Gumboots Early Learning Jacksons Hill - Sunbury

🍣 Celebrating International Sushi Day! 🍣

Yesterday our Honeybees children rolled up their sleeves and celebrated International Sushi Day through creativity, exploration, and hands-on cooking.

The experience began with children using watercolours and sushi images as provocations, inspiring them to create their own colourful sushi artworks. This sparked conversations about different ingredients, colours, shapes, and foods from around the world.

The excitement continued as the children became little chefs, making their very own sushi rolls. They carefully spread rice onto seaweed, chose between tuna or chicken fillings, and with support from educators, practised rolling their sushi before enjoying their delicious creations at lunchtime.

Experiences such as these support children's fine motor development, independence, confidence, and willingness to explore new foods, while also fostering an appreciation for different cultures and traditions.

To join in the celebrations, our educators were also treated to a delicious sushi spread. What a wonderful day of creativity, culture, and culinary fun.

Our Grasshoppers have been busy little botanists 🌱

After successfully growing alfalfa from seedlings, the children have been exploring the fascinating life cycle of plants. Armed with microscopes, natural materials, and plenty of curiosity, they have been taking a closer look at how plants grow, what they need to survive, and the different parts that help them thrive.

Through observation, discussion, and hands-on investigation, the children have been examining roots, stems, leaves, and seeds, sharing their ideas and developing a deeper understanding of the natural world around them.

It's been wonderful to see their curiosity bloom as they ask questions, make discoveries, and connect with nature through meaningful learning experiences. 🌿🔍

As part of Australian Road Safety Week our Kindergarten children ventured off to the Essendon Traffic School for a wonderful educational session on road safety and community awareness.

Throughout the excursion, children engaged in hands-on learning which included riding bikes around the traffic course, navigating roads, following traffic signs, and learning how to stay safe as pedestrians and bike riders.

A special thank you to Margret at Essendon Traffic School for her fantastic educational and fun session.

What a wonderful day of learning, laughter, and adventure together🚦🚲

roadsafetyweek earlychildhoodeducationandcare

As part of Australian Road Safety Week our Kindergarten children ventured off to the Essendon Traffic School for a wonderful educational session on road safety and community awareness.

Throughout the excursion, children engaged in hands-on learning which included riding bikes around the traffic course, navigating roads, following traffic signs, and learning how to stay safe as pedestrians and bike riders.

A special thank you to Margret at Essendon Traffic School for her fantastic educational and fun session.

What a wonderful day of learning, laughter, and adventure together🚦🚲

Our Light and Reflection Room is a calm and welcoming space thoughtfully created for our children and families to pause, regulate, and reconnect whenever they may need a quieter environment throughout the day.

Designed to support wellbeing through gentle sensory experiences, the space offers children the opportunity to explore soft lighting, reflections, calming sounds, books, and quiet activities alongside trusted educators in a safe and supportive environment. Through the use of their senses, children are encouraged to engage at their own pace, helping them feel secure, relaxed, and emotionally supported.

We recognise that every child experiences and responds to the world differently, and our sensory space provides an inclusive environment where children can take time to reset, recharge, and build self-awareness in a way that feels comfortable for them. Whether sharing stories, exploring calming resources, or simply enjoying a peaceful moment, the room promotes emotional wellbeing, connection, and a sense of belonging for all children and families.

It has been beautiful to see children confidently utilise this space to express themselves, strengthen emotional regulation skills, and build meaningful connections with educators and peers in a nurturing environment.

sunburychildcare sensoryspace calm relaxing lightandreflectionspace earlychildhoodeducationandcare

We are delighted to announce that our 2026 3-Year-Old Kindergarten “Kinder Kits” have arrived.

In Victoria, children enrolled in funded 3-Year-Old Kindergarten receive a free educational Kinder Kit from the Victorian Government as part of the Best Start, Best Life Reform. These wonderful kits are designed to support learning through play at home and include:

• Children’s books by Australian authors
• Educational resources and play materials
• Creative activities
• Guidance for families
• Ideas to support early learning and development

The box itself can even unfold into a play space and whiteboard activity area, creating even more opportunities for imaginative play and learning.

