Choklits Croydon Weekly Updates
There’s always something exciting happening at Choklits Croydon Service Director Deb Prelorenzo shares updates on our adventures and learnings every week!
Please check the calendar below for important upcoming events and scroll down for your weekly updates. Past updates are also available, please feel free to share with family and friends.
Friday April 26th, 2024
Hello Choklits families,
We hope you have had a wonderful week.
This week we have been focusing on educating the children on ANZAC Day in an age-appropriate way.
ANZAC day commemorates the landing of the Australian and New Zealander soldiers at Gallipoli in World War I. For our learning, we focused on the themes of appreciation, gratefulness and understanding of sacrifice through activities like; making Anzac biscuits, creating poppies and colouring in the Australian flag. We also had a special guest John from the RSL come in to talk to the children about ANZAC day and show some medals to the children.
Our aim at Choklits Child Care is to nurture and educate children to help shape them into kind, happy, empathetic and confident individuals. Events such as ANZAC Day, which are significant in the community, hold a special place in our hearts not only for the people they represent but also for the learning opportunities they provide.
Lest We Forget ♥️
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday April 19th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello Choklits families,
We hope you have had another amazing week! We have had quite an exciting week at Choklits Croydon!
Kinder 4 embarked on an adventure to REALM Library
The children were so excited to travel on the bus to Eastland. They got ready in the morning, putting on their special vests and name tags. Once everyone was ready they began their adventure!
The Kinder children have been learning all about road safety so using their newfound skills and knowledge, they walked very carefully up to the bus stop, and after looking both ways, they crossed the road and waited at the bus stop for the bus to arrive. Once it arrived, the children climbed aboard and sat down on the seats with their educators and set off. As the bus travelled everyone held conversations about the local landmarks, and many details about what the children could see, as well as other children noticing the dentist, telling us their parents go to that one!
It didn’t take long until they arrived at their destination!!
After a tour around the library with the librarian showing the children’s section, then the parent’s section and a space for people to work on computers, the children and educators were then demonstrated how to use a computer to search for a book. They also found out that some people like to display artwork they have made at the library too.
Our Kinders also had a very special delivery…. Their Hermit Crabs!!! The Kinder children have already started on their project work and are ready to extend their learning!
We are so excited to share more with you soon!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday April 12th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello Choklits families,
We hope you have had a terrific week enjoying the school holidays and hopefully a bit more of a sleep in!!
Our Garden Beds…
Thank you to all of our families who offered suggestions and casted their votes on what we should grow/have in our garden beds at the front of the service!
After numerous voting rounds with the children and staff at our service, we have come to a decision that our garden beds will contain…….
A Fairy Garden with Australian Natives and Fruits, Herbs and Vegetables
We are so excited to see the beds come to life!! If you have a green thumb or have a passion/love for gardening, we would love for you to get involved! Please reach out to us!!
Water and music wall stations…
Our talented educators and children have created an amazing water wall and music wall for the children. These creations were made out of recycled materials and
There are so many benefits to these walls, and as music classes can be intimidating for some children, outdoor music stations and music walls provide a fun outlet for children to express themselves through music, learning essential communication skills (without even realising the experience is educational!). Our water wall allows children to learn concepts of gravity, angles and water flow; some of the benefits include hand-eye coordination development, as well as maths and science concepts. These stations also support the children to enhance their social skills in small groups. If you’re in the Kinder yard and you have a spare moment, please check them out!!!
Team Updates…
Last week we gave you some insight into our apprentices who we are so proud of! If you would like to match a name to a face before you say hello next time, take a look at our new poster located near the fishtank!
We would also like to welcome our new educators; Amanda, Harmonie, Sally and Grace to the service!
They bring with them a range of skills and lots of experience, we are confident that they will make a valuable contribution to our team’s success!
We’re excited to have them on board and look forward to the fresh perspectives and ideas they will bring to the team.
Photos…
We’re thrilled to announce that our photo galleries from the recent Vision Portraits session are now available for viewing and ordering!
Accessing Your Photos:
Vision Portrait has sent out emails and text messages to all parents, providing links and individual passwords for accessing the galleries. To make it even easier, here’s the link: https://proofs.visionportraits.com.au/choklitscroydon2024. Included is the gallery for the group photos taken only in the Pre-Kinder, 3 and 4 year old rooms. These can be purchased even if you didn’t book.
Important Information:
Order Deadline: Please note that orders will close on Sunday, 14th April. Be sure to place your orders before this date to secure your desired prints and albums.
Delivery Details: All prints and albums will be posted directly to our centre approximately 2 weeks after the order deadline. Keep an eye out for updates regarding collection.
Need Assistance? If you have any queries or require assistance with your photo orders, don’t hesitate to contact Vision Portraits directly at 03 8689 0033. Their friendly team will be more than happy to assist you.
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday April 5th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
We hope you had a wonderful Easter!! This week we wanted to do a bit of a spotlight on our students and apprentices!
We are very fortunate to host many students from schools, tafes and universities in the area. Choklits Croydon is chosen to support the development of students and apprentices due to the high level of support and standard that we provide.
At the moment we have students and apprentices from:
- Aquinas College
- Mount Lilydale Mercy College
- Swinburne University
- Australian Catholic University (ACU)
- Mooroolbark College
- Victoria University
- CIRE
- Box Hill Institute
- Selmar Institute
The students are not counted in our child to educator ratios but of course they adhere to the compliance requirements of child care and the relevant checks have been completed.
Students are never left unsupervised as they are learning from our amazing educators, they shadow our qualified staff to ensure that they are receiving the best training possible to ensure a smooth transition into full time employment.
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday March 29th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
We hope you had a wonderful week and we wish you a lovely long weekend and a Happy Easter!!! This week we had so many special events, please read on to hear all about them!
Bush Kinder…
Our kindergarten 4’s were so excited to head out to Warrien Reserve for their regular bush kinder outing. For some of the children they had been before and so were excited to share their knowledge with their friends, whilst for others it was their first journey out!! It is crazy the people that you can meet when you go out into the community, kindergarten 4 saw a former Choklits student on the bus!
Upon their arrival, the group gathered at one of the picnic tables and performed their Acknowledgement of Country as a sign of respect before going on the playing equipment where they noticed that there was some rubbish lying around. The children put on their special Clean Up Australia Day gloves and worked hard going around the playground to pick up all of the rubbish they could see, sorting it out into paper/cardboard for recycling, and other bits of plastic for the bin. They managed to collect three bags full!
Easter Bonnet Parade…
We hosted our Easter Bonnet Parade today! It was so lovely to see how creative the children are with their designer hats!
New Choklits Menu…
As the Autumn has now begun, we’ll be transitioning to our new menu over the next couple of weeks! Once again the menu is approved by Nutrition Australia so you can be sure all our children will have the perfect nutrition for learning and all the activities they get up to throughout the day. You’ll find our new menu approved by Nutrition Australia here.
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday March 22nd, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
We hope you had a wonderful week!
Photography Week…
Photography Week is next week!! Vision Portraits will be at Choklits Croydon during the week of March 25th.
Important note; your child will only be photographed if you have registered! If you would like to book in for professional photos please visit this link.
This week we had a whole range of celebrations and special visitors!
Emma Ring the psychologist…
On Monday we were very lucky to have a special reading of Michael the Volcano Engineer from Emma, the author herself! It was fantastic to hear all of the questions our children were asking!
Crazy Hair Day…
On Tuesday our children and educators donned crazy hair in order to raise money for the World’s Greatest Shave 2024 – The Leukaemia Foundation! There were so many amazing hairstyles from bird’s nests to ‘troll hair’! You will have to check out our socials to see the winner!!
Cultural Diversity Week/Harmony Day…
‘In a world where you can be anything, be inclusive. Everyone belongs!’
This week we definitely had lots to celebrate! We believe this week is a great opportunity to enthusiastically celebrate the diversity found within our service. On Wednesday our educators brought in plates of foods from around the world based on their cultural backgrounds to share with one another. It was such an enjoyable time to discuss the traditions of each culture!!
Our Pre-Kinder and Kinder rooms also set up a lovely display for our families to enjoy during pick up time on Friday! Our Pre-Kinder children made delicious cupcakes, Kinder 3 made yummy cookies and Kinder 4 made orange cake!
We also had Hannah and Soroush come in to teach us about Norouz! The children all listened so intently to this learning journey with Soroush!
Ride at Kinder Day…
Our Kinder children participated in a fun and exciting event, Ride 2 School Day or in our case Ride at Kinder Day on Friday!
As a part of the day, the children brought in their own bikes and scooters with their helmets and headed out to the carpark!
Events Next Week include…
- Harmony Week
- Persian New Year
- Crazy Hair Day for Worlds Greatest Shave and the Leukaemia Foundation
- Ride2School Day
- Messy Play
New Choklits Menu…
As the Autumn has now begun, we’ll be transitioning to our new menu over the next couple of weeks! Once again the menu is approved by Nutrition Australia so you can be sure all our children will have the perfect nutrition for learning and all the activities they get up to throughout the day. You’ll find our new menu approved by Nutrition Australia here.
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday March 15th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
We hope you had a wonderful long weekend and a great week! This update we wanted to share some information, happenings and key dates from our community….
Photography Week…
Photography Week is fast approaching! Vision Portraits will be at Choklits Croydon during the week of March 25th.
Important note; your child will only be photographed if you have registered! If you would like to book in for professional photos please visit this link.
Choklits Community Achievements…
Choklits community member Emma Ring, has written a book called Michael The Volcano Engineer. The story follows Michael on a journey of self-discovery, to find out why his anger keeps erupting! Emma, who is a psychologist, has written this story in a fun and accessible way for children and parents to explore angry feelings while building effective communication strategies.
There is an upcoming launch event at 6.30pm on April 18th at Realm Library in Ringwood, but stay tuned for a special announcement just for our Choklits community!
Congratulations to Emma!
Kindergarten Support…
Did you know a portion of our service’s kindergarten funding has been allocated to provide allied health support for our children and educators?
This additional support is provided by Paris who is a registered Occupational Therapist with extensive experience in Early Years Education. Paris can help support Choklits in areas including-
- Resource development and review of your resources
- Education (educator and parent)
- Mentoring & coaching
- Observing and shadowing
- Discipline specific advice and & consultation
- Individual or group training
These sessions are valuable to the whole class as they provide support for our Educators to enhance their confidence in supporting children’s social and emotional self-regulation, physical development and sensory processing.
The extra support can promote-
- Educator’s knowledge and understanding of children’s individual developmental profiles
- Children’s ability to remain calm and regulated in the Kindergarten environment
- Children’s independence, self-help skills, and engagement in kindergarten routines
And, enhance-
- Play skills
- Sensory regulation
- Self-help skills
- Motor skills
- Readiness for school transition
- Social skills
If you would like to know more about this program or Paris, our Occupational Therapy Practitioner delivering these sessions, please come and see us.
New Choklits Menu…
As the Autumn has now begun, we’ll be transitioning to our new menu over the next couple of weeks! Once again the menu is approved by Nutrition Australia so you can be sure all our children will have the perfect nutrition for learning and all the activities they get up to throughout the day. You’ll find our new menu approved by Nutrition Australia here.
Footy Tipping…
Our highly anticipated footy tipping competition is back! Click the link below for all the details on how to join and be in the running to win a fabulous 12-month family adventure extravaganza, valued at over $320!
Good luck! You can join using this link – Choklits Footy Tipping Competition 2024
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday March 8th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
You would have noticed lots of new faces this week! We are excited to have students completing their placement with us at Choklits Croydon. We have a wide range of universities and tafes that choose Choklits, we are also very lucky to have 3 new apprentices start with us! Please say hello to them when you are next in!
Messy Play…
Yet again, our highlight has been Messy Play this week! Asten is incredibly talented when it comes to her designs. There were so many different areas to explore! We extended on Clean Up Australia Day with the children cleaning up the beach using tweezers and garbage bins. The children also explored water and paint at two different stations using cotton balls and fly swatters on one and ice blocks on another! The children spoke to one another and their educators about what they saw and felt as they used all five senses. During these experiences the children are also developing their fine motor skills and hand strength as well as using their imagination and creativity. It is such a great way to spend the day!!
New Choklits Menu…
As the Autumn has now begun, we’ll be transitioning to our new menu over the next couple of weeks! Once again the menu is approved by Nutrition Australia so you can be sure all our children will have the perfect nutrition for learning and all the activities they get up to throughout the day. You’ll find our new menu approved by Nutrition Australia here.
Footy Tipping…
Our highly anticipated footy tipping competition is back! Click the link below for all the details on how to join and be in the running to win a fabulous 12-month family adventure extravaganza, valued at over $320!
Good luck! You can join using this link – Choklits Footy Tipping Competition 2024
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday March 1st, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
What a week of weather! We tried to beat the heat by utilising water and ice! The freezer was jam packed with different experiences ready to use for the rooms. Some experiences required the children to break the ice to save the bugs that were trapped inside it, others allowed the children to mix colours when the ice melted!
We have such creative educators at Choklits Croydon, we are so proud to showcase what their creative minds implement. Some of our highlights this week were:
Messy Play…
Asten hosted yet another messy play session and of course the children loved it! We had a giant rainbow fizzy ice block, a sponge “cake” station, under the sea with gelatine and noodles, coloured rice and painting a tyre! The children enjoyed exploring each area, scooping, mixing, squeezing, painting using their fine motor skills and improving their hand strength. It is also a fantastic way to enhance their social skills as they spoke with their friends, waiting their turn and sharing group experiences. We can’t wait for the next one!
Emotional Regulation…
All of our rooms participate in experiences based on emotional regulation. Emotional regulation enables children to navigate and maintain positive relationships with peers, family members, and teachers. It helps them understand and appropriately respond to the emotions of others, fostering healthier and more supportive social interactions.
Our Kindergarten 3 team created a wonderful experience for the children to allow them to connect and match the colour of the feeling with the emotion itself! At Choklits Croydon we utilise ‘Zones of Regulation’.
The term ‘zones of regulation’ refers to a framework designed to help children (and individuals of all ages) develop self-regulation skills. It is a concept used to help children and individuals to recognize and manage their emotions, sensory needs, and overall state of alertness.
The Zones of Regulation divides emotions and states of alertness into four colour-coded zones:
Blue Zone (Low Energy/Down):
Feelings: Sad, tired, bored, sick, moving slowly.
State of alertness: Low energy, sluggish, and lethargic.
Strategies: Activities that increase alertness, such as stretching, deep breathing, or taking a break.
Green Zone (Good to Go):
Feelings: Happy, calm, focused, content.
State of alertness: Ready to learn, calm, content.
Strategies: These are typically activities that maintain this state, like playing, working, or relaxing.
Yellow Zone (Caution):
Feelings: Frustrated, anxious, worried, excited.
State of alertness: Increased energy, more alert but not necessarily in control.
Strategies: Techniques to help manage this heightened state, such as deep breathing, taking a break, or seeking help.
Red Zone (Stop/Think):
Feelings: Angry, terrified, out of control, elated.
State of alertness: Overaroused, out of control, intense emotions.
Strategies: Strategies to calm down and regain control, like deep pressure activities, taking a break, or using a calming space.
The aim of utilising this framework is to help children recognise which zone they are in, understand why they are in that zone, and then choose appropriate strategies to self-regulate.
Footy Tipping…
Our highly anticipated footy tipping competition is back! Click the link below for all the details on how to join and be in the running to win a fabulous 12-month family adventure extravaganza, valued at over $320!
Good luck! You can join using this link – Choklits Footy Tipping Competition 2024
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday February 23rd, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
We can’t believe February is almost over! We have so much planned for the year that we wanted to share with you in this week’s update!
Experiences galore in 2024…
Have you noticed our hallways getting a makeover? We are preparing for the special projects and events that our rooms have planned for our little learners at Choklits!
We have STEM, AUSLAN, ITALIAN, YOGA, DANCE, MUSIC, MESSY PLAY, ACTIVATE – Sports and JUDO just to name a few! These are the special incursions our amazing, talented educators run each week!
This does not include any incursions that the rooms organise for their term focuses or our weekly Rhythm and Move incursion that happens every Wednesday!
We are so lucky that our team’s are wanting to share their talents with us and even more so that they have experience in these areas!
As well as the listed incursions we also have visits from Melbourne Museum, a Bee Incursion, Caterpillar Life Cycle, a visit to Chesterville Farm, Library visits, Bush Kindergarten, Kew Traffic School and more amazing adventures to be confirmed – we will be sure to keep you updated!
Our Kindergarten 4 team have been organising Inquiry Projects – they are focussing on the sea for one area and this has led the children to request some hermit crabs.
Speaking of classroom animals and pets, the Kindergarten team is very proud of their new colony of worms!! One thousand and twelve worms to be exact!
We will be doing some project work and mini discoveries across both the 3 and 4 year old groups which we are all very excited for.
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, Gemma & the Choklits Team
Friday February 16th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
We hope you had a wonderful week and this message finds you well. It’s been another exciting week at Choklits Croydon filled with love, laughter, this week, delicious pancakes!
Valentine’s Day…
Love was in the air as our little ones celebrated Valentine’s Day on Wednesday! The children engaged in various heart-themed crafts, creating colourful cards and special creations for their loved ones.
The children and educators explored the theme of love in various forms. During group time, the educators encouraged the children to share what love means to them, fostering an environment where each child’s perspective is valued.
The children expressed their love for family, friends, pets, and even their favourite toys.
Our educators took the opportunity to emphasise the importance of kindness, empathy, and understanding in our daily interactions. They spoke about the different ways we can show love, not just through words but also through actions, such as sharing, helping, and being considerate of others’ feelings.
Pancake Day…
Pancake Day was a delicious affair at Choklits Croydon. Our little chefs donned their aprons and chef hats to participate in a pancake-making day. Under the guidance of our talented kitchen staff, the children had hands-on experience measuring ingredients, mixing batter, and flipping pancakes. Our talented educators created some pancake inspired set ups for the children to engage in to really get into the spirit of things!
Upcoming Events…
Have you noticed our calendar? Not only do we have our calendars displayed in the service for you to see, we also have our Choklits Croydon Events & Key Dates calendar displayed above this post! Feel free to scroll through to see what exciting events we have lined up!
Stay tuned for details and mark your calendars for the fun-filled activities we have planned for the coming weeks!!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb & the Choklits Team
Friday February 9th, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
Welcome to another edition of the Friday update! We hope you had a wonderful week!
Incursions are back…
We’re thrilled to announce the return of our much-loved incursions! Tuesday saw Dance with Gemma! The children were immersed in a range of dances and stretches to get the day started!
Not only do we have our amazing incursions run by our incredibly talented educators. Every Wednesday, we have Rhythm and Moves with Dee! Through the use of an acoustic guitar and singing, Dee not only teaches the children basic musical terms, rhythm and melody, Dee gets them up and dancing too!
