Catherine Lee Educational Consultant

Today's glimmer - raindrops resting on a grevillea, catching the morning light and inviting me to pause with the beauty of the moment.

I had the absolute joy of facilitating a vibrant session exploring art, play, and inquiry through loose parts with adults.

Together we experimented with light, colour, recycled materials, natural objects, and open-ended materials that sparked curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and conversation. The room was filled with joy, exploration, and shared discoveries.

It is so important for adults to experience and truly understand the possibilities these intelligent materials offer. Loose parts are far more than “resources” — they are materials that provoke thinking, imagination, problem-solving, storytelling, research, and connection.
Watching educators reconnect with the joy of play and hands-on inquiry was such a powerful reminder that learning flourishes when we are invited to explore, create, take risks, and think together.

These experiences inspire educators to see environments and materials in new ways and to create spaces where children’s agency, voices, creativity, and ideas can truly flourish.

If you are looking to ignite wonder, creativity, and meaningful professional conversations within your team, I would love to work alongside you and your educators.

Reminder to everyone to book for The Great Marble Run!

Thank you to all the families who have booked.

This joyful experience welcomes all families and loved ones - children, parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, carers, aunties, uncles, and friends are all invited to join the fun.

Come along to create, collaborate, build, test, redesign, and celebrate together as we explore loose parts, creativity, wonder, and possibility.

Join us for an afternoon filled with connection, creativity, and marble run joy!

INSPIREx 2026 will be such an amazing experience.

Bold ideas. Courageous thinking. Unwritten futures.

INSPIREx 2026 is not your typical conference. Designed as a fast-paced, TEDx-style experience, INSPIREx brings together educators, thinkers and change-makers for a day of provocative conversations, fresh perspectives and courageous ideas that challenge what has become “ordinary” in early childhood education.

We are excited to welcome Laura Stone to the INSPIREx stage presenting:

Through The Play School Window: What We Saw vs What We Learnt

Across Melbourne and Sydney, INSPIREx invites us to question assumptions, look beneath the surface of practice and imagine new possibilities for children, educators and communities.

Melbourne | 25 August 2026
Sydney | 28 August 2026

Registrations are now open via https://www.semannslattery.com/conferences/inspirex

So proud to support Aunty Barb and her beautiful handmade lampshades, created to raise money for the Cancer Council Australia as part of Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea this Friday, 22 May 💛
Each piece is handmade with love and purpose, with all profits going towards cancer research, prevention, and support services.
Lamps are available from $90–$130.
If you’d like to purchase one or find out more, please contact [email protected]

Aunty Barb has created these beautiful handmade lampshades to help raise money for Cancer Council Australia as part of the Australia's Biggest Morning Tea this Friday, 22 May 💛

These unique lamps are available for purchase from $90–$130, with 100% of profits going directly to the Cancer Council to support cancer research, prevention, and support services.

If you’d like to support a wonderful cause while taking home something special, please get in touch via email: [email protected]

Morning Tea hosted by Aunty Barb Simms and IndigiGrow

As a pedagogical companion and mentor, my work is grounded in relationships — listening deeply, noticing carefully, and walking alongside educators through shared thinking and reflection.

This year, I have had the privilege of supporting and mentoring many Directors and Educational Leaders. In our conversations, building relationships with children, teams, families, and communities has continually sat at the heart of our discussions — alongside wellbeing, belonging, pedagogy, and the joy that can grow through connected practice.

If you are seeking someone to walk alongside you and your team in this journey, I would love to connect.

Please send me an email - [email protected]

Such an exciting visit for Reggio Children

There’s something very joyful about the possibilities found in loose parts. Encounters with these materials invite wonder, creativity and imagination to children’s thinking.

I’m thrilled to be presenting Loose Parts that Spark Wonder webinar on Tuesday 19th May 1.30pm - 2.30pm for Semann & Slattery

Today I had the joy of presenting a webinar for Semann & Slattery exploring the possibilities of sewing with children using a sewing machine.

I shared a photo of my Mum, who first introduced me to the language of making. She taught me to sew by hand, knit, and use a sewing machine with patience, warmth, and trust.

I also shared a treasured photo of my Barbie doll wearing a skirt I designed and sewed myself when I was ten years old. I remember drawing the pattern, choosing the fabric, pinning it carefully, and sewing with such pride. I still remember how proud my Mum was of me too.

These memories continue to shape the way I walk beside children and educators today. Sewing is so much more than learning a skill. It is about relationships, creativity, confidence, and the joy of creating something meaningful with our hands.

Maybe you remember the sound of a sewing machine from your own childhood, or the person who first invited you into the joy of making. I would love to hear your sewing memories and stories in the comments.

The sound of the sewing machine instantly transports me to when I was a child and sat with my Mum as she sewed.

This is why I began to sew with young children. Teaching them what my Mum taught me.

I feel so honoured to share this webinar with you tomorrow. Thank you so much Semann & Slattery ❤️