Explorers Learning Academy Bardia

🍎🍓🍊 Healthy Growing Bodies Start with Healthy Food! 🍇🍐🍉

At Explorers Learning Academy Bardia, we proudly serve fresh fruit platters daily alongside our meals and snacks. Our children enjoy a colourful variety of seasonal fruits that provide essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to support their growth, development and overall wellbeing.

Offering a wide range of fruits encourages children to explore new tastes, develop healthy eating habits and build a positive relationship with nutritious foods from an early age. Fresh fruit also supports healthy immune systems, energy levels and concentration throughout the day.

“Children who are offered a variety of healthy foods in their early years are more likely to develop lifelong healthy eating habits.”

We love watching our little explorers discover new flavours and enjoy healthy choices with their friends each day! 🍎🍓

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🐢🌊 World Sea Turtle Day at Explorers Learning Academy! 🌊🐢

Today, our children enjoyed participating in World Sea Turtle Day, a special opportunity to learn about these incredible marine animals and the important role we all play in protecting their habitats.

Through hands-on experiences, discussions, creative activities, and exploration, the children discovered fascinating facts about sea turtles, their life cycle, and the challenges they face in our oceans. Together, we explored ways we can care for the environment, including reducing waste, recycling, and helping to keep our waterways and beaches clean.

At Explorers Learning Academy, we believe that fostering a love and respect for nature from a young age helps children develop a sense of responsibility and connection to the world around them. Experiences such as these support children to become active participants in caring for our planet and its wildlife.

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” – Robert Swan

Through meaningful sustainability experiences, our little explorers are learning that even small actions can make a big difference for the future of our oceans and the amazing creatures that call them home.

🌟 Long Weekend Closure Reminder 🌟

As we head into the long weekend, we would like to wish all of our children, families, and educators a safe, happy, and joyful break filled with special moments together.

Please note that Explorers Learning Academy Bardia will be closed on Monday for the public holiday and will reopen as normal on Tuesday.

We look forward to hearing all about your adventures when we return!

🖤💛❤️ Reconciliation Week Continues ❤️💛🖤

Our little children have been continuing their Reconciliation Week journey through hands-on sensory exploration, creativity, and meaningful conversations.

The children explored a variety of sensory trays inspired by nature, colours, textures, and symbols that help us learn about and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Through touching, scooping, pouring, and investigating natural materials, our youngest learners engaged their senses while developing curiosity about the world around them.

We also enjoyed painting experiences using traditional colours and patterns, encouraging children to express themselves creatively while exploring culture, identity, and belonging. These experiences provided wonderful opportunities for fine motor development, language growth, and social interactions as children worked alongside their peers.

At Explorers Learning Academy, we believe that building respect and understanding begins from the earliest years. Through meaningful experiences such as these, we support children to develop a sense of connection to Country, culture, and community.

“Every child has the right to learn about and respect the histories, cultures, languages, and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.” – EYLF V2.0

🌱 Learning through play
🎨 Exploring colours and creativity
🤝 Building respect and understanding
🌏 Connecting with culture and community

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🥦🍐🍎 Fresh, Nutritious Beginnings at Explorers Learning Academy! 🍎🍐🥦

At Explorers Learning Academy Bardia, we believe healthy eating habits start from the very beginning. Our dedicated team takes pride in preparing fresh, nutritious meals and purees using quality fruits and vegetables to support our babies’ growth, development, and wellbeing.

Today’s delicious baby lunch featured:
🥄 Apple & Pear Pure
🥄 Spinach, Broccoli, Carrot, Cabbage & Cauliflower Puree

Introducing babies to a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables helps develop healthy eating habits, supports brain development, strengthens growing bodies, and encourages a lifelong love of nutritious foods.

Research shows that the first five years of life are a critical time for establishing positive food relationships and dietary patterns that can last a lifetime. By offering a wide range of flavours, colours, and textures, we are helping our youngest learners explore the wonderful world of healthy eating.