The introduction of basic percussion instruments and group song writing, gives the children an interactive hands on experience that will not only boost their fine motor skills and coordination, but will ensure participation by all.
Next week…
Doctor Rob will be at the service on Monday the 12th. If you would like your child to be seen by him whilst he is attending, please fill out a form at reception or send us an email.
Some reminders…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car. If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
Keep your eyes peeled for posts on…
Lunar New Year: We have been celebrating Lunar New Year this week! From the construction of a Chinese Wood Dragon to learning Chinese characters and writing special wishes for the New Year to making lanterns and dumplings and doing a Dragon Dance, we hope you enjoy being a part of our celebrations.
International Pizza Day: Friday February 9th was a delicious day! Making and eating pizzas was quite the way!
Pancake Day: Tuesday February 13th, Pancake Day promises a blend of fun and learning for our little chefs!
Valentine’s Day: Wednesday February 14th, a perfect opportunity to express and share love!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb & the Choklits Team
Friday February 2nd, 2024
Reading not your thing? We’ve got you covered…
Hello families,
Welcome back to our weekly updates!!
We hope you have had a fabulous start to the year!!
We have officially said goodbye and goodluck to our beautiful graduates for 2023, it is always such a bittersweet moment!!
It feels like we have stepped back into a bit more normality that is February (we can’t believe it either!!). We are excited to start the year off with a bang! You will soon see the hallways become bare, ready to display our 2024 accomplishments and projects. The educators have been busy getting everything ready for the year, there are many exciting things planned and we can’t wait to share the journey of another year with you all.
Highlight of the week:
This week we watched as Ryan, our maintenance man, prepared some planks to build a new shed for us in our ‘overs’ yard! This prompted a number of children to role play as ‘workers’ with their high-vis safety vests on!
This has also led to lots of STEM experiences in the rooms, including the discovery of the growing cucumbers in our veggie patch, prompted discussions about how fast toy and real cars could travel, which led to bringing the old slide from the 0-3 yard inside and setting it up for the children to experiment with sending their cars down to see which could travel the farthest and fastest down the slide.
Some reminders…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb & the Choklits Team
2023 Choklits Croydon Weekly Updates
We are a busy bunch at Choklits so Choklits Croydon Service Director Deb shares updates and exciting news for our families and community every Friday!
Below is the latest instalment, scroll down for past updates and feel free to share.
*** Our updates will be back on February 2nd, until then please find our 2023 Annual Letter here ***
– Friday, December 22nd –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a great week this week, we wanted to thank you for your support in 2023. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and amazing New Year!!! We are looking forward to an incredible year in 2024!
3 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS !!!!
Upcoming…
- Service Closure: A reminder that the service will be closed on the Public Holidays
Festive Season Wrap-Up
A huge thank you to everyone who attended our Christmas Party and Graduation functions over the past couple of weeks. It was amazing to see so many of you!
We raised $1629 across the Choklits Group which is absolutely fantastic, thank you all!
Each year Choklits commits to matching whatever is raised at our Christmas functions which means $3258 is donated to our 3 chosen charities –
-Salvation Army
-Kids Under Cover, and
-Berry Street
Again, a huge thank you to you all!
Friday Updates
During January we’ll be busy organising next year and completing room transitions for all our children moving up. We’ll keep you up-to-date with any important dates but our Friday updates will resume on February 2nd, 2024.
Thank you all for a wonderful year, we look forward to a fantastic 2024!
We wish you and your family a fantastic festive season!
– Friday, December 15th –
Hello families,
Happy Friday!
Of course our highlight of the week would be our Christmas Party!! An afternoon filled with laughter, crazy weather (thank you Melbourne!!), a delicious sausage sizzle, face painting, Santa and music.
We hope you all enjoyed the afternoon. We loved seeing everyone get in the spirit and catching up with the other members of our Choklits community. A huge thank you to all the staff and volunteers who assisted!!!
Huge Thanks:
A special thank you to our amazing Choklits community. Your support for our charities, the purchase of raffle tickets, and the donation of prizes have made a significant impact.
A big congratulations to our lucky raffle winners and a huge thank you for all the ticket purchases every little bit goes a long way to supporting our nominated charities. 100% of all of the money raised will be split evenly and go to the Salvation Army, Berry Street Christmas Giving Appeal and Kids UnderCover.
Thank you for a fantastic year everyone!! Your support has been incredible and we can’t thank you enough.
Upcoming…
- Service Closure: A reminder that the service will be closed on the Public Holidays
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- The service road is one way only, please
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, December 8th –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fantastic week!
We are officially in the big countdown to Christmas- 17 days left!!!!
We are so excited to host you for our Christmas Party next Wednesday the 13th of December, there will be so many fun things to do and of course our Raffle Prize winner will be drawn!!
If you have not done so already, please RSVP via email to [email protected]
Highlight of the week:
The Christmas spirit has been infiltrating the service with the children continuing to decorate their rooms, the service and our beautiful tree!
The children have been making bright paper chains and baubles to hang on the real tree and on the gingerbread houses they have been making.
In Kinder 4 a sleigh has appeared!! (Thanks Michelle!) Some children also helped Michelle to make a reindeer to pull the sleigh. The children also discovered this week that male reindeer lose their antlers in winter so all of Santa’s reindeer are female!!
Did you know that!?
The children have been using small droppers and coloured water to decorate a cotton pad Christmas Tree. They have also been enjoying colouring and decorating Christmas trees and reindeer to help decorate the room.
Kinder 4 have also been choosing a cup every morning on their Christmas tree advent calendar; every cup contains a decoration or ornament for their tree!!
Our Nursery children enthusiastically participated in a Christmas-themed shape pasting activity! They carefully placed colourful shapes onto a large paper canvas. This hands-on experience fostered fine motor skills development as the children navigated the glue and shapes with precision. Beyond motor skills, the activity sparked creativity and cognitive growth, allowing them to explore spatial relationships and design. The festive context not only made learning enjoyable but also introduced cultural elements associated with Christmas. Overall, the children’s keen interest and active participation in this artistic endeavour showcased the effectiveness of integrating seasonal themes into educational activities, creating a vibrant and enriching learning experience!
Upcoming…
- Choklits Christmas Party: Wednesday the 13th of December – 4.30pm – 5.30pm
- Service Closure: A reminder that the service will be closed on the Public Holidays
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, December 1st –
Hello families,
What a bittersweet week we had this week!! Our Kindergarten children had their Graduation ceremony!! It was such a wonderful day, the children were fantastic and did such an amazing job but there were definitely a few tears from the adults!!
Read on to hear all about it!
Highlight of the week:
Messy Play with Asten: This week we had another Messy Play set up! All of the experiences were based around art exploration. The children used spray bottles on fabric and paint brushes on a clear plastic sheet and created some amazing pieces of art. They also explored paint pouring on ice using giant ice balls and squeeze bottles watching in awe as the paint washed down the sides of the ice while the colours mixed together.
These sensory play activities foster a range of skills and learning opportunities, including creativity, fine motor, stem concepts, colour mixing as well as being lots of fun!
(Don’t worry the paint is washable!)
Check out our socials to see the set ups!!!
Kindergarten Graduation: Our Kindergarten Graduation was such a beautiful wrap up of all the accomplishments our Kinders have achieved this past year. The children donned their gowns and caps and took part in a graduation ceremony. They were gifted a certificate whilst telling us what they want to be when they grow up. It was amazing to hear the children’s thoughts, there were careers from mermaids to physios to palaeontologists, garbage truck drivers, fire fighters, police officers and vets!
The children performed a range of songs for everyone that they had been practising!
They did an incredible job in front of a very large crowd! The performances included Baa Baa Black Sheep in Auslan, Colours of Australia, Mr Clickety, We Wish you A Merry Chirtsmas in Italian ‘Auguri di Natale’ and Dynamite Graduation! The children were presented with a goodie bag that contained lots of hand-picked items for them to use to help get ready for school!
There were lots of tears, smiles, laughs, photos and delicious delights for afternoon tea! Thank you to all of our amazing staff and educators for the incredible afternoon and thank you to everyone who attended!!!
Upcoming…
- Dr Robert Chan: Next visit Monday the 4th of December
- Choklits Christmas Party: Wednesday the 13th of December – 4.30pm – 5.30pm
- Service Closure: A reminder that the service will be closed on the Public Holidays
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, November 24th –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fabulous week! As we dive into this week’s reflection, we would like to remind you all of our upcoming events! The information for these days/afternoons/nights can be found on our social pages, Xplor posts, emails and in our weekly updates below!
Keep reading on to hear about this week’s adventure!
Highlight of the week:
This week the Kinder 4’s ventured out to Warrien Reserve for another session of Bush Kinder.
It was great to hear the conversations of the children recognising the journey that we take and remembering previous Bush Kinders.
The adventure started with an Acknowledgment of Country, the children then moved to the wooded area and began to look for special sticks they could take back home to Choklits and turn into a Kinder 4 Christmas tree. After Christmas the Kinders will be returning the sticks back to the bush for others to use again.
The day progressed into a bush walk, breaking up into smaller groups and walking through the bush looking for butterflies and native bush fruits like Cherry ballarts which are in season now. This was a great opportunity to observe the characteristics of Buarth Gurru, which is the current Kulin Nation season.
Our knowledgeable educators shared insights into the intricate connection and importance of respecting and understanding the natural cycles. The children were engrossed in stories that wove together the changing seasons, celestial events, and the unique behaviours of the flora and fauna.
Some of the children investigated some of the large logs in the wooded area and discovered a small lizard. The children observe it closer in our big catcher for a few minutes before releasing it back to its home. They also discovered an orange and blue bug with lots of fine hairs on it!
The reserve, with its rich biodiversity, is always a living classroom for our curious minds.
Engaging with the land in this way not only deepened the children’s appreciation for nature but also fostered a sense of responsibility for its preservation. It was heartening to witness their growing awareness of the interconnectedness between humans and the environment, a lesson that extends far beyond the classroom walls.
The Bush Kinder experience at Warrien Reserve also provides numerous sensory-rich activities, from observing native plants up close to feeling the textures of different leaves and bark. These hands-on encounters allowed the children to connect theoretical knowledge with tangible experiences, enhancing their understanding of the world around them.
Upcoming…
- Kinder Graduation: Friday the 1st of December – 2.30pm – 3.30pm
- Choklits Christmas Party: Wednesday the 13th of December – 4.30pm – 5.30pm
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, November 17th –
Hello families,
We would like to officially invite you to our 2023 December Events!
A reminder that even if your child does not attend on these days you are more than welcome to attend the events!
All are welcome, the more the merrier!!
Kindergarten Graduation
Friday the 1st of December
2.30pm – 3.30pm
Choklits Croydon Christmas Party
Wednesday the 13th of December
4.30pm – 5.30pm
We are so excited to be hosting these events and we can’t wait to see you then!
Please RSVP to [email protected]
A REMINDER FOR THE CHRISTMAS HAMPER
Each year we package together a celebration hamper that all families will love.
We sell raffle tickets as part of our centre Christmas Party celebrations and draw the winner at the event.
You (or a representative from your family) need to be at the Christmas Party to win.
Tickets are $1 each and 100% of the money collected gets donated.
Read on to find out how to buy tickets (and how to get free ones).
How to donate items to the hamper
If you own or represent a business please email us, we would love to hear from you. Items or vouchers should be new and family-friendly, we’ll make sure you get a good plug for your business on the day as a thank-you for your contributions and help in raising money.
How to get free tickets
The idea of the Christmas hamper raffle is to raise as much money as we can to send to those who are less fortunate than many of us. With that in mind, we don’t just issue free tickets, Choklits will buy your tickets for you when you review us on Google or recommend us on Facebook.
All written 5-star Google Reviews or 5-star Facebook recommendations will receive tickets paid for by Choklits! After you post your review we’ll buy your tickets and give them to you.
To be eligible, you should leave your Google Reviews here.
And, your Facebook Recommendations on this page.
You can submit as many reviews for your family as you like, but we can only count one review per account.
Reviews submitted in November will receive 10 tickets
Reviews submitted in December will receive 5 tickets
Tickets will be for sale for $1 each in our foyer leading up to the event and on the day. Good Luck!
If you have any questions please give us a call.
Upcoming…
- Kinder Graduation: Friday the 1st of December – 2.30pm – 3.30pm
- Choklits Christmas Party: Wednesday the 13th of December – 4.30pm – 5.30pm
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, November 10th –
Hello families,
What a week!
There are only 7 more Fridays left until Christmas!! We are running our famous Choklits Christmas raffle again this year and 100% of all money raised will be split evenly and go to the Salvation Army, Berry Street Christmas Giving Appeal and Kids UnderCover.
This year’s hamper already contains a Bluey Best Mate Jumbo 45cm Plush Toy, a 12-month Melbourne Zoo Membership for 2 adults and your children (under 16) and a Choklits Golf Umbrella (so you can go to the zoo all year round and never get wet!). The Zoo Membership gives you unlimited entry for 12 months to Healesville Sanctuary, Werribee Open Range Zoo and Kyabram Fauna Park.
If you own or represent a business and would like to donate to the hamper please email us, we would love to hear from you! We’ll make sure you get a good plug for your business on the day as a thank-you for your contributions and help in raising money for some amazing causes.
Highlights from this week:
Diwali celebrations:
Friday saw the celebration of Diwali! Diwali is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that are lit outside homes to symbolise the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness.
The service was beautifully decorated including an amazing Rangolil piece by Simmi which was displayed out the front of the service. In the rooms, the children were able to create their own rangoli pieces, dance to some Indian songs and enjoy a delicious chicken curry for lunch!
Celebrations play a vital role for both children and educators in early education and care settings. They provide opportunities to learn about and show respect for the cultural diversity that forms the fabric of the service, these celebrations also help to foster a sense of belonging.
Building a varied and accepting community requires educating children and giving them opportunities to interact with people of different religions and cultures. It gives children the confidence they need to learn; this allows them to feel appreciated, supported, and valued. It enables children to understand that everyone has differences that set them apart from one another and that it’s acceptable for them to be different.
Animal incursion:
This week we had a very special visit from Animals on the Move. The team set up in our carpark and the children (and educators!!) were able to spend some time observing, patting and learning about all of the animals that were present!
We heard lots of conversation between children and families and yes, the children did see and pet a cow!!
Amongst a brown calf, we made friends with some ducks, a sheep, three goats, some chickens, bunny rabbits and a piglet who the children adored!!
Upcoming…
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December -: Save the date, more info to come. Keep an eye out for our Xplor Posts
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December : Save the date, more info to come. Keep an eye out for our Xplor Posts
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, November 3rd –
Hello families,
We are very excited to have our Animals On The Move Incursion next Wednesday the 8th of November at 11:30am. All are welcome!! Even if your child does not attend on Wednesdays, feel free to drive past and pop in for the incursion!!
A friendly reminder that the service will be closed for the upcoming public holiday on Tuesday the 7th of November.
Highlights from this week:
This week the children spent so much time exploring the outdoors, despite the odd weather we have been having! Upon their investigations, the children were very interested in watching Ryan our handyman/maintenance man, complete some construction in the under 3’s outdoor area.
After chatting with him the children discovered that he is building a new playground for the under 3’s!!
We are all very excited to see the progress of this project, the children have been watching eagerly as he creates one of many projects!
Keep an eye out to see what amazing creations he assembles!!!
Upcoming…
- Animals On The Move Incursion: NEXT WEDNESDAY – ALL ARE WELCOME
- PUBLIC HOLIDAY SERVICE CLOSURE REMINDER: The service will be closed for the upcoming public holiday on Tuesday the 7th of November
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, October 27th –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a wonderful week! Thank you to all of our beautiful families who came to celebrate Grandparents and Special Friends Day with us at Choklits Croydon. We hope you had a fabulous time and enjoyed all of the delicious afternoon treats that were served!
Highlights from this week:
Our Kinder 3’s had a special incursion this week from ‘Holly’s Backyard Bees’, This coincides with the curriculum the Kinder teachers have been sharing in their classes over the past weeks.
Holly runs workshops all across Melbourne, teaching people the skills of keeping backyard bees, reducing waste and making beeswax food wraps, salves and balms!
The bee incursion was tailored to provide age appropriate information and allow plenty of time for the children to guide the discussion and ask questions. Holly brought in her observation hive so that the children were able to see a real honey bee colony in action!
A demonstration of beekeeping tools and a suit was provided along with a children’s sized suit and veil the children were able to try on! Of course, you couldn’t learn about bees without tasting some honey too! The children were able to taste raw and creamed honey!!
The themes of discussion were focused on what makes up a hive, the bee life cycle and how the bees make honey. The children also spent plenty of time talking about how the bees help our environment, why they are so important in our food systems and sustainability and how to respond and behave around bees in our natural play spaces!
Upcoming…
- Animals On The Move Incursion: More info to come!! Save the date- 8th of November
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, October 20th –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a wonderful week. We now officially have 10 weeks until the end of 2024. How crazy! Like we mentioned in our last weekly update, we really enjoy all events and celebrations. If you have any holidays or traditions you take part in, please share them with us. We’re excited to learn more about your traditions and celebrate together with you!
Highlights from this week:
We have had some beautiful Spring days this week! Our Nursery children and educators took advantage of this opportunity to indulge in some lovely Spring Blossom activities. You may also remember one of our last updates where the children experimented with colour changing flowers, this has extended to the children investigating real flowers through pasting petals of flowers to create patterns. The children had the opportunity to imprint patterns of flowers on paper using the bottoms of plastic bottles that had been dipped into colours the children chose.
All of the children took part in this activity with great enthusiasm, they displayed hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills, they also showed a great sensory awareness.
A few children were able to precisely stamp the bottles with one or both hands and some were investigating the bottle tops by touching and mouthing them. The children were delighted to squish the bottles to produce a range of sounds and showed excellent critical thinking by choosing to roll the bottle instead of holding it upright during the activity. Some of the children’s natural curiosity allowed them to mix the colours with their fingers and feel the texture. It was great to watch children use their creativity, critical thinking skills, and physical abilities to create a design that they were undoubtedly really proud of!
Upcoming…
- Grandparents Day: 27th of October – All are welcome! Please see Xplor Post for more information
- Animals On The Move Incursion: More info to come!! Save the date- 8th of November
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, October 13th –
Hello families,
Happy Friday!!
The year is flying by and the countdowns are on!
18 days until Halloween
30 Days until Diwali
55 days until Hanukkah
73 days until Christmas
74 days until Kwanzaa
We love to celebrate all events and celebrations, please let us know of any holidays and celebrations you partake in, we look forward to learning more about it and celebrating with you.
Highlights from this week:
Sustainable practices support ecological, human, and economic health and vitality. Sustainability presumes that resources are finite, and should be used conservatively and wisely with a view to long-term priorities and consequences of the ways in which resources are used.
