Stepping Stones Early Learning Centre, Kirrawee

Today we celebrated the incredible milestone of Chantelle’s 10-year anniversary at Stepping Stones! 🤍

Over the past decade, Chantelle has demonstrated unwavering dedication, resilience, and commitment to our team, children, and families. She is a mentor, a leader, and an inspiration to those around her.

While much of what Chantelle does happens behind the scenes, her tireless efforts, passion, and pursuit of excellence help ensure our service continues to provide the highest quality care and education every day.

Congratulations on 10 amazing years at Stepping Stones, Chon. We are so grateful for everything you do and are a much better place because of you. Here’s to celebrating this incredible achievement and many more milestones to come!

Today we celebrate the tradition of Mother’s Day and all the special people who fill children’s lives with love, care and support.

Mother’s Day is not only about mums. It is about every person who nurtures, encourages, comforts, guides and stands beside us through life’s journey. Grandmothers, aunties, carers, stepmums, family friends and all those important people who help shape a child’s world deserve to be celebrated today.

Thank you for the countless moments of kindness, patience, reassurance and unconditional love you give so freely. The connections children build with the people around them help create a sense of belonging, security and confidence that lasts a lifetime.

Today we celebrate all those very special people who contribute to the lives of our children and community in meaningful ways. Your love and support never go unnoticed.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible people who help children feel safe, valued and deeply loved.

This week a small group of our Baragarang children went on a special community adventure to Miranda RSL to lay a beautiful ANZAC Day wreath, thoughtfully and collaboratively created by the children.

Our journey began with an exciting walk to the train station, where we patiently waited and observed the world around us before boarding the train. Upon arrival, the children noticed a wreath from a previous visit displayed alongside historical photographs, sparking meaningful conversations about remembrance and those who have served.

We were warmly welcomed by a member of the RSL team, who spoke with the children about the significance of ANZAC Day in an age-appropriate and respectful way. Together, the children carefully laid their wreath, taking a quiet moment to reflect. This simple but powerful act supported their growing understanding of respect, gratitude, and community connection.

Following the ceremony, the children shared a meal together, enjoying time to connect, reflect, and celebrate their experience.

Opportunities like this allow children to engage with important cultural and historical events in a meaningful way. Through real-life experiences, they begin to understand values such as courage, mateship, and remembrance, while building a strong sense of belonging within their community.

Lest we forget

What began as a simple act of kindness has grown into a tradition that sits at the very heart of our Stepping Stones community.

For many years now, our families and educators have come together to support the incredible women and children at Phoebe House and once again, the generosity shown this year has left us truly humbled.

Each donation represents more than a gift. It’s a reminder to the families at Phoebe House that they are seen, supported and surrounded by a community that cares deeply about their journey forward. From thoughtfully chosen presents to handwritten cards and drawings created by our children, every contribution was filled with love and intention.

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our Stepping Stones families and educators, we were able to deliver carloads of gifts, each one carrying hope, dignity and a little extra Christmas magic.

Phoebe House has been supporting women and children for over 30 years, providing a safe, nurturing environment where families can rebuild, grow and move forward with confidence. We are incredibly proud to continue standing beside them year after year.

To our families and educators thank you for modelling compassion, generosity and community for our children.

This is what it truly means to give from the heart.

What an incredible milestone! Today we proudly celebrated our graduating class in the beautiful Hazelhurst Gallery Theatre surrounded by family, friends, educators, and so much love.

We watched each child’s journey unfold on screen, from their very first day with us to the confident, capable little people they’ve become. There were smiles, tears, cheers… and so many heart-filling moments as we reflected on just how far they’ve come.

One of the highlights of the day was the children’s retelling of “Not a Stick”, confidently performed and illustrated as a group. Their creativity shone, reminding us all how magical imagination can be when children are given space to lead, explore and express themselves.

To our graduates 🎓 we are so proud of you.
Thank you for filling our days with curiosity, laughter, learning and joy. As you step into big school, may you continue to dream boldly, question curiously, and carry the confidence you’ve built with you always.

Here’s to new adventures, new friends and the next chapter
Congratulations Class of 2025! 🎉💫

This term we hosted our Transition to School Information Night & Art Show, giving our Stepping Stones families a valuable opportunity to discover what “big school” really looks like for both children and parents.

Our expert panel shared their knowledge and experience:
• Cameron Campbell – Principal of Kirrawee Public School
• Stevie Macfarlane – Stepping Stones parent and primary school teacher
• Christine McMordie – Occupational Therapist
• Kate Joseph – Speech Therapist
• Nicole Mangioni – Baragarang Room Leader

Families who were unsure about when to send their child to school walked away feeling more confident and informed.

The evening also featured our Art Show, proudly showcasing each child’s artwork and their progress in our Preparation for School books a wonderful celebration of creativity and learning.

Parent feedback:
“Thank you to the amazing staff who organised last night. Each year I feel so blessed to be part of the panel and I walk away learning something new every time I attend, both as a parent and a teacher. If you were unable to attend this year’s transition to school talk, I highly recommend attending next year’s session.”

Thank you to our incredible panel and the Stepping Stones team for creating such an inspiring and informative evening.

Charcoal Art Exploration
This week we explored the expressive possibilities of charcoal through three creative techniques that invited curiosity, experimentation and reflection.

This experience was inspired by the recent Art in Early Childhood conference, where we were deeply influenced by the work and insights of Brooke Bailey from . Brooke’s presentation reminded us of the power of simple materials and open ended processes to foster rich, meaningful learning in early childhood.

We began by rubbing charcoal onto cardboard, noticing how the texture and tone shifted compared to paper. This encouraged close observation and tactile engagement with materials.

Next, the children layered their work using erasers to reveal highlights before drawing over their pieces with thinner charcoal to refine details and strengthen contrast.

To extend the experience, we took our artmaking outdoors. With flicking, spraying and dabbing techniques, the children discovered how water could move, blur or intensify their charcoal marks.

These artistic explorations supported fine motor development, scientific thinking and a deeper understanding of how materials respond to different environments, all through creative play and self expression.

Creativity in Focus
Over the past few weeks, our learning was lit—literally by the children’s growing curiosity about light, shadow and artistic expression.

Starting with photography, the children captured their own shadows and explored how contrast, colour and shape can be transformed using digital editing tools. This hands on experience encouraged creative thinking, self expression and digital literacy.

We then took this exploration further, using their photographs as inspiration for shadow paintings in black and grey watercolours. Through brush strokes, layering and line work, children brought their shadows to life—building their fine motor skills, visual awareness and an appreciation for tone and contrast.

These creative experiences not only nurture each child’s artistic confidence but also support important developmental areas like problem solving, hand eye coordination and observation skills, all through the joy of the arts.

When we value creativity, we grow thinkers, dreamers and confident learners.