Juggling work and family often means that quality time goes down the drain. There is just no room for a lazy weekend with everyone giggling over pancakes when there are chores to do, classes to attend and grocery shopping to spend your hard-earned cash on. In the blink of an eye, the weekend is finished and those dreams you had all week of spending time with family are put off yet again.
Life can seem like one long to-do list with no chance to catch your breath and take stock of what’s most important – each other.
Little Scholars pride themselves on providing the most well-rounded experience your family could hope for. This promise includes a variety of services during the week that will free up your weekends for relaxing with the alarm clocks firmly switched off.
Here’s how Little Scholars will let you make the most of the weekends and have more family time.
Exhausted after a hard day’s work? Dreading dragging the children around the supermarket when you’d rather be reading them a story at home? Little Scholars provides a take home meal service for parents that will lift that weight off your shoulders. Simply order ahead and the cost of the meal will be added to your fees.
Little Scholars has worked Japanese lessons into our curriculum, knowing that the acquisition of language at a young age stimulates cognition and makes learning exciting. Having cultural learning activities like this during the week will allow more time for play and relaxation on the weekend.
Saturday sports can be a drain for many families. Early starts, driving long distances, playing in miserable conditions. Little Scholars offers health and fitness, yoga and even soccer as part of our weekly curriculum. Your children will be able to participate in those team sports and fitness activities that promote a healthy lifestyle so the enjoyable movement you do with them on the weekends can be just that – enjoyable!
Children find huge benefit in the cooking classes on offer at Little Scholars. Having a hands-on relationship with food preparation ignites a creativity in them that will carry their interest through to the quality time you spend with them at home. Fostering an appreciation of health and nutrition means fewer arguments at dinner time and more enjoyable time spent together as a family.
All of our Little Scholars campuses embrace the beautiful, natural environments they are housed in with a bush kinder program. This can be extended on the weekends as you travel with them on bush walks, adventures in the park and explorations of your own backyard.
The Little Scholars early learning curriculum allows children to experience the world through creative engagement – movement, play and physical activities. These sessions are conducted by specialist teachers trained in introducing children to a world of fun and learning that will make your precious time with them all the more special.
Searching for more quality time? Find out how Little Scholars can help you make the most of family time. Book a tour today!
Nature play isn’t a new thing, in fact, toddlers and kids of all ages have been indulging in nature play for centuries. The difference is these days it’s become alarmingly less the norm due to the advances in technology and extended periods of screen time. Our generation has also become more risk averse, concerned about children’s safety. But the benefits of nature play for toddlers are clear. Read on to discover how getting back to nature can help your child’s development.
Nature play is the same as it used to be when you were a child – unstructured outdoor activities that connect children with nature. Anything from bike riding, gardening, walking, water play, making mud pies or playing in a cubby house is nature play.
The benefits of nature play are incredible, and it’s no surprise that the children missing out on regular time in the great outdoors are falling behind or suffering mental health challenges. Let’s take a look at some of the major benefits of nature play for toddlers.
When a child explores the outdoors, they try new things. They might try riding a bicycle, balancing on a log or going on a swing. Each time they try a new thing, they develop confidence within themselves; confidence to try again and eventually ride without training wheels, balance all the way to the end of a longer log or swing a little higher.
Not everything in the outdoors is presented perfectly, and that’s the beauty of it; it’s perfectly imperfect. The ground may have a slope, there may not be the perfect branch to complete a hut, and there may not be enough stepping stones to go over the ‘lava’! When kids play outdoors, they encounter all of these situations, particularly risky ones, and learn to make decisions and problem solve to find a solution. And when things don’t work out? They learn important life lessons in resilience.
Gross motor skills are important because they help a child build body strength and confidence. Gross motor skills can be developed outdoors doing activities such as riding a tricycle, climbing, engaging in water play, playing on a playground and drawing on the concrete with chalk, just to name a few.
It’s a pretty obvious benefit, but many toddlers and older children are still not getting enough physical exercise. Being active outside whether it’s kicking a ball, climbing, running, riding or skipping, helps children maintain a healthy weight, it reduces stress, mental fatigue and connects children with the real world.
Whatever time your child spends with a screen, swap it out for time in the backyard. If that’s too big of a change, try it in small increments until screen time is substantially reduced. You can also fit in nature play by scheduling regular family outings to the beach, on nature walks or bike rides and look for outdoor events near you with fun activities for the kids.
The best thing about nature play is that you don’t have to plan it – nature play is best unstructured because it leaves room for imagination and discovery. Give your children the opportunity and encouragement to do it, and they will benefit now and through to adulthood.
Take a look at our early learning campuses where we embrace nature play as a crucial part of the curriculum.
We do things differently at Little Scholars. Our early learning philosophy is unique and we’re proud of it.