At Choklits we explain to the children that recycling is an important concept. It teaches the children to care for their environment, encouraging them to be responsible and show a growing appreciation for our Earth.
In Kinder 3 their topic of the week has been talking about what it means to reduce, reuse and recycle.
It is important to identify the three R’s so that children can distinguish three key ways to reduce their impact on the environment:
Reduce: – this means cutting back on the amount of waste used in everyday life. For example, reduce waste by teaching children to use canvas bags at the grocery store instead of plastic bags.
Reuse: – reuse an existing item in your service in order to minimise waste. For example, reuse paper for drawing, reuse recyclable materials for craft etc.
Recycle: – means when an object can be shredded, melted, or processed in order to create new raw materials. For example, an aluminium can is used to create more cans while paper and cardboard can be recycled in order to generate more paper products.
Some of the topics the Kinder 3’s have been investigating are:
- Composting; discussing the benefits of having a compost bin
- Worms and the importance of using worm wee to help nourish the garden and garden life. Jenny even brought in some of her worms from home!
- Using recyclables to create new things
- The importance of connection between recycling and living animals; healthier, more sustainable ecosystem for both animals and humans
- How to care for the environment
Our Kinder are always implementing new sustainable practices including creating a new construction table to encourage the children to create with recyclables
Keep an eye out for their wall displays to learn how you and your family can be more sustainable!
Upcoming…
- Grandparents Day: 27th of October – All are welcome! Please see Xplor Post for more information
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, October 6th –
Hello families,
We hope you have enjoyed your week! The weather has certainly taken a turn! What a wonderful week we have had here at Choklits. We have had a fun filled week with so many different experiences to interact and engage with. Please read on to read our highlight from the week.
Highlights from this week:
We had a special visitor this week from EACH! Erin visited our service to assist our educators in assuring our rooms are inclusive for all children. Erin is a registered Psychologist with a master’s degree in Educational and Developmental Psychology. Erin is passionate about supporting young children and their families and working collaboratively with those in their support network to ensure best possible outcomes.
Erin has experience working in private practice providing evidence-based counselling and intervention and conducting psychological assessments across the lifespan. Erin also has relevant experience in early childhood education and has worked in research settings in the context of the early identification and diagnosis of autism.
How does Erin help?
✓ Case discussions and reflective practice
✓ Resource development and review of your resources
✓ Modelling, scaffolding, coaching and mentoring
✓ Education/training
Her support can promote:
Positive social and emotional wellbeing
Positive relationships, friendships, and attachments
Positive social interactions and engagement in social play
Engaging in daily routines
Demonstrating social responsibility and helping skills
Her support can enhance trauma-informed care, emotional regulation, positive behaviours, social skills and interactions, emotional resilience and mental health.
We have loved having Erin and are excited to embed her teachings and support into the service and curriculum.
Upcoming…
- Grandparents Day: 27th of October – All are welcome! Please see Xplor Post for more information
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, September 29th –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a wonderful week enjoying the beautiful sunshine!!
Just a reminder that your 2024 day preferences are due on Monday the 2nd of October! Please return these to us as soon as possible so we can confirm your 2024 days!
We would also like to remind you that the service will be closed on:
Friday the 29th of September for the Grand Final Public Holiday.
Highlights from this week:
This week was Footy Dress Up Week! When we have special events to celebrate, we use them to our advantage to create fun and captivating learning opportunities for the children.
This week saw Michelle and the Kinder 4 team create AFL goals Michelle even bought in two new Sherrin footballs for the children! These were a huge hit with many children practicing their hand eye coordination trying to kick it through the goal posts. Footy fever foods were enjoyed throughout the week, the children also made “Collingwood Cookies” which they very much enjoyed!
We have had a lot of controversy this week with team rivalry!! The children listened to the various AFL theme songs and educators asked the children which AFL team they support, adding their face to that team’s flag.
Asten’s Sensory Play Session was a huge success as always. Each station was aesthetically pleasing and carefully curated to incorporate mathematical concepts, small groups and turn taking,
Some of the stations we had were:
Ice Flower Bowl
Spaghetti Station
MiniBeast Garden
BeeHive Bonanza
Veggie Garden Dig Up!
I can’t explain the amazing stations, you just have to see it yourself! Please check out our Xplor Posts and keep an eye out for our socials to see the amazing stations!!!
Upcoming…
- Grandparents Day: 27th of October – All are welcome! Please see Xplor Post for more information
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, September 22nd –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fantastic week!
From science, language and mathematical investigation, to ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’, this week has been jam packed with learning and excitement! Please keep reading to hear about our favourite science experiment of the week!
Next Week Dr Rob will be visiting the service on Monday the 25th of September, if there is anything you would like to book in for, please put your name/your child’s name down on the booking sheet at reception!
We would also like to remind you all that the service will be closed on Friday the 29th of September for the Grand Final Public Holiday.
Our highlight from this week:
The children in Nursery were presented with an experiment of colour-changing flowers this week! For the experience, the educators encouraged the children to feel the white carnation flowers’ texture and observe the colour. The educators then helped the children squeeze a variety of food dye colours into a jar of water, where they then put the flowers into. The children took turns to place the flowers into the jars, the children demonstrated patience, enthusiasm, interest, and wonderful hand-eye coordination. Over the course of the week, the children observed the results. Even from a few hours later, guess what!? The flowers were already starting to change colour! This science experiment provides our nursery children early exposure to how plants drink water. Throughout the childrens’ time here at Choklits, they will further learn that plants absorb water from the soil by a process called osmosis – the natural movement of water molecules from an area of high concentration, across a semi-permeable, sieve-like membrane, to an area of low concentration.
The coloured water used in this experiment demonstrates how water is sucked up through a plant’s stem and then makes its way to the different parts of the plant, including the flower. It was a perfect opportunity to learn about the capillary action by which plants are able to defy gravity and pull water up and into their leaves and flowers.
What a great visual experiment!!
Upcoming…
- Service Closure: The service will be closed for Friday the 29th of September for the Grand Final Public Holiday.
- Grandparents Day: 27th of October – 2.30pm-3.30pm Save the date, more info to come.
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
- To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
– Friday, September 15th –
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fantastic week enjoying the beautiful sunshine!
By now you would have received an email/comm on Xplor in regards to a form for your 2024 day preferences. If you can please get these back to us as soon as possible so we can accommodate your preferences for 2024 that would be wonderful!
Highlights from this week:
The highlight for this week was definitely Bush Kinder!
Our Kinder 4’s enjoyed going back to our favourite spot – Warrien Reserve. The Kinders got ready in the morning and eagerly set off to the bus stop to catch the bus and then walked the rest of the way to the reserve.
Once they had arrived, the children performed the Acknowledgement of Country, it was fantastic to say this out on Country, in the actual fresh air, being surrounded by the bush. They then continued on to explore the bush where they discovered a really cool bush structure had been built by previous visitors. The children each took turns checking it out inside. As it was such a wonderful structure, the Kinders decided to leave it and used smaller sticks to make bug hotels and practise balancing on the logs, as well as our climbing skills, by climbing a few large logs and trees.
The group broke off into smaller groups and walked through the bush and discovered a hidden story along the way! This was a follow up to Indigenous Literacy Day and in their groups, as they walked along, they read the story ‘Welcome To Country’ by Aunty Joy Murphy. During the walk the groups stopped to listen to the noises they could hear, ranging from parrots in the trees, to possible frogs in the marshlands. The groups also noticed a drawing of Bunjil in the pages, which looked like the Kinder 4 Bunjil in their room!
Once back at Choklits, the educators asked the children what their favourite part of the day was, and the majority seemed to enjoy the bus ride! The bush walk and playground came in at equal second. A few children took inspiration from their Bush Kinder journey and painted at the easel afterwards to commemorate their day.
Upcoming…
Service Closure: The service will be closed for Friday the 29th of September for the Grand Final Public Holiday.
Grandparents Day: 27th of October – Save the date, more info to come.
Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
To fill out your 2024 day preferences ASAP!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, September 8th —
Hello families,
This week we celebrated Educators’ Day!
We wanted to send a huge thank you to our beautiful families for their thoughtful gifts and gestures to make our educators feel as special as they are. Educators Day is an opportunity to reflect upon and express our deep appreciation for the remarkable individuals who play a pivotal role in shaping the lives of our children. Our Educators guide, inspire, and nurture the future generation so we use this occasion among others to celebrate all that they do and the hard work and dedication they display every day.
Highlights from this week:
Nursery-
Throughout the week music sessions have been a huge hit in our Nursery!
One of the favourites for the room is ‘head, shoulders, knees, and toes.’ They were shaking the maracas, and dancing, moving their bodies back and forth to the beat. These songs really help with their language skills, cognitive skills, and gross motor skills since they learn what body parts are and how to move their body and hands.
The Nursery also partook in a foot printing activity. The children really enjoyed this activity; they got to feel the paint on their feet and between their toes, getting used to the sensation. They were then encouraged to walk on the paper which assists in the development of their balance, coordination, and core stability. It also encourages them to make connections between their movements and the marks they make.
Our Nursery team have created some wonderful resources to make the childrens’ little muscles work hard to tug and pull ribbons out of the box the children have to work even harder to grasp smaller objects in the resource. It helps the children to develop hand-eye coordination, explore a ‘cause and effect’ action as well as stimulating their sense of touch through exploration of different textures.
The box includes different textures and types of ribbons and strings. It also includes a little possum, children can feel the textures and the little knots that were created on the ends.
Toddler –
Our ‘unders’ yard has had some new additions this week! The children were very excited to test out our new swings! Almost the whole room sat around, asking questions trying to help Ryan, our maintenance man, intrigued by the new equipment and the process of hanging them up.
Our Toddlers have also been engaging in lots of painting experiences this week. This week’s main focus was on recognising different colours and colour mixing, helping the children understand and identify the primary colours and what happens when we mix these colours together. The children loved getting involved and getting messy with this painting experience.
The children have loved exploring cars lately, so our Toddler team thought it would be a great idea to combine the 2 and incorporate the slide! The children dipped the cars into paint and pushed the cars down the slide. The children loved this and were so excited to see the cars leave paint behind.
A new activity was explored this week called ‘cleaning our mess’. The children were given a dustpan and broom and a small amount of sand, they were encouraged to sweep the sand into the dustpan. This helped the children understand taking turns. As well as hand eye coordination and patience.
Pre-Kinder –
The Pre-Kinders have had so much fun in the sunshine – exploring, playing and challenging themselves with their friends.
Together with their educators, the children have moved the room around adding some fun new spaces, new additions include a cafe and an insect exploration table. The children have been thoroughly enjoying lots of social play with their friends in the coffee shop! This continued on in the Play-dough area as well!
The Pre-Kinders have been creating some beautiful artwork using glue, paint and texters. They are a very creative bunch!
The children also enjoyed a picnic outside for lunch and were so helpful, they showed such independence as they helped to clean the windows!
Kinder 3 –
This week was SUPERHERO Week. The Kinder 3’s listened to the story “A Hero Like You.” Afterwards, a discussion was held about what it is to be a superhero in the classroom and community.
Kinder 3 enjoyed a shape hunt with the Kinder 4 children. It was lots of fun and a great activity to enhance their work on shape recognition.
This week also consisted of making bracelets and necklaces from beans and string, the children all showed their great fine motor skills and creativity in this activity! Kinder 3 also engaged in pasting, playing with PlayDough, shape drawing and colouring, sorting, a scavenger hunt outdoors and other outdoor activities.
Kinder 4 –
The Kinders have shown an interest in Pokémon so the educators decided to extend this into creating their own set up. They used polystyrene balls for the children to decorate using textas and special paint markers allowing them to make their very own pokeballs. They then went searching the yard for the different Pokémon that were hiding outside. Such a simple idea led to many different learning opportunities for the children such as developing their gross motor skills running around, their hand eye coordination skills by aiming and throwing their balls at the Pokémon, it also developed the wire observation skills, needing to hunt and find the Pokémon, some of which were very hard to spot, this led to great teamwork and working together to share the knowledge of their locations.
Along with making some Pokémon balls and potions, the children have been very much enjoying the warm weather outside! Many of the children have been challenging their gross motor abilities and taking safe risks with their climbing.
The Kinders also spoke about the Aboriginal season of Poorneet (tadpole) which began last Friday and the life cycle of the Frog. Together they watched a very interesting video of a tadpole turning into a frog, they learned that this process is called metamorphosis.
They also talked about a different habitat of frogs including trees and ponds.
Upcoming…
- Service Closure: The service will be closed for Friday the 29th of September for the Grand Final Public Holiday.
- Messy Play with Asten: Our next segment of Messy Play will occur on the 22nd of September: Keep an eye out on Xplor for more information.
- Kinder Graduation: 1st of December – Save the date, more info to come.
- Choklits Christmas Party: 13th of December – Save the date, more info to come.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, September 1st —
Hello families,
Thank you to all who joined us to celebrate Fathers Day! We hope you had a wonderful time with your beautiful children.
What a wonderful week ending in Spring!! Please read on to hear all about our week at Choklits Croydon.
Highlights from this week:
Nursery-
The Nursery educators set up play dough, shapes cutters and rolling pins on the table for the Nursery children this week. For some children this would be the first time they have played with playdough! In this experience, the educators encouraged the children to use the resources to create their own interpretations and art work.
Using play-dough supports children’s social skills such as sharing and turn taking. It encourages children to enjoy being with their peers and get involved in sensory play. We have certainly had some odd weather this week so our team constructed an indoor obstacles course. They set up balancing beams, mattresses, and soft blocks encouraging the children to climb over, through and under.
The children also collaborated together to create a ‘Happy Father’s Day’ sign to welcome our fathers, grandparents, uncles and special friends! They did such a wonderful job designing and decorating.
Toddler –
Our Toddler team have supported the children in completing group paintings this week!
Together they discussed the colours and the patterns they can make.
The Toddler room has seen some great new experiences and set ups; this week they have a car table, where they can create their own mini worlds for their toy people, pushing the cars around the mat.
The music table is always a hit, where the children can learn about the different noises they can make with the instruments and what these are called. The kitchen area has welcomed some different toys and food as well, the children all showed their excitement when the new fruit, pots and pans were pulled out of the cupboard.
This week a major focus was on feelings and the expression of those feelings. The children learned that they express their feelings through expressions, voices and actions. Funnelling all these responses and expanding the purpose of the senses, the children actively participated in this weeks’ group time learning how to emote through various face types and to be empathetic towards others. The former is achieved through showing various faces corresponding to their feelings and the latter, through sharing toys and beloved items with their peers.
Pre-Kinder –
This week in the Pre-Kinder room, the children have loved using every opportunity to go outside and explore with their friends, practicing their social skills and engaging in activities outdoors! The children participated in the watering of the plants, encouraging environmental sustainability and demonstrating how to show care for our natural environment.
The children also made some new Play-dough. Our Pre-Kinders love to participate in mixing the ingredients learning about how we make Play-dough. The children had the opportunity to do some messy painting outside which they loved. This experience was completed in a group to encourage the children to form positive relationships with one another.
This week also saw some role play in the kitchen area, the children were pretending they were in a restaurant! It is always such an intriguing experience to watch as the children often copy what they see happen at home and at Choklits! Children learn about what people do, and how they behave, from stories, television, and real life. So of course, they copy these roles in their play. Through pretend play, children explore their feelings and emotions, stretch their imaginations, and act out their understanding of the world around them.
Kinder 3 –
This week our Kinder 3’s strengthened their understanding of shapes through various experiences throughout the week such as painting, drawing and questions/answers during group time. Learning about shapes not only helps to identify the names of them but also helps children learn how to count as many shapes are identified by the number of sides they have.
The children have been doing such a great job self serving during meal times. The educators have extended their learning through this to support the children in understanding amounts of food, what they consume and how we can minimise waste in the service and at home.
The children also participated in alphabet painting! A fun and exciting activity to support the children in their understanding of the alphabet leading into correct pronunciation of words.
Self portraits have also been explored again this week! The children have shown such enjoyment completing these, there have been lots of comments about what they see in the mirror! The children love to name their facial features and talk about the colours they see in their face, hair, and eyes. Drawing self-portraits supports communication development which is a key focus for our Kindergarten. Self-portraits are also critical to the understanding of both portraiture and the history of art. They are the form in which many artists have come to be remembered, offering insights into their lives, surroundings, and even the state of mind of each child, it is truly fascinating!
Kinder 4 –
This week saw the children in Kinder 4 working on an AFL Finals schedule! They will keep an eye out for the winners each round and log in it each week.
Soccer is still a big interest in the room and a few children enjoyed a game of kick to kick, even though it was very slippery out!
The Kinders also retrieved the bubble rockets and very much enjoyed chasing huge amounts of bubbles around the outdoor space.
During one day this week after the Kinders tidied the room after a busy day of playing, they sat around the yarning mat and had a great discussion about how the room was set up and what the children would like to change about it. It was fantastic to sit and listen to their ideas and as they suggested ideas, the educators recorded them on the whiteboard. Following on from this discussion the educators began to implement some of the ideas together with the children.
They moved the magnets, the couch, the computer and the space calm down zone. They created a secondary little area, to allow the children to retreat to when they needed, using the light table stuck to the wall in the cube cubby. They also used the computer to help find images to create a Pokémon interest table!
Having the children involved in how the room is set ups helps to provide a greater sense of agency and belonging for the children and is a practical way to show that their ideas are valued.
Upcoming…
- Educators Day: This year Early Childhood Educators’ Day will take place on Wednesday 6th September and we are encouraging children and families to say “thank you” in their own special way.
- Service Closure: The service will be closed for Friday the 29th of September for the Grand Final Public Holiday.
- Superhero Week: is happening the week of the 4th of September! We are very excited to see what is in store for Choklits Croydon! Dress ups are encouraged!!
- Messy Play with Asten: Our next segment of Messy Play will occur on the 22nd of September: Keep an eye out on Xplor for more information.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, August 25th —
Hello families,
We hope you have had a terrific week! We sure have!! Although we celebrate books throughout the year; Book Week 2023 dedicates a glorious opportunity to spend one week celebrating books and Australian children’s authors and illustrators. Book Week is all about anything that furthers children’s ability to read and find a passion for it, with the primary aim of the event being to share great works of children’s literature and spark a love of reading that will stay with children for life.
This year’s theme was “Read, Grow, Inspire.”
Highlights from this week:
Nursery-
Our Nursery children have been navigating a series of obstacle courses this week! The children have learned to climb up and down the course safely. The children have really enjoyed this obstacle course experience. Another challenge for the children was engaging in busy boards, also known as activity boards! These are boards filled with everyday items such as shoe laces, wet wipe caps, sponges, locks and chains etc. Busy boards engage children by offering a multisensory experience. They provide a range of tactile sensations, visual stimuli, and opportunities for fine motor skill development. Children can touch, manipulate, and interact with the different elements on the board, stimulating their senses and encouraging exploration. The various activities on a busy board promote cognitive development by challenging children to problem-solve and discover cause-and-effect relationships. For example, pulling the rubber band can produce a sound. They learn to observe, analyse, and make connections as they engage with the different features of the board.
