Meraki Early Learning Centre Mooroolbark

⛅️ Outdoor play spaces are always a favourite among many children, but when the weather gets cooler, experiences often need to be approached a little differently. Is water play always the best option when it’s cold and wet outside, or can we create something new to spark curiosity and engagement? ❄️🌈

This past week, we set ourselves a challenge to create some new experiences in our outdoor environments—and the team certainly delivered! 👏

The children have been busy exploring and enjoying:
A new transport and construction area 🚧🚜🦺
A pallet art easel for creative expression 🎨🖌️🖼️
Friendship branches for threading and decorating our outdoor spaces 🧶🪾

It has been wonderful to watch the children so deeply engaged, taking turns, respecting each other’s spaces, and collaborating with their peers. Equally inspiring has been seeing the passion and creativity of our educators shine through in these experiences.

We can’t wait to see where the children’s interests take us next! 💚✨

💙💛Yesterday, we hosted our Australia's Biggest Morning Tea 💛💙
A very big thank you to everyone in our Meraki Community who participated in baking or donating to our Biggest Morning tea a whopping $638.00 was raised for the Cancer Council.
We are incredibly grateful to our community for their generosity to support such a wonderful cause.

🎨Today, our Explorers took their creativity outside, trading their usual paper for the big, grey canvas of the concrete and used some jumbo chalk to let the creativity flow

The children practised their gross motor skills by squatting, kneeling and reaching across the concrete to draw🖍

🌈We talked about what chalk was, how it works, what colours the children had in their hands. Many of the children used their fingertips to smudge the chalk into the ground, feeling the texture of both the chalk and the concrete.

The children loved sharing and swapping the colours with each other! They used their fine motor skills to achieve different techniques to draw with, some using back and forth motions, while others used a “dotting” motion to create a pattern. They created lines, squiggles, dots, shapes and so much more!✨

🩷Special Person's afternoon tea🩷
Yesterday was a beautiful afternoon celebration in recognition of the up coming Mother's day.
We are grateful for all the mum's and and grandmothers who came down to celebrate with us.
📣SHOUT OUT to our wonderful chef Jess and Yvonne for putting on a delicious spread that was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

✨🧪Our magical potions 🧪✨
Hands on science experience take on many forms for our little learners.
Our Inventors children enjoyed exploring “magic potions” using bicarbonate soda, citric acid, and food colouring. They were fascinated as their creations came to life—bubbling, fizzing, and changing colours before their eyes.
Throughout the morning, each child engaged in their own creative experimentation, eagerly mixing ingredients and observing the results. They showed great curiosity as they discovered how different colours combined, developing their understanding of cause and effect while enjoying a hands-on sensory experience.
Through these experience children are learning-
✨To collaborate and share ideas and resources alongside peers, strengthening social connections and communications
✨Problem-solving, and inquiry as they experiment with materials and observe changes

♻️🦸Recycle Man 🦸♻️

This week our Kinder children had an incursion with Recycle Man, a superhero who teaches us how to care for our environment. The children learned about the importance of recycling and how we can all help by recycling correctly. They had the opportunity to dress up in superhero recycling capes and masks, which made the experience exciting and engaging.

During the incursion, the children identified the triangle symbol on plastic bottles. They learned that this symbol means the item can be recycled. Recycle Man also talked about how Aboriginal people have cared for the land for thousands of years, respecting nature and using resources wisely. He explained that now it is our turn to look after the Earth and do our part by recycling.

This interactive, engaging incursion helped the children understand how recycling can make a positive difference in protecting our environment.

✨Shadow Drawing a Spontaneous Learning Moment✨

🌿🌻Yesterday morning in our Creators room, while we were changing the water for our flowers, the children were smelling the basil and rosemary and exploring the fresh bouquet. Just then, the sunlight hit the table perfectly, creating long, interesting shadows across the surface

We grabbed some paper and Sharpies so the children could trace the shadows. They focused on following the lines and shapes, watching how the shadows moved and changed. There was a calm sense of concentration and creativity as they worked 🌻🌿

✨It's moments like these that remind us, sometimes the most meaningful learning happens by surprise✨

To celebrate Harmony day, the Discoverers spent some time with our friends from the Creators room. There was lots of smiles and laughter as we participated in a collaborative artwork, these shared experiences encourage a sense of belonging and feeling of community within the centre.

This morning, when we opened the door to the deck, we found a lost little friend. An insect was sitting quietly on our doorstep. We gently picked it up and brought it inside to take a closer look. At first, we weren’t sure if it was a cicada, a grasshopper, or a cricket.
We got out our insect book and carefully compared the pictures until we think it may be a cicada. The children wanted to touch it, so we practised our “fairy touches” to make sure we were being very gentle.
After about 20 minutes, we decided it was time for the cicada to go home. We took a photo, then went outside and placed “Hippo” (the children named it) the insect in a tree and waved goodbye.
“I hope he finds his family,” one child said.

We hope you all have the most amazing Easter and the bunny brings lots of chocolates to everyone! 🐰🪺
Enjoy your long weekend and we will see you all Tuesday! 😊