Early Learning Centre
ELC 3
Filling Our Buckets with Kindness
ELC 3 has been enjoying learning about “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud. Through this engaging story, the children have been developing their understanding of kindness, empathy, friendship and emotional wellbeing, exploring how our words and actions can affect how others feel.
The children have learned about the idea of an invisible bucket that represents our feelings. Kind words and caring actions can “fill” someone’s bucket, while unkind words or behaviours can “dip” into it. This learning connects closely with our focus on emotions and feelings this term, as well as recognising “green choices” that are safe, kind and respectful and “red choices” that may hurt or upset others.
To reinforce this learning, each child created their own bucket, which is proudly displayed in our classroom. Educators will continue to acknowledge and celebrate acts of kindness by adding notes to the children’s buckets when they demonstrate caring, respectful and thoughtful behaviours.
This learning also connects beautifully with our Biblical Threads, as we encourage children to show love, kindness and compassion towards others. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us: “Be kind and compassionate to one another.” Through our everyday interactions, we are helping children understand that kindness is a choice and that our words and actions can help others feel valued, loved and included.
We are encouraging the children to become “Bucket Fillers”, building positive friendships and remembering that even small acts of kindness can make a meaningful difference. We continue to encourage the children that “the more friends you have, the more fun you will have!”
Learning About Road Safety
The ELC 3 children have been enjoying a wonderful road safety incursion and learning about the importance of keeping ourselves safe when we are on or near the road, travelling in the car, and walking in our community. The children have been learning about basic road signs and what they mean, as well as the important steps to remember when crossing the road: Stop, Look, Listen and Think, and always hold a grown-up’s hand.
We have been practising how to safely cross a zebra crossing and learning what to do when we see traffic lights. The children have also been putting their learning into practice during bike riding experiences in the ELC, where they have been reading road signs, understanding their meanings and following the directions safely. It has been wonderful to see the children developing their confidence and awareness while learning these important lifelong safety skills.
ELC 4
This term, ELC 4’s focus is the biblical thread of Building Community. The children participated in an activity that transformed the concept of community into a concrete visual model. By creating a web of belonging with a ball of wool, the class explored how their individual interests and shared connections link them together as one group. The child holding the wool shared something they liked, and then threw the wool to someone else who liked the same thing. This created a visual model of how we are all interconnected as one community. By sharing something they liked before passing the wool, each child had the opportunity to describe things that make them unique.
With the addition of our new toolsets, the children experimented with Phillips head screwdrivers to remove and replace screws in wooden blocks. The activity was designed to provide an opportunity for hands-on engineering and the development of fine-motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This task required perseverance, concentration, and fine-motor coordination, promoting a pincer grip for Prep-readiness. By managing these tools with increasing competence, the children are becoming strong in their physical learning and wellbeing. Some children also worked to reconstruct the blocks, experimenting with different ways to connect the blocks and create ramps for vehicles.
The ELC 4 children reached an exciting milestone as they participated in their first visit to the Prep classrooms, a key component of our focus on Prep-readiness and Building Community. These visits are essential for supporting continuity of learning and transitions, helping children feel secure and comfortable as they prepare for the next stage of their educational journey. The session began with Mrs. Martin reading a picture storybook by Eric Carle. The children were enthusiastic participants, performing actions throughout the story to bring the narrative to life. Following the story, the children were invited to explore the Prep environment through various play-based experiences, including playdough and drawing, marble run, toy cars, animals, and doll play. The visit concluded with a group song filled with laughter. Such moments of shared fun help to build partnerships between the ELC and the school community, fostering a sense of belonging.
Thank You to Our Families
A very big thank you to our wonderful parents and families who have supported our fundraising efforts over the past year and this year. Your contributions have helped us purchase new and exciting outdoor equipment for the children to enjoy.
Although we are still waiting for the final pieces of our new climbable equipment to arrive, we have already received two wonderful additions: a woodwork table and a mud kitchen. These resources will provide many opportunities for imaginative play, creativity, problem-solving and hands-on learning outdoors.
We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr Justin Mason and his team for their time and effort in assembling the new furniture. We greatly appreciate your support in helping us create engaging and enriching learning spaces for our children.
Supporting Children’s Safety, Wellbeing and Learning
Thank you to our leadership team for their full support and prompt, thoughtful decision-making in providing the ELC 4 with an additional educator. Having Mr Landon join the group has brought many benefits for the children, educators and families, providing additional support to ensure that children’s care, safety and wellbeing remain our highest priority.
We are committed to maintaining a high standard of care and providing a nurturing, professional program where children feel safe, supported and valued, while also listening to and responding to the voices of our families. Mr Landon’s presence has been a valuable addition to the ELC 4 team and has made a positive difference to the daily experiences of the children, staff and families.
Growing Together
We are grateful to Frankston City Council for their generous donation of native trees to our ELC. The children have had the wonderful opportunity to learn about and take home a tree to care for and nurture with their families. The donated trees include:
- Allocasuarina verticillata – Coastal Drooping Sheoak
- Allocasuarina littoralis – Black Sheoak
- Eucalyptus pauciflora – Cabbage Gum (Snow Gum)
The remaining trees will be planted at the North Campus, where the ELC 4 children will have the opportunity to work alongside Mr Ken Berry and Mr Justin Mason to plant and care for them.
This experience also connects beautifully with our Biblical Threads, particularly our understanding that we are called to be caretakers and stewards of God’s creation. As Christians, we recognise that the earth and all that is in it are gifts from God, and He has entrusted us with the responsibility to care for, nurture and protect the environment He has created. Through simple experiences such as planting and caring for trees, our children are beginning to understand that caring for creation is one way we can show gratitude to God and demonstrate love and responsibility towards the world around us.
As we nurture these young trees, we are also nurturing in our children a sense of wonder, responsibility and stewardship. We hope they will grow to understand that even small acts of care can make a meaningful difference and that each of us has a role to play in looking after God’s creation.“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” – Psalm 24:1
We look forward to watching these trees grow alongside our children and becoming a lasting reminder of our shared responsibility to care for God’s beautiful creation.