Little Zak's Academy

Can you guess what centre this is? 🔎🏫




Ryde!

Explore our Ryde centre today: https://www.littlezaks.com.au/ryde/

Thank you so much for your kind feedback. It is our pleasure to make your little one feel welcome and supported! 💜💛💚🧡

🦁🦁🦁

Sensory activities can make other kinds of learning enjoyable and accessible!

🎨 Working on colour identification through sensory paint play helps children to further their understanding of the concepts in a fun way 🎨

You have a free pass to give in to your chocolate cravings today! 🍫🍫🍫

We love learning through doing. The children loved exploring frog habitats with leaves from our vegetable garden in tubs of water! It's a fun and tactile way to learn. 🐸

Did you know that encouraging a child's knowledge of insects can help foster a love of STEM? 🐛🐜🐞 We encourage all kinds of learning for your little ones to give them the best start in life!

A HUGE THANKYOU TO LOUIS’ FAMILY!

We are very grateful to receive some delicious pastries and coffees on this raining Tuesday from one of our lovely families!

Although gifts are never expected, we aren’t opposed to some cheeky treats 😉☕️

Happy 4th of July to all of our American families and friends who celebrate today! We hope you have a great day! ❤️🤍💙

Recently our Hornsby centre had a visit by Tim from Girra Girra! Tim showed the children a hands-on ochre painting experience, where they got to crush, sweep, and sieve clay into a fine powder before adding water and making their own paint. They loved learning about the traditional painting process! 🎨🖌️🖐️

This week, Little Zak's is learning about NAIDOC week! Our little ones are celebrating and respecting the culture and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We can't wait to show you all the excellent activities we're getting up to! ❤️💛🖤

Your little ones will not only gain new experiences at Little Zak's, but they will also actively pursue and enhance their knowledge! 🥚🐣🐥 Our Chicken Life Cycle activities allow your children to further their understanding while helping to enhance their fine motor and communication skills in the process.

Our educators love sharing their culture and family with the children. Educator Sue took our explorer room mascot Roary to Korea when she visited her family. We love when educators and children share their culture, cuisine and information about how they spend their weekends or holidays with us! 🦖🦖🦕

- Little Zak's Wongawilli

We are committed to giving

every child the BEST START in LIFE. 💜💛💚🧡

Our little ones love a morning filled with music. It is an engaging activity that has many benefits, including:

💜Cognitive learning
💜 Sensory
💜 Social-emotional
💜 Motor skill
💜 Language & literacy

and more! What's your child's favourite song to sing along to?

Child Protection is everyone’s business!

After lots of conversations with families, the team of Little Zak's Hornsby has carefully selected a range of age-appropriate books for our families to borrow and take home.

One of the stories "some secrets should never be kept which has already been borrowed by some of our families in previous years.
When offering our families the opportunity to borrow the story, we noticed it was in high demand.

The Little Zak's team feels extremely strongly about providing knowledge and resources whenever we can, especially surrounding the important topic of Child Protection.

To support our families further, we have purchased a number of new stories for borrowing, and have created a space in our parent room that will be full of brochures and family friendly information regarding Child Protection.

Birthdays are the best reason to celebrate! 🥳🎉 It's all about the cake, hugs, singing, and dancing the day away. Let's make memories that are as sweet as the frosting! 🎂💃

Looking to find the perfect childcare centre for your little one? 🔍👀

Talk to us to learn more about our childcare services and innovative play-based education or visit your local Little Zak's centre, meet the team and experience it for yourself! 💜💛💚🧡

Find a centre:
https://www.littlezaks.com.au/contact-us/

Working in childcare is a great way to gain a new perspective; seeing the world through a child's eyes is rewarding and inspiring! 👋🤗😊👋

Join our Little Zak's community:
https://www.littlezaks.com.au/developing-your-career/

Adults call it sensory play... toddlers call it fun and squishy. They just love it! 🙌🧡💜💛💚🙌

Children start by using both hands equally and just as proficiently. Somewhere between 2 and 3 years, they start to prefer one hand over the other. 👐🙌🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️👋

Watch the next time you hand your little one something!

We are glad to be part of more communities throughout the state!

