St Luke’s Early Learning Community, Chapman

Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins invites children into a colourful underwater world, where little fish explore alongside a variety of sea creatures.

The touch-and-feel elements encourage sensory engagement, helping children connect physically with the story while building early language and literacy skills.

By linking textures, visuals and simple text, the book supports children to make connections between reading and real-life.

In our nursery, we’ve created a soft and inviting space where little ones can explore at their own pace. Soft farm animals, paired with familiar farm-themed stories, is placed within easy reach... perfect for babies who are just learning to stand or beginning to find their balance.

Curious little hands can grasp and discover!

A cosy space to read.

This Reconciliation Week our children have been learning through loose parts play.

This activity invites children to explore Reconciliation Week through play using a range of natural and manufactured loose parts.

Reconciliation is about building respectful relationships and understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, and connections to Country. At St Luke’s, this means intentionally embedding Aboriginal perspectives into our everyday practices, not just during special events. We aim to create learning experiences that reflect respect for culture, land, and community in meaningful and ongoing ways.

Through this loose parts experience, children are encouraged to:
- Explore natural materials that connect to the land
- Create, build, and express their ideas through play
- Work together, share resources, and show respect for others
- Develop an early sense of belonging and respect for diversity

The intention of this experience is to shine a light on Reconciliation Week and highlight the important role that everyone plays in reconciliation, no matter how young.

Through play, conversations, and shared experiences, children begin to understand that reconciliation is a journey we all take together.

Our writing centre supports children at every stage of their learning, recognising that mark making is an important part of the beginning of each child’s journey toward literacy. Through drawing, scribbling, symbols and early writing, children explore how their thoughts and ideas can be shared with others.

This space encourages children of all ages to express themselves, build confidence and experiment with communication. As children engage with a variety of materials and tools, they develop fine motor skills, creativity and an understanding that their ideas have value.

St. Luke's Chapman is featuring in this month's edition of the Anglican News.

You can read the Anglican News via the link below. There is an article about our SwOp Shop is on page 18, and an article about our intergenerational program on page 31.

https://anglicancg.org.au/news-and-events/anglican-news/

Thoughtfull arranged gardening books invite children to look closely and wonder about the natural world.

We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines and Grow by Sarah Boccaccini Meadows helps to start conversations about planting, caring for living things, and the joy that comes from watching something change over time.

Our ocean table invites children to dive into their curiosity about the sea.

With sea creatures swimming across the table, children explore what they already know about the ocean and ask thoughtful questions about what lives beneath the waves.

Many of our children share their own experiences of visiting the coast with family, starting conversations about beaches, rock pools and the animals they’ve seen on their travels. These discussions supported children to connect personal experiences with new learning, building language, confidence and a sense of belonging.

Through play, we continue to follow children’s interests, encouraging imagination and care for our natural world.

We are honoured to share the Mimih artworks displayed in the downstairs hallway at St Luke’s Chapman.

These works were generously donated to our Early Learning Community in loving memory of Ilse Hansen, deeply loved Oma to Kiaan and Bodhi Hansen Popat. The donation means a great deal to our community.

In Kunwinjku culture from West Arnhem Land, Mimih spirits are the original spirit beings… gentle teachers who passed on knowledge of survival, ceremony and life in the bush. Often depicted as small, dynamic figures carrying tools such as spears, spear throwers, dilly bags and fire sticks, Mimih appear throughout Arnhem Land rock art. These pieces were created by artists from Injalak Arts and carry stories of learning, respect and connection across generations.

We are grateful to the family for entrusting these artworks to our shared space. They sit quietly within our community, offering moments of reflection, curiosity and remembrance for children, families and educators.

Families are welcome to help themselves to children's Winter clothes in our SwOp Shop this May, located in the foyer of St. Luke's Chapman. Donations can be made in exchange for items of clothing, with all proceeds going to Anglicare NSW South, NSW West & ACT.

If you have clothing that you are able to donate, please leave it in the donation basket. These clothes will form part of our SwOp shop, with leftover items donated to Anglicare in Phillip.

Thank you for your generosity!