Another highlight of this week’s activities was drawing with crayons. The educators prepared a wide piece of paper and encouraged the children to use their imagination to draw. Each child had the opportunity to draw and learned to hold or grasp the crayon. The intention of this activity is to encourage children to hold a crayon using a palmar or pincer grip to draw or scribble on the paper.
Our Nursery team were full of creative ideas this week! The children showed interest in painting so the educators decided to set up an experience of “painting with the toy cars”
They stuck some pieces of white paper on the table with sticky tape, dripped an array of paint colours onto the papers and showed the children how to do the painting by letting the toy car run on the paint and then onto the white papers. Eventually it will make a pattern based on the pattern of the toy car’s tyre! The children also had a soothing play experience with water and slices of orange today. The zest from the orange gave a wonderful aroma to the water which enhances the sensory play of the children as they smelled it during the activity. The children readily scooped out the water in and out of the container to the small pots with the use of the ladles. They then easily fished out of the water with their hands the slices of oranges.
This play experience helps promote the following:
– Children’s emotional wellbeing as they feel the calming coolness of the water as it slides through their fingers.
– Their cognitive development as they begin to learn the difference between wet and dry; and when they scoop water in and out they begin to learn the difference between more and less.
– Their sensory skills as they explore through touch, smell, and taste.
What a fantastic variety of experiences!!!
Toddler –
The children in Toddlers have been utilising their artistic side to create special artworks for Father’s Day. This has included painting, peeling and placing stickers; with their pincer grip being a focal point.
The children have also loved playing peek-a-boo through the cubby house and practcing their shooting and throwing skills with different types of balls.
Pre-Kinder –
Book week was in full swing with lots of children dressing up as their favourite book characters! Our Pre-Kinders have been everything from and between superheroes, bunnies, fairies, farm animals, construction workers and even Harry Potter! They have also been spending time exploring a variety of books both old and new to commemorate Book Week.
The Pre-Kinders have also had wiggly apple slinkies to celebrate the wiggly apple skin in the book “Mr McGee” and a special Playdough set up for the book “Secret Seahorse”. After the reading of the books the educators worked with the children to investigate what a seahorse looks like and how they swim!
Kinder 3 –
In line with our celebrations of Book Week, our Kinder 3’s made bookmarks and of course read lots of books. One of their special books was: ‘Why I Love My Dad’ in preparation for Father’s Day.
The children were offered the opportunity to make their very own book called ‘My Kinder 3 Adventure Book!’ There have been some wonderful stories throughout the room!! Throughout the week the children shared their favourite stories with the rest of the class showing the incredible power of books to transform our lives, expand our horizons, and ignite our imaginations.
Kinder 4 –
it was great to see the children around the yarning circle introduce who they were dressed up as and what book they came from. Our Kinder 4’s had a few pirates, princesses and fairies who enjoyed a wonderful game outside of catching and chasing! These games are wonderful for children’s social skills and recognising when the game is getting too rough. The children were able to tell their peers “that’s too rough for me” and the others respected this and calmed the game down. What a great testament to our Body Safety sessions that have been happening.
The Kinders also enjoyed some good old country music this morning as one of our K4 friends came dressed as Dolly Parton!
The children have also enjoyed using ‘Paint’ on the class computer to draw lots of different pictures and print them off to take home.
One of our educators brought out her laptop and projector and after an impromptu shadow puppet session, the children sat in small groups of 2-4 children and began to put their ideas into words and make their own books. The children thought up details like the setting of the story, whether that was the kinder 4 room, Jurassic park or somewhere else, who would be the main characters? Would it be Cinderella, Spider-Man or younger sisters? What would happen in the story? As they thought and discussed, our educator wrote the words on her laptop so the children could see them appear on the projector screen. Once the story was written, the children could edit it a little bit, changing the style and then they printed them out! The Kinders went on an adventure to the office to collect the papers and then shared the pages and illustrated them. The team then collated them and again went to the big printer and made copies of their precious books to share them out. Each author received a copy and Kinder 4 kept a copy in the room to read together!
Upcoming…
- Fathers Day Afternoon Tea: We would love to welcome fathers, grandfathers or any other special guests to our service to celebrate Fathers Day on Friday the 1st of September at 3pm. Please RSVP to [email protected].
- Educators Day: This year Early Childhood Educators’ Day will take place on Wednesday 6th September and we are encouraging children and families to say “thank you” in their own special way.
- Service Closure: The service will be closed for Friday the 29th of September for the Grand Final Public Holiday.
- Superhero Week: is happening the week of the 4th of September! We are very excited to see what is in store for Choklits Croydon! Dress ups are encouraged!!
- Messy Play with Asten: Our next segment of Messy Play will occur on the 22nd of September: Keep an eye out on Xplor for more information.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, August 18th —
Hello families!
It’s been another busy week at Choklits and we’ve sure had a lot of fun!
This week’s update, however, is a little different. We found a fantastic video about young children, how they learn and develop, and the importance of the early years. We thought you might like it.
Could a game of peek-a-boo really change the world?
You be the judge…
We love to hear any feedback you have, so please head here and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, August 11th —
Hello families,
Happy Friday! We hope you had a wonderful week so far and are looking forward to the weekend. We have had an amazing week and are very excited to share with you the…..
Highlights from this week:
Nursery-
Our Nursery children absolutely love music and movement. In addition to our Rhythm and Move sessions and dance classes, our educators provide the children with a variety of musical instruments allowing the children to choose what instruments they would like to play. The most response and excitement is roused from the educators singing “the wheels on the bus” and “if you’re happy and you know”. The children spend their time shaking their instruments, beating the drums, dancing and clapping, some children even helped to play guitar!
This week the children also made blue playdough. The children took turns with the help of their educators to pour in the ingredients for the mixture. When it was ready, the children were excited to play with it! Some of the children were not quite sure about the texture when they first touched it but soon became acquainted with their creation! The children rolled it around and used the cookie cutter to make shapes. The educators will continue experiences such as these to support the children in their sensory and fine motor skill development.
Toddler –
The Toddlers have been engaged in a world of experiences this week! A room favourite was making ooblek!! The children took turns pouring cornflour into the box and folding the mixture with their hands, giving the children a chance to practice their fine motor skills and develop some social skills working together and taking turns as a group. This particular mixture feels really hard when the children are rough or play with it quickly, but they learned that when they slowed their movements down and were gentle with it, it was sticky. The children were able to sink their fingers in and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy the feeling!
The Toddlers also worked together to make a volcano out of sand, bicarbonate soda and vinegar with the help of the educators they even got to watch it explode outside! Through this experiment the children were able to extend their cognitive thinking expressing their curiosity through investigation. The children learned that the “red substance” which projects out of a volcano is very hot and called lava.
During their messy play day, the children took an interest in investigating each sensory experience by utilising touch, and smell. To extend on this experience, the educators prepared coloured blocks of ice. The children were able to use these to have an expressive outlet for their creativity, and focus on their fine motor skills. They were also able to recognise that the ice was cold on their fingers, ensuring they held it by the stick when rubbing the colours onto the recycled piece of cardboard.
Pre-Kinder –
You would know by their room and reading our weekly updates that our Pre-Kinders ADORE group art work! This week was no exception, the children had the opportunity to create a class painting with leaves outside in the beautiful sunshine (when it appeared!) The children found a variety of leaves on the ground and used them to stamp the paper with a range of coloured paints. The creations were wonderful and the children were certainly proud of their work. In line with being immersed in nature, the children helped with watering the garden. They had so much fun watering the plants demonstrating wonderful turn taking as they passed around the watering can, listening to what was growing and keeping an eye out for any minibeasts or new growth. At Choklits, we love learning about our natural environment and how we can be environmentally friendly. Our educators foster children’s capacity to understand and respect the natural environment and the interdependence between people, plants, animals and the land.
Our Pre-Kinders have also been utilising their ‘How do you feel today’ space. The children are encouraged to feel emotions, understanding that it is ok to feel certain ways but to try and understand the reason behind them. Emotional Intelligence is a fundamental life skill. Identifying, labelling and talking about emotions not only helps children regulate their own emotions but also tune in to how people are feeling around them.
Kinder 3 –
Our Kinder 3 have a special new set up to help celebrate Book Week month. They have created a special book corner. One of their focus books is ‘In My Heart: a book of Feelings’. This book discusses a range of emotions and also helps to describe how each feeling feels physically and inside, empowering children to identify their own feelings and the importance of doing this. This helps to support our learnings from the Body Safety Superstars sessions the children have been participating in.
For their STEM unit, the Kinder 3’s are exploring light and heavy objects, keep your eyes out for their experiments and findings! Early childhood experiences of STEM create opportunities for children to build an understanding of these learning approaches in play-based environments. Fostering enjoyment of STEM, extending learning dispositions and developing future-focused skills are all important for young learners today. The focus on STEM in early childhood has grown dramatically over the years with the rise of technology and an increased understanding of the importance of these areas for life and careers of the future (think problem solvers, explorers, creative thinkers.)
Kinder 4 –
Our Kinder 4’s were pleasantly surprised this week by a monster truck set up!! This set up was created by one of our very talented educators and consisted of ramps, trucks, hills and even a volcano!
The children loved being able to spend time together making up games and stories with the trucks. Speaking of stories being created, a few of the children made a city out of the construction blocks on the low ground in front of the volcano and made up a very dramatic game where they had to run away from the erupting volcano and the lava flowing down the sides
Our Kinders experimented with a different style of painting this week. A table was turned upside down and the legs were wrapped in cellophane and the children painted on it! The children then made prints of their paintings by pressing the paper onto the cling film. What an interesting and unique way of expressing themselves!
This week has also consisted of playing a ‘guess the word’ game. It was great to see the children take the initiative themselves, some children took turns to write the alphabet across the top of the whiteboard, others were ensuring everyone was quiet so the child writing could concentrate. It was a wonderful sight to see the cooperation and teamwork to help scaffold their knowledge, showing examples of letters to help remind each other. Children took turns calling out the other children to suggest a letter, whilst other children took turns to write the letters of the word. There was a big congratulations to the child/ren who guessed correctly! We had words such as football and treasure box. Great effort everyone!
As you would read, see and hear (or maybe even smell!) The Kinders love cooking and baking. This week a class favourite was making a delicious apple and pear crumble for afternoon tea. The children were able to measure the ingredients and mix the apple and pear mixture up to create this yummy dessert.
If you have any recipes for the Kinders to try please send them through, I am sure the children would love to try them (no nuts, egg, or dairy).
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, August 4th —
Hello families,
What beautiful weather we have had! It was wonderful to see the children enjoying the outdoors in the sunshine with the glimpses that remind us that spring is just around the corner!
The highlights from this week are…
Nursery-
Our Nursery children are encouraged to use a variety of mediums and techniques to support their learning and development assisting them to become acquainted with the feelings of various utensils! This week was no different, the children were immersed in the world of chalk! The children were provided with a variety of coloured pieces of chalk and invited to a table where they could share in their creativity. Our Nursery children LOVE when Rhythm and Move come to visit our service each week, usually the children meet our musician outside and join in with our Toddlers and Pre-Kinders but this week was the start of their very own session in their room! It was safe to say that they enjoyed it very much!!
Toddler –
Our Toddler children have demonstrated their confidence within the new set up of their environment! They loved exploring the new books, resources and layout of the room. There has also been an attraction to the construction corner with children creating their own buildings out of blocks.
During their group times the children have been reading about animals! They have been learning about the different animals and the sounds they make, the children love to call out with the sounds of “moo” and “roar”.
A highlight for our Toddlers was our sports program this week! They worked on their fine and gross motor skills by learning to jump over hurdles and throw and kick the balls. While doing this the children worked on their social development as well as developing and forming new friendships. The day was filled with lots of playing, smiles and laughter.
Pre-Kinder –
Our Pre-Kinders had a wonderful painting experience this week! Our educators provided the children with cardboard tubes, sponges and mini toothbrushes and the children showed their creativity. It is always such a great opportunity to utilise everyday tools as art mediums. They provide some amazing prints and designs. In line with their love of arts, the children also helped to make some winter themed playdough! (Although for the majority of this week it made us forget that it really is Winter!)
The children had a great time playing hide and seek as a group! Playing hide and seek outdoors gives children more opportunity to explore and plan hiding places and to judge risk (within safe boundaries). This develops the children’s thinking and risk assessment skills.
Our Pre-Kinder’s participated in some group reading to strengthen their literacy skills, the children participated in discussion about the books that they read as their educators asked open ended questions to allow the children to strengthen their vocabulary as well. This also assists the children with social skills, such as forming relationships with other children and engaging in positive social interactions.
The children have been taking the responsibility of watering the vegetable patches! The educators have been providing the children with a range of tasks that strengthen the children’s independence and responsibility. This has led to lots of helping, cleaning pretend play and baking! This week the children helped clean the windows and made cupcakes, the best part was that they got to enjoy them with afternoon tea!
The children also went on a grand pretend play adventure using the boat outside as a boat, space ship & submarine! It’s great for children’s cognitive development and social skills to use their imagination.
Kinder 3 –
In honour of friendship week, the Kinder 3’s made friendship cards! They also worked on friendship bracelets and participated in a range of group activities such as pasting, painting, playdough and cutting to ensure the children are expanding and strengthening the friendships within the room. They also got some great photos with their home-made friendship day border, the children loved to get in (as well as the educators!) to show off the great connections and friendships that they have built over the year!
The children worked on practicing their braiding skills, cutting following a line and creative arts in both as a group and individuals. Together with the children the educators are rearranging the room and introducing more experiences and set ups according to the August plan and the children’s interests.
Our Kinder 3’s are also in the process of making their own mini adventure books! It is so exciting to see the creativity and care the children are taking to create these.
Our Kinder 3’s and 4’s also had Susie from Body Awareness chat with the children about the emotions and feelings our body may have and what this actually feels like! Susie dove into the different emotions our educators always speak about with the children providing them with an even clearer understanding. Susie gave examples such as when you’re happy you may feel like smiling and when you are feeling scared your tummy might feel like there are butterflies flying around. Susie also gave the children some strong words to say when they are feeling uncomfortable; “Stop, I don’t like that” with their hand out in front of them.
Our educators will continue these very important discussions with the children and help provide them the tools to be strong confident children.
Kinder 4 –
The Kinder 4’s love their morning yarning circles, they are provided with opportunities to show their various toys and books from home they bring in for show and tell.
Our Kinders always extend on their inquiry topics, they played a very intricate game involving balls as Dino eggs which they needed to save. Once the eggs were saved the children enjoyed challenging themselves by jumping off the fort (boat) onto the safety mats (ocean) and going for a swim! Lots of links to our recent Melbourne Museum incursions.
The World Cup is still a big interest among many of the children with some children looking at the flags and naming the country they belong to! This week the children had another Activate session but this time they utilised their homemade Soccer field practicing the skills that are needed to play soccer to be in the next World Cup like dribbling the ball, skipping and aiming for goal. After all the energy they used up during Activate the children decided they needed a healthy and nutritious afternoon tea and so they made banana smoothies! The children took turns to cut up the banana and added milk/oat milk, a drizzle of maple syrup and a spoonful of cocoa order and blitzed it all in the blender. Delicious!!!
The week also consisted of lots of building and a game of Giant Jenga!
The children demonstrated their fine motor and concentration while slowly moving a piece out of the Jenga tower and trying not to knock it over.
Outside enjoying the wonderful weather the children practiced their skipping skills and even started a group skip. Two children held the handles and used team work to move the rope around while others jumped and ran through the rope. Utilising the weather even further, our Kinder 4’s planted sunflower seeds into pots to allow them to nurture and water before they eventually plant them into our garden outside near the carpark for the community to see.
The Kinder 4’s have also started a month-long project of looking at similarities and differences. This begins with the children being invited to draw a self portrait while looking in a mirror and focusing on the fine details such as eye and hair colour. We cannot wait to see where it goes!
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, July 28th —
Hello families,
We have had a great week and hope you have too!
On Thursday we hosted a workshop by Body Safety Australia, a child safe organisation committed to keeping children and young people safe by empowering the whole community in prevention education.
The two hour practical workshop empowered families with safety tools that can be used within the home, school and community.
Body Safety Australia is committed to partnering with families and communities to prevent child sexual abuse and to support children in enjoying healthy, respectful relationships now and in the future. This workshop was for parents aiming to inform you of what your child/children will be learning and how you can keep the conversation going at home.
The workshop covered 7 areas including;
-Childhood sexual abuse; the risk, myths and misconceptions
-Ten key areas of body safety
-Identifying grooming behaviours
-Age-appropriate play
-Digital technology, grooming and abuse prevention
-Practical body safety strategies to use at home
-Supporting the at-risk child, including self care
As part of our School Readiness Funding (SRF), our Kindergarten children will take part in a program and using age-appropriate songs, activities, stories, games and group conversations, children will explore ten learning objectives.
-Identify and clearly communicate emotions in themselves and others
-Learn their body’s ‘early warning signs’ that tells them something doesn’t feel safe
-Understand that humans have different fear responses: fight, flight and freeze
-Assertively communicate their right to bodily autonomy
-Identify their Safe Adults using our award-winning felt finger puppets
-Know that their body belongs to them, and nobody has the right to touch it without permission
-Accurately name public, private and personal body parts using words that healthcare professionals would use
-Understand that sometimes adults make decisions about a child’s body for health, hygiene and safety reasons.
-Understand the difference between a surprise and a secret
-Adults and older children’s behaviour can sometimes be ‘tricky
The highlights from this week are…
Nursery-
Repetition is important in children’s learning, so this week the educators led sessions of book reading ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’!
The children showed interest in this activity as they flipped through the pages, looked at the colourful pictures, listened to the reading, clapped their hands, and wiggled their body in tune to the sound.
This helps not only in reinforcing the children’s fine motor skills as they grip the book in their hands but also their cognitive skills as they look at the images and hear the words being sung/read. Moreover, familiarity with words such as ‘clap’ and ‘hands’ from the book promotes children’s language skills as they begin to associate the word with the action of clapping and the body part involved.
The children also participate in a ball reach and grab! In this experience, some children tried to reach and grab the ball and place it back while some children grabbed their favourite colour ball with both hands tapping it to make a sound.
A few children were not interested in the experience, so the educators replaced some of the balls with toy ducks, which allowed the children to have more choice and engage further!
Our educators have been busy creating sensory bags for the children. They decided to create a sensory run so that children have the option to use their hands to interact with them or feel the different textures on their feet!
The educators also set up a group art sensory activity which provided the children with a tray of cut outs of colourful paper, cotton balls and glue. The children enjoyed pasting the cotton balls and the colourful paper to create a class art piece!
