Parents Corner Archives | Little Scholars

Supporting boys in understanding emotions to grow into kind, resilient individuals

In recent years, news headlines have frequently highlighted the challenges surrounding men’s mental health, and the troubling rates of violence and suicide among men. While these stories are not representative of men overall, these issues don’t emerge overnight. They’re often rooted in childhood, shaped by how boys are taught to understand emotions, handle challenges, and connect with others. While these statistics are concerning, they also present an opportunity. If we start now, we can nurture a generation of boys who grow into kind, empathetic, and resilient men. If we encourage sensitivity, respect, and emotional awareness from an early age, we can help our little boys become the well-rounded, compassionate adults our world needs.

Raising both sexes present different challenges for parents, but really it’s a very individual approach to each child to ensure they’re learning to become kind, respectful human beings.

Traditionally, little boys have been taught to “man up” and avoid showing “weakness” by expressing emotions. This can be deeply isolating, leading to feelings of loneliness or frustration, and in some cases, acting out through belittling or bullying those who are more open with their emotions. In fact, a recent international study found that Australian teenagers experience bullying at the second highest rate among developed countries. The good news is that bullying numbers are showing a downward trend, suggesting that shifts in attitudes are making a difference.

By encouraging young boys to embrace and express their feelings, as well as having awareness of them in others, we can cultivate environments that support kindness and empathy, helping them build respectful relationships and healthy ways to cope with emotions. This approach is essential for raising well-rounded, compassionate individuals who understand that true strength comes from being open, understanding, and kind to themselves and others.

At Little Scholars, we believe strength comes from vulnerability, showing and sharing the range of human emotion, and understanding and displaying empathy rather than ignorance.

Our goal is to provide a secure and trusting environment in which all children feel a sense of belonging. We support children to form positive relationships with peers, educators and their environments, while recognising and maybe improving their existing relationships with their family and community.

Part of building and maintaining these relationships means teaching children to recognise the range of emotions within themselves and in others. This in turn builds empathy, understanding and respect for others. We do this in a variety of age-appropriate ways to support children’s emotional development. From understanding what the various feelings are, understanding how they feel, how to see these in others, as well as mindfulness practices to deal with harder feelings when they arise.

What can parents do in raising boys to be caring and compassionate?

To get an understanding of some of the potential reasons for what’s happening in males, what we can do now, we spoke to Dean Cooper, the program manager for White Ribbon Australia, a not-for-profit global social movement working to stop men’s violence against women. The organisation’s mission is to strive for a society where all women and children are safe. November is White Ribbon Month in Australia, we encourage you to visit the White Ribbon Australia website and contribute if you can.

Dean also happens to be the proud dad of two little boys, one of whom is pictured with Dean in the top photo and attends Little Scholars. We’re thrilled to have Dean’s expertise on this important topic.

Could you please tell us about your role at White Ribbon Australia?

I design programs for high schools and workplaces on domestic violence (DV), masculinity, respectful relationships, consent, etc. Secondary to my role at White Ribbon Australia, I am an ambassador for the innerBoy app which is an app assisting men to heal from trauma and get support for any mental health challenges they are facing.

How did you get involved in this important work?

Well, originally I wanted to play Rugby Union professionally, however that didn’t work out, so I studied criminology and undertook a career in corrections, conducting assessments on people who committed offences of all kinds. I began to focus solely on working with men and fathers who used violence, and about seven years ago I started facilitating men’s behavioural change programs for men being released from prison for DV offences. Quite alarmingly, what I learnt was a lot of behaviour I engaged in within sporting environments, such as sexist jokes, violent chants, and street harassment on nights out, actually made their way into these programs, and condoned or supported a lot of problematic beliefs these men who were using violence had. It was my full circle journey to realising that not all disrespect leads to violence, but all violence starts with disrespect. I’ve decided to stick with this work and found a passion for it as I think it’s important that those who are being disrespectful or choosing to use violence receive counter narratives from culture to say these behaviours aren’t okay.

What has made you so passionate about ensuring we raise kind, respectful boys?

I am passionate about the role men play in shaping children, especially boys, and have a desire to see every father role-modelling safe and respectful behaviour. I truly believe safe, engaged, and present fathers can positively impact our future generations and are the solution for the social issues we see today. Unfortunately, what I’ve learned in this work is that a lot of men either didn’t have positive role models growing up, or look around at music, TV, movies, pornography, social media, etc. and have no mainstream examples of what positive, safe, and effective fathering looks like. It’s my passion to create spaces for men to learn what fathering means and how we role model respect, equality, and safety.

The most important question: what could parents, especially of little boys, do now to ensure they’re raising kind, respectful human beings?

There isn’t much at such a young age that we can ‘teach’ in that formal sense. Children will learn from observing so it’s important we role model more than try and teach. I’ll just provide my own strategies.

One thing I am trying to personally do is role model accountability. If my son says something like ‘that makes me sad’ or ‘I don’t like it’ if I am playing, or implementing a boundary I try to talk to him about why it upsets him and validate his feelings. I also role model saying ‘sorry’. Likewise, with my wife I make a purposeful attempt to apologise for things and role model what it’s like to get it wrong and change my mind. It’s crucial to show we don’t always have the answers, we are going to make mistakes, but we can always acknowledge our impact and make amends.

I try to hold myself proactively accountable as well. As adults, we know when we haven’t done our best work. If we are distracted on our phone when our child tries to engage us, or if we snap at them for not doing something we asked, or if they are talking and we interrupt with something else. We can proactively hold ourselves accountable, I try to say ‘son, when you were talking then I realise I wasn’t fully listening and I am sorry, what you have to say is important and I recognise by not listening I didn’t show that.’

“I also believe we play a huge role in teaching our boys to regulate their emotions. We seem to be better at comforting girls or more accepting of their emotions. In terms of our boys, we need to shift from correction to connection.”

Another, ‘I’m sorry I yelled before, it’s my responsibility to stay calm and I didn’t do that, it wasn’t my intention to make you upset but I realise it did, I am sorry for that and next time I am going to do better.’ If I see my son be unkind to someone in the playground or at kindy drop off, I try use those moments to ask him what he thinks the impacts were and how we can make amends. For example, ‘I saw when you took those two toys and didn’t give one to Johnny. Look at Johnny now, does he look happy or sad? Johnny looks sad and I think it’s because he doesn’t have a toy, can you help me find a way for Johnny to have a toy too?’ and layer that in with an apology for not sharing. Taking those steps to encourage my son to see the impact they have on others, be comfortable with reflecting on what they’ve done, and how to repair. That’s how we start to shape kind, reflective, and safe boys.

At least once a week, I try:

1. Admit a mistake I made

2. Share what I learnt about that mistake

3. Ask for help.

This is how we mark ourselves as a psychologically safe person. If we can role model getting it wrong, learning from that, and being willing to accept help, we role model that we are a safe person to hold accountable, we’ll treat their mistakes with empathy and understanding, and it’s okay to make mistakes. If we can mark ourselves as safe people by role modeling this, then we normalise recognising the impacts we have on others and repairing those. I just never want my children to hide something from me because they felt like they couldn’t tell me. I don’t want them to say ‘I made a mistake don’t tell Dad’ and instead say ‘I made a mistake I have to tell Dad.’ That’s the goal.

I also believe we play a huge role in teaching our boys to regulate their emotions. We seem to be better at comforting girls or more accepting of their emotions. In terms of our boys, we need to shift from correction to connection. Again, I think we need to role model this and talk about when we are frustrated, sad, disappointed, happy etc. I speak with a lot of dads who openly state at times they’ve been sad or angry, their children will ask ‘Daddy, are you okay?’ and they respond ‘Yeah, I am fine’ when they really aren’t. Children are these perfect little emotional barometers and what we actually do in that moment is not protect them from any negative feelings, but lie to them and tell them their sense of emotions was wrong. Instead, I try and role model ‘Daddy is feeling sad right now, thanks for noticing and asking if I am okay. When I feel sad I like to find an activity that makes me happy or find Mummy and give her a big cuddle.’ It’s important we teach boys to recognise their emotions, deal with them, and implement strategies to cope.

Physical affection is so important. As a guy growing up I always heard about this ‘tough love’ approach to parenting and the whole ‘just wait till your Dad gets home’ disciplinary role we were supposed to play. In my career, I’ve worked with a lot of men who have poor emotional regulation or traumatic backgrounds and they all report a lack of being told they are good enough and to be embraced. We do some exercises in prison groups where the men outline what they wish they had more of as children, all of it comes back to being told they were of value just as they were, and wishing they were shown love more.

Thank you, Dean, we’re so appreciative to have your insight!

Building relationships at Little Scholars

At Little Scholars, we feel strongly it takes a village to raise a child, and we’re very proud to be a part of your child’s community as she or he grows and learns about the world. All of our little scholars learn about emotions in a number of age and developmentally-appropriate ways. It’s a very important facet of our early educational curriculum, supported by the Early Years Learning Framework.

We aim to provide a safe and secure space in which they grow and thrive. To ensure we’re doing this, we’re constantly working to improve our knowledge and practices. Our educators regularly take on professional development that helps them understand and guide children through not only their letters and numbers, but their emotional and social growth, on topics like developing mindfulness practices in their studios, developing frustration tolerance even more specific learnings such as trauma-informed practice.

Of course, ensuring children’s safety is paramount, and our educators are also regularly trained and updated on Child Protection Policy and procedures.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we have an open door policy and we invite you to talk to your educator, educational leader or campus manager any time.

Little Scholars offers you and your child the very best facilities, resources and early educational, play-based programs available, which are underpinned by the early years learning framework. Our belief is that through quality education and care for children we can also encourage, assist and support the entire family.

Our dedicated team of educators are committed to the individual needs and interests of children and their families, and thus we encourage and welcome family input and involvement.

We aim to be like an extension of your family and are very relationship-driven. We support nurturing relationships between our educators and your child, the relationships your child has with the other children who attend, and we value our relationship with you as the parent and other family members. So book a tour today to get started!

Attachment Theory: how early learning and care affects infant attachment

Tips for dealing with separation anxiety

Helping children to regulate their emotions

External links

Why Adolescent Boys Are Struggling

6 ways to help your son connect to his emotions

Understanding and managing emotions: children and teenagers

As the year draws to a close, our thoughts eagerly turn to the holiday season. After all, it should be a time for rest, cherished moments with family, enjoying all things Christmas-themed! What’s better than snuggling up on the couch, next to a brightly lit tree, watching a Christmas movie together? We know parents are busy, so we had a look at the best Christmas movies for children, for the entire family, and where you can find them!

We’ve included run times and recommended ages, as well as where to find these movies to make things easier and quicker for families!

For parents who want a little extra comfort that they’re showing their children age-appropriate content, we suggest heading over to commonsensemedia.org and looking up movies there. Common Sense has been the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools, and they champion high-quality media, ‘support closing of the digital divide, ensure that students and educators think critically about technology use, and more.’ Its mission is to create a safe, healthy, and equitable digital world for children and families.

