Sparkways Richmond Multicultural Children's Centre

27/10/2022

Sparkways Richmond Multicultural Children's Centre are looking for amazing educators come and join our team!

Join our team of valued and experienced educators in our small, community focused child-care centre

14/10/2022

The Richmond Multicultural Children's Centre is getting some upgrades! ⚡🔧

We're investing more than $27,000 to improve sustainability and energy efficiency at the Centre while reducing costs for the local childcare operator.

The joint project, which also received $12,500 in funding from Sustainability Victoria includes:

👉 The installation of new 16kW solar panels
👉 Induction (electric) cooktops to replace gas cookers
👉 New electric hot water system replacing the existing gas hot water system

The initiative was one of seven across Yarra to receive funding under the Victorian Government’s Community Climate Change and Energy Action program.

Find out more at https://bit.ly/3eoguT1

Image description: Mayor Sophie Wade is in discussion with Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Action, the Hon Lily D'Ambrosio MP

05/05/2022

RMCC commemorated ANZAC Day recently. Educators scaffolded children's learning about this very important day through various activities. Educators read ' Lest We Forget' written by Kerry Brown and the children participated in making ANZAC cookies. Learning about ANZAC Day assists young children to understand the life and times of Australia and its people.
# Teaching the history of Australia through play!

12/03/2022

The kinder and toddler children have been observing the variety of birds in our outdoor environment. This stimulated curiosity so educators scaffolded this learning by discussing different types of birds as well as the noises birds make. Their interest was extended to creating bird feeders. Children enjoyed rolling pine cones covered in honey with bird seeds. Next week we will observe if our local birds in our community like our yummy bird feeders! Through this activity the children are developing inquiry and investigation skills as well as developing an awareness about local wildlife within the community.

25/02/2022

The Kinder children have been interested and exploring Australian animals. Educators scaffolded this learning through discussion and allowing children to get creative through sensory play. They made playdough and then engaged in collecting natural materials which they found useful to pair with the playdough. The children collaborated to collect lots of sticks and leaves and displayed lots of creativity and created objects which resembled echidnas…using the sticks to create the echidna's spikes. Children learn to form associations, link ideas and think, be creative and make conclusions all which supports them to become confident and involved learners.

01/12/2021

The first day of summer and what a perfect day for water play!
The children worked together to help fill up buckets and containers and found a multitude of ways to explore as well as keep cool…

26/11/2021

The children in the nursery have shown an increasing awareness of their personal hygiene. We continue to promote children to wash their hands before meal times and after having their nappies changed and we are so glad to see the children building an understanding.

It’s great to see the children walk straight to the basin to wash their hands after they have had their nappy changed or when the trolley arrives in the room with their meal without having to be reminded. This routine is becoming an embedded practice for the children as they take increasing responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.

09/11/2021

Sparkways Richmond Multicultural Children's Centre has been identified as one of Victoria's most in demand services within the most in demand suburbs of Victoria. In fact, Richmond is the most in demand suburb in Victoria according to a study from CareforKids.com.au. "Care for Kids reveals that searches for childcare last month were 27 per cent higher than in the three months of July, August and September together."

Read the full article here featuring our RMCC Centre Director - Marianne Fruci:
https://bit.ly/3mZdPRe

30/10/2021

This week children were involved in all things Halloween! From an array of Halloween themed experiences including pumpkin carving; slimy sensory play; a treat of ‘frog in the pond’ jelly which everyone joined in to make and ending the week with a much anticipated disco party!

Such a fun way to acknowledge Children's Week! Our disco party allowed children to simply have fun and connect positively with their peers. The disco lights and Halloween decorations created the perfect Halloween disco atmosphere!

Happy Halloween!

29/10/2021

Children’s Week 2021:

This week the children in the Nursery definitely embraced this year’s theme for Children’s Week…

“Children have the right to choose their own friends and safely connect with others”.

21/10/2021

We had a surprise visit from Victoria’s mounted police patrolling Richmond!

From a distance the children saw the horses and police and gathered at the fence in such wonder. One of the police officers noticed our inquisitive children and approached them and asked if they would like to see the horses once they came off the float. Well of course you could imagine the children’s response!

The mounted police explained to the children that their role is to ensure people feel safe and protected in their community. It was fitting to have this special visit just as we acknowledged our superheroes last week…and now meeting them in person on their big horses was a real privilege.

13/10/2021

What a start to term 4: Project based learning and exploration about our body was introduced in our kinder program…in particular we focused on learning about the function of our heart.

Children were involved in creating a mind map where they were encouraged to share their knowledge and ideas/thoughts. This allowed children to develop skills of collaboration and sharing of ideas with one another.

Educators then extended on this knowledge by discussing the function of our heart and importance of caring for our heart through healthy diet and exercise.

The use of ICT was used to further develop children's understanding of the topic through watching an informative clip about the heart. Children then had the opportunity to draw their heart using pictures and books to aid this learning.