step further, travelling by train from Doomben and back! The children demonstrated confidence and enthusiasm as they experienced public transport firsthand, practised safe travel routines, and explored their community in a meaningful way. To make the day even more memorable, the wonderful train conductor surprised each child with a special train cut-out to take home - a thoughtful gesture that brought many smiles!

These real-life experiences provide valuable opportunities for children to develop a sense of belonging within their community while building confidence, communication skills, and an appreciation for the people and places around them.

A big thank you to the friendly Queensland Rail staff who helped make both visits such positive and memorable experiences. 🚉💛

💙🧸 National Pyjama Day 🧸💙

What a cosy and wonderful day we had celebrating National Pyjama Day!

It was fantastic to see so many of our friends arrive in their favourite pyjamas, ready for a day filled with fun, laughter and learning. Even our amazing educators joined in the celebrations, making the day extra special for everyone!

National Pyjama Day is more than just a fun dress-up day, it is an opportunity to raise awareness and support for children living in foster care. By coming together as a community, we help shine a light on the importance of ensuring every child feels safe, supported and has the opportunity to thrive.

Throughout the day, the children enjoyed sharing conversations about their favourite bedtime stories, pyjamas and home routines, fostering a sense of belonging, connection and community. These shared experiences help strengthen friendships, encourage communication and remind us of the importance of kindness, empathy and caring for others.

A heartfelt thank you to all of our families for supporting this special day and helping us raise awareness for such an important cause. Together, we can make a positive difference in the lives of children and young people in foster care. 💙✨

Our NAIDOC Week learning has continued with more meaningful experiences across our centre. 💛🖤❤️

Our Pre-Kindy children worked together to make damper, adding herbs inspired by the way First Nations Peoples have traditionally incorporated native plants and natural ingredients into food. This experience encouraged conversations about bush foods, sustainability, and the connection between food and Country.

In Kindy, the children created kulaps—traditional handheld instruments that keep the beat for ceremonial dances and storytelling. Traditionally, kulaps are made from dried Matchbox Bean seed pods, natural vines, or handmade string. The children thoughtfully created their own using pipe cleaners, bells, buttons, and beads while learning about their cultural purpose and significance.

Our Kindy friends also explored painting with natural ochre, an earth-based pigment that has been used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for thousands of years in art, ceremony, and cultural expression. Throughout these experiences, educators supported rich conversations about what these cultural practices are, why they are important, and the importance of approaching them with curiosity and respect.

These meaningful experiences continue to support our ongoing commitment to embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in authentic and respectful ways throughout our program.

As we reach the middle of NAIDOC Week, our learning community has been inspired by this year's theme, "50 Years of Deadly", using it as an opportunity to celebrate, reflect, and continue strengthening the way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives are embedded within our everyday program and practice.

Across all of our rooms, our children have been engaging in meaningful experiences that honour the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Through exploring symbols as forms of communication, using natural and outdoor resources to create artworks and small worlds, imitating native animal movements, storytelling, and connecting with Country through play, our educators are intentionally creating opportunities for children to build understanding, respect, and appreciation.

Importantly, this learning will extend well beyond NAIDOC Week. As part of our current monthly team challenge, our educators are focusing on driving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives throughout our programs and daily practice. We are continuing to reflect on how we can embed these perspectives with purpose, authenticity, and respect, ensuring they become a valued and ongoing part of children's learning rather than a moment in time.

We look forward to continuing this journey alongside our children, families, and community as we learn, listen, reflect, and grow together.

📖📖📖📖📖📖ACA Conference Brisbane 2026📖📖📖📖📖📖

The annual ACA Conference was on in the previous weekend. Miss Ashlee, Miss Jane, Miss Eileen and Miss Jordi all attended to network gain new knowledge and be inspired as we teach and support our beautiful families and most importantly children.
Workshops were attended throughout and guest speakers had passionate and meaningful information to support and inspire our creative thinking. We celebrated together with Educators from all over Australia at a fantastic gala dinner dressing up as Educators from Mars.

🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺Ambulance Visit🚑🚑🚑🚑🚑🚑🚑🚑🚑

Last week we were lucky enough to have a visit from the Ambulance. One of our wonderful parents is a paramedic and offered to bring in the ambulance to educate the children on what happens if they were to need an ambulance. They got to try out the blood pressure monitor on their finger, lay on the moving bed and go for a ride up and down tested the oxygen mask and then looked inside the ambulance.
We say a big thankyou to Ashley for making this happen and sharing her expertise with the children as well as her partner Tessa who came along to offer her assistance as well. Our Junior's, Pre Kindy and Kindy friends had a fantastic visit and were so excited!!!!!!!!!!!

We had Delivering Dental visit our centre today

The dentist's visit provides children with a valuable opportunity to learn about the importance of oral health in a fun and engaging way. Through hands-on discussions and age-appropriate information, children can develop positive dental hygiene habits, build confidence around dental check-ups, and gain an understanding of how to care for their teeth and gums. These experiences help promote lifelong healthy habits and support children's overall health and wellbeing.
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

Great teams don't just work together, they grow together. 🤝

Last Saturday we held a team bonding afternoon where we took ourselves back to the nostalgic parties, we had as children. We shared some yummy party food and then joined in games of Pin the nose on Olaf, Pass the Parcel, Stack the Cups and eat a donut off a string.

Team bonding helps build trust, improve communication, and create a positive work environment where everyone feels valued. When people connect beyond their daily tasks, collaboration becomes stronger and success follows naturally.

A wonderful evening was shared at a special Mother's Day Dinner to celebrate the incredible mothers and mother figures within our community. 💐

It was a lovely opportunity to come together, enjoy great food, meaningful conversations, and acknowledge the important role that mothers play in the lives of children and families every day.

Thank you to our owners and Nicola and Ashley for organising and for creating such a thoughtful event and to everyone who joined us for this special celebration. ❤️

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩺🩺🩺🩺First Aid and CPR🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩺🩺🩺🩺
Last night our team refreshed their First Aid and CPR qualifications, reinforcing our commitment to providing a safe and supportive environment for all children in our care.

Regular training ensures our educators remain confident, knowledgeable, and prepared to respond effectively in emergency situations. By keeping our skills current, we can continue to support the health, safety, and wellbeing of every child, every day.

A big thank you to our educators for their ongoing dedication to professional learning and best practice. ❤️🩹🚑