The Polar Express

The Polar Express is a newer Christmas classic. In this heartwarming story, a young boy’s belief in the magic of Christmas is rekindled when he journeys to the North Pole aboard the Polar Express on Christmas Eve, where he meets Santa Claus himself. This year, you can find The Polar Express on Netflix. Ages 8+. Run time: 1 hr 30 min.

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch

Based on the beloved book by Dr. Seuss, The Grinch tells the story of a grumpy character who becomes fed up with the endless festive cheer in Whoville. With his loyal dog by his side, he sets out to dampen the holiday spirit. While there is a live-action version of this classic, we recommend the animated version as a perfect choice for little ones! This can be watched or rented on Binge, Apple TV and Amazon Prime! Ages 6+. Run time: 1hr 30 min.

Elf

Another newer Christmas classic, fan favourite Will Farrell plays Buddy, a fun-loving man raised by Santa’s elves, who makes his way to New York for a holiday adventure. Elf can be found on Binge, Stan, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and more! Ages 8+. Run time: 1hr 30 min.

Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas (animated for younger children)

Based on the Broadway musical inspired by the popular Christmas movie, Elf tells the story of Buddy the elf and his journey to find his long-lost father. While Buddy’s cheerful spirit fits right in at the North Pole, it clashes with the tough crowd in New York City. But with song, dance, and endless holiday cheer, Buddy brings the Christmas spirit back to the whole city. Watch on Amazon Prime and Apple TV, Ages 6+. Run time: 45 minutes

The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday

These cheeky talking animals had a holiday heist all planned out, but their scheme is turned upside down when Christmas is cancelled. Join the Bad Guys on a gift-giving adventure as they work to bring back the festive spirit for everyone. There are some instances of cartoon violence, mild insults, but Common Sense Media gave it four out of five stars, so we trust their judgement! Find it on Netflix! Ages 6+. Run time: 25 minutes

Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas

When Shaun’s hunt for a bigger stocking hits a snag, the whole farm sets out on a wild holiday adventure — complete with a sleigh! You can find this cute tale on Netflix. Ages 5+. Run time: 52 minutes.

A Trash Truck Christmas

This delightful story follows a young boy and his trusty rubbish truck as they spring into action to save Christmas when Santa crash-lands in their junkyard on Christmas Eve. Expect plenty of laughs, adventure, and holiday cheer! You can find this one on Netflix. Age 3 and up. Run time: 28 minutes.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure

Olaf and Sven set out on a mission to visit every household in Arendelle to find a new Christmas tradition for Elsa and Anna. Watch on Disney +, or Apple TV. Ages 5+. Run time: 22 minutes.

Christmas nostalgia for parents

Christmas is all about nostalgia, so we wanted to share some movies our families may have loved growing up and are keen to share with a next generation, so parents and grandparents, we’ve got you covered!

Of course, there will be movies such as Home Alone and A Christmas Story that many of our parents remember fondly, but with their violent or weapon themes, we thought it was best to leave them off the list! These movies can be found on some of the streaming sites we mentioned, but maybe wait until after little ones bed times before viewing again!

The Muppet Christmas Carol

A spin on the Dickens’ classic by the legend Jim Henson. Many parents will have grown up watching and adoring this one, we just warn the ghosts or Mr Scrooge might be scary to young children. Ages 6+. Run time 2 hours.

You can find this on Disney +, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.

Charlie Brown Christmas

Parents and grandparents, bring your childhood nostalgia to the next generation with 1960s classic Charlie Brown’s Christmas! With Christmas approaching, Charlie Brown is unhappy as everyone associates the holiday with presents. He tries to understand the true meaning of the festival and his friends decide to help him. This can be found on Apple TV. Ages 3+ Run time: 25 minutes.

Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer

An oldie but a goodie! This one can be watched on Apple TV. (pssst, you get seven days trial to use Apple TV if you don’t already subscribe)

Fun fact about this feature: Rudolph was created using stop-motion. The animation technique was called Animagic, a painstaking process where jointed, wood-and-felt puppets were moved ever-so-slightly for each new frame. It took about 18 months to shoot a half-hour special! More fun facts including this one can be found here! Ages 3+. Run time: 53 minutes.

A Garfield Christmas

This 1980s classic will be a fun return to parents’ childhood with everyone’s favourite lasagna-eating cat Garfield. In A Garfield Christmas Special, our favourite surly cat heads to the family farm for an old-fashioned holiday with Jon’s mum and dad, his brother Doc-Boy, and their feisty grandma, who’s truly the cat’s meow. You can stream for free on YouTube, and it also can be found on Apple TV. Ages 3+. Run time: 24 minutes

We’ve put together this list to make it easier for your family to enjoy a little extra Christmas joy and share in the magic of the season. Whether it’s a cozy movie night, a fun family activity, or finding some rare moments together, we hope this guide adds a touch of festive cheer to your holidays.

If you’d like to nurture curiosity, joy, and lifelong skills in your child, book a tour at one of our 15 Little Scholars campuses. See how our team is dedicated to helping incredible children grow into incredible people, building bonds and confidence that will last a lifetime.

The best activities to entertain your child while travelling

Rainy day adventures on the Gold Coast & Brisbane for family fun

Ipswich! You may have heard Little Scholars School of Early Learning is coming to you! We’re thrilled our newest campus is coming to Ipswich in early 2025. As we prepare to open our doors, we want to celebrate by sharing some of our favourite family-friendly activities in Ipswich, because we’re not just about early learning, we adore our families and our Ipswich community!

We think Ipswich has really stepped up its game when it comes to offering some great entertaining offerings for the young, and the young at heart.

Images and information courtesy of the organisations mentioned below, as well as Brisbane Kids, Ipswich First, Families Magazine and Must-Do Brisbane.

Ipswich Children's Library

Did you know Ipswich has Australia’s only public library dedicated to children? It features a specially designed catalogue with over 35,000 books just for children, and unique multi-reality interactive experiences.

The Ipswich Children’s Library is designed to be an interactive and engaging space for children. It features various zones with elements that encourage exploration and active participation. Highlights include a series of colourful tubes where children can send fabric pieces flying through the air, large interactive screens, and colouring tables where children can scan and watch their decorated fish swim on a screen. The library also offers cosy reading nooks, a gaming touch screen with STEAM-based puzzles, and a unique Reading Tree with a cushioned tunnel for reading. The space is filled with natural light, thanks to its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Nicholas Street Precinct and landscaped gardens.

The library is open seven days a week and hosts regular, child-focused programs and events and special tech adventures just for little ones!

Queensland Pioneer Steam Museum

Hop aboard the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway in Ipswich for a fun-filled family adventure. Ride in beautifully restored vintage carriages and explore the rich mining history of the area. As the train chugs along, you’ll pass by old mine ruins and vintage equipment, giving you a glimpse into Ipswich’s past. It’s a perfect outing for families to enjoy a unique and educational experience together.

RAAF Base Amberley Heritage Centre

Attention all young aviation enthusiasts! Visit the RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre near Ipswich to see some amazing aircraft up close. Walk around and marvel at the F-111 with its famous “dump and burn” feature. Check out the WWII Boston Bomber, Vietnam-era Canberra bomber, Caribou airlifter, Sioux and Iroquois helicopters, and WWII Jeeps. You’ll also see cool Sabre and Mirage fighter jets. Learn about the RAAF’s important role in history with interactive exhibits and displays. It’s a fun and educational trip for the whole family!

Check the website for times to visit.

Ipswich Art Gallery

Ipswich Art Gallery takes play seriously! Its goal is to create dynamic pathways for lifelong relationships with art.

It’s a visual arts and social history museum presenting a dynamic program of exhibitions and heritage displays with complementary workshops, performances and an extensive program for children and families. We also adore that the gallery guides itself by philosophical principles for its children’s gallery, highlighting that learning begins with creative play, and that children are important members of our community who should be encouraged to express and develop their ideas and views.

Ipswich Nature Centre

Located in Queens Park, the Ipswich Nature Centre offers a delightful experience for families and nature enthusiasts. This free-entry zoo showcases native Australian wildlife, including kangaroos, emus, wombats, and bilbies. Wander through lush gardens, see barnyard animals, and enjoy the aviary filled with colourful birds. The centre provides an educational and fun outing, promoting conservation and the beauty of local wildlife.

For more information, visit Ipswich Nature Centre.

Cooneana Heritage Centre

Discover the rich history of Ipswich at the Cooneana Heritage Centre, home to the Ipswich Historical Society. Explore historical photographs, artifacts, traditional crafts, and coal mining displays that highlight the region’s diverse past. Visit Cooneana Homestead to see early Ipswich life, and Jim Donald House, a well-preserved miner’s cottage from the 1890s. Experience an old-fashioned classroom in the schoolroom and watch blacksmiths at work in the blacksmith shop. Perfect for history enthusiasts and families alike.

Queensland Museum Rail Workshops

Take an eye-opening journey through Queensland’s history at the heritage-listed Ipswich Railway Workshops. The award-winning Queensland Museum Rail Workshops is a must-visit for anyone in Ipswich. Once employing over 3,000 railway workers and making it Queensland’s largest employer at the time, this historic site now blends the charm of the past with modern technological advances.

Explore the old boilershop, home to beautifully restored locomotives and carriages, and marvel at Queensland’s largest model railway, showcasing detailed scenes of the state. Perfect for visitors of all ages, this museum brings history to life.

Top Ipswich Playgrounds

Faye Carr Park, Ripley

Check out Faye Carr Park in Ripley, a rocket ship-themed playground designed for the whole community.

The standout feature is the impressive trio of red and green pods, which have become a landmark of the Ecco Ripley development since its opening in 2018. These custom-designed pods by Playscape Creations are a first for Australia, offering sensory delights like cogs, steering equipment, and rainbow spinning wheels, all connected by a bridge. The exterior is just as engaging with ladders, slides, staircases, and fireman poles for endless fun.

For younger children, there’s a separate toddler playground complete with a mini slide, ladder, and puzzles. The area also includes a five-person swing circle, a rotating net climber, a see-saw, and a double-track flying fox for inclusive play.

Sports enthusiasts will enjoy the middle section of the park with multipurpose fields for soccer, rugby, and basketball, as well as an outdoor workout zone. Picnic shelters and BBQs make it perfect for a family outing.

Over 20 developmental activities between the main and toddler playgrounds promote educational play in a fun outdoor setting. The park also emphasises social play with shared swing circles, rotating net climbers, and multi-track flying foxes, encouraging greater participation.

The parklands are wheelchair and pram friendly, with accessible pathways connecting all areas. The seated playground equipment, including an adaptive swing, see-saw, and net climber, are designed for inclusivity.

Faye Carr Park Features:

Accessible toilets
Unfenced
Baby change table facilities
Playground 50% covered by shade sails
Rubber, bark chip, and sand base
Adaptive swing with harness
Learn-to-ride track
Basketball court
Fitness equipment
Open kick-around area
Soccer/rugby field
BBQs
Picnic shelters
On-street parking

Orion Mega Playground, Springfield

A multi-million dollar playground that is accessible and engaging for all ages is the incredible result of a consultation between locals and Orion Shopping Centre.