Toddler –
Messy play sessions were a huge hit once again! This focused on their sensory and investigation skills. Most of the experiences were “cold” to touch; as many children repeatedly told educators. The children actively encouraged each other to participate by offering an object from the experience to another child to engage one another in play.
To extend on this experience, educators will continue to offer new experiences that allow the children to explore and investigate with confidence.
This week the Toddlers also did a little experiment with water, food colouring and oil when mixed together it makes a lava lamp which the children were all very excited to see.
Continuing on with the children’s current interest of cause and effect; children assisted educators with trialling another ‘Lava Lamp’ recipe. This was slightly more successful, but did not result well after shaking the colours together. The lamp was made of oil, water, bi-carb soda, and food colouring. Our Toddlers turned this into an outdoor experiment, where children gathered and watched the cause and effect of pouring vinegar in with the above ingredients. Children demonstrated their curiosity and confidence by pointing, and making sounds of excitement.
Educators also set up a balloon party outdoors, where children can see the cause and effect of the wind. This also encourages them to work on their body movements such as running and jumping to try and touch the balloons.
The Toddlers have also introduced a second ‘group time’ to be held during the day. This will assist with the transition between free play in the morning into morning tea. Group time allows children to extend on their ability to listen. It is a way to introduce new ideas, with the opportunity to interact and collaborate with one another. The children responded well by sitting and listening to the best of their ability. Once this routine has been set in place, children will have a further understanding of the concept.
Pre-Kinder –
This week was our second messy play session and was all about winter! The children made hot chocolates, warmed up with some alphabet soup, went ice skating with penguins and explored the polar bears and shaving foam. The experiences were amazing and the children were engaged for the entire session!
Our Pre-Kinders are learning more self help skills and they are doing such a great job. Together with the educators the children help to pack up the room, put drink bottles away, scraping bowls and putting spoons away.
The Pre-Kinder’s also did some great storm paintings! It was fantastic to see the creativity from the children’s imagination whilst hearing their stories about storms. These activities helps to improve the children’s fine motor skills, it can also help improve independent skills and the ability to complete small tasks.
We have had some lovely weather this week so the Pre-Kinders used the opportunity to make smoothies with the Toddlers! They used a variety of fruits, spinach and rice milk discussing what was being put into the smoothies and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. In the spirit of good weather, the children also enjoyed a picnic outside!
The Pre-Kinders also set up a ballon area! This experience assists in the improvement of the children’s physical health and well-being as well as their gross motor skills. It encourages the children to learn how to be gentle with the balloons, moving around safely through the space.
Kinder 3 –
This week the children were immersed in Playdough making, this experience is much loved and gives the children the independence to create their own resource and the understanding to care for it during and after it has been used. The Kinder 3’s completed a group stamp art piece!
In line with the arts, the educators have also introduced watercolour painting to the children. It was lovely to see their creations and how much the children loved the activity. The educators explained to the children the concept of water colour and how to use just enough water to create the perfect balance of paint.
As a part of their routine and to ensure the children’s well-being is supported and encouraged by all children, our Kinder 3’s are having ‘quiet time’ after lunch, where the children who do not sleep sit down on the mat to read books, play with sensory items or do puzzles. Rest times are essential and help the children physically and emotionally unwind, so they stay healthy and refreshed for the rest of the day.
So many of our Kinder 3’s have been talking about Barbie! So in light of this the educators have set up a Barbue area which has been a hit! The children have enjoyed dressing Barbies and dolls, they have even set up a bathing activity using soapy water and washers for the children to learn the importance of self care.
Kinder 4 –
This week, our Kinder 4’s had an incursion from Melbourne Museum. Josh and Maddie, our visitors from the Melbourne Museum shared with us information about the Ocean and the creatures that are found within. Josh and Maddie brought with them many exciting items including a seagull, a whale bone, a snapper fish, and sea stars (not starfish), as well as a tiger shark mouth, and a turtle!
They spoke about Marine biologists and led the children on a journey from here at Choklits to the beach where the children packed backpacks with many necessary items to be marine biologists like;
Binoculars
Camera
Goggles
Swimmers
Suncream
Hat
Flippers
Snorkel
Snacks
Once the children got to the beach they put on our swimmers and goggles and headed into the water into the sunlight zone where they encountered crabs, snapper fish and sea stars (we were told not to call them starfish as they are not really fish at all!). The children also found a turtle and learned that their shells continuously grow throughout their lifetimes and they can live to be over 100 years old and can get so big they they would not be able to fit through our big doors!
The children then went deeper into the ocean, into the twilight zone (the children shared what they already knew about the different zones and Josh was very impressed with their knowledge). In the twilight zone the children began to encounter the animals that lived there like a tiger shark.
The children then learned about how GIANT whales are, they saw a single backbone segment and marvelled at the size of it compared to our own small backbones.
They were then able to get to explore and touch the different shells and objects that had been brought along, the children were able to listen to a giant snail shell and try on a turtle shell, pretending to be turtles!
This week also consisted of a bit of gardening, the children picked out the carrots from our veggie patch. They washed them off and ate them immediately! They were so crunchy and yummy.
One of our educators is participating in a jump rope challenge for Jeans for Genes day and has brought a skipping rope in preparation. We were very interested in observing as our educators all had a go at it and in the afternoon we made our own skipping ropes and had lots of fun trying to jump them. The children are looking forward to joining in to attempt to do 100 jumps per day in August!
This week the camera was turned over to the children and it was very interesting to see the results. The educators were able to see the room and children from the children’s point of view. Having ownership of the camera is another way for the children to learn to express themselves and to record what is happening around them and what is important to them. We believe that it is an important activity as children build their awareness of how digital technology can be integrated into their learning and play.
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Zac, Savannah and the Choklits Team
— Friday, July 21st —
Hello families,
This week was yet another fun filled week with one difference- it was Pyjama Week!!! We definitely had some laughs hearing about the ease of getting out of bed and realising that we could just come to Choklits without getting changed!
Highlights from this week…
Nursery-
Our Nursery children have been exploring the educator made posting box with colourful balls. The children have shown such excitement as they try to put the balls inside the box. Each hole is a different size and is colour coordinated to match the various sized balls. As the children interact with the experience, the educators share with the children the names of the colours, in doing this, our educators assist the children to develop and strengthen their cognitive and language skills.
Our Nursery also participated in a group art activity. The children were provided with a variety of crayons and markers. The children each chose the colour/s they wanted, they then observed how the educator used the medium. The educators showed the children a variety of techniques, the children observed the educators before attempting their own creation. Some children tapped to create a variety of shapes and some children held their crayons and markers to create straight lines.
Toddler –
Our Toddlers had a wonderful time creating some green Playdough! The children all took turns to pour the ingredients into the mixing bowl, the children did such a wonderful job displaying turn taking and sharing. Once the Playdough was made, the educators found some pipe cleaners and googly eyes to add to their craft! The children also had a special visitor from kinder 4 come into the room to show the children dry ice, the children were fascinated as they discovered if you blow on the ice it looks like smoke.
The Toddlers also participated in class artwork, where everyone was provided with the opportunity to create a lovely art piece! The children also extended their learning and understanding of shapes and colours during their engaging group times.
Pre-Kinder –
A Pre-kinder favourite was having Cam from Rhythm and Move surprise us with a visit, it has been a while since we have seen him and although we missed Dee for our regular session it was fantastic to see Cam! The children also learned different signs, they learned the signs for animal names, this session taught them duck, bird and unicorn!
The Pre-Kinder’s have had so much fun dressing up and playing in the construction area with their uniforms! We saw a lot of children channel their inner architect and tradesperson! We saw a lot of sharing and turn taking as the children participated in a messy painting experience, it was also beautiful to see the children practice positive social interactions with their peers as well as whilst mingling with the other children in the service, whether they are older or younger.
Another highlight was a pretend sleepover in the “narrow gloomy cave”!!
Kinder 3 –
Pyjama week was a highlight for our K3’s, the children created their own Pyjama Day artwork, participated in some warm and cosy activities and made playdough based on the colours of pyjamas the children were wearing!
The Kinder 3 children also got to be scientists for a day!
Extending on the children’s interests in science (and experiments), our Kinder team organised a STEM incursion by Labcoat Learning. The children were immersed in a range of different experiments inspiring the children, fostering a love of science and STEM. The incursion was curriculum-aligned, hands-on and more than a little bit fun!
The incursion incorporated mathematics, history, literacy and design and technology into the session, it made for a rich learning experience.
The making of giant bubbles and volcanoes as well as dried ice bubbles were the children’s favourite!
Kinder 4 –
The Kinder 4’s loved pointing out the fun designs of everyone’s PJ’s and sharing what are their favourite pairs were. We even had a ‘mini movie’ to celebrate Pyjama Week, the children met with K3, rugged up, sat on the cushions and watched Little J and Big Cuz on the projector. It was interesting to hear the conversation about the depiction of a bush shelter, comparing it to our K4’s efforts on Bush Kinder. The children were able to enjoy some freshly popped popcorn! It’s a good thing the Kinder 4’s have been making some cushions as they needed all of them this week!
Our Kinder 4 children loved the STEM incursion!! Liz from Labcoat Learning showed the children elephant toothpaste, which combined peroxide, yeast and water, to make lots of foamy bubbles and it spurted all the way up to the shade sail. The children then learned how to use dry ice which bubbled up in warm water to make fog, they also learned that it was carbon dioxide which is part of what we breathe out. Liz then used her special machine to make cool bubbles, filled with fog, which the children then got to hold onto and watch as they burst, spilling the fog all over! The children also got to make their own bubble wands, using pipe cleaners and straws, they were able to blow their own bubbles!!
After the session, one of our educators were able to get ahold of the dry ice and used it to extend the children’s interest, (they had a lot of requests and questions!) Together they used small bottles to place warm coloured liquid with a bit of dish soap mixed in them. They then added a piece of dry ice to each bottle and were amazed to watch and discover the bubbles that erupted up. They had the same vapour inside them! The children loved being able to touch and feel these bubbles and spent a long time testing out what they could do with them, from feeling the coolness of the bubbles, to squashing them as quickly as they could, to trying to trap them inside and listening to the hissing as they escaped , it was exciting!
A soccer pitch outside has also been constructed in preparation for the Women’s World Cup. One of the children brought in a special book ‘We are Matildas’ which the children have been reading at group time.
Coming Up…
- Body Awareness for Kinders – Check Xplor for more information!
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, July 14th —
Hello families,
Welcome to another weekly update!! We hope you have had a terrific week, we always love hearing about what your week has consisted of, please read on to hear about ours!
Highlights from this week…
Nursery-
Our Nursery organised a little picnic day outside this week, it was certainly a highlight as the sun shone brightly and made everyone forget that it was winter for just a little bit!!
The children also engaged in an experience allowing them to paint by tapping and patting on a ziplock bag. This activity was set to allow the children who don’t enjoy the feeling of wet paint on their hands to develop their sensory skills by recognising the feeling of the paint that was placed in the ziplock bag.
A wonderful experiment was set up for the children. They were engaged in the “Oobleck Fun” scientific sensory activity. Together with the educators, they made a mixture of cornflour and water called. This mixture is called “Oobleck”. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid; it has the properties of both liquids and solids. The educators showed the children that when our hands slowly dip into it, it acts like a liquid, but if you squeeze the oobleck or punch it, it will feel solid. Oobleck behaves like a solid or a liquid, depending on the pressure exerted on it. This experience is a fantastic way to introduce children to the basic concepts of matter and teach children the scientific skills of observation and prediction. The children loved picking up, squeezing, scooping, scraping, and running their fingers through the oobleck. To make it even more engaging, the educators sang the “Five Little Ducks” song while placing a Mummy Duck and the five baby ducks inside. The children were captivated by it, which encouraged them to explore the textures more. It was wonderful to watch how children were attempting to catch hold of the oobleck ball from the educator’s hand, as it was quickly turning into a liquid.
Toddler –
Our Toddlers have been spending lots of time playing outside enjoying the beautiful weather while it lasts!! It was fantastic to make the most of it. Getting outside is fundamentally good for everyone, not only physically, but it also has a positive impact on our mental well-being and plays a significant role in a child’s development, on many levels. Although the children may not be aware of the benefits, they definitely seem happier when they are outside and we do our best to provide the explanation behind the why! The highlight of the week was their music incursion!!
Pre-Kinder –
This week the children made some playdough! What a highlight! The children chose the colour that they wanted (they voted on pink and green) then they took turns to place and mix the ingredients together. Whilst doing this they spoke about consistency and measurements and what the directions are to make the best playdough! After they had finished using their formulas, the children were so excited to play with the playdough. It is always so incredible to watch the care the children show to their creation as the onus is on the children to ensure that it stays safe. They put so much effort into their creation so they provide some extra protection afterwards.
Kinder 3 – Teddy Bear Picnic Week was a hit this week! Our Kinder children alternated between rooms (K3 and K4) to bake one day and make lemonade the other each day swapping to ensure everyone gets a turn. Our Kinder 3’s also created some teddy paintings to fit the scene. When the chefs needed a break, they sat down for their picnic enjoying the sunshine and their goodies. After their much needed rest, they had a bear hunt! The children looked around the yard for the hidden bears searching low and high for as many as they could.
We also have a new addition of our focus on Tucker the Turtle! An area has been set up to allow for the children to spend time by themselves when they are feeling overwhelmed, the children helped create the turtle hiding hole, they were very proud!!
Kinder 4 – When we hear a child mention something we run with it! A couple of children in the room were making pretend bird houses so we thought why not make the real thing? We took a child’s imaginative idea and ran with it which prompted the creation of a wooden bird house!! The children were supported using a drill to construct the house which was very exciting. This newfound skill will be further utilised in upcoming weeks as the Kinders focus on more woodworking projects, fostering the children’s creativity and practical abilities.
Our Kinder 4’s have also extended their colour mixing experiences with colour sorting. Using small coloured disks, the children are invited to place them in the correct coloured cylinder enhancing their colour recognition skills and promoting logical thinking.
Lots of baking and creating this week for our Teddy Bear Picnics. The Kinder rooms made 3 different types of cake to share between them, vanilla, blueberry and apple.
This week many children had a reignited interest in the sewing machine as we acquired some more material including Spiderman and Mickey Mouse. The children used these to make small and large cushions even adding zippers!
Coming Up…
- School Information Night – Thursday 20th July 6pm-7pm. We would love to see you there. We have a range of schools attending to showcase what they offer and how they can support you and your child. Please check out our Xplor posts for more information.
- Body Awareness for Kinders – Check Xplor for more information!
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, July 7th —
Hello families,
Welcome to the first week of July!! We hope you have had a wonderful week. This week we celebrate NAIDOC Week.
National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. If any of our families would like to be part of our Reconciliation Action Plan or just attend the service to engage in Indigenous experiences, please reach out. We look forward to hearing from you!
Highlights from this week…
Nursery- Our Nursery participated in a range of wonderful experiences such as dot painting on a boomerang. For Aboriginal people the boomerang is as old as creation and a symbol of the enduring strength of Aboriginal culture. Together with the help of their educators the children made the boomerang out of thick paper and created their own paint brushes for the activity using corks, earbuds, and sticky tape. This type of brush is convenient for the children to hold and use their palmer grip. The educators explained to the children that the reason why they were using the three colours red, black, and yellow, is because they are also the colours of the Aboriginal flag. The educators encouraged the children to color-dip the brushes and use a tapping motion to imprint the brushes onto the boomerang. The children showed a lot of enthusiasm for this activity, and when they saw the colourful dots on the paper, some of the children let go of the brushes and began swirling the paint with their fingers. Some of the young children needed minimal assistance after learning how to use the tools, they liked tapping and smearing the paint. It was so exciting to see children working on their fine motor skills by learning to hold or grasp the painting utensils or completing the painting using their bare hands.
The children were also immersed in a Yarning Circle where together they read a book about the First Nations cultures and histories. The children even had the opportunity to try some Indigenous instruments which was such a hit!
Toddler – This week the Toddlers were immersed in Yoga! During morning group times, Rhi taught us some Yoga moves. The children loved copying her moves, stretching their bodies to the calming sounds and instructions. There are so many benefits of yoga, when children practice yoga it increases their confidence, builds concentration and strengthens growing bodies. Yoga can improve children’s impulses in a positive direction and provides them with an outlet as a way to manage their behaviour.
To celebrate NAIDOC week the children also did some beautiful painting using the colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. The children collected some bark from outside to use as their canvas. Once their creations are dry, they will be making some wind chimes out of them! The Toddlers have also been loving their “kitchen” area in the room. You will often find the children and educators cooking food and sharing a cup of tea together. Role play helps to build vital skills that support a child’s development such as communication skills, creativity skills, and problem solving skills. These skills are developed through acting out real life scenarios that children have witnessed from their parents and peers using their imagination.
Pre-Kinder – Our Pre-Kinders enjoyed engaging in a puppet theatre! It was wonderful to witness the interactions and stories that the children and educators created. Experiences such as puppet theatres offer numerous benefits to children’s development and learning. Through puppetry, children have the opportunity to enhance their communication and language skills by expressing themselves, practising storytelling, and expanding their vocabulary. Our Pre-Kinders develop important social skills through collaborative play, taking turns with the puppets, and engaging in role-playing.
The children also created some wonderful artwork using NAIDOC Week as a provocation and explored textures and shapes with playdough!
Kinder 3 – Our Kinder 3’s collaborated in the creation of their own Aboriginal flags, they used a variety of skills to create their interpretations.
They made red, black and yellow playdough and utilised a range of natural materials to engage with. During their group times, they spoke about what the 3 colours of the Aboriginal flag represents and why we celebrate weeks such as NAIDOC Week.
The educators created some wonderful new experiences in the room, the children were so excited to explore the new areas. They have their own Christmas in July corner, clock corner, arts and craft corner and indoor gymnasium corner. It’s always fun and exciting when the room gets changed around! Our educators have also introduced a Tucker the Turtle area!
Have you heard of Tucker Turtle?
Tucker Turtle is an interactive resource created to help children and families learn strategies to work through big feelings like anger. Tucker helps educators (and parents!) support their children in learning what they can do to calm their body and emotions down.
Like us all, children experience strong emotions or feelings that become “too big” at times, especially when things don’t go the way that they expect. One strategy that children can learn and use is the “Tucker Turtle Technique.” The use of this strategy helps children gain control of their strong emotion in the moment and prepares them to be able to use this (and other regulatory strategies) more independently.
Kinder 4 – This week as part of their yarning circle, the Kinder 4’s looked at rain sticks. Together they brainstormed about how they were able to make the noises they make as well as how they are decorated. The children discovered that they are long hollow tubes filled with pebbles, rice or dried beans and have pins stuck in them. The children then spent time during the day making and decorating their own versions of the shakers using a combination of paint, paint pens, paper and hessian and decorating a cardboard tube.
