First Choice Early Education Centre

08/10/2026

Recently, within the Kindy room, the children have been growing their self-help skills and sense of autonomy through different experiences! 🌿

We took the opportunity to walk to our local IGA on a beautiful sunny day, where the children purchased their own ingredients to make smiley face biscuits as a special afternoon tea treat! ☀️🍪

This experience supported the children’s learning by encouraging independence, decision-making, communication and confidence while connecting with our local community. 💚

01/10/2026

This October, 14 of our educators at First Choice EEC are coming together to take part in the Oceans to Outback challenge, raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. ✈️💚

Together, we’ve set ourselves a goal of walking 500km throughout October! 🏃‍♀️🏃

Living in a regional community, we know just how important services like the RFDS are. Many of us know someone who has needed their support, and for some of our FC family, that support has been incredibly close to home.

So this month, every kilometre we walk is for an amazing service that has helped so many people and families in communities just like ours. ✨

We’ll be keeping track of our kilometres throughout the centre so our children and families can follow along and watch us get closer and closer to that 500km finish line

If you’d like to support our FC team, our fundraising link will be shared below. Any donation, big or small, means so much and we’d also love you to simply cheer us on along the way!

500km. 14 educators. One very worthy cause. Let’s do this! 💚🙌🏻

https://www.oceanstooutback.org.au/fundraisers/firstchoiceearlyeducationcentre?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgNzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80Mzc2MjYzMTY5NzM3ODgAAR49M9c0o44nP6fj5QaSvAiY1uDfL_aqJzaYdoOyeYf2csewpbt1PhpFL7UH9g_aem_ZPhuYwPwtHpZNt9-Luy0YA

We have taken on a challenge this October and we need your help! Our team has registered for Oceans to Outback, a month-long challenge to raise vital funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Throughout October, we will be either walking, running or riding many hundreds of kilometres (virtually) ar...

28/09/2026

School holidays are here! ✨

If you’re looking for a few things to get the children out and about, the City of Mount Gambier has put together a great school holiday program with plenty happening around our local community.

Check out what’s on offer below! 💚

16/09/2026

Our journey with Stephanie Bennett & Lyndsey Hellyn has taught us to look at our environments a little differently. 🌻

We’ve been learning to pause before we see an environment that needs to be cleaned up and instead wonder, ‘what learning has been happening here?’ As we notice the resources scattered across the floor, the containers tipped out, the loose parts moved from one area to another even down to the paint and goop left smeared across the tables, we now see that they are the result of meaningful and authentic play and learning. 💚

They are the traces left behind after children have been busy exploring, creating, experimenting, transporting, constructing, imagining and working things out and sometimes, that play residue tells us just as much about children’s learning as the play itself.

Our journey with the Curiosity Approach has challenged us to rethink what an environment should look like. We’ve become more comfortable with environments that show evidence of children’s ideas and experiences, rather than environments that are constantly reset to look untouched.

That doesn’t mean we never tidy. It means we’ve become more intentional about when we tidy, why we tidy and what we might lose if we tidy too soon.

✨An environment that looks a little lived-in can be an environment that is alive with learning.✨

09/09/2026

✨Introducing our Wellbeing Leader!✨

We’re excited to share that Flick has taken on a new role at First Choice EEC as our Wellbeing Leader! 💚

As someone who is already a valued part of our team, we’re so excited to see Flick bring her passion for wellbeing into this new role. She’ll be helping us to continue building a supportive, connected and positive environment where our educators, children and families feel valued and supported as we continue our partnership with Be You!

We’re looking forward to all the wonderful things Flick will bring to this role and the positive impact she’ll have across our First Choice community.🌻

Congratulations, Flick! We’re so excited to have you leading our wellbeing journey! 💚🙌🏻

https://www.firstchoiceeec.com.au/beyou

01/09/2026

🌿 Happy Early Childhood Educators Day! 🌿

Today we celebrate our wonderful team of educators at First Choice EEC! 🙌🏻

We are so grateful to have a team who show up each day with care, commitment and a genuine passion for supporting our children to learn, grow and thrive. 💚

Thank you for all that you do, big and small! We are so lucky to have you!✨

26/08/2026

Congratulations to Kaitlyn on completing her Certificate III! 🎓✨

24/08/2026

✨ Happy Book Week! ✨

This week, we celebrate the magic of stories and the joy that books bring to children’s lives. Through reading and sharing stories together, children can explore their imaginations, build language, develop a love of literacy and discover new worlds.

We look forward to sharing a range of wonderful stories, meaningful moments and the joy of reading with the children throughout the week! 💚✨📚

11/08/2026

✨Have you confirmed your income yet?

Services Australia have begun balancing Child Care Subsidy and need your income confirmed to do it! Click the link below for more information 👇

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-to-balance-your-payment-for-child-care-subsidy?context=41186

06/08/2026

Over the last 18 months, we have been actively working towards our Curiosity Approach accreditation, and we are so excited to share that we are now officially an accredited Curiosity Approach service! ✨🎉

The Curiosity Approach is about so much more than creating beautiful environments. It encourages us to reflect on our everyday practices as early childhood educators while supporting children to learn through hands-on experiences using repurposed, recycled and homelike materials within their play.

Although we are now accredited, our journey is far from over. We will continue to grow, reflect on our practices, introduce new materials and create warm, cosy environments where our children’s sense of belonging, wonder and curiosity can continue to flourish. 💚🌻