The main attraction is a vibrant activity centre with a tower reaching 11 metres high, accessible via internal ladders or a 16-metre Sky Walk bridge offering a birds-eye view of the playground below. Two enormous tunnel slides flank the tower, perfect for young thrill-seekers. Note that the play area is not fenced from the nearby car park, so close adult supervision is necessary.

For children who prefer to stay grounded, the playground features in-built trampolines, mountaineering ropes, and a large climbing net tunnel. A wheelchair-friendly merry-go-round promotes inclusive play.

The toddler area includes slides, stairs, a rock climbing wall, a fire pole, a colourful see-saw, and a cognitive play hut with educational activities. Swings are available for both independent children and those needing assistance. Most of the playground is covered by shade sails or roofing for sun protection.

Lobley Park, Churchill

Lobley Park is a charming, aviation-themed park that pays tribute to Ipswich’s Air Force heritage. Children will love playing in the aeroplane structure, exploring the air traffic control tower, and enjoying the parachute swings. The park also offers ample space for running around, traditional playground equipment like swings and slides, and a story time area. Perfect for picnics or parties, Lobley Park features barbecues and tables. It’s a fantastic spot for family fun, with memorable attractions that children will adore!

Redbank Plains Recreation Reserve Playground, Redbank Plains

Located just 15 minutes from Ipswich city, the recently upgraded Redbank Plains Recreation Reserve has become a popular community hub for gathering, playing, socialising, and relaxing.

The central playground features a 9-metre tall adventure tower made of cargo netting, platforms, and ladders, offering a vertical thrill for older children. Climbers can choose between a speedy tunnel slide and a twisty tube slide. The roped exterior allows for easy parental supervision.

The reserve also boasts a 20-metre high ropes course, challenging balance, strength, and coordination, with opportunities for adults to assist younger climbers. Additional features include a giant rotating bird’s nest swing, a multi-bay swing set, and sensory spinners.

A dedicated toddler playground caters to ages one to five with accessible platforms, ground-level activities, gentle slides, and imaginative play areas. Essentials such as swings, see-saws, bouncers, and an inclusive carousel are built on a soft base with ample shade sails. Nearby seating is available for supervision and picnics.

The reserve also includes a newly renovated skate park, suitable for skaters of all levels, adjacent to a large grassy field ideal for soccer, cricket, or kite flying.

Additional features:

BBQs
Car Parking
Dog Off Leash Area
Drinking Water
Gazebos/Rotunda/Shelters
Picnic Facilities/Seats/Benches
Power
Public Toilets

Splash n' Play Adventure Park, Ripley

The rapidly expanding Ripley Valley is home to several state-of-the-art playgrounds, and the Splash ‘n’ Play Adventure Park is a standout. Designed for all age groups, the park features towering sky cabins at 7.5 metres high, connected by enclosed rope bridges for safety. Children can exit the playground via a straight tubular slide, a twisted mega slide, or by climbing down netted ladders. This section is ideal for children over 5, though confident younger climbers can also enjoy it.

The park also includes a flying fox, a small swing set, and toddler-friendly options in the neighbouring play area.

Directly across from the playground is a shaded, multi-age Splash ’n’ Play area with water fountains, movable sprayers, button-controlled jets, and waterfall arches. This area is divided into two sections, allowing smaller children to play safely away from the larger splash zone. The non-slip rubber base and ample seating enhance safety and supervision.

For families, the Forty West Café at the top of the adventure park serves delicious coffee and food daily. A takeaway coffee is ideal, as a tall garden partially blocks the view between the café seating and the playground below.

Accessible toilets
Not fenced but set back from the road
Largely shaded playground and water play area
Zero-depth Splash ‘n’ Play area
Mixture of bark, artificial turf, and rubber base
Family-friendly café
Showers
Picnic shelters
BBQs
Open kick-around area
Ample on-site parking

Sunshine Park, Bellevue Ripley

As you approach the Sunshine Park playground, the central tower immediately catches the eye. Standing at 8 metres tall with three levels, it invites children to come and play. Inspired by the towering trees and creeping vines of a rainforest, the structure is both impressive and engaging.

Children can access the different levels through vertical climbing tunnels, ball pommels, and nets. The internal decks are inclined to provide an extra challenge. Once at the top, the 4.5-metre tunnel slide offers a thrilling descent back to the ground.

In the junior play area, there is a cubby-style fort with interactive elements decorating the walls. A small slide is easily accessible for little ones using stable stepping platforms.

For those who love to run or play ball sports, Sunshine Park features a basketball half-court, a handball court, and a generous kickabout area. There’s also a small pump track designed to manoeuvre around without pedalling, providing an additional challenge for competent riders and a fun spot for little ones to push their diggers down the hills.

Features:

8-metre tall central tower with three levels
Vertical climbing tunnels, ball pommels, and nets
4.5-metre tunnel slide
Junior play area with cubby-style fort and interactive elements
Basketball half-court, handball court, and kickabout area
Small pump track
No public toilets

Sunshine Park is an engaging and versatile playground, offering a variety of activities for children of all ages.

Tucker Family Park, Bellbird Park

Tucker Family Park is one of the best parks in Ipswich for children of all ages and abilities, set in a beautiful, nature-filled environment. This park offers a range of exciting features:

Key Attractions:

Giant Cube Tower: An impressive 11-metre structure with an 18-metre steel slide, providing plenty of thrills.
Toddler-Friendly Features: Includes a smaller slide from the second level of the cube and a dedicated play fort for younger children.
Sports Facilities: A large sporting field with goal posts and a fenced multi-purpose court for basketball and other games.
Nature Trails: Concrete pathways that lead around the park, through the trees, and to a dog off-leash park and separate puppy park. These paths also connect several local communities with hectares of green space.

Playground Features:

Fort with Mini Climbing Wall and Rope Bridge
Cube Tower with Giant Tube Slide
Musical Bar Chimes
Rocker and Roundabout
Climbing Nets
Sports Field and Multi-purpose Sports Court
Gym Equipment
Bike and Walking Paths
Picnic Tables and Shelters

Tucker Family Park is perfect for those looking to immerse themselves in nature while enjoying a variety of activities. Whether it’s exploring the extensive playground, participating in sports, or simply taking a peaceful walk, this park has something for everyone.

Whiterock Adventure Playground and Splash Pad, Ripley Valley

Whiterock Adventure Playground and Splash Pad in Ripley Valley is quickly becoming a top summer destination. The standout feature is the intriguing “play curl” structure, accompanied by water play and natural exploration zones.

Upon entering the beautifully designed space, the first thing you’ll notice is the huge and uniquely shaped “play curl,” which looks more like a sculptural masterpiece than a playground. The Australian-first design is over 16 metres long and can accommodate up to 40 children at a time with its mixture of net climbs, rock climbing holds, rubber ramps, balancing ropes, and suspended resting areas. This area is best suited for children aged 5 to 12, though confident younger climbers can also enjoy it.

Directly across from the playground is a mostly shaded, zero-depth Splash ’n’ Play area. It features water fountains, movable wiggly sprayers, button-controlled jets, and waterfall arches. Smaller children can safely enjoy water play away from the larger splash zone. The area has a non-slip rubber base for safety and ample seating for supervision.

Rounding out the play space are other playground favourites, including an embankment slide, swings, a seesaw, educational games, and an accessible carousel. The parklands are also equipped with full picnic amenities, making it an excellent choice for birthday parties and family gatherings.

The “play curl” offers a foundation for imaginative play. Its abstract design creates a sense of mystery and encourages problem-solving. Running adjacent to the curl is a dry creek bed with cylindrical stepping stones, providing a nice contrast to the metal and steel of the playground and encouraging a nature-style play. The different ground textures, equipment heights, and water play combine to form a multi-sensory experience.

Whiterock Adventure Playground is located on even terrain with connecting paths, making it easy to navigate with prams. The ground-level carousel spinner is designed for inclusive play. Disabled toilets and a baby change room are available on site.

Additional Features:

Unfenced playground
Accessible toilets
Mostly covered by shade sails
Bark chip, rubber, stone bases
Swings, including toddler and birds nest swings
Natural play elements
Educational games
Steel slide
Seesaw
Wheelchair accessible carousel
Short bike and scooter track
Picnic shelters
Electric BBQs
Bench seating
Kick-around area
Ample on and off-street parking

Whiterock Adventure Playground is perfect for families seeking fun and adventure, with diverse activities for children of all ages.

Best parks and nature reserves

Ipswich has a number of incredible parks and reserves for families to explore and make memories together.

Conveniently, the Naeus app makes it easier to discover Ipswich’s natural areas with GPS guided maps of walking tracks that include distance and grading information.

The Naeus Explore app enhances your outdoor adventures with several interactive features. It provides real-time weather updates and has a native plant identification tool—just take a photo, and the app will instantly provide details about the plant. Additionally, the app uses geo-fencing technology to automatically highlight points of interest near you. As you near important sites, like a historical tree or scenic lookout, the app notifies you with detailed information.

The app is also designed to be collaborative. You can report any issues, like fallen trees, directly to the local council through the app. Moreover, you’re encouraged to contribute by adding new points of interest that you discover, such as notable wildlife sightings or unique natural formations.

Queens Park

Queens Park, a jewel in the heart of Ipswich, holds profound cultural and historical significance not just locally, but for all of Queensland.

Established in 1842 and with its architectural roots dating back to 1862, Queens Park is the first and one of the most iconic parks developed in Queensland. It offers visitors a unique blend of historical elegance and contemporary amenities, making it a perfect destination for both relaxation and exploration. Challenge your little ones to spot animals such as Wallabies, Eastern Quolls, Wombats, Frill Neck Lizards, Emus and more!

Nestled near Ipswich city centre, the park provides a convenient escape with its shady gardens and tranquil spaces ideal for a leisurely lunch or a peaceful stroll.

Queens Park is replete with attractions that cater to all ages and interests: from the meticulously maintained formal garden beds and the serene Nerima Gardens, reflecting the beauty of Japanese landscape design, to the engaging Ipswich Nature Centre. The park also boasts modern play areas for children, the rustic charm of Bush House and Bush Chapel, sports facilities including the Queens Park Croquet Hall, and a café. Additionally, the Environmental Education Centre offers learning opportunities about local flora and fauna.

Robelle Domain

Featuring water parks and lush gardens, Robelle Domain is an ideal spot for cooling down on hot days and enjoying outdoor concerts and events.

This huge park is spread over 24 hectares and comprises over 11km of boardwalks, sporting fields, walking tracks and playgrounds, as well as the stunning Orion Lagoon.

This park is a paradise for families and the play area boasts features that include interactive equipment that combines play with the excitement of electronic gaming and a zero depth water park with a large tipping bucket, jet sprays and spouts.

The park also features shady picnic areas, land art pyramids and an early evening sound and light show to cap off your day.

Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate

Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate is a 2,200 hectare estate and is popular for a wide range of activities including bushwalking, horse-riding, mountain biking, birdwatching and Traditional Owner cultural practices.

To explore the area, there are many trails available. The shortest trail is just 560m through bush tucker gardens, and a few other trails that are about two to three kilometres in length, which might be doable for little ones. They’ll be excited to spot wildlife such as king parrots, willy wagtails, kangaroos and wallabies.

White Rock Spring Mountain Conservation Estate

With its breathtaking landscapes, a wide variety of flora and fauna, and deep cultural heritage, White Rock – Spring Mountain Conservation Estate offers an ideal setting for a family bushwalk and picnic. Located just 20 minutes from Ipswich and 35 minutes from Brisbane, the estate is conveniently accessible while still providing a peaceful escape from urban life. There are boardwalks, caves, and lookouts, all along well-maintained paths with clearly marked trails and benches for resting tired legs along the way.

Most walks are relatively easy and flat, with dirt tracks and some boardwalk sections. However, some steep inclines, rough terrain, and loose surfaces also exist.

A few short routes for little legs include:

Bluff Lookout Circuit, 200m one way
Little White Rock Lookout Circuit, 200m one way
Six Mile Creek Boardwalk, 300m one way
Little White Rock Track, 600m one way
Six Mile Creek Track, 1.4km return

Toilets and picnic shelters are positioned by the parking area with grassy areas where you can set up a picnic blanket.

Denmark Hill Conservation Reserve

Located right in the heart of the city, Denmark Hill Conservation Reserve is a favorite destination for birdwatchers and day-trippers. The reserve is well-equipped for visitors, featuring BBQ facilities, toilets, picnic tables, and ample parking. It offers five short walking tracks suitable for a quick escape into nature. The 200-metre Waterfall Track is wheelchair accessible, making it easy for everyone to enjoy. For those seeking a longer walk, Bluey’s 800m Circuit and the Water Tower 800m Circuit are the most extensive paths available. You can find the main entrance and parking area directly opposite the corner of Deebing and Clay Streets, just a three-minute drive from Ipswich CBD.

At the Quarry Street entrance, you’ll find a wooden playground which fits in with its natural surroundings. The small playground consists of a climbing net, birds nest swing, balance beam and obstacle course made from ropes and stepping logs.

Best family camping

Hardings Paddock

Hardings Paddock offers a serene bush camping experience close to the city, yet feels a world away. With only eight spacious campsites, you’ll enjoy privacy and tranquility. Facilities include long drop toilets, shower cubicles (bring your own water), free barbecues, and a fire pit. Suitable for tents, caravans, and motorhomes, it even has a holding yard for horses.

The nearby Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate provides excellent hiking trails across volcanic peaks and slopes, making it perfect for nature lovers and adventurers.

Ivory's Rock

Just a short drive away from Hardings Paddock, you’ll find Ivory’s Rock – a 600 hectare property, backing onto the Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate and surrounded by native bushland. It’s an excellent option for those campers that prefer a few more modern amenities than what Hardings Paddock offers.

Ivory’s Rock is a private property that offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountain peaks. Animal lovers will be in heaven here with wallabies and kangaroos regularly hopping about the property. You may even be lucky enough to spot a koala or two.

Campsites at Ivory’s Rock are suitable for all kinds of campers, including those with tents, caravans or motorhomes. There is a choice of powered and unpowered sites, which all have access to laundry and bathroom facilities. Other amenities include gas barbecues, communal fire puts, water and even free wifi.

For those new to camping and don’t have their own gear, at Ivory’s Rock, you can even request a site that has all the camping gear set up for you. Then, all you have to do is arrive and relax. Of course, there’s no packing up either – that’s camping in true style!

Ipswich Caravan Village

Ipswich Caravan Village offers a tranquil bushland setting with options for overnight, tourist, and permanent accommodation. Choose from powered and unpowered sites for caravans and campers, or stay in one of our air-conditioned cabins, available for singles, doubles, families, and groups.

Conveniently located near shopping centres, restaurants, sporting venues, Willowbank Raceway, tourist attractions, and heritage sites, our park is perfect for exploring Ipswich, Queensland’s oldest provincial city. Enjoy the blend of natural beauty and nearby amenities during your stay.

Rosewood Showgrounds

Rosewood Showgrounds Camping Facility is located in the picturesque township of Rosewood, 20 minutes west of the Ipswich CBD and one hour from Brisbane making it the perfect place to set up camp while you explore South East Queensland.

Rosewood has been designated as an RV Friendly Town and the Showgrounds is a short drive or walk to a supermarket, chemist, doctors, coffee shops, and the electric train to Brisbane.

The Showground has 28 powered sites (some with access to sullage) and 17 un-powered sites . Other amenities include toilets, showers and free dump point and potable water.

Nearby attractions include the historic Rosewood township, Cobb & Co Tourist Drive and historic coach display, the heritage Rosewood Railway and museum, St Brigid’s Catholic Church (the largest timber church in the southern hemisphere), Grandchester Model Steam Railway, Spicers Hidden Vale and the Hidden Vale Adventure Park, Queensland Museum Rail Workshops, Ipswich Art Gallery and Ipswich Nature Centre.

There you have it! We hope you enjoyed our list of the best things to do with your family in Ipswich. If you’re after the best childcare in Ipswich, look no further than Little Scholars Karalee, due to open early 2025!

Do you have a playground you think should be here? Let us know on our socials @littlescholarsearlylearning!
*Images courtesy of Ipswich city council, mrslardeedah.com, romethegnome.com, and Brisbanekids.com.

Do you have a family friendly Ipswich place to visit that should be on this list? Let us know on our socials @littlescholarsearlylearning!
*Images courtesy of Ipswich city council and Brisbanekids.com.

Food ideas to get the approval and acceptance of your little food critic

We’re sure approximately 96.3 per cent of parents deal with a child who, let’s say, is choosey about what they want to eat. So choosey, in fact, they may choose to eat almost nothing you put in front of them. The amount of stress that puts on parents can be surprisingly strong. After all, as adults, we eat what we want, we understand benefits and consequences of what we put in our bodies, we understand when we’re famished and when we’re just not that hungry. But for some reason, when it comes to the little humans we’ve created, their diet can become a massive focus of parenting-what-did-we-do-wrong. You want so badly to make all the right decisions in parenting, to ensure your child is well-fed from a variety of nutritious sources so they can grow to be the healthiest, best version of themselves.

So how do we handle this picky phase – (though the term phase suggests it’s a short period of time when in fact it can be years or even a lifetime of challenging food preferences)?

We brought the village together and came up with some suggestions to ease the stress mealtime puts on everyone.

Serve veggies first. Offering vegetables before bringing out the rest of the food can be a way to get children to scarf nutrients up before filling up on pasta and bread. For example, in Italian culture, it’s common to serve four courses, the antipasti which might include cold grilled vegetables, cured meats, etc, the primi, or first course, is where starch-based meals come into play, the secondi, or main course, is normally a protein-based dish such as fish, meat, poultry or eggs, and the cortorni, or side dishes, which are usually vegetables or even salad that accompany the second course. What we like about this is that a person’s hunger is slowly reduced, which could be a neat way to adapt into your family’s meal, Italian or not!
Drizzle the veggies with salted butter. Butter makes veggies yummy and the fat helps little bodies absorb many nutrients better!
A fun buffet! Enter, the chicken nugget bar. So yes, there’s chicken nuggets to guarantee your child will eat something, but offer a range of healthier dips for them to try that will add nutrients to their growing bodies. Think greek yogurt, hummus, beetroot dip or more. Bonus points if you can make vegetable nuggets and get them to eat those along with the dips. Speaking of dips, don’t nix dips, yes some of them may have ingredients you might question, but if said dips get your children to eat vegetables, why not give it a try? With homemade dips, you can also control the sugar or salt in them.
Make it a game! Get your child to close his or her eyes and guess the colour of the food they’re about to taste. American radio producer Hillary Frank said this is the way she got her children to eat capsicum.
Taste the rainbow. Form different coloured foods into a rainbow onto the plate, or try a drop of food colouring if you think they might be adventurous!
A tried and often true classic is to sneak veggies in other foods – blended into pasta sauces, baked into muffins, pancakes, smoothies, etc.
Ensure children are actually hungry. Additionally, offering a smaller main dish, such as a small portion of mac ‘n’ cheese, encourages them to consume more of their side dish, like garlic broccoli, as their hunger persists. This approach is both common sense and scientific evidence.
Talk about how veggies make your body strong–and then after dinner have a jumping/running/skipping/whatever contest. It’s amazing how much higher you can jump after you eat all your broccoli (wink, wink)!
Include food discovery outside of meal time. One UK study investigated the impact of a non-taste sensory activity program in a nursery school setting, involving children aged 12 to 36 months. Children in the intervention group engaged in activities focusing on looking, listening, feeling, and smelling unusual fruits and vegetables every day for four weeks. The results showed that these children were more inclined to touch and taste the vegetables they had been familiarised with during playtime activities, compared to a control group that did not participate in such activities.
“We also turn eating into a game,” says educator Kristen from our ____ campus. “Using utensils as characters that make funny sounds (our class favourite is the ‘forklift’). Playing these storytelling games during meals not only enriches our caregiving but takes the pressure off the child.”
Use a veggie discovery chart! Studies show that it can take a child anywhere between 7 to 20 exposures to a certain ingredient before they start to feel familiar with that food, so by putting stickers every time they are exposed to a vegetable on this list, that helps their exposure. If they didn’t like it, they can put a red sticker; if they liked it so-so, they get to put a yellow sticker; and if they loved it, they get to put a green sticker. The loves can help parents put successful meals together! You can find a veggie discovery chart here.
Roast vegetables with something sweeter. Children have more taste buds and a sharper sense of taste than adults, which may explain why they often find the slight bitterness in many vegetables more pronounced. Our evolutionary instincts to avoid bitter flavours, once a protection against poisonous substances, can make it challenging for little ones to appreciate these tastes. However, vegetables are incredibly beneficial and can act as a form of preventative medicine. To make veggies more appealing to children, try adding a bit of brown sugar or maple syrup to roasted vegetables. Other tasty additions could include a vinaigrette, yogurt, butter, lemon juice, or tomato sauce making the vegetables more palatable and encouraging children to try new foods.
Some parents have great success with making a little plate of veggies and serve as an “appetizer” while parents finish preparing dinner. Children are usually hungry and need a distraction. This way they fill their tummies first with healthy foods. Or be playful about it and ask the children to watch the plate, but under no circumstance are they to have any. And if they take one, be dramatic with your ‘NO NO THOSE ARE MINE ONLY’ response, which will probably result in giggles and more ‘sneaking’!
Healthy breakfast pancakes! Who says vegetables have to be for lunch and dinner? Check out this recipe.
Reduce snacks or morning/afternoon teas. Part of the culprit might be your child is already full for the day by the time they get to dinner, so they’re selective in what they’ll eat on their plate because they’re just not very hungry.
“When my cousins and I were children, our parents would try to get us to eat broccoli, they would say they were ‘little trees’ and we would all pretend we were giraffes to eat the broccoli. It worked!” Jell, social media and marketing specialist.
Why stick to traditional cutlery? Try letting your child skewer bite-sized food on toothpicks or using chopsticks. Your child might have a lot of fun and actually eat the veggies, meat or whatever they don’t normally try.
Re-Package, Re-Spin, Re-Brand. Think of yourself as the mastermind behind a food marketing campaign, where your toughest critics are pint-sized food connoisseurs. To make a food they’re not keen on seem more appealing, give it a humorous twist. For example, if carrots are a no-go, try calling them ‘X-Ray Vision Sticks’, suggesting they’re the secret behind superheroes’ sharp eyesight. The idea is to weave a bit of storytelling and humour into meals, transforming mundane foods into characters of a whimsical, edible tale

19. If you have the creativity and the time, present the food into characters, scenes or animals your child likes. Search for ideas on Pinterest or Instagram!