The children also began investigating the local area via the wonderful book ‘Wilam: A Birrarung Story’ by Aunty Joy Murphy and Andrew Kelly and Lisa Kennedy. This book takes the children on a journey along the Yarra river or Birrarung as it winds its way from the raindrops in the mountains, all the way past the dams and wildlife that call it home, past people riding bikes along its banks and then out past the city and to the bay. It mixes Woiwurrung words in, and has many beautiful pictures too.
This was then brought to life with a small scene where the Kinders are able to use animal puppets to create their own stories using the Birrarung as a backdrop.
The children have also been practising their cutting skills, following along a drawn spiral line and seeing how far they can cut in one go. It was great to see the satisfaction on the children’s faces as they showed off how well they were able to cut them out!!
Following on from the children interest and needs to preserve their hard work in their construction and play the educators have introduced ‘work in progress’ signs that the children can place near their play areas and they know that the educators and other children will respect the signs enabling them to leave their work and then return back during the day. Being able to leave their creations allows the children to work together to create bigger and more involved creations.
The children have been doing lots of building with blocks, magnets, connectors and play dough!
This month the Kinders will be looking at different types of buildings and architecture and using these as inspiration for our own buildings. In addition to this the children have continued their sewing projects with some more children making snakes and soft toys for themselves or their siblings.
Coming Up…
- School Information Night – Thursday 20th July 6pm-7pm. We would love to see you there. We have a range of schools attending to showcase what they offer and how they can support you and your child. Please check out our Xplor posts for more information.
- Body Awareness for Kinders – stay tuned for more information!
Reminder…
- Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
- If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, June 30th —
Hello families,
EOFY is here already, we are approaching the middle of winter and there are only 178 days left until Christmas! Where has the time gone?
Highlights from this week…
Our Kinder Information Night was a great way to showcase what we do at Choklits.
Our kindergarten program is designed to foster social and emotional development, nurture young minds, and ignite a lifelong love of learning. If you have any questions about our Kinder program, please feel free to contact us at any time with questions!
This week we had our first of many messy (sensory) play sessions!!
The children loved exploring the different elements and textures. The children spent time squishing, scooping, pouring and mixing using whisks, tongs, tweezers and jugs The messy play sessions provided great ways to engage and stimulate the children’s senses, fostering their cognitive, emotional, and physical development.
The conversations and creativity shown in the session were so great to see. We can’t wait for the next one!
Nursery-
This week in our Nursery, the children participated in a group activity that starred crayons! The children had the opportunity to choose their favorite colors and let their imaginations run wild. The children have been completing some block builds in the room, the educators clap with excitement at their creations but what makes the children excited is the deconstruction as they knock their creations down!! The children have also been continuing on with the reading of our Touch and Feel Sensory books. These books engage multiple senses, allowing children to explore different textures, shapes, and even sounds.
Toddler –
Our Toddlers had a bit of a room transformation this week!! With the addition of some new toys and resources, the educators rearranged the room layout with the help of the children. We find that whenever we adjust the room it strengthens the children’s curiosity and enthusiasm. The children have also been immersed in a painting extravaganza this week. They have had the opportunity to experiment with different painting techniques, using a variety of brushes, sponges, and even their hands!
Pre-Kinder – messy play, exercising, ball games turn taking outside throwing and rolling shape and colour recognition
Our messy play session #1 was a hit among the children this week! They enjoyed exploring various materials and tools stimulating their senses, enhancing their fine motor skills and creativity. It was a fantastic experience, please feel free to check out the photos on our socials! The children also enjoyed the outdoors, exercising, and enjoying the sunshine (when it appeared from behind the clouds!) and participating in ball sports/games. The educators have increased the incorporation of exercises and ball games into their daily routine as part of supporting the children in their emotional regulation. The children have been actively participating in turn-taking games, throwing, and rolling balls while engaging in friendly competition. These activities not only promote gross motor skills but also teach important lessons about cooperation, sportsmanship, and turn taking/sharing.
Kinder 3 – exploring string painting , learning about healthy eating healthy foods- sensory play
Our Kinder 3’s have been exploring string painting!
The children were provided with different colors of paint and a piece of string. By dipping the string into the paint and then placing it on paper, they were able to create unique patterns and designs. It was a fantastic experience and the children are very excited to continue on with this exploration!
Promoting healthy eating habits is an important aspect of our curriculum. Our Kinders have also been focused on discovering the benefits of healthy eating and the importance of consuming nutritious foods. Through interactive discussions, stories, and interactive experiences the children are learning how to ‘eat a rainbow’ and what makes us and our bodies happy.
Kinder 4 – Our Kinder 4’s have been continuing on with their amazing project work!
This week they made cushions for their space calm down zone. They spent time drawing their interpretation of the planets on the material then together with their educators, they sewed, drew and decorated their very own Earth, Jupiter and Uranus.
The children have also created a rainbow serpent using the sewing machine, the children worked together to stuff their creation with fluff. In line with this creativity, the children have also been encouraged to do some watercolor painting, however, this is first done by making their own colouring pages! The children draw with black and then colour in with the water colours to complete their multi-stage art project. Another highlight was the new set up designed for the room to discover animals and their habitats focusing on
endangered habitats. The children work together to ascertain where they belong and why they are endangered.
CCS deadline is fast approaching…
Families must confirm what they earned in 2021–22 and 2020–21 by 30 June to avoid losing CCS or incurring debt. At the end of each financial year, Services Australia compares a family’s income estimate with their actual income to check they got the right amount of CCS. This process is called balancing. Families need to confirm their income for balancing to occur. There are deadlines for families to do this. The end of the financial year marks two important deadlines for families:
- first deadline for confirming 2021–22 income
- second deadline for confirming 2020–21 income.
If a family misses the first deadline, their CCS will stop. If a family misses the second deadline, they will lose their CCS eligibility and may have to repay any CCS they got for that financial year. Families should go to the Services Australia website for more information.
Reminder…
To action any requests to complete previous years tax returns and Centrelink requirements (as per email sent out) before the end of the financial year. Any questions please do not hesitate to contact the office.
Please do not leave your children/pets in the car unattended. If you cannot leave your car please give us a call and we would be more than happy to bring your child/ren out to the car.
If you are struggling to find a carpark during busy peak drop off/pick up times. Please give us a call and we will assist you!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at anytime regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of differents ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, June 23rd —
Hello families,
We love keeping you in the loop about all the amazing things happening at our service and this week is no exception, please read on to hear about what we got up to and what’s coming up soon!
Highlights…
From science experiments of the ‘Rain Cloud in a Jar’ and shape pasting in the Nursery, our Toddlers finding some different creatures in the yard and learning about gardening, to inquiry-based learning with our Pre-Kinders using ramps, cars, blowers, and exploring cause and effect. Interactive learning experience allows children to develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and a deeper understanding of scientific concepts. We believe in exposing even the youngest children in our service to science so that they can start learning and retaining a foundation of information that they can build upon as they get older.
This week to commemorate World Music Day, the Kinder 3’s discussed different musical instruments, sharing what their favourite musical instruments were.
They were also introduced to a Bamboo Hanging Xylophone, an Indonesian musical instrument that can be shaken or tapped. They learned about Aboriginal rain sticks and listened to the music they made.
As you know, our Kinders LOVE experiments. Our educators created an experiment based on the lava lamp they have in the room. The children were very excited about this experiment and were very eager to make their own lava lamp.
Through this experiment, our little scientists learned about density and chemical reactions!
Our Kinder children were also visited by Jenni from Stop, Look, Listen and Think this week. Jenni spoke to the children about road safety and how to be safe whilst out in the community.
The afternoon consisted of dancing to the safety song, learning about the traffic lights and safe bike riding.
The children were able to practice walking holding the excursion rope around the yard, this then extended to walking in pairs, stopping and following road signs, and train crossings.
It was great to see the children listening, learning and showing Jenny their existing knowledge about road safety!
Our Kinder 4’s have also been practicing their Aussie rules skills, continuing their sewing projects, making more coloured snakes, bags and have started making some planet cushions for a new area in the room that will be set up next month!
Their colour mixing table was also extended to add white and black to the current primary colour mix. This has been a great way for the children tolearn how to create shades of the colours that were already present!
It has been yet another fantastic week and we cannot wait to see what next week brings!
Coming up…
Messy Play/Sensory Play Days!
In addition to our current incursions, Asten from the Pre-Kinder room will be providing the children with a messy/sensory play session each month. We will be rotating the day each month so all children will get to benefit from these experiences.
So, what is Sensory Play?
Sensory play is an experience that engages and stimulates your child’s senses, fostering their cognitive, emotional, and physical development. It involves interactive activities carefully designed to activate their senses of touch, sight, sound, smell, even taste, enhancing their ability to process information, encouraging them to make connections with the world around them.
Children naturally use their senses to explore their environment, they need to see and feel their world in order to understand it.
Messy play/sensory play with open ended materials supports children to learn to play independently, it increases their attention span, provides opportunities to problem solve, build self confidence and self esteem and it also opens them up to the world of scientific thinking, inquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating.
How is it different from what the children do each day at Choklits?
Led by our talented and dedicated educator, Asten, we are excited to present a special day event, exclusively crafted for the children at Choklits. The day is designed to nurture the children’s inquisitive minds as well as providing a safe and stimulating environment for exploration, creativity, and discovery.
Why is it important? Let’s take a look at some of the Benefits of Sensory Play:
Cognitive Development: Through sensory play, children engage in problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making activities that enhance their cognitive abilities and lay a solid foundation for future learning.
Social and Emotional Growth: Sensory play encourages sharing, cooperation, and communication among children, promoting essential social skills and fostering emotional development.
Fine and Gross Motor Skills: From squishing and squeezing to pouring and building, sensory play exercises and refines both fine and gross motor skills, helping your child gain greater control over their body movements. These experiences assist children in gaining life skills.
Creativity and Imagination: Unleashing their imagination, sensory play empowers children to express themselves, think outside the box, and develop a keen sense of creativity.
We are delighted to support the children to embark on a journey into the world of sensory play days at Choklits Croydon! We can’t wait for the first of many Sensory/messy Play sessions!
Don’t forget…
To action any requests to complete previous years tax returns and Centrelink requirements (as per email sent out on Thursday) before the end of the financial year. Any questions please do not hesitate to contact the office.
Thursday the 29th is our Kindergarten information night! This event will take place between 6pm and 7pm. Please RSVP to [email protected] if you would like to attend!
At Choklits Croydon our kindergarten program is designed to nurture young minds, foster social and emotional development, and ignite a lifelong love of learning. When you choose our kindergarten program, you are investing in a comprehensive and nurturing educational experience that will lay the foundation for your child’s future success.
Join us for our Kindergarten Information Night to learn more about our program, meet our educators/teachers and discover how we can provide your child with an enriching and supportive environment where they can thrive academically, socially and emotionally!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, and the Choklits Team
— Friday, June 16th —
Hello families,
We hope you have had a wonderful week. It has been an exciting week for us and it is always great to reflect upon what we have achieved over the week so please read on to hear more about it!
Highlights from the rooms…
Nursery: Our Nursery children have been embarking on a journey of literary exploration, being immersed in the enchanting world of books, songs and dramatic play. A highlight of the week was a captivating puppet show that the educators put on during group time.
Inside, some of the children embraced new challenges, taking their first steps with the walker!! During these times you can hear the room fill with cheers of encouragement and celebration.
To stimulate their senses and promote holistic development, the educators continually adapt and introduce sensory bags, containers and bottles. These items encourage the children to engage their cognitive, emotional, social, physical, and problem-solving skills. Through these sensory experiences, they honed in on their ability to explore, analyze, and make connections, fostering their self-esteem and independence.
The Nursery children love having special visits from their older siblings. It is especially a highlight when they make comforters and toys for them!!!
Toddler: As you would be aware from our previous weekly updates, incorporating STEM into our curriculum is an integral part of who we are. The incorporation of STEM can provide our little learners with valuable skills and prepare them for future careers in fields that increasingly rely on these disciplines. Our Toddlers had a wonderful time with a shaving foam experience! This activity allowed the children to touch, squish, and explore the foam with their hands, promoting tactile stimulation and sensory development.. Children can observe the foam expanding and changing consistency when mixed with water.
Pre-Kinder: At Choklits, we understand the importance of providing a stimulating and nurturing environment for the children in our care. This week, Pre-Kinder continued their incorporation of sensory play and group art into their curriculum. These activities have not only offered opportunities for creative expression but also fostered the children’s social and cognitive growth. The Pre-Kinders were immersed in a bear hunt that was extended from their sensory walk. It was a fantastic experience that allowed the children to extend their imagination and creativity as well as their language and communication skills. It is such a simple yet educational activity that supports holistic development and creates lasting memories for children! We highly recommend you try it at home!!!
Kinder 3: In our Kinder 3 room, the children worked together to complete a collaborative pasting piece, creating some very impressive artwork!
The team introduced a new counter activity to familiarize the children with numbers 1-20. The children enthusiastically engaged in this hands-on learning experience, fostering a profound understanding of numerical concepts and instilling a solid foundation for future mathematical exploration.
They have also focused on exploring emotions and healthy eating, aiming to deepen the children’s understanding of the intricate interconnection between the two.
Through purposeful discussions and engaging activities, they are working towards an understanding of why we have everyday foods and sometimes foods and what they encompass, looking at how to ‘eat a rainbow’.
They discussed how colors can make us feel certain ways, exploring how different colors can evoke specific emotions. As the children are becoming more aware of their own feelings and in turn being able to express them confidently, we educate them on The Zones of Regulation. This is a framework that helps individuals recognize and manage their emotions and self-regulate their behavior. The framework categorizes different emotions into four color-coded zones, each representing a different state of being.
The goal is to recognize which zone you’re in and learn strategies to move towards the Green Zone, which is the best state for learning and interacting with others. By understanding and identifying emotions, the children can learn how to manage their behavior in different situations!
Kinder 4: Bush Kinder was another big hit (are we surprised!?) There are an abundance of photos on our social media pages and Xplor. Even our hallways have been adorned with an abundant display, each image capturing moments of exploration, discovery, and connection with nature.
As a continuation of our colour wheel and investigation into the relationships of colours, our Kinder 4’s engaged in a captivating scientific experiment known as the “Rainbow Forest”. The children embarked on an exploration of the transformative powers of coloured water and celery sticks. With great anticipation, they carefully immersed the celery sticks in vibrant hues of varying food colours, creating a spectacle of colours that captured the imagination, cultivating a sense of wonder and curiosity. This experience encourages the children to make connections between the scientific concepts they encounter and the world around them. Not only does this promote scientific literacy it also nurtures the children’s observation skills, attention to detail, and ability to draw conclusions based on evidence.
Continuing on their artistic journey, the Kinder 4 classroom has delved into the world of sewing. Inspired by our Kinders’ creative visions, discussions around rainbow dresses emerged from dress drawings on our art boards.
Guided by this, our children explored sewing through the creation of their own Barbie dresses, rainbow serpents and in a heartwarming act of kindness, one child lovingly created a teddy bear for their nursery sibling!! It was such a beautiful showcasing of their new found sewing talent accompanied by a profound sense of empathy.
These sewing concepts have become gateways to self-expression, fostering fine motor skills, attention to detail, and imaginative thinking in the Kinder classroom. Together, we celebrate the unique talents and creative expressions of our Kinders as they explore the art of sewing.
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, and the Choklits Team
— Friday, June 9th —
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fantastic week and are excited to rest and rejuvenate this long weekend.
In focus…
Every week at Choklits is full of adventure, exciting experiences and lots of learning. This week consisted of dance parties in the Toddler room, STEM and experiences throughout the service, Rhythm and Move, a incursion with Sarah from REALM library and Choklits’ Activate program just to name a few!
We had a PD on incorporating STEM into the curriculum which has sparked a further creative flair from our educators. The children are being immersed in a range of activities that encourage creativity and critical thinking. We have seen children work on open-ended projects, asking them to come up with solutions to problems, and encouraging them to think outside the box.
Our Pre-Kinder’s spent time creating an under the sea art piece, they enjoyed the sunshine and even found a worm! They worked together to keep it safe and placed it into our vegetable patch.
We also had our second bush kinder excursion! The children made sure to wear their raincoats and gumboots as it had been raining before they departed, however luckily it stopped raining just beforehand. When we were halfway through the excursion when the sun started to shine brightly down on us!
To start the big adventure the children went to a copse of trees where there was a large collection of sticks and branches. The children broke off into smaller groups to collect and build with a large variety of sticks and even some rocks. As the children explored there was plenty of opportunities to compare the sizes and thicknesses of the different branches, holding them upright to see how tall they are and then a group of children worked to add their sticks together onto a small tree stump, collectively building a shelter/big fire. Some children broke off and built their own creations, including a signal fire, and shelter that went all around a tree!
One group stopped on the bridge over the frog bog and tried to catch sight of one of the three different species of frogs in the reserve. They closed their eyes and listened to the croaking orchestra. Together they admired the beautiful colours of gum tree bark. “They look like paintings” was one of the comments!
Reminders…
- We will be closed Monday the 12th for the public holiday.
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, and the Choklits Team
— Friday, June 2nd —
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fantastic week! We are so excited to share with you the amazing experiences the children have been engaging in this week.
In focus…
This week has been full of learning opportunities and marvelous experiences which the children were able to fully immerse themselves into the wonderful world of learning! The children have engaged with these experiences that the educators provided. Our educators have been creating marvellous STEM experiments and engaging in a range of activities as part of Reconciliation Week. Our little learners have been exploring the rich traditions and costumes of Australia. Kinder 3 explored possibly the oldest musical instrument on earth, the didgeridoo.
The didgeridoo / “Didscheridu” is a ceremonial wind instrument of the Australian Aborigines who have played it for at least 5,000 years, but probably much longer.
They also learnt that termites hollow out didgeridoos, and only men are allowed to play them—interesting facts about the Indigenous Australian Culture.
They also listened to the story ‘Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo’ by Alison Lester, which talks about the six Aboriginal seasons in the Northern Territory.
Did you know that we also have six Aboriginal seasons in Victoria? We are currently in the Wombat Season.
During their midday yarning circle time, Kinder 4 read a book about Dreamtime and some of the stories that are important to the Aboriginals. There were a number of different stories in the book and the children paid great attention to each of the stories, asking questions about them to further their understanding. At the end they answered which story was their favourite. It was a tie between the rainbow serpent who created the rivers, the Thunder Brothers who are responsible for the storms and the lighting, and Ginga the Crocodile Man.
Ephemeral Art continues to be a hit, with the children enjoying drawing together on the whiteboard, with stories being shared. In order to remember and share these stories the educators make sure to offer to take a photo of them to show our parents. Some of the children even take the photos themselves!
