Natural Elements Early Learning Merrimac

🌿 To Our Families, Educators and Community 🌿

As many of our families, educators and community members may have noticed, we commenced an exciting new chapter under a new family ownership on Monday 8 June.

We would like to sincerely thank the previous owners for their contribution and acknowledge the strong foundation they have created.

Most importantly, our wonderful team remains in place, continuing to provide the quality care and early learning experiences you know and trust. Aside from some new signage and a few technology teething issues (thank you for your patience!), it is very much the same familiar faces, routines and care you know and trust.

We are committed to continuous improvement and look forward to continuing this journey alongside the children, families and community.

Thank you for your ongoing trust and support. 🌱

Sustainability in action. Our Kindy children worked together to create paper bricks using recycled paper.

They noticed the amount of paper going into the bin at the end of each day and have been brainstorming solutions in their Children's Committee. After collecting all of the used paper, they processed the paper and made it into paper bricks!

Cultivating curiosity in our Toddlers' space by bringing some of the outdoors in!

Our reimagined philosophy: CURIOSITY

We respect children's creativity, uphold their freedom of expression and value the arts in enriching children's play, learning, and education. We view the environment as an integral part of our curriculum, not just a backdrop for learning; It's an active participant as 'the third teacher.'

Our reimagined philosophy: CITIZENSHIP

We view children as active citizens, custodians of our future, and respect their voices by recognising and amplifying them. We strive for all children to be holistically and equitably supported through inclusion and participation. We uphold the rights of every child and nurture their understanding of their rights, their autonomy and their independence.

Our reimagined Philosophy: CONNECTION

At Learning Avenues, authentic connections are at the heart of what we do...we understand everyone is unique and we value their role in our community. We believe in building responsive and respectful relationships within our community. We view the County as a teacher and welcome the multitude of learning opportunities the natural world offers us.

Our new intergenerational program

During this term's inquiry into Citizenship, our Senior Kindy studio has begun visiting our local aged care home. The children have been a part of the organising process, contributing to the risk assessment and collecting donations to gift to their new friends.

Prof Lynn Phillipson says, "Bringing the generations together actually does place older people in a position where they can see the hope, enthusiasm and wonder of children, and the children can also benefit from the wisdom older people can offer."

We look forward to seeing where this new program takes us!

Last week, our Learning Avenues community joined in celebrating Under 8s Week and its theme, “70 Years of Play Across the Generations.” Throughout the week, we invited children to contribute to a collaborative art piece; each mark, colour, and gesture became part of our shared story of play.