20. Don’t answer the question ‘what’s for dinner’. Come up with a silly answer such as “bugs and onions”, or something obvious ‘food’, but don’t give them time to dread dinner.

21. In Piaget’s developmental stages, there’s a phase known as the preoperational stage, where a child’s understanding of conservation is still developing. For example, if you pour juice from a short, wide glass into a tall, narrow one, they might believe the tall glass contains more juice because it looks “bigger,” even when they see the pouring happen. This concept can be cleverly applied to serving vegetables to children. By arranging the veggies closer together, they seem “smaller” to the child, giving the impression that they’re eating less. Conversely, spreading out items like chicken nuggets can create the illusion of a larger portion, making mealtime a bit more appealing to them

22. Everyone at the table eats the same meal, but try to include one item everyone likes. No alternatives, or if you have to, make the alternative something like veggie sticks and hummus. Eating together as a family is also a great way to bond and create lasting memories.

23. The one-bite rule: say something like, “Remember the time you didn’t think you’d like cherries, but you did? Let’s try this sweet potato now, because you might like it. Once you try it you can say, “No thank you!” but you have to at least try it! Then that food is no thank you food.”

24. The ‘silver bowl snack’ to expand their palate, one tiny taste at a time. If your child doesn’t like something, say something like, “well your tastebuds must not be grown up enough for that yet, let’s see what happens next time you try it.” Since children often want to be more “grown up” they may willingly try the offending food again the next time it was offered. If the child decides to try it, make a big deal about how grown up your child is getting.

25. Keep pre-cut vegetables and fruits in a bowl or clear Tupperware container, front and centre in the fridge and — important — then place some on a platter on the kitchen counter in your child’s line of vision all afternoon.

26. Do your children like mashed potatoes? Get more veggies in there! If the mashed potatoes turn green? Well, they’re Hulk potatoes obviously. Are they orange? Then they’re Nemo or insert-your-child’s-favourite-orange-character-here.

27. “We get our children to pick a meal they want to eat for dinner for the week and we buy the ingredients then they all get a night to cook dinner for us, makes them interested in wanting to eat the meal they make for us, and they need to choose something with a minimum of two veggies.” Jess, enrolments officer.

28. Sprinkles also go a long way. Yes, actual sprinkles, or foods that they can shake on like sprinkles. Think seasonings, herbs and chia seeds. If a child doesn’t like the food presented, ask what you can add to make it more exciting. And let them do the sprinkling. Sometimes, it really is as simple as that.

29. While it’s easy to use a smartphone or TV to occupy your child’s attention and you might even see your child mindlessly eat, that’s actually not what you want. You want children to be focused on the food, but also focused on family time and conversation.

30. Relax! Try not to put pressure on them to eat. You wouldn’t want someone constantly commenting on your plate choices and habits. Mel, operations manager of Little Scholars, said her son has been picky since he was two years old. When she spoke to a nutritionist, she said “as long as he was eating 20-25 different foods throughout the week he would be OK.” While it can feel stressful, your child is likely getting the nutrients they need, whether you’re offering fresh, frozen, tinned foods, you’re trying your best, your child is flourishing, and one day, this will just be a memory!

Do you have a child who’s struggling with separation anxiety, especially at when being dropped off at school or early education? Perhaps they’re going through a developmental milestone that makes them need Mum or Dad a bit more than before. This is common starting around six months of age, peaks at 14-18 months, then can happen again when your child hits preschool and school-age. Or maybe your child is new to our service or has recently transitioned studios. The transition from home to early education is a milestone for both children and families. Separation anxiety can even happen for children who’ve been in Little Scholars for a while. It can be hard moving into a new studio where she or he doesn’t yet know new routines, where things are kept and spending time with different educators with different ways of doing things can be overwhelming for the child. This is all normal.

If you’re at a loss on how to make things easier on your little one, and yourself, we have some ideas.

Our tips for drop-off

Don’t sneak away 🏃‍♂️ We know you’re trying to prevent tears, but sneaking away creates anxiety and mistrust for your child
Keep goodbyes short 🙋‍♀️ There’s a saying that goes, ‘quick goodbyes make for dry eyes’
Be aware of your own emotions 😭 🙅‍♂️ – When you’re calm and confident, that tells your child that s/he is safe. Young children rely on co-regulation to manage their emotions.

Acknowledge and validate their feelings by saying something like “I know goodbyes can be hard, but I always come back. I will see you later today. I love you.” Give a big hug, a smile and a wink.

Talk it out

Then at home, if your child is old enough, have a chat about why she/he is having a hard time at drop-off, and think about what you can do to alleviate it. Ask him or her what make things easier. Perhaps it’s including a comfort toy, blanket or family photo. Maybe you each have a special bracelet that you can touch when you’re missing each other. Make a plan for something special together when you pick him or her up, like a walk or playing a game together, which will give your child something to look forward to through the day.

Prepare in advance

If you’re preparing your child to go to early education or school, it’s best they understand what their days will look like. So the conversation could look something like ‘we’ll all have breakfast together and get ready for the day. Then we’ll get in the car and first we’ll stop at Little Scholars. I’ll walk you in, give you a big hug, and you’ll go off to have a day of play while I go to work. When I finish work, I’ll jump in the car and come right over to pick you up, then we’ll go _____” These conversations may have to happen several times for it to sink in.

Also, if you’re pondering signing your child up for early education, this is why we offer play dates to children newly enroled but yet to start – this allows them to begin to become familiar with their new educators and studios.

Remember, you can always chat with your educator or campus manager about how to help. We’re always available, and we’ve been through this before, we can offer ideas or reassurances everyone will be OK!

We also know separation anxiety can be a two-way street, especially for new parents, or returning to work after maternity leave. Don’t forget we have our Little Scholars app so you can see pictures of your child, and be reassured that if there were tears from your child, they likely didn’t last long and they’re busy having fun and learning while you’re at work.

Related links:

Teaching a small child self-respect, to find and use his or her own voice can be one of the most valuable lessons you share as a parent or special adult in that child’s life. When children can speak up for themselves, this will help them in every aspect of their lives, for the rest of their lives. Having the ability to use their voices, they’re able to command respect, protect their feelings and their bodies, and increase their confidence in their ideas, their relationships and in various social settings. There are several facets to teaching a child to use his or her voice.

Examples of self-respect for children

Allow your child to make choices about his or her body. You can start by allowing them choices on what to wear, and checking with them if it’s ok to help them dress or undress. This is the beginning of teaching your child about consent, even if he or she is a baby. Loved ones can also model consent by asking, ‘May I pick you up?’ or ‘May I give you a hug?’ and in the bath or nappy changes, asking permission before you clean or wipe your child in private places. Those conversations can lead to discussions about appropriate versus inappropriate touching, and even little children should expect to be asked permission from anyone who comes into contact with them. Even if they’re your children and you’ve been looking after them literally since day one, you’re showing them you respect their body by asking first.

Respect for their bodies

This is the same in our campuses. It’s our policy to maintain the rights and dignity of the children, that includes in terms of nappy changing and toileting, so we try to provide privacy where possible from everyone in our campuses. Our educators are all trained in respectful care, and host not-for-profit visitors such as Bravehearts, who teach children about advocating for body safety, yes and no feelings, the difference between parents, trusted adults like doctors or educators looking after their bodies, versus strangers and unsafe adults.

We recommend teaching children young the proper names for their body parts and use them any time you are talking about them. When they’re first learning to speak, this can be a great bathtime conversation as you point out the names of various body parts. Keep any cringing when talking about body parts to yourself. The sexualised nature of private body parts — giggling or shame when talking about them — that’s adult stuff that we don’t need to put onto children.

“I teach my children “Your body belongs to you and you only” as well as naming their correct private parts which are theirs only,” says Holly, a lead educator in the Senior Kindy studio at our Staplyton campus. “Children really need to be educated about body awareness/safety.”

Why is teaching them proper names so important? Getting used to these conversations young can reduce embarrassment, something unnecessarily expressed by many adults and in previous generations, and establish ongoing communications with children about sex/sexuality. But most importantly, this educates and empowers little ones about their body safety, and research shows this could protect them from predators.

Explain to your child that nobody is allowed to touch our private parts unless it’s for hygiene or medical reasons and that people who have to come in contact with your child’s private areas have to ask permission first. But while there’s no shame in their bodies, they should also know there are parts of the body that are private and have it explained to them those parts are just for them.

Holly says additionally, they have conversations with the children with scenarios about stranger danger and the steps they need to remember in case anything like that happens. They also have conversations about who the children name as their ‘safe people’.

Respect for children in public

There are lots of ways to show children respect, and it’s important when you expect them to respect others. Try to refrain from talking about your child, especially in front of them, to others, or be mindful of what you do share. This shows your child you respect his or her privacy. You may remember a time when you were younger when a parent or someone you loved shared a story that embarrassed you – even as an adult, you remember. Your child could too. Before you tell a story, ask yourself how they’d feel about you telling it.

In our increasingly digital world, this also goes for sharing everything about them on social media. Once it’s online, it’s there forever. Even if it in theory disappears after 24 hours, screenshots can be taken. That also goes for other people’s children – other parents may not want them on social media, so keep online sharing to your own children. Consider what you are posting, would your child want to have a picture for the world to see of themselves on the potty or with a bare bottom when they’re older? Keep in mind others may Google them in the future; potential and current employers, associates, and most scarily, predators.

Another way you can show your child respect is by discussing inappropriate behaviour away from public settings. Keep important conversations for a time when you can discuss them privately. You may think embarrassing them by calling their actions out in public might stop them from doing it again, but this will likely backfire. You can say in public something like ‘We will have an important talk about this later.’ and stick to that. But highlighting negative behaviours in public only causes humiliation and shame, and no one needs to feel that way.

Respect for their physical boundaries

Don’t force children to hug or kiss anyone, even family. You could ask, for example, how they’d like to say greet people in each social situation.

