Bush Kindy at Johanna Street Early Learning Centre

We love welcoming new families to our centre.

To book a private tour with your child, phone the centre and chat with our friendly staff, they will happily guide you through everything you need.

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From our arbour to the jumping logs, rocky mountain and construction zone — each space at Johanna Street ELC invites children to explore, create and grow in their own way.

🌺 Lest We Forget 🌺

This ANZAC Day, our little learners explored remembrance through stories, creativity, and play. From reading Lest We Forget, ANZAC Ted, and My Grandad Marches on ANZAC Day, to creating poppies, wreaths, and posters, the children built understanding, empathy, and respect in meaningful ways.

Imaginative play came to life with army figurines, aircraft, and a sensory “battlefield,” encouraging teamwork and problem-solving. We even baked ANZAC biscuits and Damper—connecting history with hands-on learning (and a little yum!).

A special highlight was our front display, where families shared stories and connected with the spirit of remembrance. Miss Allie also proudly attended local ANZAC services with her Air Force Cadets—and loved hearing that many of our families did too.

We will remember them.

This week our children have been busy exploring and celebrating special events from around the world! 🌏✨

They’ve had wonderful opportunities to learn about Lunar New Year, the Winter Olympics, and Pancake Day. Through these celebrations, the children are building their understanding of community, diversity, and the world around them.

There has been plenty of sensory and messy play, giving everyone the chance to learn through hands-on experiences. In the Kindy room, the children enjoyed lots of cooking activities — including making delicious pancakes and fried rice! 🥞🍚

Meanwhile, our Pre-Kindy children have been getting active, exploring movement and sports inspired by the Winter Olympics, developing their coordination and confidence through physical play. ⛷️🏅

It’s been a fantastic week of learning, creativity, and discovery! 🌟

🌿 Welcome to Our Garden Area at Bush Kindy! 🌿

Our Garden Area is a beautiful, large natural space shaded by trees and surrounded by lush plants — the perfect setting for adventure and exploration. 🌳✨

This much-loved area offers endless opportunities for children to connect with nature through hands-on, open-ended play.

🌱 A spacious covered area where we host community events, sausage sizzles, and exciting incursions

🌿 A creative arbour space where children can explore, create, and get wonderfully messy with natural resources

💧 Easy access to water for engaging and sensory-rich water play

🧗‍♀️ Regular adventure setups by our Bush Kindy Co-ordinator including slack lines, ziplines, and cargo nets for building confidence and coordination

Our Garden Area is a place where imagination grows, friendships blossom, and nature becomes the classroom. 💚

🍕🎉 World Pizza Day Fun 🎉🍕
On Monday the 9th, we celebrated World Pizza Day in the most creative (and deliciously messy!) ways imaginable!

Out at Bush Kindy, the children rolled up their sleeves and got busy making wonderful mud pizzas in the Arbour, using natural resources they discovered around them. Leaves, sticks, seed pods and more became tasty toppings in their imaginative outdoor kitchen! 🌿🍃 This creative play continued back at the mud kitchen, where the pizza creations kept coming.

Inside the classroom, the fun didn’t stop! The children used paper plates and a variety of craft materials to design their very own colourful pizzas. Some rooms even explored using natural loose parts to create beautifully arranged “nature pizzas”.

Our Kindy room also enjoyed listening to the story Pizza Day and had great discussions about the ingredients we need to make pizzas. Cheese, sauce, veggies… and lots of imagination! 🍅🧀

What a wonderful way to celebrate learning through play, creativity, and a shared love of pizza! 🍕To top it off the children enjoyed some Pizza Sticks on Tuesday for Afternoon tea!

🌿🌦️ Bush Kindy Adventures – Rain, Shine and Everything In Between! 🌦️🌿

This week at Bush Kindy has been a beautiful reminder of the power of adaptability and resilience — for both children and educators.

Although we were lucky enough to enjoy several outdoor adventures, the weather certainly kept us guessing! With hot days and bursts of rain rolling through, some of our plans needed to be reimagined. Instead of seeing this as a challenge, we embraced it as an opportunity to model flexibility, creative thinking and problem-solving.

When we couldn’t head out, our educators worked their magic — shuffling rooms and transforming indoor spaces to reflect our Bush Kindy environment. Nature-inspired provocations, open-ended materials and adventurous play ensured the learning continued seamlessly indoors.

And when the rain came? 🌧️ A little drizzle certainly didn’t stop our Kindy and Pre-Kindy explorers! The children joyfully embraced the weather — rowing the dragon boat, splashing through muddy puddles, and reaching up to catch the falling raindrops. There’s something truly special about watching children connect with nature in all its forms.

Rain or shine, our Bush Kindy spirit continues to thrive! 🌿✨

🔨 Real Tools. Real Skills. Real Confidence. 🪚

Out in our Bush Kindy construction area, children have the opportunity to use real tools including saws, hammers, drills and screwdrivers. We believe in providing authentic, hands-on experiences that build confidence, competence and resilience.

Using real tools supports the development of practical life skills, problem-solving and risk assessment in a supported environment. It strengthens fine and gross motor skills, encourages patience and perseverance, and fosters independence and responsibility. Most importantly, it empowers children to trust their abilities and feel proud of what they create with their own hands.

🦺 Safety always comes first.
Before any building begins, we introduce clear safety expectations. Children wear safety gloves, glasses and high-visibility vests to identify when they are using tools. They learn about their “safety circle” and the importance of making sure no one is standing too close while they work.

Educators model and guide correct tool use every step of the way, and our saw is always used 1:1 with a staff member to ensure close supervision.

By establishing strong safety routines, we create an environment where children can explore, create and build confidently and responsibly. 🌿✨