The ball and hammer game was demonstrated to the nursery children this week in order to help them improve their hand-eye coordination and understand cause and effect. Children initially displayed curiosity as they watched the balls disappear and emerge from the ramp. It was wonderful to see them attempt to catch the balls in the middle. The children are becoming increasingly motivated to reach out and grab the objects in front of them!
Our Pre-Kinder children participated in a sensory walk this week! The educators filled tubs with a variety of objects with different textures for the children to walk through barefoot, exploring hard, soft, ticklish, cold, wet etc.
Sensory exploration is so important to a developing child as they learn so much through touch and sense in relation to how their bodies work.
Walking barefoot and exploring the reaction to different textures is not only fun but instrumental in promoting acute awareness of their senses and surroundings.
Our Pre-Kinder’s highly recommend trying this at home using anything you can find around your house! The children loved exploring all the different textures describing some tubs as “cold”, “squishy”, “prickly”, “soft”, “not warm” and “crunchy”.
Reminders…
- We will be closed Monday the 12th for the public holiday.
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, and the Choklits Team
— Friday, May 26th —
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fantastic week! We are so excited to share with you the amazing experiences the children have been engaging in this week.
What the week consisted of…
Highlights…
On Thursday the 25th of May, to help raise funds for the Cancer Council, the children made scones for afternoon tea as a part of Australia’s biggest Morning Tea. It was a wonderful experience and the children thoroughly enjoyed eating the final product!
If you would like to donate to the Cancer Council, there is a box near the front entrance.
The children of the service were very eager to join Mel in a Choklits Activate Session! They were led in experiences such as dribbling a soccer ball between cones, practising their throwing with tennis balls and jumping over hurdles!
National Simultaneous Storytime…
On Wednesday the 24th of May at 11am the Kinder 4 children all met on the yarning circle ready to participate in the national simultaneous storytime event. This year the story that was to be read was “The Speedy Sloth” by Rebecca Young, with illustrations by Health McKenzie.
Just before they started the children counted down the seconds until exactly 11am and Michelle began to read. Together they read all about Spike, the sloth who was participating in the BIG RACE. She had trained very hard and didn’t give up, even though she was coming last. At the end she felt like a winner, because she finished.
After they read the story a group discussion was had about what the children thought the book was about, they were able to highlight the main points about Spike not giving up, and even though she came last, she was a winner because she didn’t give up.
Later in the afternoon the children were able to apply the lessons learned at the art table, reminding the children that even if something is hard, they should not give up and to keep trying.
Whilst outside the children held some running races themselves, acting out the story, and giving each other affirmations at the end of each race!
Ephemeral Art
The Kinder 4 children have been very interested in drawing on the whiteboard over the last couple of days. This is often a chance for them to work together to create a picture that has a common meaning, using their developing communication skills and negotiating the limited shared space, especially if three people are drawing at the same time. Often comments heard are “I don’t want anyone to rub it out”. This then becomes an opportunity for the educators to explain that anything drawn on the white board is temporary, or Ephemeral – which means short-lived. We offer them a chance to photograph it, either with themselves in the picture or not, so that we can upload it and share their creations with their families.
Hallway Projects…
Have you noticed the additions to our hallway? The children and educators have been working together to display the projects that they are working on throughout their time at Choklits.
The children continue to be inspired by the images and ideas around Waring – the indigenous season between April and July. You may see painted a forest, rain, a Bulen-Bulen or a Superb Lyrebird. Keep an eye out as these paintings are going to be displayed in the hallway!
STEM Curriculum in focus…
Have you had a chance to read our STEM blog?
It is a great article that highlights the importance of STEM in education and ways that we can include it in our curriculum.
Together with the children, we had a look at our daily calendar and noticed that the date was 23 which was similar to the year 2023. This led to a discussion about palindromes which is a word that is written or read front to back or back to front. For example today’s date could be written 23/5/23, we also learned that some of our friends at the service have names that are a palindrome!
Throughout the service you will be able to see STEM embedded into our curriculum. From the Geoboards in our Toddler room to the space station in Kinder 3, we can ensure that the children become confident learners who possess solid foundations to build upon.
Next week…
- Dr Rob visits us on Monday the 29th. If you would like to book in, register at the front desk!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, and the Choklits Team
— Friday, May 19th —
Hello families,
We hope this post finds you well and you are ready for the weekend! It is always exciting
to reflect upon what we have achieved thus far through our own learning journey! Let’s
take a look back through the week at everything that we have done!
What the week consisted of…
We had lots of fun and engaging activities and experiences to celebrate International Family Day! Some of our rooms read books that assisted our celebration of families taking us through a variety of different dynamics whether they are big or small focusing on the wonderful similarities and the diversities around us all.
Some children spent time drawing their family members, including pets, of course!
The Kinder 4’s explored who was in their families, working on making a family tree. It was very interesting to find out their perspectives on who is in their families and their opinion of their ages.
Kinder 4 have also continued to explore the children’s interest in dinosaurs, immersing themselves in the world of Palaeontology! Together with their educators, the children have made a sensory tub with dinosaur fossils that they made. Included in the tub are some tools used to assist the excavation!
Highlights…
The children in Kinder 4 have shown further interest in space after watching the solar eclipse! To extend this, they have begun painting their very own planets to add to the space corner. Whilst completing these, the children are discovering what colours the planets are and where they are located within space!
Kinder 3 had a ‘building the tallest tower’ contest this week! The children were encouraged to work independently or in groups. Using blocks that varied in size, the children managed to build towers that were even taller than some of the educators! It was great to see the children busy and focused building their towers and working collaboratively.
Our Nursery children took part in an autumn leaf printing activity. The children used different types of sponges with a variety of coloured paints, and were encouraged to press the leaf onto the paint and picking it up, before gently patting the leaf onto the paper to see the colourful print. The educators led a discussion about the fine details of each leaf and the different changes of the weather seasons.
Next week…
- On May 22nd students from Croydon Hills Primary will be coming in to spend time with and read to our Kinders, we are very excited to start this partnership and look forward to sharing the stories and events to come!
Can you assist?
Do you have any pots/pans laying about the house that are not in use? In consultation with the children we are wanting to create a mud kitchen!
After our library excursion, incursions and multiple discussions at group times, the children are wanting to create a borrowing library for our families. Are there any books that you would like to share? Please leave them at reception! We are very excited to watch this unfold.
Would you like to share your culture, occupation, celebrations, special talent or even read to the children throughout the day? We would love to invite you into the service to showcase to the children. Please send us an email if you would like to do anything!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac, and the Choklits Team
— Friday, May 12th —
Hello families,
We hope you’ve had a wonderful week! We have had such an exciting week with amazing learning experiences and opportunities for the children, please read on to learn more!!
What the week consisted of…
We had a visit from Foti and the Melbourne Museum! Foti brought with him a number of special fossils and dinosaur bones. He even brought a Tarbosaurus skull!
Foti spoke about Dinosaur Scientist’s (“They’re Palaeontologists’” one of the children added) and how they use special tools when working with fossils, including magnifying glasses and special brushes and shovels.
Foti then read an interactive story about how the dinosaur fossils came to be at the museum, from a long time ago, explaining how they died and turned to rock, then were found and excavated by palaeontologists and displayed in the museums.
Foti also showed us a Tarbosaurus foot and leg fossil, it was so tall it almost reached the roof! Then Foti brought out a fossil of Tarbosaurus’ head!
We were also visited by a very special guest, Jonathon the vice-president of Croydon’s RSL came to visit us. He brought with him some medals from World War 1 and 2, as well as a range of hats including the iconic Slouch hat and others from the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Jonathon also shared with us about the RSL and how they look after those who served and now need help e.g. help mowing their lawns. He also mentioned that a lot of the RSL members are those who still serve and mentioned that their leader is still a member of the special forces..
Afterwards we got to decorate our own medals to take home!
Next week…
- On the 16th May we have our Smile for Kids Dental Visit. This will be a great opportunity for the children to be educated on the importance of dental/oral hygiene. If you would like your child to be seen by the dentist, please fill out the form provided by email. If you would like a printed copy or you cannot locate the email, please contact the office.
Coming up…
- On May 22nd students from Croydon Hills Primary will be coming in to spend time with and read to our Kinders, we are very excited to start this partnership and look forward to sharing the stories and events to come!
Can you assist?
Do you have any pots/pans laying about the house that are not in use? In consultation with the children we are wanting to create a mud kitchen!
After our library excursion, incursions and multiple discussions at group times, the children are wanting to create a borrowing library for our families. Are there any books that you would like to share? Please leave them at reception! We are very excited to watch this unfold.
Would you like to share your culture, occupation, celebrations, special talent or even read to the children throughout the day? We would love to invite you into the service to showcase to the children. Please send us an email if you would like to do anything!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Zac, Savannah and the Choklits Team
— Friday, May 5th —
Hello families,
It was wonderful to have our Choklits Croydon community come together for our Mother’s Day Celebration on Thursday! Thank you to all of our wonderful families and visitors who joined us, we hope you had a lovely afternoon with us! You can see the beautiful photos captured on both Xplor and our social media accounts.
Highlights from the week…
Our Kinder 4 children had their first Bush Kinder this week!! It was a fantastic start to the ongoing program that our children will benefit from. The children ventured out to the bus stop, practising their road safety skills. Once they arrived at Warrien Reserve they sat down at one of the tables and were led in an Acknowledgement of Country, they then broke off into smaller groups to go on a special Waring season scavenger hunt. Waring is one of the seven seasons that the Wurundjeri people broke the year into. It is the months of May-July, so we are just at the start of the season and according to the Museum of Victoria it is a time of cool, rainy days that follow misty mornings. It is also the time of highest rainfall and lowest temperatures. (The children certainly found that out during the day!!!) Waring (wombats) also emerge to bask and graze in the sunshine and Bulen-bulen (Superb Lyrebird) males perform their courtship displays. During the hunt the children used magnifying glasses to examine the leaves and grass up close, they also used bug catchers to put in leaves and bark they found.
After the scavenger hunt it started to rain, so the children used the time to eat their morning tea under the shelter. Whilst doing so, they learned how to read a compass, looking to see where North and South are, and then figuring out East and West. It was great to see how the children are able to remember these concepts and being able to incorporate it into a fun and exciting activity will help to ground their knowledge in a tangible way.
After the big morning, the children had a final debrief where they discussed what they had done and the reason behind it. The children said their favourite activity from the day was building the bush shelter. We even had one of our parents visit the location a couple of days later, our shelter was still there!!
Fun facts and things you should check out from our community…
Have you noticed our school notice board? It is right below the reception desk when you first walk in. We have partnered with our local schools to support them as well as the transitions for our Kinder children as they progress through to school. There are quite a few school tours, open days and other scholarly events that are upcoming so please check them out!
We are always looking at expanding our connections so please let us know if there is a school that you would be interested in or would like more information on and we will reach out and partner with them.
Next week…
We have John from Ringwood RSL coming to visit the children on Tuesday the 9th of May.
We look forward to starting our ongoing connection with the RSL and learning about an organisation which is dedicated to honouring those who have served our nation through Military Service.
Coming up this month…
- On the 16th May we have our Smile for Kids Dental Visit. This will be a great opportunity for the children to be educated on the importance of dental/oral hygiene. If you would like your child to be seen by the dentist, please fill out the form provided by email. If you would like a printed copy or you cannot locate the email, please contact the office.
- On May 22nd students from Croydon Hills Primary will be coming in to spend time with and read to our kinders, we are very excited to start this partnership and look forward to sharing the stories and events to come!
Can you assist?
Do you have any pots/pans laying about the house that are not in use? In consultation with the children we are wanting to create a mud kitchen!
After our library excursion, incursions and multiple discussions at group times, the children are wanting to create a borrowing library for our families. Are there any books that you would like to share? Please leave them at reception! We are very excited to watch this unfold.
Would you like to share your culture, occupation, celebrations, special talent or even read to the children throughout the day? We would love to invite you into the service to showcase to the children. Please send us an email if you would like to do anything!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Zac, Savannah and the Choklits Team
— Friday, April 28th —
Hello families,
We hope you have had a fabulous week this week, please read on to hear all about…
Another exciting week at Choklits Croydon…
Pre-Kinder had a very creative week! The children created a wonderful piece of art through a slide painting activity! To do this, the children rolled down a variety of toys into paint down the slide on a long sheet of paper. This experience allowed the children to explore cause and effect, creativity and colour recognition. It was a great way to work on share-taking and allowed the children to work together to create another class masterpiece.
This week we had some very special visitors attend the service the day after ANZAC day. Tom, one of our educators in the Kinder 4 team, asked his father, Corin, Grandfather, Alan and Brother, Ned to come and talk with us about ANZAC day. Corin and Alan have both served in the Australian Armed forces overseas, they shared stories about Vietnam and East Timor and the children discussed the differences in living conditions between these countries compared to living in Australia. Corin and Alan spoke to the children about the medals that they have received for their bravery. Corin also brought along his service dog, Daisy, and shared with the children information on how Daisy assists Corin throughout his day. The children then made ANZAC biscuits which was a delightful afternoon tea! The day was full of learning the history of ANZAC day, it was a fantastic experience sharing stories and helping to bring the ANZAC spirit to life.
Next week…
Wednesday the 3rd of May is our first Bush Kinder trip to Warrien Reserve, we have some parents that have expressed interest in joining us on the day but we still have room for more! Don’t forget we have the Risk Assessment available for your perusal and permission forms need to be returned to enable your child to participate. Whilst this is on a Wednesday currently, we will be looking at rotating the days that bush kinder occurs, however if your child usually comes on another day, you are more than welcome to bring them to Warrien Reserve to join in- please note a parent/guardian will need to stay for the duration with the child as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office or kinder team.
Coming up this month…
- On the 16th May we have our Smile for Kids Dental Visit. This will be a great opportunity for the children to be educated on the importance of dental/oral hygiene. If you would like your child to be seen by the dentist, please fill out the form provided by email. If you would like a printed copy or you cannot locate the email, please contact the office.
- The Kindergarten children have an upcoming Dinosaur and Fossil incursion.
- Sarah the Librarian from REALM library will be continuing her visits for the whole service.
- On May 22nd students from Croydon Hills Primary will be coming in to read to our Kinders.
Don’t forget…
- To RSVP to our Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea at Choklits Croydon! The event will be held on the 4th of May at 2:30pm. Please RSVP via email before Tuesday 2nd May so that we can cater for the event. We’d love to see you (and any special people) there! This invitation is to all of our families, not only those who attend on Thursdays!
- If you would like to join our Kinders’ on their Bush Kinder, please let us know! We would love to have you!
Can you assist?
Do you have any pots/pans laying about the house that are not in use? In consultation with the children we are wanting to create a mud kitchen!
After our library excursion, incursions and multiple discussions at group times, the children are wanting to create a borrowing library for our families. Are there any books that you would like to share? Please leave them at reception! We are very excited to watch this unfold.
Would you like to share your culture, occupation, celebrations, special talent or even read to the children throughout the day? We would love to invite you into the service to showcase to the children. Please send us an email if you would like to do anything!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Zac, Savannah and the Choklits Team
— Friday, April 21st —
Hello families,
Thanks for joining in to read the updates from Croydon this week!
This week…
On the 20th April there was a Solar Eclipse. This was great timing considering our Kinder children have shared their interest in space! The Kinder 4 room set up the projector and the laptop with a live stream video from Exmouth in Western Australia which had the best possible viewing area. The educators were able to demonstrate how an eclipse happens by utilising a world globe brought in by one of the children and using a moon made from foil as well as a torch to show that when the sun is blocked by the moon passing between the earth and the sun, it casts a big shadow over the earth. The children made moons to play with, some of the children even made their own mini eclipses using the projector light as the sun. We love seeing these occurrences, as play allows children to communicate ideas, to understand others through social interaction, paving the way to build deeper understanding and more powerful relationships. Children play to make sense of the world around them, and to find meaning in an experience by connecting it to something already known. The kinders have also extended this learning by creating a rocket ship!
We also had our first session of our Choklits Activate sports program! Mel ran the whole service through a series of activities and sessions to assist children in developing their gross motor skills as well as creating and fostering a love of sport. Playing sport helps children learn to control their emotions and channel negative feelings in a positive way. It also helps children to develop patience and understand that it can take a lot of practice to improve both their physical skills and what they do in early childhood and throughout life.
After our excursions and visit from Sergeant James and Leading Senior Constable Kara, the educators have extended on their learning of road safety. With traffic on our roads becoming increasingly busy it is important for all of us to teach children from a young age to be aware of the traffic rules and regulations. Together with the educators, the children created a road in the yard, this included parking bays, a sidewalk and a set of battery operated traffic lights. The children have been discussing road rules and safety with their educators and we definitely know that this is something that is ingrained into the children’s thoughts as one of the educators walked on the play road the other day and the children called out “Be careful! Walking on the road is dangerous!!!”
Next week…
- We are closed on Tuesday April 25th for the ANZAC Day Public Holiday
- We have a very exciting incursion coming to teach the children about ANZAC Day, we look forward to sharing all about it.
Don’t forget…
- To RSVP to our Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea at Choklits Croydon! The event will be held on the 4th of May at 2:30pm. Please RSVP via email or keep your eyes peeled for our Xplor posts, as we’d love to see you (and any special people) there! This invitation is to all of our families, not only those who attend on Thursdays!
- If you would like to join our Kinders’ on their Bush Kinder, please let us know! We would love to have you!
Can you assist?…
Do you have any pots/pans laying about the house that are not in use? In consultation with the children we are wanting to create a mud kitchen!
After our library excursion and multiple discussions at group time, the children are wanting to create a borrowing library for our families. Are there any books that you would like to share? We are very excited to watch this unfold.
Would you like to share your culture, occupation, celebrations, special talent or even read to the children throughout the day? We would love to invite you into the service to showcase to the children. Please send us an email if you would like to do anything!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Zac, Savannah and the Choklits Team
— Friday, April 14th —
Hello families,
We hope you enjoyed the long weekend and shorter week this week!
Last night we had one of our monthly staff meetings which consisted of an Amazing Race! It was such a wonderful experience to watch as each room worked together in order to crack the clues and finish the series of tasks first to be classed as the winners! This experience allowed our educators to bond as a team as well as assisting to extend their knowledge on a variety of aspects that guide and support the service such as Child Safe Standards, Active Supervision, The Early Years Learning Framework and Health and Safety.
We have been hastily brainstorming and preparing lots of programs, incursions and excursions for all of the children based on their needs and interests to further develop our curriculum. These include (but are not limited to!)
- Bread making at the bakery
- Visits from our war veterans
- Visits to our local RSL
- Dinosaur incursions
- Plant to Plate
- Activate Sports
- Visits to traffic schools
- Library incursions
- Visits from our local Elders
- Visits to and from our local schools
We cannot wait to share these events with you all!
Have you heard your child mention anything that they would like to do/see? Have you got some great ideas? We would love to hear from you!!!