“I offer children the choice of a hug, holding hands or sitting together as an alternative to allow them to make the choice. When saying hello or goodbye they can say just the words, high five, fist bump or hug, but it is always up to them,” says Claire, an educator from our Nerang campus. These options still teach them to be polite if that’s important to you, but shows them how they can do it within their comfort level and respects their physical boundaries.

Respect by owning up to mistakes

Parents often focus on teaching children to be respectful, such as learning to apologise when in the wrong, but teaching children to just say ‘sorry’ versus understanding how their actions actually affect others and learning to own their actions is a better way to develop their emotional maturity. By asking the children questions such as ‘how do you think your sister felt when you hit her?’ or ‘how were you feeling when you broke that toy?’ and ‘what would you like people to do if they recognise they made you feel sad?’ will get them to begin to understand owning up to their mistakes and learning to say sorry meaningfully.

This is also where modelling comes in. It’s important to apologise to your child when you make a mistake. They learn from you, and by saying you’re sorry sincerely shows children that no one is perfect, that everyone makes mistakes, but it’s how we respond to them that counts. This could be done in other ways, rather than an adult yelling when angry, but by speaking kindly and respectfully to them, even when it’s difficult to, or if you’re setting a limit, children begin to understand their actions have consequences and can respond to situations differently in future.

Respect their voice

Let your child answer for themselves. Refrain from answering questions directed at them. If they don’t want to answer, don’t make a big deal about it.

“We use language to acknowledge how children feel for example, ‘I can see that you are upset, how can I help you?’” says Claire. “We use this language to help children to speak for themselves every day so it becomes second nature to them.”

We guide our educators to tune in to the behaviours, actions and emotions of the child to identify what they may be trying to communicate.

“Through listening to gestures cues, along with words, shows respect and ensures we are responsive to children and value their rights,” says Susan Cooper, group pedagogical leader for Little Scholars. “It is important for early childhood educators to validate what the children may be feeling and this is done by our educators asking the child about their emotions and setting spaces and environments where the children feel safe and secure to express their feelings comfortably.”

Tell them it’s OK to say ‘no’ if they feel unsafe or unsure. This teaches children and young people that it is OK to stand up for themselves and to be assertive if something doesn’t feel right. Following this, they should know that nothing is so ‘yucky’ that they can’t tell someone they trust about it. Hopefully, this is something your child never has to deal with, but if they’re asked to keep something secret that hurts them or makes them uncomfortable, then by talking to them about situations like this, they’ll speak up straight away and not worry about getting in trouble by breaking a ‘secret’. Teach them the difference between secrets, privacy, and surprises.

Here’s an explanation of the differences. A surprise is something that should be fun, happy, and temporary. Secrets that are meant to be kept for a long time are usually meant to protect someone or keep someone from getting in trouble. Although we want children to be wary of secrets (therefore, keep language in mind) —and especially to come to us when they have an unsafe secret—they also need to learn that some things should be kept private. Privacy isn’t about keeping someone from getting in trouble; it’s about respecting a person’s personal information.

Finally, please feel free to talk to your educators or campus managers about how they manage any of these conversations and talk to them about how you prefer it handled. We want your children and your family to feel respected and heard, safe and happy in our care, and if we can help with those conversations, we’d like to. These are also conversations you should have with extended family or people who will be in your child’s life.

Most importantly, model the person you want them to become. Children will remember their biggest role models their entire lives, so being a respectful, caring, supportive, confident adult influence will teach children the best person he or she can become. By showing them the respect they deserve and teaching them about self-respect, we’re setting them up for their future. Self-respecting and resilient children who spend time in positive, affectionate and supportive environments, led by clear and reasonable guidelines, and have healthy connections to parents and other adults, grow to be adults with the ability to bounce back from challenging situations their entire lives. And, all of the ways you show respect for children teaches them how they should show respect for others.

Important links:

Do your children play with dolls? There have been some fascinating research findings that highlight the advantages of dolls as a tool for nurturing social and emotional skills in children. Recent studies have shown that doll play provides children with opportunities to engage in imaginative role-playing, develop empathy, and enhance their communication about others’ thoughts and feelings. There’s also been some research that looks at traditional notions of gender preferences in toy choices, emphasising the importance of providing children with diverse play experiences, all of which we’ll explore here.

Research challenges the notion of innate gender preferences in toy choices. Studies have found that even baby boys can and will show a preference for dolls over trucks, indicating that toy preferences may be influenced by environmental factors rather than biological predispositions. By encouraging children to play with dolls, we can help them develop a broader understanding of the world, challenge gender stereotypes, and promote equality.

Doll play provides opportunities for children to practice social and emotional skills by creating imaginary worlds, taking others’ perspectives, and talking about others’ thoughts and feelings, according to 2020 research titled Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience. The study, conducted by researchers from Cardiff University and King’s College London, saw 33 children between the ages of four and eight freely play with Barbie dolls and accessories, or tablet games with a social partner or by themselves.

The children were left to play spontaneously, but their chat was monitored and they were also fitted with a specialised cap containing state-of-the-art, functional near-infrared spectroscopy equipment – a form of brain imaging technology, making it possible to track brain activity while the child freely moved around.

The study found that the children talked more about others’ thoughts and emotions when playing with the dolls, compared with playing creative games on a computer tablet, such as a hairdressing game or a city-building game with characters.

Social play also activated the right prefrontal regions in the brain more than solo play, researchers found. These areas of the brain are responsible for regulating thoughts, actions and emotions.

The children in the study were also more likely to talk to the dolls versus characters in the digital games, which showed they were developing important social and emotional skills, according to the lead researcher.

“When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls, they communicate at first out loud and then internalise the message about others’ thoughts, emotions and feelings,” says lead researcher Dr. Sarah Gerson in the university release. “This can have positive long-lasting effects on children, such as driving higher rates of social and emotional processing and building social skills like empathy that can become internalised to build and form lifelong habits.”

Boys and dolls

Closer to home, research conducted at the University of Western Sydney in 2013 found young baby boys seemed to prefer dolls to trucks, challenging the theory of an innate preference among babies for typical feminine or masculine toys. Researchers gauged the preferences of four and five-month-old babies by showing them pictures of male and female humans and dolls, as well as cars and other items.

Researchers then measured how long their gaze lingered on the objects, and calculated their preferences based on that length of time. Researchers found there was a general looking preference for dolls or doll faces over cars or trucks for both the male and female babies observed at five months old.

Other studies conducted at U of WS have found as babies age, there are sometimes preferences toward toys marketed at their own gender, but those preferences, researchers hypothesised, could be environmental or a result of nurturing, so if they’ve been given more opportunities to play with toy trucks than dolls, they may show a preference for toy trucks.

Babies don’t typically show gender preference until at least their second year, according to some studies, indicating that preference later may be the result of their physiological changes, cognitive development or social pressure.

Making sense of the world through play

Playing with dolls is a version of role-playing, and that’s a great thing in child development. Dolls are used to create narratives while playing. When children do this, they’re learning to make sense of the world and this kind of role-play helps them see things more broadly.

Other research has looked at how gendered toys are approached by each sex. One study in the 1980s had a few dozen girls and boys (aged four to nine years) presented with toys in three sex-labeled boxes and were given six minutes to explore the objects. The children’s memory for information about the toys was tested one week later. Results show that the children tactually explored toys labeled for their own sex more than similar objects labeled for the other sex, and remembered more detailed information about own-sex than other-sex objects. Between ages three to five, gender is very important to children, according to an an associate professor at the University of Kentucky. So when children are presented with very specifically-marketed gendered toys, they pay careful attention.

This is a time we should encourage children to play with all kinds of toys, as it sets the foundations for free thinking, creative play and removes the constraints of gender.

The benefits for children, regardless of their sex, of playing with dolls are numerous and supported by research. Doll play provides opportunities for children to practice social and emotional skills, develop empathy, and engage in imaginative play. Studies have shown that doll play leads to increased communication about others’ thoughts and emotions, activating important brain regions responsible for regulating thoughts, actions, and emotions.

At Little Scholars, we recognise the importance of supporting children’s interests and providing them with a diverse range of toys and play opportunities. Our home corner, which includes dolls and role-playing materials, encourages children to explore, imagine, and develop important skills and dispositions for learning. By embracing doll play and role-playing activities, we foster autonomy, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and a sense of agency in our children.

References:

Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience (2020). Cardiff University and King’s College London.
Study on baby boys’ preferences for dolls (2013). University of Western Sydney.
Gendered toy exploration and play: Sequelae of the gender identity interview (1986). University of Kentucky.

Are you planning a family camping trip near Brisbane? Camping with children can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it requires some extra planning and preparation. From choosing the right campsite to packing the essentials, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind to ensure a successful and enjoyable trip.

They say that there are two types of people. Those who love camping and those who don’t know they love it yet. If you fall into the first camp, you’ll be well aware of the incredible impact that camping can have on you. It’s a time to emotionally and spiritually recharge. You’re disconnected from the minutiae of urban and suburban life and immersed in a setting where all of your modern day needs and concerns are stripped away.

And if you’re planning a family camping trip near Brisbane, there’s no better time to experience the joys of camping with your loved ones. Camping is bliss. If you don’t know that yet, you’re about to. Let’s take a look at what to pack for your family camping trip and offer some suggestions for the best camping spots near Brisbane. We’ll also provide tips for choosing a family-friendly campsite, so you can relax and enjoy the great outdoors with your loved ones. So, grab your tent, pack your bags, and get ready for an adventure!

If you’re looking for childcare centres in Brisbane or the Gold Coast, look no further. At Little Scholars, our goal is to be an extension of your family. Our first priority is the growth and development of your child; we nurture, teach and guide your child to developing all the skills that will allow them to succeed in life. Find a campus near you today.

Finding a home in nature: the joys of family camping

Camping can be a magical experience, regardless of the season. In winter, watching your children marvel at the way their breath forms shapes in front of their faces as you pitch your tent can be truly delightful (if a little cold). And during the summer, camping is a great way for children to spend their childhood, despite the heat and humidity.

More than just a fun activity, camping can also teach our children valuable life skills. Through camping, they can learn to appreciate nature, become more responsible and mature, develop a strong work ethic, and understand the importance of safety and getting along with others. Along the way, you might even meet fascinating characters and make lifelong friends.

Camping is truly what childhood memories are made of. If you think you can do without the conveniences of the big city for a couple of nights, pack up your tent, hit the road, and say a cheerful “coo-ee” to your fellow campers. You might just find a home away from home in nature.

What to take camping with children

If you’re planning a family camping trip near Brisbane, there are a few essential items that you’ll want to make sure you take camping for you and your little ones.

Sleeping Gear

First and foremost, you’ll need a safe and sturdy tent. Look for a tent that’s appropriate for the size of your family and that has enough room for everyone to sleep comfortably. You’ll also want to invest in quality sleeping bags and mats to ensure that everyone gets a good night’s sleep. When camping with children, it’s important to prioritise comfort to avoid any meltdowns or sleepless nights.

