Goodstart Early Learning Blackburn - Springfield Road

As part of our centre philosophy update the children were able to participate & tell us what their thoughts are.

Children’s voices are important in an Early Learning Centre’s philosophy because they recognize children as active participants in their own learning, rather than passive recipients of adult instruction. 
 
When our educators listen to and value children’s ideas, interests, opinions, and perspectives, we are able to create an environment where children feel respected, capable, and empowered.
 
The key reasons why children’s voices are important include:
• Promoting a sense of belonging and identity: When children are heard, they develop confidence, self-worth, and a stronger sense of who they are within the learning community.

• Supporting meaningful learning: Children’s interests, questions, and experiences can guide curriculum planning, making learning more engaging, relevant, and responsive to their needs.

• Encouraging agency and independence: Providing opportunities for children to make choices and contribute to decisions helps them develop problem-solving skills, responsibility, and autonomy.

• Building respectful relationships: Listening to children fosters trust and mutual respect between educators, children, and families.

• Supporting children’s rights: Recognizing children’s voices aligns with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that children have the right to express their views and have those views considered in matters that affect them.

• Enhancing inclusion and diversity: Valuing children’s perspectives helps ensure that different backgrounds, cultures, abilities, and experiences are acknowledged and respected.

In an Early Learning Centre such as ours, we feel that a philosophy that prioritizes children’s voices demonstrates a commitment to child-centred practice, collaborative learning, and continuous reflection. It helps us to create a learning environment where children are seen as competent, capable learners whose contributions shape the direction and quality of their own educational programs.

Aarti our cook introduced our Winter menu this month & the feedback from the children has been fantastic!

There have been a lot of requests for second & third serves & not a lot of wastage!

Thank-you Aarti for providing nutritious meals for our children!

We know returning to work after maternity leave can be a daunting process. At our centre we make it our mission to support the whole family through this process not just the children. Our team is always available to talk about any questions you have.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

As an extension to our 3 year old Kinder children’s learning about the lifecycle of cress seeds and the characteristics of living things. This week they explored the different types of seeds found in different fruits.

The children were introduced to the concept that plants begin as small seeds and then grow into a plant that produce flowers and fruit, developing an understanding of how living things will grow and change over time.

The children reviewed the basic needs of plants, including water, soil, sunlight and air. Then using magnifying glasses, the children closely examined the seeds inside a range of fruits, encouraging curiosity, observation and investigation skills. They were invited to describe what they noticed, using language to compare the size, shape, colour and texture of different seeds.

This learning activity supports the children’s developing vocabulary, communication skills and confidence in sharing ideas with others.

We are so excited to be welcoming everyone to our 3 year old & 4 year old Kinder information night tonight.

The children absolutely loved the Red Lentils with Rice that was on the menu for today.

When developing a menu Aarti takes the children’s requests as well as their individual nutrition requirements into consideration, meaning that she can create meals that all of the children love to try.