Eskay Kids - Karana

A Message from the Owner... To our beautiful Eskay Kids families, team, and wider community… This year marks 16 years since I first opened the doors to Eskay Kids. And if I’m honest… when I first began studying my Bachelor of Early Childhood Education 30 years ago, I never could have imagined where this path would lead - owning my own centres, and having the privilege of walking alongside incredible leaders, educators, children, and families. I also never imagined just how deeply I would come to believe in the importance of protecting childhood.

What I did know back then was that children deserved better than simply “getting through the day” - and that belief has only deepened over time. Children deserve to be seen, heard, and respected. To be understood as whole human beings - not just little people to be managed, controlled, rushed, or moulded into compliance. That belief has grown stronger over the years, and in many ways, Eskay Kids has become known for being… a little bit different. And I’m proud of that.

Because “different” for us has never meant flashy gimmicks, trends, or trying to look impressive on the surface. It has meant staying deeply anchored in what actually matters. It has meant questioning outdated practices instead of blindly following them just because “that’s how it’s always been done.” It has meant continuing to learn, reflect, evolve, and advocate for what is truly best for children - even when that path is not always the easiest or most conventional one.

At Eskay Kids, we believe childhood is not a race. We believe children need real connection, real choice, real play, real movement, real relationships, real risk, real wonder, and real time. We believe in environments that are homely, warm, responsive, and alive - not overly controlled spaces where children are simply expected to sit down, line up, and fit in. And we believe in protecting the magic of childhood while also deeply understanding the science of child development, attachment, brain development, emotional regulation, and learning - knowing that intentional, play-rich early years are not a soft option, but the strongest foundation for future learning, confidence, creativity, problem-solving, and lifelong success.

I’m especially proud that this month, our leadership team will be travelling to the World Forum on Early Care and Education in Kuala Lumpur. Not because we need a fancy title or an overseas conference to prove anything…. But because at Eskay Kids, we believe that if we are going to ask families to trust us with their children, then we have a responsibility to keep learning, keep questioning, and keep striving to be better. Not for appearances. Not for marketing. But for children … always for children. We’ve been attending the World Forum every few years across the past 16 years, and we always come away with new knowledge, fresh inspiration, and a renewed commitment to keep pursuing what is right for children.

What makes me proudest is that families often feel this the moment they walk through our doors. Many families seek us out because we are different. They tell us they can feel something here that they haven’t felt elsewhere - a different rhythm, a different energy, a different way of seeing and working with children. And over the years, we’ve also had educators and leaders from other services come and observe our practices - not because we claim to have all the answers, but because they can see there is something deeply intentional, thoughtful, and child-centred in the way we work. And that means a lot.

The messages we receive from families mean so much to us too - the ones who tell us that what we do matters… that they can see the difference… that they’re grateful their child is being known, nurtured, and respected in this way. Those messages never get old. They remind us why we do this work, and they fuel our passion to keep digging deeper, strengthening our practice, and leaning further into this way of being with children.

This Easter, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to our families who trust us. Thank you to our educators and leaders who care so deeply. And thank you to the children, who continue to remind us every single day what really matters. Eskay Kids may not be for everyone - and that’s okay. But for the families who value authentic childhood, connection, curiosity, agency, and heart… we will keep doing everything we can to be the place that honours that.

Wishing you a beautiful Easter, filled with love, family, friendship, and all the little things that matter most.

With love,
Sharon
Owner - Eskay Kids

Today our little learners explored creativity, sustainability, and sensory play all in one beautiful experience 🌿🎨

A very special morning today 💛

After one little voice asked, “Can we have morning tea at my house?”, we made it happen — and off we went with 23 kindy friends in tow!

We spent the morning in our friend’s front yard, meeting their sweet guinea pig Lilo, creating colourful driveway chalk drawings, threading cheerios, and enjoying stories under the shade of big, beautiful trees.

Moments like these are truly special — where home and kindy come together so naturally. Connection, joy, and a whole lot of smiles… does it get any better?

We are so grateful to celebrate Lisa’s 6 years 💛

Lisa is amazing with the children and an incredible staff member to have on our team. She is a great support to her colleagues and to our families, always bringing a wealth of knowledge, care, and dedication to everything she does.