Can you assist?…
Do you have any pots/pans laying about the house that are not in use? In consultation with the children we are wanting to create a mud kitchen!
After our library excursion and multiple discussions at group time, the children are wanting to create a borrowing library for our families. Are there any books that you would like to share? We are very excited to watch this unfold.
Coming up…
Exciting news Kinder families! We have been hard at work behind the scenes organising for our first of many regular outings for bush kinder. As you may understand this has required a bit of planning, then conducting a risk assessment and finding a location that is suitable and nearby. We have decided on Warrien Reserve, as this is a wonderful bushland/park with many native flora and fauna to discover, as well as having a play area, shelter, and toilets all in the one location. There are many exciting activities and learning opportunities to be held there. We would also welcome any parents or guardians that would like to join us for our first bush kinder excursion for Kinder 4 on the 3rd of May. If you are interested, please let us know, when you return the permission forms. Forms are available in the Kinder 4 room.
In addition to this, we are also in the process of working with Aboriginal Elders and connections to embed meaning and knowledge behind a name for ‘bush kinder’. We are working hard to ensure that this name suits what it is we’re doing and why we’re doing it whilst remaining respectful. We want this name to link to the fact that we are learning on country.
Do you have any thoughts? We’d love to hear from you!
- Dr Chan visits on Monday 17th April – don’t forget to book appointments using the clipboard at reception
- Tuesday April 25th the centre is closed for the ANZAC Day Public Holiday
- Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea at Choklits Croydon will be held on the 4th of May at 2:30pm. Please RSVP via email or keep your eyes peeled for our Xplor posts, as we’d love to see you (and any special people) there! This invitation is to all of our families, not only those who attend on Thursdays!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Zac, Savannah and the Choklits Team
— Friday, April 7th —
Hello families,
We hope you’ve been enjoying reading our weekly updates – we’re hoping they give you a wider view of the wonderful occurrences, events, experiences and adventures that are happening not only in your child’s room, but across the whole service.
Highlights from the week…
This morning we were fortunate to be visited by two Police Officers! Sergeant James and Leading Senior Constable Kara spoke to the children about many important topics covering the emergency services. The children learned who can help us in an emergency, road safety when crossing the road and who are our safe people – they are our mums and dads, teachers and police officers. We also learnt how to call the emergency number – 000 / triple zero on the phone if we need help. There was a wonderful discussion with many great questions and comments made.
The children also had the opportunity to try on a number of awesome police hats including the formal cap, baseball cap and wide brim hat. There were even a couple of police vests to try on as well!
Before our special visitors left we went outside to their police car and we got to see the flashing red and blue lights, some children even got to turn the loud siren on!!!
We are very grateful to have the opportunity to have the fantastic lessons and incursion thanks so much for visiting and keeping us safe!!
We also had our Easter Parade this afternoon, the children were so proud of the hats that they created and decorated and had a terrific time parading them around the service. This event was then followed by an Easter Hunt with stickers! To follow on with our Easter festivities, the children indulged in their Hot Cross Buns for afternoon tea.
Next week…
Monday the 10th is a public holiday so we will be closed. We hope you are able to have a fabulous long weekend. We can’t wait to hear all about your adventures!
Don’t forget, we’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
You can give us feedback at any time regarding all of the areas of the National Quality Standards in a variety of ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Zac, Savannah and the Choklits Team
— Friday, March 31st —
Hello families,
We hope you’ve been enjoying reading our weekly updates – we’re hoping they give you a wider view of the wonderful occurrences, events, experiences and adventures that are happening not only in your child’s room, but across the whole service.
Highlights from the week…
Our Kinder 4’s took to the streets and went on their first Choklits excursion! The Kinders rode the bus which allowed them to gain insight on life outside of Choklits. Together with their educators they discovered how a bus works, how to utilise public transport and how to read a bus schedule! Their journey was to the library where they were shown how a library works, what they can do inside, how to borrow and return books and how they can support their local community.
We had an incursion from Lizard Wizard! Monique brought in some extra special guests! Our guests included; two bearded dragons named Frank and Lola, two blue tongue lizards,one of which was called Chicken, two snakes named Caramel and Gemma, a sugar glider named Stardust and even a turtle called Boris!
There was a wide range of emotions when our slippery friends came to visit! However, everyone was very brave and took turns patting our visitors. Some of the children were brave enough to hold Gemma the Snake! Everybody loved seeing Stardust the sugar glider and Boris the turtle who was still a little bit wet! During the visit the children noticed that the class butterfly had emerged from the chrysalis and was hanging upside down and resting its wings. The Kinders were also amazed to discover that their Chrysalis had changed colour overnight this week. It had become transparent, but they could see the orange wings inside!
One of the children noticed the butterfly slowly flapping its wings which meant that it might soon be ready to fly. Some of the children held it for a photo before they took it outside. It relaxed in the sunshine for a little while and when it felt ready it took off flying away.
We were so grateful to have the opportunity to care for and watch the butterfly grow!
Next week…
Dr Chan will be visiting the service on Monday April 3rd. If you would like to book in with him, you’ll find the clipboard at the front desk.
We have Vision Photography coming to take beautiful pictures of the children from Monday until Thursday. This is an external service so if you need any information from them, we will do our best to answer any questions you may have but Vision Photography will be the best point of contact!
Friday the 7th and Monday the 10th are public holidays so we will be closed on these days. We hope you all have a lovely long weekend and are able to take the opportunity to rejuvenate and spend time with your loved ones.
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can send us feedback or share your ideas at any time regarding our service, practice, policies or curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Using our Policy Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, March 24th —
Hello families,
Nowruz Mobarak! We had the pleasure of celebrating Harmony Day this week. We love celebrating our diverse community, please remember to share with us anything that you celebrate so we can learn about it, educate the children and share in the celebration too!!
Diversity and inclusion helps children learn to empathize with people who are different from them. Diversity and inclusion allows children to become strong learners, allowing them to understand various subjects from multiple points of view.
What we got up to this week…
Our Kinder 4 children are currently focusing on learning about mathematical concepts using the exploration of geo boards and rubber bands. They are also working on making chatterboxes based on the life cycle of the butterfly as our Kinder rooms have been fortunate enough to have a chrysalis in the room!
Our Kinder 3’s have had their focus on STEAM. They are focusing on science at the moment, exploring the life cycle of the butterfly. We have a chrysalis in the room to enable the children to observe the transformation into a butterfly. The children have been making incredible observations in regards to this!
Pre-Kinder has been focusing on sensory play! Sensory play includes play that engages any of a child’s senses. This includes touch, smell, sight, sound and taste, but it also covers movement, balance, and spatial awareness. When a child is born, their senses aren’t fully developed. They only mature over time as babies, toddlers, and preschoolers explore the sensory world around them. Each new experience they have with a different sense builds neuron connections that grow the architecture of their brain.
The Toddler room has welcomed Anu (‘nu nu’) into the room as the room leader! A lot of you already know Anu as she was with Milestone for 12 years. Anu returned from India after visiting home recently and we are very happy to have her back. Anu has expressed her love and interest in the Toddler age group which has suited the service perfectly as Mel has expressed her wish to follow a slightly different path at our service. Mel’s wish in her career has been to take on more administrative responsibilities and focus on other aspects throughout the service. She will now be following this with us, as we are able to accommodate her needs and wish to be progressing her in this chosen path. You will still see Mel in some of the rooms but we are very excited for her to be able to take on this learning opportunity.
Mel and Anu are working closely with Simmi from the Nursery room to assure our families have a smooth transition into the Toddler room.
Next week handover will officially commence and the above positions will start from the 3rd of April.
The Nursery children have been busy creating their own poster for Harmony Day to represent the diverse backgrounds of the children in the room. Together with their educators they traced their hands and decorated their own personal piece, speaking about the reason behind why they were doing so.
Harmony Day is a time for everyone to celebrate the benefits of multiculturalism. It recognises the importance of cultural respect, participation and inclusiveness for everyone who calls Australia home.
Remember to register for…
Annual Photos with Vision Photography (see below for more information) – week of the 3rd of April
Smile for Kids Dental Visit – 16/05/2023
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits …
Don’t forget you can give send us feedback at any time on our curriculum in a couple of different ways-
- In person at Choklits, either verbally or in writing using the clipboards provided
- Via phone or email
- Using our National Quality Areas Feedback Form
- Visiting choklits.com.au/contact
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, March 17th —
Hello families,
We hope you had a wonderful long weekend! We packed a lot into our 4 day week this week!! We had our first excursion to the REALM library today! The children have been bustling with excitement as they prepared themselves for the journey.
This week was Cultural Diversity Week. Each room participated in a variety of experiences including, but not limited to, Music and dance: where the educators played music from different cultures, teaching children traditional dances from around the world, art activities that represent different cultures, reading stories from different cultures discussing the cultural values, traditions, and beliefs represented in the stories, and language lessons, where we took the opportunity to teach children basic phrases in different languages incorporating new words into our daily routines.
By celebrating cultural diversity, we are assisting children to develop a greater appreciation and understanding of the different cultures and beliefs that surround us. We always promote acceptance and inclusivity at our service but this week allows us to highlight what it is we do and explain the why behind it!
We also celebrated St Patrick’s Day! The children were engaged in a range of experiences that celebrated the heritage and culture of the Irish including the making of green smoothies, nature shamrocks and art displays!
We’d love your help to help us improve at Choklits…
We are always looking for ways to improve at Choklits and we’d love your input! Let us explain…
As a child care service, our practices are guided by the 7 National Quality Standards (NQS) which are important for several reasons. Broadly, they provide a framework for assessing and improving the quality of care and education that children receive in early childhood settings. They help ensure children are receiving the best possible care and education, which is critical for their development and future success.
Furthermore, the 7 Quality Areas are a set of benchmarks established by the Australian Government to ensure high-quality early childhood education and care.
Below are the benefits of each of the seven quality areas:
- Educational program and practice: This quality area focuses on the educational programs and practices provided by the child care service. The benefits of a high-quality educational program include preparing children for school, supporting their development and learning, and promoting positive social and emotional outcomes.
- Children’s health and safety: This quality area focuses on the health and safety of children in the child care setting. The benefits of ensuring children’s health and safety include reducing the risk of illness and injury, promoting healthy habits, and providing a safe and secure environment for children to learn and play.
- Physical environment: This quality area focuses on the physical environment of the child care service, including the buildings, equipment, and outdoor areas. The benefits of a high-quality physical environment include providing a welcoming and stimulating environment for children, promoting physical activity, and supporting learning and development.
- Staffing arrangements: This quality area focuses on the staffing arrangements of the child care service, including staff qualifications, ratios, and ongoing professional development. The benefits of high-quality staffing arrangements include ensuring that children receive appropriate care and education, promoting positive interactions with children, and providing a stable and consistent environment for children.
- Relationships with children: This quality area focuses on the relationships between children and the child care service’s staff. The benefits of positive relationships with children include promoting emotional well-being, supporting social development, and facilitating learning and development.
- Collaborative partnerships with families and communities: This quality area focuses on the partnerships between the child care service, families, and the wider community. The benefits of collaborative partnerships include supporting children’s learning and development, promoting a sense of belonging, and fostering positive relationships between families and the child care service.
- Governance and leadership: This quality area focuses on the governance and leadership of the child care service, including policies, procedures, and decision-making processes. The benefits of effective governance and leadership include ensuring that the child care service operates in a professional and ethical manner, providing a clear direction and purpose, and promoting continuous improvement in the quality of care provided to children.
By focusing on these quality areas, Choklits can support children’s learning and development, promote their health and safety, and foster positive relationships with families and the wider community.
This is where our parents, carers and community can help us. Below is a link where you can send us any feedback, ideas or comments on the 7 Quality Areas and how they relate to Choklits. Please let us know anything you’d like to see done, improved or implemented at Choklits. We’re completely open to any ideas so we’d love to hear any suggestions you have. You can use the link below, or we have a dedicated space in our foyer where you can handwrite any feedback too.
Please click here to send us your feedback.
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, March 10th —
Hello families,
This week we had the opportunity to celebrate Holi. Holi is the Indian Festival of Colours. Here in Melbourne, the Holi Festival’s main objective is to celebrate unity in diversity and bring communities together on the occasion of Holi, The Festival of Colours. Our Kinder children partook in a colour run while the younger rooms engaged in a variety of colorful experiences using colour powder. Our Nursery room created their beautiful artwork on canvas using the natural coloured powder and glue and were encouraged to feel the texture of the colours and glue, using their fingers and hands.
Celebrating cultural events allows us to explore the diversity of culture, heritage, background and tradition and that diversity presents opportunities for choices and new understandings.
We have also watched with excitement as Ryan has started to build our second veggie patch!! We can’t wait for our 0-3 children to have their own garden beds to take care of, allowing them to work alongside one another caring for the environment that surrounds them. It also encourages children to take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing whilst trying new flavours and foods.
Fun facts and things you should check out from our community…
We are currently rebuilding choklits.com.au and will be revamping our community page to include a place where we can promote businesses, skills and talents within our community. If you are a business owner, have a special talent or skill you’d like to share with others please email us so we can include you on the new page!
Footy tipping is happening at Choklits and is officially underway! Sign up here before the first bounce on Thursday 16th March. With free entry and the chance to share in the $600 prize pool, we can’t wait to see whose footy knowledge will top the ladder!
Next week…
We are so excited to be taking our first excursion with our Kinder 3 group next Friday the 17th March to the Ringwood Library!! Our Kinder 4 children will then follow suit and take their first trip on the 27th March. The first group will depart after their lunch at the service, they will then ride the bus to The Realm- Ringwood Library where they will then have a tour which will include a story time and afternoon tea on site, followed by an arts and craft session. They will then take the bus to return to the service!!
Our intention is for this excursion to occur again on different days enabling all children the chance to participate if they wish.
If you do not want your children to participate in the bus ride we have organised for the Librarian to visit the service as well. Children that do not want to attend will continue to be involved in the usual program with their regular staff.
This will be the start of many excursions, following will be bush kinder to the local reserve, visits to local schools, Kew Traffic School, Science works and much more to be announced later in the year.
Our next incursion will be Lizard Wizard, they will be at the service on the 28th March.
Please remember if the incursions/excursions occur on days when your child is not in attendance but you would like them to be involved on the day you can always bring them in and stay for the incursion.
Next week we will be celebrating:
- Cultural Diversity Week
- St Patrick’s Day
Please remember…
If you have anything you would like us to celebrate or acknowledge we would love to do so! Please reach out and let us know.
Our centre photos have been booked for Monday April 3rd – 6th. We are using a company called Vision Portraits, sessions are booked online through their website. There is no obligation to have your child/ren’s photo taken but if you do then please go to visionportraits.com.au/photos and enter the password ‘annualphotos’. Make sure you select Choklits Croydon.
Have a great weekend,
Deb, Savannah, Zac and the Choklits Team
— Friday, March 3rd —
Hello families,
Another week has flown by. As always we had a very exciting week here at Choklits! In addition to our regular incursions we have had a lot going on!
Please enjoy our weekly update of our learning this week!
Nursery
Children in the Nursery have been participating in some amazing sensory experiences. One experience in particular allowed the children to interact with natural materials that were collected from our outdoor environment and placed in coconut shells. The children were encouraged to feel the textures against their skin, smell the lemon leaves, and look at the flowers. The children enjoyed this experience and were able to learn about different textures and further develop their senses.
Children were also engaged in indoor and outdoor learning experiences including dancing to songs, pushing the walkers around, reading books, popping bubbles, playing in the sandpit, and sliding down the slide!
Toddlers
This week the Toddler children have been enjoying the new set ups in their room. These experiences have allowed them to engage in sandpit play, musical instruments, drawing, sensory play and construction areas. They have engaged in some Australian Sign Language (ASL) classes and are currently learning 5 little monkeys!!!
The children have also enjoyed reading books and listening to the music and participating in their dance classes, their favourite songs to listen to are the wiggles and baby shark!
Pre-Kinder
In the Pre-Kinder room, the children have been engaging in some group art experiences! Together they made a beautiful piece of artwork for their classroom. They used a variety of mediums to make patterns and pictures alongside one another. The children chose the colours they used and created beautiful designs that are now proudly displayed on their wall. The children took turns and waited patiently for one another to express themselves. The children have also been engaged in playdough making experiences, dancing, singing and reading.
Kinder 3
The children are getting ready to go on a bus trip to the Ringwood Library! They have been learning about road safety to prepare themselves. Jenny and Michelle took a trip on Thursday to complete a risk assessment for the trip. We would like to make this a regular occurrence for Kinder 3 and Kinder 4. Stay tuned as you will receive the permission slips over the next couple of weeks. We also have the risk assessment available if you would like to look this over prior to signing the permission form. The children also participated in a Van Gogh painting experience! This allowed the children to use Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ as a provocation to create their own still life painting.
Kinder 4
The Kinder 4 children were visited by Holly and her bees on Tuesday. They were able to learn about the lifecycle of bees, the Queen bee, how the bees collect pollen and which bees can sting us. They learnt about the beehive and the shape of honeycomb which they found out is where the Queen lays her eggs.
Holly brought along a hive which had a Queen bee hiding inside, it had special windows where the children could watch as the bees worked. Holly set up different stations where the children were able to feel the glass, the children spoke about how they could feel the heat in the areas where there were lots of bees! They also had the opportunity to try on a special beekeeper’s hat, they tried out a special tool called a smoker too! This tool helps to calm the bees to allow someone to collect the honey. The children then had the opportunity to try two different types of honey, a runny brown one and a special creamed one, that was thick like a lollipop.
At the end of the incursion, the children were taught the signs (Australian Sign Language) to thank the bees for the honey they shared with us!
We’ve posted photos from the incursion here.
Fun facts and things you should check out from our community…
We are currently rebuilding choklits.com.au and will be revamping our community page to include a place where we can promote businesses, skills and talents within our community. If you are a business owner, have a special talent or skill you’d like to share with others please email us so we can include you on the new page.
Next week…
We will be celebrating:
- Monday 5th of March- Clean Up Australia Day
- Wednesday 8th of March- Holi Festival of Colours
- Holi is a festival of colours, one of the most vibrant of all Hindu festivals. It marks the end of winter in India and is a welcome to the spring season so please feel free to wear or pack a white t-shirt or something you feel comfortable getting colourful!
Please remember…
If you have anything you would like us to celebrate or acknowledge we would love to do so! Please reach out and let us know. Have a great weekend,
Deb and the Choklits Team
Latest News
Hello Choklits Families! As we are begin the month of autumn, we are excited to share two exciting updates!...
Red Nose Day Learning Experiences for Early Learners Red Nose Day is associated with Red Nose (formerly known as...
2023 Annual Letter Hello Choklits Community, For the last few years, in the period between Christmas and New Year,...
Our Centres
(03) 9879 5888