The Learning Cottage Nerang

Meet Marcelina. Early Childhood Teacher in our Waratah Kindergarten room. Eleven years in the industry, weekend fisherwoman, and the qualified teacher behind your child's kindy year at The Learning Cottage Nerang.

As an ECT, Marcelina holds a four-year university degree in early childhood education. She's the one designing the Kindergarten program here, the one preparing your child for big school without ever making it feel like a drill.

She's been with us for nearly a year and what she loves is watching the kindy kids grow. The same child who started the year hiding behind a parent's leg is the one running the morning meeting by Term 4.

A note on Free Kindy. Per the Queensland Government, eligible children receive 15 hours per week for up to 40 weeks per year. At The Learning Cottage Nerang, it's delivered by a qualified teacher. Just like Marcelina.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Come in for a Stay and Play and meet them in person.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Donna. Educator in our Banksia Junior Kindy room, mum of two, and a movie-on-the-weekend kind of person.

Donna has been in early learning for three years and at the Cottage for nearly one. She came into the work because every child is genuinely fascinating to her.

Different personalities. Different ways of seeing things. Different paces.

If your child is in Banksia, Donna is the one who notices the thing nobody else has. The quiet kid who's actually a great negotiator. The loud one who's secretly a careful builder. She sees them.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Enquire online or pop in. Limited vacancies across our rooms.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Sharman. Lead Educator in our Banksia Junior Kindy room, mum of two teenagers, and unofficial Toilet Training Queen of The Learning Cottage Nerang.

Sharman has 29 years in the industry and two years with us. The Junior Kindy stage is her sweet spot. It's the age where kids start doing things for themselves, and Sharman is the patient, encouraging presence that gets them there.

Sensory play, self-help skills, the breakthrough moment when a three-year-old declares "I did it myself". Sharman lives for these. If you're in the throes of toilet training at home, she's the one to ask for tips. You won't regret it.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Want to know more? Give us a call. We pick up.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Jessica. Educator in our Acacia toddler room, recently arrived from New Zealand, and very soon, a mum to twins of her own.

Jessica is in her first year in early learning and you can hear it in the way she talks about the work. The thing she's most passionate about is the trust piece. Building real, respectful relationships with each toddler so they know exactly who they're with and what comes next.

When you're handing over a two-year-old, that matters more than anything.
She can't wait to meet her own babies, and we can't wait to meet them either.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Come in for a Stay and Play and meet them in person.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Kaz. Lead Educator in our Acacia toddler room, mum, op shop devotee, and a 36-year veteran of early learning.

Kaz brings something to the room that no one else on the team does. She's trained in Auslan sign language and uses it daily with the toddlers, giving them another way to communicate before their words fully arrive. It's a beautiful, quiet superpower for the under-three crowd.

She's been at the Cottage for nearly a year, designing each day around what the kids themselves are curious about. Bug hunt? On. Painting hands? Done. Building a fort? She's already finding the pillows.

Three and a half decades in, and Kaz still thinks toddlers are the funniest people on earth. That energy is contagious.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Enquire online or pop in. Limited vacancies across our rooms.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Sam. Educator in our Lilli Pilli nursery, mum of three, nan of one, beach lover and gym regular.

Sam has spent her early career working with children with special needs, which means she sees every child as exactly who they are, not a checklist of milestones. That's a powerful thing to bring to a room of babies.

She's been at the Cottage for a year, and what she lives for is the WOW moments.

The first time a baby pulls themselves up. The first wobbly step. The lit-up face that says "I just did that." Sam is usually right there cheering.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Want to know more? Give us a call. We pick up.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Darlene. Lead Educator in our Lilli Pilli nursery room, proud First Nations woman, mum, nan, and the Cultural Leader at The Learning Cottage Nerang.

Darlene has 20 years of experience across every age group, but the nursery is where she's always come back to.

There's something about being the one who nurtures a child through their first months in care that she's never wanted to give up.

She also leads cultural learning at the Cottage, weaving First Nations stories, language, and connection to Country into the everyday rhythms of the centre.

Every child here grows up with that as part of their early years, not as a one-off lesson.

The babies in Lilli Pilli are very, very lucky. So are their parents, because nothing softens the worry of handing over your baby quite like Darlene's calm hands and quiet voice.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Come in for a Stay and Play and meet them in person.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Emma. Educational Leader at The Learning Cottage Nerang, traveller, and dog mum to one very loved mini foxie.

Emma has 15 years in early learning and has worked her way up to becoming our Educational Leader over four years at the Cottage.

She moves between every room, building learning experiences that meet each child where they are and stretch them to where they're going next.

Ask any parent here and they'll tell you the same thing. Emma sees the spark in your kid before anyone else does. Then she designs the day around it.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area.

We've got you.

Enquire online or pop in. Limited vacancies across our rooms.
📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961

Meet Lyn. Chef at The Learning Cottage Nerang, mum of two, tai chi devotee, and the heart of the kitchen for the last five years.

Lyn has been cooking for kids for 26 years. Every meal at the Cottage comes out of her kitchen, made fresh from scratch. Nothing reheated, nothing premade, nothing you'd be embarrassed to put in front of your own kid at home.

She doesn't just stay behind the bench either. Lyn holds a Cert III in childcare and floats through the rooms when the kids need her.

So the same person plating up your child's lunch might be the one reading them a story an hour later. That's the kind of place this is.

We open at 6am for you. Earlier than any other centre in the area. We've got you.

Want to know more? Give us a call. We pick up.

📍 76 Yarrimbah Drive, Nerang
📞 (07) 5596 5961