We look forward to hearing all about the fun, creativity, and learning adventures our children will enjoy with their Kinder Kits at home, as they continue to learn, explore, and grow through play.

Last week, our team came together alongside Kelly Goodsir from KGlearning for an inspiring professional development session focused on strengthening our learning environments and bringing our service philosophy to life through intentional practice.

Educators explored conceptual learning and reflected on ways to deepen children’s thinking, encourage curiosity, and uncover the big ideas within play and everyday experiences. Together, we discussed how thoughtfully designed environments can inspire investigation, wonder, and confident learning.

Through hands-on experiences and reflective discussions, educators explored the many opportunities for literacy, numeracy, scientific thinking, and learning dispositions that naturally emerge through play. It was wonderful to see our team connecting theory with practice and exploring meaningful ways to extend children’s learning.

Thank you, Kelly, for another engaging and inspiring session and wonderful coaching day. We look forward to continuing to embed these ideas into our daily practice and learning journeys with children and families.

Last week we have had the pleasure of celebrating the incredible mums and special people in our children’s lives. From music and dancing, to clay exploration, tea parties and a special brunch, the week has been filled with joy, connection and beautiful shared experiences. 💐

On Wednesday, we hosted our special Mums and Bubs event with Hey Dee Ho Music. Our Butterflies & Caterpillar children enjoyed singing, dancing and sharing a lovely afternoon tea with their loved ones.

On Thursday our Honeybees and Ladybugs children welcomed their mums and special people into the service for two beautiful experiences — clay exploration and a tea party. The children were so excited to extend on their current learning and interests by sharing these meaningful moments together.

Then on Friday, we finished the week with a special Mother’s Day brunch with our Dragonflies and Grasshoppers children, along with a coffee van as a small way of saying thank you to all the amazing mums and special people who play such an important role in the children’s lives each and every day.

To all of our mums, grandmothers, carers and special people — thank you for your love, support and everything you do. We hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day filled with love and appreciation. 💕

sunburychildcare mothersday mothersdaycelebrations gumbootsmumsarethebest gumbootscommunity earlychildhoodeducationandcare

Last week we have had the pleasure of celebrating the incredible mums and special people in our children’s lives. From music and dancing, to clay exploration, tea parties and a special brunch, the week has been filled with joy, connection and beautiful shared experiences. 💐

On Wednesday, we hosted our special Mums and Bubs event with Hey Dee Ho Music. Our Butterflies & Caterpillar children enjoyed singing, dancing and sharing a lovely afternoon tea with their loved ones.

On Thursday our Honeybees and Ladybugs children welcomed their mums and special people into the service for two beautiful experiences — clay exploration and a tea party. The children were so excited to extend on their current learning and interests by sharing these meaningful moments together.

Then on Friday, we finished the week with a special Mother’s Day brunch with our Dragonflies and Grasshoppers children, along with a coffee van as a small way of saying thank you to all the amazing mums and special people who play such an important role in the children’s lives each and every day.

To all of our mums, grandmothers, carers and special people — thank you for your love, support and everything you do. We hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day filled with love and appreciation. 💕

Our Ladybug children have been diving into an exciting pumpkin inquiry.

Through hands-on exploration, they have been asking thoughtful questions like… Are all pumpkins round? How long can they grow? What colours do they come in? How heavy are they?

The children have been busy drawing and closely observing a variety of pumpkins, noticing their unique shapes, sizes, and textures. Their curiosity didn’t stop there; we explored the inside too, scooping out seeds and discovering what makes a pumpkin a pumpkin!

To bring our learning full circle, we transformed our pumpkins into a delicious homemade pumpkin soup, connecting our investigation to real-life experiences.

This inquiry has been a wonderful opportunity to build curiosity, encourage questioning, and support the children in exploring the world around them through meaningful, hands-on learning. 🌱🎃