Hocking Early Learning Family Daycare

💙🧸 National Pyjama Day 2026 🧸💙

At Hocking Early Learning Family Daycare we are proud to be taking part in National Pyjama Day 2026 to support the incredible work of The Pyjama Foundation and help change the lives of children living in foster care.

Every dollar raised helps provide learning support, life skills, mentoring, and confidence-building opportunities that empower children in care to dream big and reach their full potential.

If you are able to, we would love your support by making a donation to our fundraising page.

If donating isn’t possible right now, simply sharing our fundraising page with family and friends can make a huge difference too.

Thank you for supporting this wonderful cause. Your kindness and generosity help create brighter futures for children who need it most. 💙✨

Hocking Early Learning Family Daycare We're raising money for a cause close to our hearts and would love your support. Donate here: https://fundraise.thepyjamafoundation.com/fundraisers/hockingearlylearningfamilydaycare

A baby’s feet are more than tiny, adorable limbs. They are powerful sensory tools that help the brain develop balance, awareness, and coordination. When babies move barefoot, thousands of nerve endings send signals that strengthen pathways needed for movement and emotional regulation.

Covering their feet all day blocks these sensory messages. Socks, shoes, and slippers reduce the textures, temperatures, and pressure changes babies rely on to understand their environment. Without this input, the nervous system receives less information, and the brain loses opportunities to build essential early connections.

Barefoot time also supports motor development. Babies learn how to curl their toes, grip the floor, and shift weight naturally. These actions strengthen the arches, ankles, and core muscles. When their feet stay wrapped, they miss moments that support stability and confidence once walking begins.

Parents often keep feet covered for warmth or habit, not realizing how limited sensory input becomes. Even short periods of barefoot play can reset this balance. Letting babies explore safe surfaces with bare feet wakes up their nervous system and encourages deeper engagement.

A baby’s brain grows through movement and sensation. Protecting warmth is important, but protecting sensory learning is equally vital. Bare feet help the brain do the work it was designed to do.

Congratulations to all who have been nominated so far 🩵

2026 Nominees The first round of nominations in the 2026 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards have been released!

Feeling incredibly grateful and humbled to have been nominated for Educator of the Year 2026 💙

Working in family daycare is so much more than just a job it’s building relationships, creating a safe and nurturing environment, supporting little learners as they grow, and sharing in so many special moments each day.

To be recognised in this way means the world to me. Thank you to all the beautiful families who trust me with their children, support my little daycare community, and make what I do so rewarding every single day.

I truly love what I do, and I’m so thankful to be part of each child’s journey.

📚National Simultaneous Storytime 2026📚

Today we joined children all across Australia for National Simultaneous Storytime 2026, sharing the beautiful story Luna Roo – The Kangaroo Baller together 💚🦘⚽

The children sat together listening, watching, and engaging with the story as we joined the live reading experience. Moments like these help nurture a love of books, storytelling, imagination, and early literacy skills from a young age. #

There is something so special about knowing children all around the country are sharing the very same story at the very same time ❤️


LoveOfReading BooksForChildren
LearningThroughPlay EarlyChildhoodEducation
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