💚 “Healthy children are better learners, explorers, and adventurers. Good nutrition today lays the foundation for a lifetime of health and wellbeing.”

Our menu is carefully designed to align with the Australian Dietary Guidelines, supporting children’s physical development, immune health, and overall wellbeing while fostering positive attitudes towards food.

At Explorers, every bite is an opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive! 🌱

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🖤💛❤️ National Reconciliation Week at Explorers Learning Academy ❤️💛🖤

This week our children have been engaging in meaningful, hands-on learning experiences as we celebrate and recognise National Reconciliation Week. Together, we have been exploring and learning more about the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of Australia’s First Nations Peoples through play, discussion, art, movement, music, and storytelling.

Throughout the week, the children have shown incredible curiosity and respect as they explored Aboriginal symbols, traditional dance, cultural dress, bush tucker, music, storytelling, and connection to Country. We have also been learning about totem animals and their significance within Aboriginal culture, including the beautiful Burri Burri whale connected to the Dharawal/Tharawal people, whose land we learn and play on each day.

The children have loved participating in painting experiences, Indigenous-inspired creative arts, movement and dance activities, sensory exploration, and conversations about caring for Country and respecting culture. These experiences help foster inclusion, belonging, empathy, and respect from a young age while supporting children to become active and informed members of their community.

At Explorers Learning Academy, we are committed to embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into our everyday curriculum in meaningful and authentic ways as part of our ongoing Reconciliation journey.

“Reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.” — Reconciliation Australia

🌙✨ Eid Al-Adha Mubarak to all of our families and community members celebrating! ✨🌙
From all of us at Explorers Learning Academy Bardia, we would like to wish you a joyful and peaceful Eid Al-Adha filled with love, kindness, laughter, and special moments with family and friends.
As we celebrate the beauty of diversity within our learning community, we are grateful for the many cultures, traditions, and celebrations that help our children grow with respect, understanding, and a sense of belonging.
May this special occasion bring happiness, good health, and cherished memories to your homes.
Eid Mubarak!

The Explorers Learning Academy Bardia Team.

Our beautiful Echidnas babies have been having so much fun exploring the classic story The Very Hungry Caterpillar! The children enjoyed listening to the story together, turning pages, pointing to the colourful pictures and engaging in meaningful conversations with their educators about the caterpillar’s journey.

To extend the children’s learning and curiosity, our educators created exciting sensory trays inspired by the story! The babies explored different textures, colours and natural materials through hands-on play, supporting their sensory development, fine motor skills, language and early literacy. The children loved scooping, touching, discovering and investigating the story in a playful and meaningful way.

Experiences like these help build strong foundations for communication, imagination and a love of books from an early age while supporting outcomes from the EYLF V2.0 including wellbeing, confidence, communication and active learning.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr Seuss

What a buzzing week our beautiful Echidnas Room has had exploring the wonderful world of insects!

Our curious little Echidnas have been engaged in a week-long insect project filled with hands-on discovery, sensory exploration, creativity, and wonder. Through sensory trays, interactive stories, puppet play, nature-inspired crafts, songs, and messy play experiences, the children have been using all their senses to explore the tiny creatures that share our world.

The children loved feeling different textures in our bug sensory trays, listening to stories about butterflies and ladybugs, and using puppets to build early communication and imaginative play skills. Our little artists also created beautiful insect crafts while exploring colours, patterns, and fine motor skills.

“Play gives children a chance to practise what they are learning.” – Fred Rogers

We are so proud of the joy, curiosity, and engagement our Echidnas have shown throughout this exciting project week!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible mums, grandmothers, and special women in our children’s lives.

Today we celebrate your endless love, care, strength, and the beautiful impact you have on your children every single day. Thank you for all that you do.

✨ “A mother’s love is forever blooming.” ✨

Wishing all our families a day filled with love, laughter, and special memories.