Goodstart Minifie Park

Toddler Science Week 🔬🌈

This week, our toddlers enjoyed fun science experiments to celebrate Science Week. We explored the Magic Milk Experiment and started our Colour Mixing Experiment. The children learned to name different colours, discovered new words, and explored simple science concepts through hands-on learning and play.

Creating a space where children feel heard, valued, and safe is at the heart of everything we do! 🌟

Recently, our children engaged in meaningful discussions surrounding the Victoria Child Safe Standards. We wanted to elevate the children's voices and explore what "safety" truly means through their eyes by asking:
Where do you like to stay?
Who do you like to stay with?
What makes you feel happy?
What makes you feel uncomfortable, and why?

Their thoughtful responses showed us just how deeply they understand safety, comfort, trust, and inclusion:
Right to Play & Inclusion: Our children reminded us how vital connection is to their well-being. As one child shared, "I like to play with friends," while another expressed their desire to belong by saying, "I want to invite lots of friends to my party."
Comfortable & Safe Environments: Children feel secure when their surroundings support their independence and joy: "I like sleeping in my comfortable bed," and "I like the Kinder yard as it has lots of things to play with."
Agency & Voice: Knowing their opinions matter empowers them every day: "I can get what I like to play with."
Trusted Relationships: They recognize the caring adults who support them: "Grandma took me to swim."

Listening to our children's perspectives helps us build an environment where every child feels safe, respected, and empowered. Thank you to our wonderful learners for sharing their voices with us!
💙✨

Nursery 1 children explored our feelings corner during quiet time. We added rainbow-colored 🌈 lights inside the cubby house to create a calm and welcoming space that supports conversations about feelings.

As the babies lay down, they watched the changing rainbow colors with interest and appeared relaxed while looking at the lights. Soft fidget toys were also available for the children to hold, squeeze, and explore. Children engaged with the fidget toys, helping them to self-soothe and feel calm.

The feelings corner provided a safe and peaceful environment where children could relax, explore their senses, and begin to develop emotional awareness.

Strong relationships are the foundation for confident, curious learners 💛

Goodstart’s key educator approach ensures every child is known, supported and feels safe - through consistent, nurturing connections with educators and meaningful partnerships with families. These bonds help build wellbeing, resilience and a true sense of belonging from day one.

Discover how this approach supports your child’s learning journey: https://brnw.ch/2

Listening to Our Truest Experts

At our Centre, we believe that a living philosophy should not simply be written for children; it must be written with them. When the time came to renew our Centre Philosophy, we turned to our truest experts—our children. We asked them five simple yet profound questions:
Why do you like kinder?
What makes you feel happy in Kinder?
What do you like to do in Kinder?
What can you do in Kinder?
What kind of wish would you make about our Kinder?

The children’s honest, joyful, and insightful answers did more than just fill a page. They inspired us. They challenged us to deeply reflect on what our children truly need from us, and how we can best support, honour, and meet those needs every single day.
When we listen closely to their words, we hear the deep learning happening beneath the surface.
When a child says, "I like build block towers," we know they are learning through play, testing gravity, and engineering their world. When they tell us, "I play with lots of friends," we read between the lines and see them learning to share, care, negotiate, and belong. And when we hear, "I always watch bugs moving," we notice their innate wonder, reminding us to slow down and respect their curiosity.

Body safety and consent webinar
Thursday 10 September, 7.30 to 9.00pm
This session is for parents and carers of children aged 1 to 10 years old.

Join us for a supporting webinar designed to equip you with the confidence, knowledge and practical tools needed to introduce body safety and consent education to children in an age-appropriate and meaningful way.

In this session, we will:
• learn the 10 essential body safety skills
• explore how to respond safely and appropriately if a child tells you something is wrong
• discover practical strategies for embedding body safety education into everyday routines
• access key evidence-informed resources to support safe and empowering environments for children.
This session will be co-delivered by FVREE's Prevention and Education team and body safety advocate and children's author Jayneen Sanders.

This webinar is hosted by Maroondah City Council in partnership with Boroondara, Knox and Yarra Ranges Councils.

Book your spot.

Body safety and consent webinar Join a supportive webinar to equip you to introduce body safety to children in an age-appropriate and meaningful way.

🚀 Blast Off into Learning! Our Space Exploration Continues in the Yard 🌌✨

Great learning always starts with the children’s curiosity! Recently, our educators observed a wonderful moment: one child created a detailed solar system out of playdough, while others sat together, reading and sharing fascinating facts about space.
Noticing this growing passion, we decided to take their curiosity to the next level by building our very own Space Station in the outdoor yard! 🧑‍🚀👩‍🚀
Our young astronauts have been hard at work bringing the space station to life using recycled materials to construct planets, control center operation panels, and space capsule pipes! 🛠️🪐

🌟 How This Project Supports Our Children's Growth:
STEM & Environmental Awareness: Using recycled items turns problem-solving into a hands-on experience, teaching children about sustainability and basic engineering as they build and design.
Child-Led Exploration: Following the children's organic interest builds deep engagement, intrinsic motivation, and a love for lifelong learning.
Dramatic Play & Social Skills: Stepping into the role of astronauts boosts imaginative thinking, language development, turn-taking, and collaborative teamwork.

The construction of our space station is still ongoing, and our astronauts are finding new ways to expand their universe every day! 🛸✨

Don't forget to wear your jeans this Thursday August 6th! Jeans for Genes Australia