Our focus incorporates the whole family as opposed to just the child attending our campus. We understand that your child is your entire world and that, by reflection, you are the world for your child. It’s important to us, therefore, to ensure that each and every member of your family is catered for regardless of whether they attend the campus or not.
Interested? Here’s how that works.
We provide quality early learning and care at affordable rates so that families can access skilled, highly trained educators and educational programs. Our philosophy is to create and promote supportive environments in which each and every child can grow.
This means that our learning activities, extra-curricular programs, appreciation of the environment and innovative kindergarten program are tailored and catered so that each and every child can experience success and achievement.
That’s the learning covered. But what sets us apart in terms of our philosophy?
Our difference lies in our dedication to improving the lives of the families who attend our numerous centres.
Purely and simply, we believe in your family. We believe that quality family time is of the utmost importance and is your child’s stepping stone to a happy and successful future education. If providing these extra services means that you can slow down and enjoy your children’s childhood then it’s worth every penny and every ounce of effort we have to put in.
Why do we do it?
Because you’re part of our family now, too.
Contact Little Scholars today and discover how our childcare philosophy can help your family.
Delaying Prep. It seems that as a parent you just cannot win, no matter what decision you make. Once your child reaches school age, it seems that everyone becomes an expert in primary education and it can make you question your own decisions.
Our decision to delay Prep for our son was an emotional one and so we decided to block out all the well-meaning advice from friends and family and instead, consider just two things – our gut instinct and the research.
We know our son better than anyone, we see him more than anyone and we know better than anyone if there’s a concern that may pose a problem. Not only is he on the young end of the spectrum, we know for a fact that he’s not mentally mature enough to deal with the challenges and structure of Prep. He’s also a little behind in his literacy and would find it challenging to keep up in class. These things alone trigger our gut instincts that delaying Prep is the right thing.
Early Childhood Teachers Association president Kim Walters told The Courier Mail that some children are just not ready for school because of the overload of content and the crowded curriculum. This is our son – he would be left feeling extremely overwhelmed. Ms Walters also said something that gave us some relief in our decision, “If the children are not ready, the best gift parents can give them is an extra year to be ready … it’s about their social and physical development.” This was reassuring.
We were amazed to read that Finnish children don’t start school until they’re seven. The decision to delay formal education is based on the belief that children are not yet ready, and instead, the focus is on creative play and staying active. There is no reading, writing or maths until they are seven either. And what shocked us the most were the tests that revealed Finnish students produced some of the world’s highest scores in maths, science and reading. This was definitely food for thought and evidence we were making the right decision.
Psychologist and education academic Dr Amanda Mergler outlined some points that we considered when making the decision to delay Prep:
It was obvious after answering these questions that our son would find Prep hard. Dr Mergler also suggested speaking with the school you intend to send your child to and discuss what they expect from your child regarding their behaviour in Prep
Dr Mergler, together with Professor Susan Walker, published a study, ‘This is possibly THE hardest decision a parent has to make. Deciding when your child is ready to start Prep’, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(2), June 2017, which found the decision to delay Prep is becoming more common with the child’s age in relation to the cut-off date being the most common reason for the delay. This was comforting to know that we were not the only parents making a similar decision.
Not surprisingly, Dr Mergler also suggested that a parent’s gut instinct is often the best indicator of whether to delay a child or not. The expert opinions of a psychologist and an academic really allowed us to put any concerns to rest knowing we’d made the right decision.
Delaying Prep wasn’t the easiest decision we’ve ever made. We researched the issue thoroughly and though some of the information was conflicting, it really came down to us knowing our child the best. And though children are certainly very resilient, we knew that we did not want our son’s introduction to formal education to be something he would learn to ‘cope’ with. Instead, we decided to wait so that when he was truly ready for Prep, he could fly.
Thinking of delaying Prep? Find out how the Little Scholars Kindergarten Program can help prepare your child for school. Contact us today!
Horse riding has many benefits for young children. Far beyond cute photo opportunities, this is an outdoors activity that can have impressive social, emotional and physical benefits for young riders.
Allowing children to get up close and personal with these peaceful and majestic animals can be quite spectacular. These creatures are both incredibly imposing physically yet unimaginably gentle at the same time. This dichotomy has a profound effect on all of us, but particularly children.
There are physical benefits that come with horse riding. These include hand-eye coordination, the development of a stronger core and strengthening arms and legs. Horse riding also assists with improving balance and co-ordination. It’s a great opportunity to make physical exercise fun and to get your little ones out into the fresh air instead of inside glued to a screen. It’s a wonderful way to help your child feel more in tune with the natural world around them.