Can you guess the centre? It's one on our newest centres and starts with a C.









Carey Bay!

Take the hassle out of calculating your childcare subsidy, and try our FREE Childcare Subsidy Estimator to find out how much you can claim! 🧮📆🧮

Subsidy is changing from next month, and we will be updating the calculator for you soon!

We love to splash, swim & smile! 💦🏊🏊‍♂️🏊‍♀️💦

At what age can I start swimming classes for my baby?

Your baby can start swimming from as young as 2 months, the younger your little one starts swimming the more comfortable they will be in the water.

Are you considering being a stay-at-home Dad?

Learn more in our reading nook:
https://www.littlezaks.com.au/blog/considering-being-a-stay-at-home-dad-read-this/

Today is Eat Your Vegetables Day!

If children are not keen on vegetables it can be a good idea to get them to try tasting them raw, often children go through stages/phases of preferring raw vegetables.

Does your little one enjoy raw veg? 🥕🫑🍅

Grab your snacks, pack your smiles, it's picnic time! 🌳🧃🥪

Reading Eggs uses technology to provide fun experiences that help children learn to read. 📚📚

Our Inventors have been busy working through our school transition activities. Each day the children who are heading off to 'big school' next year will participate in both Reading Eggs and Prep Books. Reading Eggs is an application on the iPad in which the children will learn their phonics and recognition of letters through a range of activities and games. The children all use a set of headphones so they can focus on their own work without getting distracted. Reading Eggs also comes with a personal login in which the parents can see how they are progressing and can also make a login for the children to do at home.

Infant Mental Health Awareness Week, this year's theme is 'Bonding before Birth.'

Bonding before birth can help parents to prepare for the transition to parenthood and supports parents to:

💜 Increases positive feelings towards the baby
💚 Begin to think of a baby as an 'individual' who will have their thoughts and feelings
🧡 Develop the capacity to think about things from their child's point of view
💛Think about how their baby is developing and how they are supporting this development

It's also important to remember it's ok if you feel you are struggling physically, emotionally or mentally during this time. Be kind to yourself, and don't forget to reach out to a friend or family member when you need a little extra support. 💞🥰

That cheeky smile when there is no traffic, meal prep or homework!

Enjoy a day with your little ones without rushing around. 🤗🤗

We can't wait to see their beautiful smiles tomorrow! 😊😊

If you would like to introduce your child to the dentist, take them with you when you visit your dentist for your check-up. This can get them used to the sights and sounds of dental surgery and feel comfortable when they have to go for their own appointments.

If your little one is due for a check-up, explain what will happen when you get to the dentist:

🦷That the dentist will examine their teeth, gums and mouth
🦷Explain that the dentist will ask about their diet, if they eat sweets and how they brush their teeth correctly.
🦷Don't use the word 'needle', 'injection' or any reference to pain.

This a reminder that our Little Zak's centres will be closed on Monday; we hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

Today is Best Friends Day! 💜💚🤗💛🧡

Friendships are established from a young age, and it's beautiful to watch as they find their personality and friendships with those around them.

At childcare, your little one develops friendship skills by playing with other children, learning to take turns and to share [which we know is not always easy🤣], but a critical friendship skill to develop!

Thank you for such fantastic feedback, and it's lovely to hear how much your little one loves their educator! 💚💜🧡💛

Aren’t we lucky!
The children got to try on a real-life fire fighters helmet today and got to hear all about the behind the scene details of a fire fighters role!

As you could imagine, the children had 100 questions and were absolutely thrilled to put themselves in the shoes (or should I say hat!) of a fire fighter.

How fun!

Our in-house chefs prepare healthy, nutritious, delicious food that our little ones enjoy.

What is your little one's favourite fruit? 🍌🍊🍎

Today is World Environment Day! 💚🌍💙

The event also encourages the public to participate in World Environment Day activities and do their bit towards protecting and preserving the environment.

It's a day to do activities that help the environment; no child is too young to learn about the importance of the environment or how they have a positive effect on it.

Time spent in nature is never time wasted. Enjoy time outdoors with simple activities that spark children's interest in the environment, including DIY compost bins.