Goodstart Early Learning Kanahooka

Strong relationships are the foundation for confident, curious learners 💛

Goodstart’s key educator approach ensures every child is known, supported and feels safe - through consistent, nurturing connections with educators and meaningful partnerships with families. These bonds help build wellbeing, resilience and a true sense of belonging from day one.

Discover how this approach supports your child’s learning journey: https://brnw.ch/2

Did you know we invested $65.5M into our social purpose last year, a 14% increase on the year before? 👏 At Goodstart, we're proud of the impact we have on children, families and communities. As a not‑for‑profit, every dollar we earn is reinvested to improve outcomes – from high‑quality learning and educator development to extra support for children who need it most.
Because when we put children first, the impact goes further 💛

The research is clear 📚 reading aloud is one of the most powerful things we can do for our children.

When we read with a child, we’re doing far more than sharing a story. We’re building the foundations for language, confidence, curiosity and a lifelong love of learning.

Decades of research shows that children who are read to regularly:

💛 Build stronger language skills
Hearing rich varied language in books exposes children to far more words than everyday conversation alone. This growing vocabulary helps them understand, communicate and make sense of the world.

💛 Develop early literacy skills long before they learn to read
Through stories, children learn how books work – that print carries meaning, that pages turn left to right, and that stories have a beginning, middle and end. These early understandings make learning to read feel familiar and exciting.

💛 Strengthen phonological awareness
Rhymes, rhythms and playful sounds help children hear the building blocks of language.

💛 Grow their comprehension and thinking skills
Talking together about a story, predicting what might happen, wondering how a character feels, and connecting events to real life helps children develop memory, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking.

💛 Experience connection, comfort and joy
Shared reading fosters calmness, closeness, and moments of joint attention. These warm interactions support a child's sense of security and belonging.

Most importantly, children who experience positive, engaging reading moments from a young age are more likely to develop a genuine love of books - something that matters even more than early literacy skills alone.

Reading is simple, joyful, and sets children up for success in school and life.

Here is a list of some of our favourites below 👇

As part of NAIDOC Week, our preschool children took part in the Sea of Fish Challenge, creating and weaving colourful fish while learning about Torres Strait Islander culture and perspective. Through creativity, connection and hands on learning, we celebrated the rich histories and traditions of First Nations people. 🖤💛♥️💚💙

STEM starts early 🚗✨ Children designed their own Hot Wheels tracks, tested solutions and celebrated every successful bucket landing. Real world problem‑solving through play.

Cardboard boxes = BIG learning today! 📦✨
With pencils, tape and loads of imagination, children explored creativity, teamwork, sharing and problem solving — all through completely child led play. 🌈👐
Amazing what open ended materials can spark! 💡💛

Tiny hands, big learning! 🧶 Standard weaving boards + yarn = a masterclass in preschool development.

🖐 Fine motor & bilateral coordination
🔢 Patterning & early math concepts
🧠 Problem solving & spatial awareness
🎨 Creative expression

Goodstart Kanahooka is All In for Reconciliation! 🖤💛❤️

​For National Reconciliation Week, our children, educators, and families proudly joined the Sea of Hearts Movement!

​Initiated by Connecting the Dots Through Culture, this beautiful movement brings communities together by asking a simple but powerful question:

“What does Reconciliation mean to you?”

​We invited our families, extended kin, and educators to get creative and decorate their own hearts. Together, they form a "sea" of community voices, reflections, and commitments to walking together.

​As the creators beautifully put it, "This movement was never meant to stay inside one gate... It was always meant to ripple through communities, conversations and hearts." By fostering these connections with our little ones—our Future Old People—we are building a future grounded in respect and unity.

​Thank you to everyone who helped bring our display to life!

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Happy Monday, coffee lovers 🤎
Here’s where you can find us this week across the Illawarra!

A quick update for this week:
✨ Wednesday we’ll be off the road
✨ Thursday & Friday mornings will now be at Goodstart Dapto

We’re looking forward to another week of coffees, catch ups and keeping everyone fuelled for the day ahead ☕️🙌🏼

See you all out there!