Listening to instructions, being responsible, exhibiting kindness and gentleness and showing respect are all emotional benefits of horse riding for children and toddlers. Watching staff tend to and dress the horses can demonstrate for children the importance of a kind and patient approach. Your child will learn to take their time as they work to find a harmony with the horse they are riding. It’s a beautiful lesson in forging connection and trust.
The social aspect of horse riding means that your child will be introduced to a range of people who will fulfil different roles. There will be instructors, fellow classmates and riders and their parents. This expanding of their social circle is a great opportunity for your child to test the social skills that they’ve been working on with you.
Here are some places to go horse riding in Brisbane.
Here are some places to go horse riding on the Gold Coast.
Would you like your child to develop an appreciation of nature? Talk to our team at Little Scholars today about our bush program.
Hell hath no fury like a toddler whose cup is orange when he really wanted blue. Ah yes, three-year-old tantrums. It’s a rite of passage that no parent can ever truly prepare for.
It’s like something out of a horror film. There you are, minding your own business in the canned vegetables aisle. Suddenly, a high pitched droning noise fills your ears. Everything around you slows down until that noise, that haunting noise, is all you can hear. The tiny demon shakes uncontrollably on the floor and innocent bystanders cower in terror. The horror… the horror
I was there. I was once like you. I speak to you with the wisdom of a mother of a slightly older child (he’s four). I know the pain of being requested to make toast and then shouted at for making said toast. I know the humiliation of getting your pants pulled down in the post office by a tiny version of yourself. I know the torture of never being able to use your phone in the eye line of a tiny human who will not stop yelling about Peppa Pig.
I can tell you, hand on heart, that this anxiety you are feeling will fade. Slowly and in increments. The sentences will become more intelligible, the ability to reason will start to emerge and you’ll begin to be afforded some clarity instead of this ‘what the hell is going on’ mindset you’re in at the moment.
For me, the answer was providing my son with extra stimulation. When children are this age, they’re like sponges. Always filthy and in the sink. And also the way they, you know, soak up all knowledge around them.
As a mum, there were just certain things that I couldn’t provide. I didn’t have the patience or time to be endlessly doing craft. I’m not the sportiest of mamas (unless putting on makeup is a sport, in which case, I am a gold medallist) and I’m just not that into nature. I get sunburned easily and am scared of most birds – they’re unpredictable, alright? Back off.
What I do have lots of, though, is intense love for my child. I want the best and I want him to have as many experiences as possible. I found that when I placed him in situations where his mind was stimulated and his creativity was tapped into, his tantrums and frustrations became easier to deal with. I felt less defeated and I felt like I had more of myself to give him than I did before.
Finding a workable solution is important because there is no return policy on children – even with a receipt! And selling things you made on Etsy does not extend to adorable and small people who sometimes get very angry. No, engaging their brains can be a circuit-breaker for those intense feelings that your little one is having. It’s worth exploring all your options – and maybe childcare is the right answer for your family.
How can your child benefit from learning in a new environment? Contact us to discover how Little Scholars is changing the lives of families.
If you’d like your child to learn Japanese in Brisbane, then look no further than Little Scholars. We offer Japanese lessons as part of our extracurricular programs.
Japanese classes are more than just an opportunity for them to engage in learning an additional language. They provide both opportunity and outlet for personal and social development, cognitive and developmental growth, the attainment of key learning skills and an appreciation for cultures other than their own. By allowing your child to learn Japanese in one of our Brisbane, Logan or Gold Coast childcare centres, your child learns more than just a second language. For parents it means giving a young learner a head start, without taking up valuable family time. Want to find out more? Book a tour or contact us today.
The National Quality Framework calls for early year’s education to be centred around a variety of outcomes. These are:
We offer Japanese lessons in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast for children as part of our extra-curriculuar program. We believe this gives children the opportunity to embrace their sense of identity and connectedness. Specialist teachers allow for an expert approach to create an atmosphere in which children will feel encouraged and supported as they experiment with language, sound and understanding.
The Japanese classes your child undertakes as part of their extra-curricular involvement at Little Scholars will have additional benefits in the home.
The engaging and exciting learning environments at Little Scholars will provide ample opportunity for you to connect with your child about their learning. You may even pick up some Japanese yourself! It is an exciting opportunity for your child to begin their learning journey in a strong and positive position as opposed to feeling resistant or intimidated about learning new things. The arguments about homework, the refusal to try new skills and all of the other potential fears about your child’s education may well be staved off by academic opportunities offered in the pre-school years. It’s part of the Little Scholars Philosophy of Learning.
Interested in Japanese classes? Brisbane and Gold Coast boutique childcare centres, Little Scholars, offer specialist teaching experiences across all our campuses.
When you work in Brisbane City, it’s often the case of having to drop your child at a suburban childcare centre early in the morning to get to work on time. Days are long, and the distance can be a tad inconvenient. Imagine being able to say goodbye to the hindrances of suburban childcare? Brisbane City offers quality early learning options and here are some great reasons why you should consider it.
