Devonport Child Care Centres

In the Dancing Dolphin's Room at Elanora, our monthly planning approach has focused on literacy, and our children have been happily exploring a variety of resources that has allowed them to further develop their writing, speaking and listening skills.

Today we practiced making marks (prewriting skills) as we engaged in outdoor imaginative play. Children directed the narrative, each sharing ideas and building on to the story, – such adventures we had! From an ice-cream parlour with various flavours to a mud café that turned into a space ship and took us to the moon where we encountered ghost aliens.

Playing games of pretend is so much more than fun. It is creating storylines, working collaboratively and cooperatively with others and expanding vocabulary – all skills required for future literacy success. 😀😁😄

It may be cold, but it has hardly rained, making it the perfect week to enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor experiences in the first week of school holidays at the School Holiday Program.

Children explored their creativity through self-portraits, LEGO building and friendship bracelet making, developing fine motor skills, problem-solving and teamwork. They also enjoyed preparing healthy fruit smoothies and fruit platters, encouraging independence and healthy eating habits.

Our exciting excursions to the indoor pool, movies and park gave children opportunities to build confidence, stay active and strengthen friendships.

We can't wait to see we next week brings! 😀😀😀

There was great excitement in the Wee Possum's Room at Malangenna as the children gathered around the tuff tray for a wonderful sensory experience.

Together, they eagerly watched Educator Keely combine cornflour, shaving cream and sparkling purple glitter paint to create a beautiful batch of fluffy slime.

As the shaving cream swirled into the mixture, the room quickly filled with laughter. The funny hissing sound from the canister captured everyone's attention, and before long, many of the children were joyfully trying to recreate the sound themselves by blowing raspberries. It was a beautiful moment of shared laughter, connection and discovery.

Once the fluffy slime was ready, little hands eagerly reached in to explore its soft, squishy texture. The children squeezed, stretched, patted and scooped the slime, using all of their senses to investigate this exciting new material. Through open-ended sensory play, they developed their curiosity, confidence and creativity while strengthening fine motor skills and hand muscles essential for future writing and self-help tasks.

Experiences like these encourage children to wonder, explore and learn through play while building language as educators introduced descriptive words such as soft, fluffy, sticky and squishy. Most importantly, the children shared smiles, laughter and meaningful interactions with one another, creating joyful memories alongside valuable learning.

It was a wonderful reminder that some of the richest learning happens when children are given the freedom to explore, create and simply delight in the magic of play. 💛💚🧡💙❤️

Winter has begun and in the Toddlin Turtle’s room at Elanora. We have enjoyed doing some indoor painting activities using different materials to create artwork to extend on the children’s learning.

Other activities the children have enjoyed are matching little animals to the pictures and colours whilst using the tweezers. Using a variety of materials to support their fine motor, cognitive skills and creativity.

Through each season we talk about how our environment changes around us incorporating this into their learning, enabling children to care for and understand their environment. ❄️🪴🌞🍂

Here at Hillcrest OSHC Service we are all about building strong connections with those around us.

Whether it's exploring nature and playing outdoors, getting creative in the sensory tub, or enjoying indoor activities such as chess, colouring and playing mums and dads, children have plenty of opportunities to learn and have fun.

We offer children Indoor and outdoor play as both essential for a child's development.

Together, they build strong bodies, sharp minds, and happy hearts. ❤️💚🧡💙💛

On Wednesday afternoon, excitement filled the air as all of the children from Malangenna gathered in the car park in anticipation of some very special visitors, our local volunteer firefighters and their big red fire truck!

This experience was especially meaningful for our Exploring Echidna children, who have recently shown a strong interest in learning about community helpers, particularly firefighters. Through their play and learning, the children have been busy painting and constructing their own fire truck using recycled materials, singing songs about firefighters, and enjoying stories that celebrate the important role first responders play in keeping our community safe.