Shoes and spare clothing

Appropriate shoes and clothes are also vital when camping. Well gripped shoes are a must when using communal toilets and showers to avoid any slips or falls. During the day, sturdy closed-toe shoes will also protect your child’s feet from rocks and other hazards when adventuring. Pack clothes that are suitable for the weather conditions, including rain gear and warm layers for cooler evenings.

Yummy snacks

Pack some favourite snacks. Camping can be an active and adventurous experience, so you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of snacks on hand to keep your little ones fueled up. Pack some of their easy ready-to-go favourite treats, such as granola bars, trail mix, or fruit snacks. And don’t forget the marshmallows for roasting over the campfire!

Reading material

Pack one of their books. Camping can be a great opportunity to unplug and enjoy the natural world around you, but it’s also nice to have some quiet downtime. Bring along a book that your child loves or pick up a new one before you leave. Reading can be a great way to wind down before bed or to relax in a hammock during the day.

Games

Camping is all about spending time outdoors and having fun, so make sure you bring along some activities to keep your children entertained. Outdoor games like frisbee, catch, or a soccer ball can be a great way to burn off some energy and get active. Board games or a deck of cards are also great for rainy days or quiet evenings around the campfire. And if you’re looking for a more immersive experience, try bringing a scavenger hunt or nature bingo game to help your children explore the natural world around them

Other key items

In addition to the above essentials, you’ll want to bring along a few other key items. Torches will be essential for nighttime bathroom trips and navigating around the campsite in the dark. A first aid kit is also a must-have in case of any minor injuries or accidents. And don’t forget your sunscreen and bug spray!

Lastly, make sure you have food storage containers and a rubbish bin to keep your campsite clean and free of any critters.

How to choose family camping sites

Your family will have a set of criteria when it comes to selecting the best possible campsite for your holiday. This will depend on the number of children you have with you, their ages, their physical abilities and your attachment to modern conveniences.

Here are some important factors to consider when selecting a family-friendly campsite:

Toilets and Shower Facilities:
When camping with little ones, it’s important to have access to clean and convenient toilet and shower facilities. Look for campsites that offer modern amenities such as flushing toilets and hot showers. It’s also worth checking whether there are family-friendly facilities like baby changing stations or accessible bathrooms for those with special needs.

Popularity of the Campsite:
Consider the popularity of the campsite you’re considering, especially if you’re camping during peak season. If the campsite is known for being a party spot or a popular destination for rowdy groups, it might not be the peaceful retreat you’re looking for. Look for quieter campsites that cater to families with young children.

Items of Interest for Young Children:

Choose a campsite that has nearby attractions that your small humans will enjoy, such as beaches, parks, bush walks, or open spaces. This will give your children the opportunity to explore and play, and will help keep them entertained throughout the trip.

Family-Friendly Facilities:
Make sure the campsite has family-friendly facilities like playgrounds, BBQs, and picnic tables. These amenities will help make your trip more comfortable and enjoyable for everyone. If your family likes to fish, look for a campsite with fishing spots or other outdoor activities.

Proximity to Unfenced Potential Hazards:
Be aware of any unfenced potential hazards like bodies of water near your campsite. This is especially important if you have young children who may be at risk of wandering off. Look for campsites that are fenced or have safety measures in place to ensure that your family stays safe.

Reputation and Rating of the Campsite:
Do some research on the campsite’s reputation and rating before booking your trip. Check online reviews on sites like Tripadvisor or Google to get an idea of what other families have experienced at the campsite. This will help you make an informed decision and choose a campsite that meets your family’s needs.

By considering these factors when choosing a family-friendly campsite, you’ll be able to find the perfect spot for your family to enjoy the great outdoors

The best camping near Brisbane – where to go?

Now that you’re in the mood to spread out a swag, here are some of the best campground spots near Brisbane to go camping with children.

Camping Bigriggen with the family

The scenic rim is one of the most spectacular places in South-East Queensland. The gorgeous, untouched hinterlands blend seamlessly into picturesque, quaint farm lands. The camping opportunities at Bigriggen mean that families can easily access this hidden wonderland. Powered or non-powered sites mean you can choose the level of comfort you desire.

There is opportunity to go fishing and bushwalking, 4WD tracks, bike riding and swimming. Amenities are plentiful with showers, bathrooms and drinkable water all available onsite. You can even bring the dog! A perfect first-time experience for camping with the whole family.

Visit the Bigriggen Campground website today!

Camping Hastings Point

Heading about 30 km south of the Tweed will bring you to the beautiful Hastings Point area. There are lots of different campsites around here – some of them even offering Surfari (glamping) tents for the travellers who enjoy the finer things in life! There are lots of things to see and do in the township and the winding river tributaries are perfect for exploration and kayaking.

Check out Hastings Point campsites.

Elanda Point Camping

This is a camping-with-children hotspot and for good reason. Toddlers and young children NEED space to get physical and run around. These camp sites are grassy and spacious. There is plenty of room to ride bikes and climb trees. The nearby water is peaceful and calm and perfect for a splash about. Gentle walking trails pepper the nearby areas offering plenty of opportunities for exercise and stretching the old (and young!) legs.

Visit Habitat Noosa’s website today!

Camping Borumba Deer Park

Borumba Deer Park camping is about two hours from Brisbane. It offers creek side camping with the promise of swimming, fishing and kayaking. This is a peaceful spot for reflection and contemplation. It is well appointed for families with facilities like toilets, kitchens, laundries and a little shop (with coffee!).

Visit Borumba Deer Park website today!

Other camping spots near Brisbane

The above listed sites are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to idyllic camping spots near Brisbane. There are fabulous spots for families throughout the Gold Coast region, Toowoomba, Ipswich and further afield.

Now that you’ve discovered the best spots for camping near Brisbane, it’s time to discover how nature play can bring out the best in your child. Find out at Little Scholars.

Reading with children is transformational – it helps with communication and language development, cognitive skills, inspires imagination and creativity, serve as conversation starters, we could go on and on. It’s also fantastic bonding time that will create memories to last a lifetime. You probably know all about Little Scholars approach to reading, and that it’s a big part of our educational programming. Lately, we’ve been thinking about books that have really stuck with families and educators and of course, children! We thought we’d share some of our favourites, and they’re linked to Gold Coast and/or Brisbane libraries so you don’t have to spend a dime if you need some new reads!

Piranhas don’t eat bananas

This is one of my favourite books to read with children. It’s great for when you have a picky eater or when trying to introduce new foods that children are hesitant to try. – Claire, lead educator, Little Scholars Nerang

By Aaron Blabey, published 2017

Reading ages: ‎ 3 – 6 years

Synopsis: ‘Hey there, guys. Would you like a banana?’ ‘What’s wrong with you. Brian? You’re a piranha.’ Brian loves bananas. Trouble is, Brian’s a piranha. And his friends aren’t happy about his fondness for fruit. No, they’re not happy at all

City of Gold Coast Libraries

Stop the Clock

I recently checked this book out of my local library and read it with my three-year-old daughter. It resonated with me as mornings to get ready with drop-off at Little Scholars Burleigh and get to myself work are so rushed. In this story, I got a better understanding of what that constant hurrying might be like for my toddler, who just wants to start her day by enjoying some time at home, and with her parents.

Since we read this book, I’ve intentionally slowed down, calmed my typical encouragements to move faster and try to find time ways for more connection, with a quick story before we leave or we make up stories in the car. The point in the book of slowing down has even helped with hard moments my daughter might be having by stopping together, going or looking outside and starting to point out all the things we see. – Christina, social media and marketing specialist.

Author: Pippa Goodhart, published 2022

Reading ages: 4-7

Synopsis: Life is so busy! On his way to school, Joe is missing all the exciting things happening around him – he is in such a rush, he doesn’t even notice his little sister crying! Given a task to draw what he saw on his way to school, Joe decides to stop time to appreciate all the little details that make life meaningful, and find out why Poppy was crying.

City of Gold Coast Libraries & Brisbane Library

This is a ball

My favourite book to read to the children is This is a Ball. I recommend it for the kindergarten-aged children. It’s a crowd favourite and allows everyone to be a little bit silly! – Hayley, lead educator, Little Scholars Yatala

Author: Beck and Matt Stanton, published 2017
Reading ages: 4-8

Synopsis: For the Grown-Ups: You know how you’re right all the time? All. The. Time. Yes, well, it’s time to give the kids a turn. Which is why everything you read in this book is going to be wrong. But that’s ok, because the kids are going to correct you. And they’re going to love it!

City of Gold Coast Libraries & Brisbane Library

I wanna be a Great Big Dinosaur

This is one of my favourites from a while ago. It’s really fun to read and get children involved in, as you can make actions to the words and change your tone to match the images. It’s light reading and a feel good ending. – Yvette, educational lead, Little Scholars Burleigh

By Heath McKenzie, published 2016

Reading ages:4-8

Synopsis: More than anything in the world, one little boy wants to be a great big dinosaur. And he’s in luck! A great big T. Rex shows up to teach him how to stomp and roar just like a dinosaur. But dinosaurs aren’t so great at soccer or video games… Maybe being a little boy isn’t all bad? A story about being whoever (or whatever) you want!

City of Gold Coast Libraries

Pig the Pug

I love reading the Pig the Pug series. All the different stories are such a fun, playful rhyming with lively pictures that always capture the children’s eyes and thoughts leading to conversations and their interpretations of the pictures/story. I also love that in every book, Pig the Pug comes to see the value of honesty, friendship, sportsmanship and gratitude. -Skye, lead educator, Little Scholars Pacific Pines

By Aaron Blabey, published 2014
Reading ages: 3-5

Synopsis: Pig is a greedy and selfish Pug. He has all the bouncy balls, bones, and chew toys a dog could ever want, yet he refuses to share with his poor friend, Trevor.

City of Gold Coast Libraries & Brisbane Library

Rainbow Fish

In our kindergarten room we absolutely love to read the Rainbow Fish, it is an important story to us as it shows the importance of friendships and how to make friendships, which as we enter our final year of pre schooling before big school is so important and timely! As well as this we love learning and reading The Colour Monster daily, this book teaches us to identify our emotions and how each one may make us feel. – Ella, educator, Little Scholars Deception Bay

By Marcus Pfister, published 1995
Reading ages: 4-8

Synopsis: The Rainbow Fish learns that being the most beautiful fish in the sea can be lonely. Ultimately he learns that there is more to be gained by sharing his special qualities than by keeping them all to himself.

City of Gold Coast Libraries & Brisbane Library

Going on a Bear Hunt

I love Going on a Bear Hunt (and even better, Going on a Croc Hunt) because it’s predictable and repetitive, which supports the children in recounting the story and their comprehension skills. It’s also super fun because it can be used in combination with actions to make it a physical retelling! – Jaidyn, lead educator, Little Scholars Ormeau 2

By Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, published 1993

Reading ages: 3-7

Synopsis: For brave hunters and bear-lovers, the classic chant-aloud by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.Follow and join in the family’s excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. What a surprise awaits them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest!