We feel very lucky to have had Lisa with us for the past 6 years and look forward to many more years ahead. Thank you for all that you do — you’re awesome!

Today we caught a beautiful little moment of our multi-age magic in action 💛
One of our older children proudly took on the role of “driver,” carefully pulling a younger friend along in our rickshaw as part of their imaginative ritual play.

These moments might look simple, but they’re packed with learning.
Multi-age play helps our older children build empathy, leadership and confidence as they care for and guide younger friends. At the same time, our younger children feel safe, supported and inspired as they learn by watching and joining in with their big buddies.

We love seeing friendships grow across ages — it creates such a strong sense of belonging in our centre. So many smiles, so much teamwork, and plenty of gentle learning happening in the background 💫

Big shoutout to Katie on her 3-year work anniversary!

We absolutely love what you bring to Karana, your quirky, one-of-a-kind self makes such a difference every single day. You’re truly unique, and we’re so grateful for everything you do.
Congrats on three amazing years, Katie!

At Eskay Kids Karana - it means choosing puddles over screens, mud over mess-free and nature over staying inside. The rain gave us the perfect excuse to head outdoors and let childhood do its thing.

This week, I had a really meaningful meeting with our sister centres where we revisited a classic (but still so relevant) TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?
It’s such a powerful reminder for families who are thinking about school readiness and what learning really looks like in the early years. One of the biggest takeaways is that children don’t need to be rushed into formal learning before they’re developmentally ready, because play is learning, and play is essential.
Sir Ken Robinson often shares Pablo Picasso’s quote:
“Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist.”
As children grow, we don’t necessarily grow into creativity, we often grow out of it. Traditional education tends to prioritise literacy and numeracy, while creative arts, movement, and self-expression are pushed aside. But children need to move their bodies. Movement supports brain development, emotional regulation, and overall wellbeing and for children with ADHD especially, opportunities to run, jump, dance, and move freely can be incredibly supportive.
At Eskay, this really resonates with us. We strongly believe children deserve the freedom to be children, to explore, imagine, take safe risks, create, and learn through movement and play. Learning doesn’t only happen sitting at a desk. Children thrive when their physical, creative, emotional, and cognitive needs are all honoured together.
We’re proud to advocate for play-based learning and childhood experiences that protect curiosity, creativity, and joy, because these matter just as much as letters and numbers.
If you haven’t watched this talk yet, I highly recommend it. I’ll pop the link below, it’s a beautiful reminder of why childhood truly matters.

Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.Sir Ken Robinson makes an ...

Today we headed out on a community outing to our local banana van, chatting about supporting our farmers and the importance of eating fresh, healthy food. We brought our bananas back to kindy and made delicious banana smoothies, using honey generously donated by one of our kindy families – Sonny Honey from Mount Crosby. A hands-on experience that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in the centre! 🍌🥤🍯

When the rain starts to fall and suddenly the outdoors becomes the best room in the house!

Saucepans turn into rain gauges, hats mysteriously hold water, and puddles simply must be jumped in (repeatedly).

Mud on legs, giggles in the air, and tiny scientists hard at work testing splash sizes.

Rainy days aren’t for staying dry - they’re for making memories, one muddy puddle at a time

There’s something quietly magical about watching children build a cubby house indoors. Large wooden blocks scattered across the floor, small hands lifting, stacking, negotiating. Walls go up, fall down, and rise again - stronger this time.

Inside the cubby, the world feels different. It’s a castle, a café, a secret meeting place. Laughter echoes off wooden walls, ideas bounce around just as fast as the blocks themselves. They’re not just building a structure; they’re building teamwork, problem-solving, and a sense of “we made this.”

Simple materials. Big imaginations.

What a beautiful Sunday morning we shared at our Mayfield Family Picnic 🌿

Our families were invited to head out to our sister centre at Mayfield, starting the morning with a visit down to the river for a swim and then enjoying a relaxed picnic together. It was a lovely couple of hours spent connecting, unwinding and enjoying time in nature.

This special place will become a regular part of our Kindy program, with children heading out each month for meaningful and adventurous experiences.

Thank you to all the families who came along and helped make the morning so special 💚