Recognising this growing interest, we wanted to extend the children's learning by bringing their ideas to life through a real-world experience. As the fire truck arrived, the children's faces lit up with wonder and excitement. They eagerly listened as the firefighter’s shared information about their important work and demonstrated some of the equipment they use every day.

Each child was given the opportunity to climb aboard the fire truck, try on parts of the firefighters' uniform, and even have a turn spraying the fire hose. These hands-on experiences allowed the children to build confidence, ask questions, and deepen their understanding of the important role firefighters play within our community.

The afternoon was filled with smiles, laughter, curiosity, and awe. To make the experience even more memorable, every child was able to take home a special souvenir to share with their families, helping to continue conversations and learning beyond the centre.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our local volunteer firefighters for generously giving their time to create such a meaningful and memorable experience for our children. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate community connections, inspire learning through children's interests, and create lasting memories that will be treasured for years to come. 🚒🚒🚒

The Little Nipper's children at Elanora have been very busy creating beautiful works of art each day, using a variety of resources such as crayons, paint and paintbrushes, handprints, and even toys!

Art is so important in the early years for developing fine motor skills, engaging the senses, building problem solving and cognitive skills, social skills though turn taking and sharing, and emotional development through self expression. 🎨🫟😀

Friday, May 1st, was a day we’ll hold close to our hearts for a long time 💛

Malangenna Children's Centre welcomed our Little Tassie Devils and Wee Possum families for our Special Person’s Day, and what unfolded was nothing short of magical. From the moment the morning began, there was a beautiful sense of connection, laughter, and joy shared between children and their special people.

Every detail came together in the most wonderful way, vibrant balloon stations that sparked excitement, creative card-making filled with little hands and big love, and a lively dance floor (lovingly brought to life by our amazing educator Chloe) where giggles and happy feet took over. One of the most special moments was gathering together for story time, led by our very own CEO, Jilly Cole, creating a calm and meaningful pause in a morning full of energy.

What made the day truly unforgettable though, was you, our families. Seeing the smiles, the cuddles, and the pride in each child’s eyes reminded us why these moments matter so much.

Thank you for taking the time to be with us and for sharing such a special morning. We hope you felt the same joy and warmth that filled our Centre, because it truly was a celebration of connection, community, and love.

We can’t wait to create more beautiful memories together 🌿

Come and join our team at Outside School Hours Care.
Casual and permanent part-time positions available now!

Vacancy - OSHC Educator casual positions.

Devonport Child Care Centres are seeking OSHC educators to provide before and after school care for children up to 5 days each week.

Duties:
•Supervise children at all times, ensuring their safety and well-being.
•Actively engage with children and promote positive interactions.
•Implement effective educational and recreational activities.
•Assist with afternoon tea, and administration of medication (if required).
•Work collaboratively with other educators, and the OSHC team to provide high quality care and support.
•Adhere to all relevant policies, procedures, and regulations under the National Quality Framework (NQF)
•Be available to work up to 5 mornings and afternoons each week between the hours of 6.30am – 8.45am and 2.30pm – 6.00pm.
•Be available to work shifts during school holidays.

Qualifications and Experience:
•Current Working with Vulnerable People Registration is essential.
•Have or be willing to obtain First Aid, CPR, Anaphylaxis and Asthma certification.
•Childcare qualifications or experience in a childcare setting are desirable but not essential.

Please send your resume and cover letter to [email protected]

Little hands, big creativity

Autumn has arrived in the Dancing Dolphin Room at Elanora, the children have been exploring the beauty of Autumn through leaf painting, using Autumn paint colours, natural Autumn leaves and their imagination and a sense of wonder.

We extended their curiosity to bring the season to life with another Autumn painting activity, using bubble wrap and cardboard cylinders combined with the Autumn colour palette.

As they mixed colours and experimented with different textures, they developed fine motor skills, creativity and confidence in expressing their ideas and sense of wonder.

Through these experiences, the children also learned about seasonal changes, observing how leaves transform and discussing the world around them. A wonderful blend of art, discovery and learning. 🍂🍁🍂