Big Bear Academy Macquarie Fields

🚀 Your child has been part of an evolving learning journey...
and you're about to see what meaningful early childhood education looks like at this year's Lighting Up Learning event!

What began as a simple interest in space has evolved into a rich, ongoing learning journey for our children as they prepare for our upcoming Lighting Up Learning event. Rather than completing a one-off craft activity, the children have been involved in every stage of the process, creating paper mâché balloons, waiting for them to dry, transforming them into planets and carefully painting the final details.

As educators, these long-term projects are incredibly valuable because they help children understand that meaningful outcomes take time, patience and persistence. The children have been able to see firsthand how their small daily efforts contribute to a much larger goal, developing an understanding of cause and effect, planning, problem-solving and project-based learning.

Along the way, their curiosity about space has driven deeper investigations into the planets of our solar system. Through discussions, research and creative expression, the children have been building knowledge, asking questions and making connections between what they are learning and what they are creating.

The planets on display are more than just artwork — they represent weeks of exploration, collaboration, creativity and learning. Most importantly, they show the children that when they stay engaged with an idea over time, they can create something truly extraordinary.

🤝 How do we teach your child about respect, inclusion and belonging in ways they can truly understand?

At Big Bear Academy, we believe some of the most important lessons children learn are about how to value and respect others. As part of National Reconciliation Week and this year's theme, "All In," our Boo Boo's participated in a meaningful art experience that introduced these concepts in a way that was engaging, age-appropriate and hands-on.

Using their handprints, the children worked together to create a collaborative canvas featuring the colours of the Aboriginal flag — red, black and yellow — alongside purple, representing the native hibiscus flower, a symbol of healing, respect, resilience and unity.

While the finished artwork is beautiful, the true learning occurred throughout the journey. Educators used the experience to begin conversations about belonging, fairness, kindness and the importance of recognising and respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia. Through shared participation, the children experienced what it means to contribute to something bigger than themselves and to be part of a community where every individual is valued.

Experiences like this help children develop empathy, respect, cultural awareness and a sense of identity and belonging. By introducing these concepts from an early age through meaningful, play-based experiences, educators are helping to build the foundations for children to become respectful, inclusive and compassionate members of their communities.

At Big Bear Academy, reconciliation is not just something we talk about during one week of the year — it is woven into our everyday practice as we work together to create a future built on understanding, respect and connection.

🍋 Did you know the best learning experiences start with a child's curiosity?

When the children showed an interest in the lemons growing in our garden, educators saw an opportunity to turn that curiosity into a meaningful hands-on learning experience. Rather than simply making lemon juice, the children were invited to be active participants in the entire process — from harvesting the lemons to squeezing them and enjoying the finished product together.

Throughout the experience, the children explored where food comes from and gained a deeper understanding of the journey from garden to table. As they picked, held, rolled and squeezed the lemons, they strengthened their fine motor skills, hand strength and coordination, while also engaging their senses through the smell, texture, appearance and taste of the fruit.

Educators extended the learning through conversations, predictions and questions such as, "What do you think is inside the lemon?" and "Why does the juice taste different from the fruit?" These discussions encouraged the children to think critically, build vocabulary and make connections between their observations and everyday experiences.

By following the children's interests and transforming them into meaningful learning opportunities, educators help children develop curiosity, confidence and a love of discovery — all while having fun together. 🍋🌱✨

Connecting with our community 💌

Our graduating preschoolers recently wrote letters to their future teachers at local public schools and were so eager for a reply, they wanted to check the mailbox daily 🥹 They even conducted their own risk assessment before heading out!

The children were so excited to receive a response from Miss Paige at Macquarie Fields Public School, with some remembering her from her school readiness visit to Big Bear. Experiences like these help build confidence and support a positive transition to school.

🥤 6,328 lids collected… what an incredible community effort! 🌟

A huge thank you to our Big Bear Academy Macquarie Fields families and local community for getting behind our Lid Collection Challenge. Together, we collected an amazing 6,328 lids!

This was such a fun and exciting challenge that delivered a meaningful long-term learning project for our children. Along the way, they explored recycling, counting, sorting skills and discovered the importance of working together as part of a community. Most importantly, they experienced how learning can grow and evolve over time.

While the challenge may be over, the learning certainly isn’t! These lids will continue to play a role in future learning experiences, including our upcoming “Lighting Up Learning” night-time event. ✨

A big congratulations to Bear Academy Minto for collecting an incredible 7,353 lids and an even bigger congratulations to our 2026 Lid Collecting Champions — Big Bear Academy St Andrews with a massive 9,217 lids! 🏆💙

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY BIG BEAR ACADEMY 🧸

BIG love,
BIG memories,
BIG learning,
… and even BIGGER hearts 💙

As we celebrate 7 amazing years of Big Bear Academy Macquarie Fields, we also celebrate something that makes our service truly special… our families 🌍

In support of National Families Week, our beautiful community came together to share drawings, messages, memories and little moments from the families who have grown with us over the years.

Thank you for being part of our journey, our village and our BIG BEAR family. Here’s to 7 years of laughter, learning, love and LOTS of bear hugs 🐻🤎

🌸 “I love you in the evening and underneath the moon…” 🌙

Today we celebrated the beautiful mums, mother figures, and loved ones in our lives through a morning filled with flowers, creativity and connection. Inspired by the artistic techniques of Eric Carle, the children explored colour, texture and layering to create our collaborative flower gallery, Where Love Blooms.

Throughout this project, the children discovered that creating something beautiful takes patience, progress and teamwork. Using rollers, sponges, painting tools and rich vibrant colours, each child contributed their own unique mark to our giant flowers…reminding us that every piece matters when creating as a community. 🌼

Just like flowers, our mums nurture, guide and help us bloom into who we are becoming.

To finish our celebration, our mums took jars as gifts to take home as a small reminder of the love and appreciation held within our learning spaces every day.

Thank you to all our wonderful families for celebrating with us today. 💛 We hope you felt just how loved and appreciated you are.

This week we have explored ANZAC DAY through the story of Anzac Ted ❤️

..at first children saw ted as a worn teddy. As their understanding grew they noticed his missing eye and ear, asked thoughful questions and saw ted as brave and kind.

We then extended this learning through sensory exploration, engaging their senses while connecting to the meaning of remembrance.

At the end the children describe ted a Hero. Showing a deeper understanding of caring for others. Even our youngest learners are capablr of big meaningful conversations 🌏

🚨 Macquarie Fields Families — We need you 🚨

Our children have been on an exciting mission, collecting lids from home and bringing them into Big Bear! Lids of all shapes, sizes and colours are piling up, and the excitement from the children has been incredible to see.

But we’re not stopping here… 👀
The Big Bear Academy Centres have a competition on who can collect the most lids and we want Macquarie Fields to lead the way!

This is your chance to get the whole community involved 🙌

Tag your friends and family, share this post, or pop it into your local community Facebook groups and don’t forget to tag Big Bear Academy Macquarie Fields so we can see the support roll in!

Ask neighbours, local cafés, workplaces — every lid counts and helps our children bring their ideas to life 💡

Let’s show what our community can do when we come together 💙
Keep those lids coming — let’s make this collection HUGE!