Dandenong Ranges Childcare Centre, Upwey

23/07/2026

Exploring the garden through hands-on, open-ended play supports our 0–3-year-olds to develop coordination, concentration and problem-solving skills. 🌿

As the children move, arrange and balance stones and use simple tools, they are also building hand strength, spatial awareness, confidence and an understanding of cause and effect.

20/07/2026

Our 3–5-year-olds learn so much from exploring with colour, movement and pattern through open-ended painting. 🎨

As they mix colours, create rainbows and experiment with different brushstrokes, the children develop creativity, fine motor skills, concentration and confidence in expressing their own ideas.

16/07/2026

Playdough is about so much more than making shapes.

Recently, our 0–3-year-olds worked with their educators to make playdough in the colours of the Aboriginal flag, before exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander symbols through stamping and pattern-making.

Through this experince, they were developing fine motor skills, mathematical and scientific thinking, creativity, early literacy and cultural understanding.

One experience. So many opportunities for learning.

14/07/2026

There’s no better classroom than nature. 🌿

Our 3- and 4-year-old Kindergarten children headed off to Bush Kinder, where sticks became campfires, logs became balance beams, and every rock, leaf and bug sparked curiosity.

Bush Kinder provides endless opportunities for children to investigate, problem-solve, collaborate and connect with the natural environment. Along the way, they’re also developing confidence, resilience, creativity and strong friendships.

Sometimes, the richest learning begins with a simple question: “What can we discover here?” 🍂

07/07/2026

03/07/2026

It started with a question: “Snakes make a nest, don’t they?”

From there, the children’s ideas grew into a rich conversation about shelter, homes, roofs, leaves, tanbark and how animals find water.

Together, they created a snake nest using loose parts, imagination, problem-solving and shared ideas — curiosity in action through play.

25/06/2026

Congratulations and thank you! 🌟

23/06/2026

Small-world play fosters big thinking.

On more than one occasion, the same child independently initiated detailed animal worlds, grouping animals by type, category and habitat — including farm, ocean, ice, land and bush.

Given time and space to follow their ideas, children can revisit interests, build on their thinking and create increasingly complex play.

Through this play, children build classification skills, spatial awareness, planning, symbolic thinking and knowledge of the world around them.

20/06/2026

What a night at the Belgrave Lantern Parade, as the community gathered to light up the night with their lantern creations and celebrate the winter solstice. ✨🏮

Our lantern design was led by the children, who chose a theme inspired by bugs, insects, nature and the night sky — all things that connect to life here in the Dandenongs.

This much-loved Hills community event is such a meaningful way for children, families and educators to feel connected to place, people and community.

A huge thank you to the children and families who joined us, the educators who gave their time, and the past children and families who found us to say hello. 🌟

19/06/2026

Trampoline risk assessment 👉🏽child-led style ✏️

The children were invited to think about what could happen, what might make it unsafe, and how we could help keep everyone safe.

Their ideas were recorded in their own words, with the children adding drawings and marks to show their thinking. Their contributions showed problem-solving, communication, safety awareness and care for one another.

When children are part of these conversations, they’re not just being told the rules 👉🏽 they’re learning to understand the why behind them.

Children’s voices in action: being listened to, taken seriously and included in decisions that affect their play.