First 5 Forever

05/10/2026

Listening to your child and responding with enthusiasm lets them know they are loved and their contributions are important. For babies, make eye contact and use facial expressions to show you are listening.

Serve and return can happen in simple everyday moments. Join in the daily rally with your baby!

29/09/2026

Notice when your child points to a picture on the page and share the focus to return their serve, “Yes, that is a little brown dog. Woof, woof!”

Serve and return can happen in simple everyday moments. Join in the daily rally with your baby!

21/09/2026

“What is in the garden? I wonder how this flower smells?
Notice what your child is doing, ask questions and wonder aloud to help build language skills and connection.

Serve and return can happen in simple everyday moments.

Join in the daily rally with your baby!

In their first years of life your child's brain forms over one million new connections every second. Research shows the first five years last a lifetime and that simple, everyday activities with you help to make these connections strong.

01/09/2026

Today is Indigenous Literacy Day, a national celebration of First Nations peoples' stories, cultures and languages.

This year's theme is Country Is Our Teacher. To mark the day, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation is hosting a free film and livestream event, following two children as they share their connection to Country, language and community.

It's a wonderful opportunity to introduce little ones to the richness and diversity of First Nations stories, and a reminder that storytelling has always been at the heart of how we learn and grow together.

Find out more and register to watch at https://ilf.pulse.ly/har7cdulu6

28/08/2026

A rainy day is the perfect excuse to curl up with a good story.

Stories for Little Queenslanders: Up and Down on a Rainy Day is a free picture book made especially for Queensland kids, available now as a digital read on the First 5 Forever website.

Whether you're stuck inside watching the clouds roll in or winding down at the end of a big day, it's a lovely one to share together.

Find it at the link in bio, or search Up and Down on a Rainy Day at https://qld.pulse.ly/62z1mlbkq8

26/08/2026

“If I’m remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will be not for looks but for books.” — Dolly Parton

Today we remember Dolly Parton, a woman who used her extraordinary platform to help children discover the joy of reading.

In 1995, Dolly founded the Imagination Library, inspired by her father’s inability to read. What began as a local program grew into a global movement, gifting more than 300 million books to children.

Her legacy reminds us of the importance of talking, reading, singing and playing every day. Thank you, Dolly, for helping children around the world fall in love with reading.

22/08/2026

This Children's Book Week, we're celebrating a book that's full of big energy and even bigger moves.

Gymnastica Fantastica! by Briony Stewart is a joyful picture book about a child discovering new physical skills, bending, balancing, bouncing and rolling, and putting on wonderfully imperfect shows for whoever will watch.

Written in playful rhyming text with bright, energetic illustrations, it's a book little ones and parents alike will want to read aloud again and again. It's also a perfect excuse to get up and move together after storytime.

Briony Stewart is the award-winning author-illustrator behind this year's Children's Book Week theme, Symphony of Stories, and Gymnastica Fantastica! is a beautiful example of why stories that move us (literally) stay with kids long after the last page.

13/08/2026

“Let’s blow some bubbles together …” Narrating what you and your child are doing, seeing and thinking is a simple way to build your baby’s language skills.

Serve and return can happen in simple everyday moments. Join in the daily rally with your baby!

30/07/2026

Sing it, don't say it. 🎶

Nursery rhymes aren't just fun, they're doing serious work. The rhythm helps little ones predict patterns in language. The rhyme builds phonemic awareness, one of the foundations of learning to read. And the repetition? That's memory in action. 🧠

Pick a favourite today and sing it twice. That's it.

14/07/2026

One thing you can do today: narrate your morning. 🌅

Getting dressed, making breakfast, heading out the door, just describe what you're doing as you go. It sounds simple, but hearing you talk is one of the best things for your little one's developing brain. 🧠

No prep. No mess. Just your voice.