City of Gold Coast Libraries & Brisbane Library

The Elves and the Shoemaker

One I always remember! As a child my Nanna would read this to me when we visited, and I loved the magic it brought to my imagination. As a adult I love the storyline behind it and how amazing the message is, how important it is for children to learn. Helping others in need also looks at if you help someone, the good karma will always come back to you. – Sarah, educator at Little Scholars Deception Bay.

Retold by various authors

Reading ages: 2-5

Synopsis: A classic fairy tale about two selfless shoemaking elves shows the joy that comes from giving–and receiving–generosity and kindness.

City of Gold Coast Libraries & Brisbane Library

Wombat Stew

We love Wombat stew in my studio! It’s a great book to extend on, gathering items from nature on walks etc and using in mud play. Or exploring Australian animals and researching about the different animals in the story. – Lucy,

By Marcia Vaughan, first published in 1986

Reading ages: 0-4

Synopsis: In this classic Australian picture book, a dingo catches a wombat and wants to cook him in a stew. But the other bush animals have a plan to save their friend

City of Gold Coast Libraries & Brisbane Library

Where is the Green Sheep?

I think for me being able to get the children involved in the story by pointing out the different sheep and then the repetition of “But where is the green sheep?” where you could encourage the children to read this aloud with you. My favourite part is the second last page where it says “turn the page quietly and let’s take a peep” as the different reactions you would get from the different age groups always intrigued me, it gave you a real insight of what part of the book they took in. Was it the suspense of finding the sheep or was it the different coloured sheep that caught their eye? The discussion afterwards was almost as rewarding as sharing the book with them. – Morgan, campus manager at Little Scholars Ormeau 1

By Mem Fox and Judy Horacek, published in 2006

Reading ages: 0-5

Synopsis: This is a fun rhyming book that revolves around the search for the ever elusive green sheep. On the search, we are introduced to different sheep on every page doing silly activities that will delight both children and adults.

City of Gold Coast & Brisbane Library

Babies are a mysterious bunch. For many months, their main forms of communication are cries, squeaks, gestures and coos. Parents fall madly in love with these little humans without knowing what they’re thinking and feeling, often just guessing at best.

How babies play, how and what they’re learning, and what they’re interested in can be a mystery to many. Many parents have seen their baby pull out every book off a shelf, for example, watch it fall, then grab another, while that parent scratches his or her head and says ‘why?’

There’s an answer. It’s a schema. A schema is both a category of knowledge as well as the process of acquiring that knowledge. In play, babies are often involved in repeated actions or certain behaviours as they explore the world around them and try to find out how things work. Those repetitive actions, such as a baby pulling out book after book, allows a child to practice and construct meaning to something, until they’ve understood that schema. Then they find something else to focus on and lather, rinse, repeat!

As Yvette, educational lead from our Burleigh campus says, it’s children’s development making sense.

“All of those little things that you see children do that seem a bit cute, or frustrating even, like throwing, it’s a schema, a child’s pathway of development for making sense of the world,” Yvette says.

The repetitive action of a schema allows a child to practice and construct meaning until they have mastered the understanding of the schema. Being aware of play schemas helps in two ways:

It helps parents and educators to differentiate between ‘behaviour’ vs ‘natural urges’ which move past the belief that a child is just being ‘difficult’
It helps parents and educators to plan learning environments that support the development and mastery of schemas

There are a number of types of schemas when it comes to babies.

Trajectory schema – The trajectory schema is one of the earliest schemas observed in babies. They are fascinated with how they, and objects move. Children will often throw objects or food from their pram or highchair. They climb and jump in puddles and enjoy exploring running water.

Transporting schema – Little ones enjoy repeatedly moving resources around, from one place to another. They will carry many items at a time using their hands, pockets, containers,
baskets, bags, or anything else that will hold their newfound treasures.

Enclosing schema – Children show an interest in enclosed spaces. They may want to sit (and hide in) boxes or laundry baskets. Or they may show interest constructing fences and barricades to enclose toy animals or themselves.

Rotational schema – Children showing a rotational schema may display a preference for turning taps on and off, winding and unwinding string, and playing with
hoops. They may also be fascinated with the physical experience of twirling and twisting their body, spinning around on the spot, or rolling themselves down a hill. They have an interest in things that turn, such as wheels and windmills. They enjoy rolling tyres around, turning lids and watching the washing machine on a spin cycle.

Enveloping schema – Children with an enveloping schema are interested in covering and hiding items, including themselves. They will enjoy dressing up, and filling and emptying bags and containers with different objects.

Connecting schema – Children displaying the connecting schema want to join items together. They find resources like string to tie things. They connect and disconnect toys such as rail tracks.
They enjoy construction toys, and doing arts and crafts where they can glue and stick pieces together.

Orientation schema – Children like to turn objects and themselves around and upside down, to get a view from under the table or from the branch of a tree. They may bend over and look at the world backwards through their legs. They enjoy seeing things from a different view when exploring using cardboard tubes, binoculars or a magnifying glass.

By adapting this theory, we have been able to slow down and become more in tune to the children and noticing their behaviour patterns in play. It is now so important to us that we allow our babies and young children the time to explore the repetitive actions of schematic play.

-Jodie, lead educator

Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget was one of the first to use the term “schema” back in 1923. Piaget was an important child development theorist and his Theory of Cognitive Development was and still is read and followed today by early childhood specialists. He was one of the first who believed children think differently than adults and that they have an innate desire to learn and actively build up their knowledge about the world. They are not passive creatures waiting for someone to teach them.

Susan, our group pedagogical leader, is bringing her schema knowledge across our campuses to the lead educators in the nursery and toddler studios in 2023. Learn a bit more below about how we use schema theory, and how one educator has taken it on in her nursery.

Schematic Pedagogy

Through our collective curriculum, our educators are guided through a ‘schematic lens’, meaning they can plan for children’s thinking, not just activities. This has a strong link to our Collective Curriculum, our educational program for children.

The learning environment

Our educators apply teaching methodologies to design their play spaces and are intentional in the resources offered.

Observing and planning for children’s thinking

Through our collective curriculum, our educators observe the children through their play, to determine schemas explored through the children’s engagement to an activity or resource. Through observing patterns of learning, our trained educators can plan forward to scaffold their cognitive capabilities.

Partnering with children in play

Through ongoing mentoring and coaching, our educators are able use their knowledge of schemas and plan effectively. Our educators are encouraged to partner with children in their play and observe behaviours explored through schemas.

“Schemas are an intrinsic part of child development, knowledge to schemas provide our team of educators an opportunity to identify and encourage independence in children as they explore patterns of movement, often related to schemas,” Susan says. “Supporting assessing through a schematic lens, provides our educators with a framework which can be used to analyse children’s learning, supporting the planning process within our curriculum.”

Educator Q&A

You may be wondering if you have a baby or a small toddler in one of our campuses, how we use schemas to help their development. We talked to one of the educators at our Deception Bay campus about using schemas for educational programming. Deception Bay Little Scholars was recently rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS) after it was assessed by the Department of Education. The NQS sets a high national benchmark for early childhood education and care in Australia. Jodie, lead educator in the nursery studio, says learning about schemas was a game-changer.

Q: When did you first learn about schemas?
A: I first heard about schematic play by attending a professional development webinar with Semann & Slattery. It resonated with me as I had observed children engage in the different schemas, but didn’t know about schematic play. I found it so intriguing and needed to do more research. I found Jean Piaget’s psychology theory; “while a schema in psychology still refers to how information is organized, it focuses on how the human mind does it”. I have now learnt the what, why and how children learn through repeated patterns of behaviour.
Q: How long have you worked with nursery children? What were your interactions like before?
A: I have worked in the industry coming up to 14 years and only in the past four years, I have engaged in a more full-time educating role with the nursery and toddler-aged children. Prior to this, I struggled with understanding this age group on the emphasis of what, why and how this age group do things so differently, developmentally, and emotionally. Especially toddlers as they are so spontaneous and busy, and how I could best support them as an educator. It wasn’t until I had my second child, who was so vastly different to my first child! She was much more inquisitive, very busy and just like a little tornado ripping through the house. She was never content until she had everything out on the floor! For the most part she never sat and engaged with her toys, (like my first child did). However, could sit very quietly and go unnoticed at times, especially when she would discover the creams on the change table, or the dirt and mud in the backyard while I hung out the washing.
[After learning about schema theory] I was able to resonate with this from my daughter’s tornado toddler years. That it seemed she wasn’t content until she had gone around and pulled everything out, to not even play with any of it, but just move it from place to place. When in fact she was learning! She was learning about horizontal trajectory (dropping objects), vertical trajectory (throwing, pulling, pushing, pointing, climbing) and transporting (moving objects from place to place).
Q: How has your knowledge of schemas adjusted how you spend time with babies and toddlers?
A: With the support and guidance from Susan, I have since adapted Jean Piaget’s schema theory into our collective educational program. By adapting this theory, we have been able to slow down and become more in tune to the children and noticing their behaviour patterns in play. It is now so important to us that we allow our babies and young children the time to explore the repetitive actions of schematic play. Allowing our babies to construct meaning in what they are doing, as babies and young children learn best through, opportunities to engage in active learning through hands on experiences. These opportunities allow babies and children to problem solve, question, predict, imagine, speculate, and develop independent choices as they make decisions in an area, they are familiar with.
Q: How do you see schema theory in action in your nursery?
A: Our younger babies spend a lot of their time engaging in trajectory play. They can be observed doing tummy time, reaching out for objects, kicking their legs, opening and closing their hands, grasping objects, waving arms up and down or side to side. Then onto rolling, sitting, and crawling where their patterns of movement emerge to larger body movements in horizontal and vertical lines e.g., pushing, kicking pointing, rocking, climbing, or stepping up and down as they work towards their important milestone of walking (horizontal trajectory).

Both our younger babies and older babies really enjoy dropping objects or putting things in and out of containers (vertical trajectory). Using old formula tins and cutting an opening in the top with lids from jar foods a milk bottle lids, is a big favourite.

Our older babies are seen continuing with trajectory and begin to start exploring other forms of schematic play like, transporting, rotation, connecting and this can lead to a disconnecting schema where the child builds something that they can demolish or through [activities like] untying knots, as well as enclosing, positioning, enveloping and orientation, such as looking at things from different viewpoints like hanging upside down, looking through their legs, looking at things upside down. No wonder our little people are so busy and on the go all the time!

Thanks, Jodie!

Supporting boys in understanding emotions to grow into kind, resilient individuals

What can parents do in raising boys to be caring and compassionate?

Could you please tell us about your role at White Ribbon Australia?

How did you get involved in this important work?

What has made you so passionate about ensuring we raise kind, respectful boys?

The most important question: what could parents, especially of little boys, do now to ensure they’re raising kind, respectful human beings?

“I also believe we play a huge role in teaching our boys to regulate their emotions. We seem to be better at comforting girls or more accepting of their emotions. In terms of our boys, we need to shift from correction to connection.”

Thank you, Dean, we’re so appreciative to have your insight!

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The Muppet Christmas Carol

Charlie Brown Christmas

Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer

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