Little Cookies Early Learning Centre

What better way to learn then making a MESS 🍪 Messy play and hands-on experiences provide children with fun, engaging opportunities to learn through exploration and discovery. As they paint, build, scoop, mix, and create, children develop important skills such as problem-solving, creativity, communication, coordination, and confidence. These playful experiences encourage curiosity, support all areas of development, and help children build a lifelong love of learning.

We are excited to share that we are now taking enrolments for 2027 🍪 if you would like to join our Cookies family please contact us at [email protected] or call 0488 203 831

As our NAIDOC Week celebrations continue, we are incredibly excited to welcome three very special girls — Ruby, Bella and Gracie — to Cookies! 💛

Ruby, Bella and Gracie have come to proudly share their Aboriginal culture and heritage with our children through something very special to them… dance! 🖤💛❤️

The girls began by performing for the children, giving them the opportunity to watch, listen and experience culture being proudly expressed through movement and dance. But the fun didn’t stop there! Afterwards, Ruby, Bella and Gracie invited the children to join them as they taught them some of their dance moves. ✨

🖤💛❤️ A Special NAIDOC Week Visit from Tay 🖤💛❤️

As part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations, we were very lucky to welcome a special visitor to Cookies today. 💛

Octavia, affectionately known as Tay, is 8 years old and a valued member of our wider Cookies community family. Tay wanted to come and spend time with the children to proudly share her Aboriginal culture and be part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations.

Together, Tay and the children created Talking Sticks, sharing a meaningful experience that brought culture, creativity and connection together. 🖤💛❤️. It was very special to see a young person so proud to share her Aboriginal culture and to watch our Cookies children learn with and from her. Experiences like this remind us that some of the most meaningful learning happens through relationships and genuine connections with people in our wider community.

Introducing Shirley Pearl

As part of the implementation of the Koori Curriculum, the service will receive monthly correspondence from Shirley Pearl, a Wiradjuri child residing on Darkinjung Country, Central Coast, New South Wales.

Through these letters, children will be introduced to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, with focus on Country, culture, family, and community. These resources will facilitate opportunities for discussion and support children’s developing understanding and respect for First Nations peoples and cultures.

During exploration of Shirley’s experiences, educators will acknowledge that the service operates on Awabakal Country. This approach supports children’s understanding that Aboriginal cultures are diverse across Australia, with each Country maintaining distinct stories, languages, and traditions.

Home is where the heart is 🥰. This experience supported the development of fine motor skills through drawing and painting, encouraged early mathematical thinking as children considered how many people could fit inside their houses, and most importantly fostered a strong sense of identity, belonging, and connection as they celebrated the people who make their house a home. 🖍️👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Such precious masterpieces were created today, filled with love, creativity, and individuality. ✨

Indigenous symbol exploration 🍪 This experience supported children to strengthen the small muscles in their hands through rolling, pinching and shaping the playdough, building foundational skills for writing and drawing. The children also developed visual discrimination and problem-solving skills as they observed and recreated the Indigenous symbols.

The discussions throughout the experience encouraged children to ask questions, share ideas and build understanding of Indigenous perspectives and storytelling. Several children demonstrated the ability to connect previous learning experiences with new knowledge, strengthening their confidence and engagement in the learning process.

OUR YARNING CIRCLE 🍪 This week at Little Cookies, the children have been engaging in meaningful learning experiences as we acknowledge National Reconciliation Week. Today, the children were introduced to the term “Yarning Circle” and explored the meaning behind the Aboriginal symbols that represent connection, communication, and community. The children then extended on this learning through art, creating their own interpretations of a yarning circle using the symbol as inspiration. As they drew, the children spoke with their educators about the markings they were adding, the colours they had chosen, and what their artwork represented to them. It was wonderful to hear the children sharing their ideas, thoughts, and understanding with one another. Experiences such as these help children in 2026 grow with an appreciation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, and perspectives. By introducing children to concepts of respect, belonging, listening, and connection from an early age, we are supporting the development of compassionate and inclusive future generations who value the importance of reconciliation and community.

Stretch, bend and breathe….. YOGA at Cookies 🍪 Throughout the experience the children demonstrated increasing body awareness, balance and coordination while engaging in calm movement and focused participation. The group setting supported children to observe and mimic others, practise listening skills and regulate their bodies in preparation for group time. Yoga captures Little Cookies’ attention and interest every time it’s on, and today we used a familiar story to support language, regulation and engagement. Moving forward, yoga and calming movement experiences will continue to be incorporated into the program to support wellbeing, coordination, concentration and confidence in following directions through movement and play.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the special women in our lives. We hope you have an amazing day full of love, laughter and yummy food ……… make sure you put your feet up 🍪