Instead of spending your commute time sitting on your own in traffic, on a bus or train, think about how much more time you’d have to really connect with your children if they shared the trip with you each day. There’s nothing so chatty as a toddler in the car – Brisbane’s famous for its long commute times, use that time to talk to your little person!
There’s nothing worse than having to commute an hour or more to a sick child who needs you. With Little Scholars city campus in George Street, a mere ten minutes away from your office building, you can be with your child in no time. With very easy drop off and pick up, and a parent’s breakfast station (with coffee, we understand the importance of morning coffee!) you can pop them into their city childcare centre and even visit at lunch if you want to be sure they’re having a wonderful day!
When you work in the city, the commute time and horrible traffic means it can often be around 6 pm or later when you get to your children in the suburbs. Childcare in Brisbane City, on the other hand, will have you finishing at 5 pm and picking up your children at 5.10 pm; this means more family time and shorter days. Make it even easier on yourself and order from the Little Scholars Take Home Dinner Menu so you don’t have to worry about the children’s dinner when you get home.
When you’re so close to your children’s childcare in the city, it’s so much easier to attend special family days, for example, Little Scholars Father’s Day. You can even drop in for a lunch date to celebrate a birthday. Your children will be so pleased to see you, and you’ll no longer have to live through the parent’s guilt of not being able to attend. Using childcare in Brisbane City that’s close to your office means taking one hour of your time instead of two, three or more.
There are so many exciting things to do with children in the city; you don’t have to wait for the weekend to do them! Our Little Scholars Childcare Brisbane Campus, means you can finish work early, collect your children and take them to explore city favourites like QAGOMA Children’s Art Centre or the Queensland Museum. Work and childcare in the city opens the doors to so many fun opportunities and quality family time. Learn more about the best parks in Brisbane for toddlers and little ones.
Working in the city doesn’t have to be such a strain on family life; make it work for you and your family and consider the benefits of childcare in Brisbane City.
Find out more about Little Scholars’ city childcare in Brisbane or contact us to book a tour of our campus.
Whether you’ve been offered a new position with your dream company or you’re simply looking for the best ‘childcare near me’ in your area, there are a number of factors that require careful and deliberate consideration. Just because it’s urgent doesn’t mean you need to settle for the low bar of “childcare centre near me” – in every area across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, there are childcare centres that go beyond supervision and into education – so, no matter how quickly you need to find a centre, it’s worth comparing the options near you.
Selecting the best childcare Brisbane option for your family is not to be taken lightly. If you are hoping to ensure that your child or children receive the best possible care in the best possible centre, this is a decision-making process that you should begin as soon as you can.
You may be thinking of a childcare centre close to home or close to where you work (and there are benefits to both ideas). With that in mind, here is a brief guide to choosing the best childcare near your work or home.
Perusing a website is a great starting point to selecting the right childcare centre for your family but it doesn’t give you a complete and accurate picture of the philosophy, atmosphere and methodology behind an early education centre. You must visit the facilities to see the learning in action.
Your best option is to secure yourself an individual tour as opposed to being on a group. Questions and concerns can get lost in a crowd and a big group of adults can be a distraction to the children’s learning so you won’t get to see them properly engaged (or not, as the case may be).
You might want to ask the following questions on your tour of a childcare near you:
Other questions may naturally arise during the course of your tour. Pay careful attention to what the children are doing and how their educators are interacting with them. Consider how you would like your child to be treated and see if you can imagine them in this particular space.
We have 14 early learning campuses across the Gold Coast, Redlands and in Brisbane
Your child must have a CRN (customer reference number) with Centrelink in order for you to receive the Childcare Subsidy. You also must have completed your Childcare Subsidy Assessment. You can find further information on that topic here.
Once your centre has your CRN and you are registered with Centrelink for the childcare subsidy then you can leave it in their hands. Subsidy payments will be made directly to the centre according to the rate of subsidy you are eligible for.
Once you have chosen the perfect childcare either near your work place or close to home, there will be a range of enrolment steps you have to go through. A typical enrolment process will include:
It is vital to work with your child and their future educators to create as smooth a transition into childcare and early years learning as possible. This will be dependent on your child’s personality and their prior experience with learning outside of the home.
Your centre should (and make sure you ask this on the tour) have an orientation system in place wherein you spend some time with your child in their learning environment. You might stay for an hour and then leave briefly to see how they go. This is a process that should be tailored to your family’s individual needs – be wary of centres trying to force you out the door before you feel comfortable!
Beyond the orientation program, there are a few things that you could do to ease this transition process.
Finally, ask others for their opinion. Try local Facebook groups, friendship circles and family to see what they have heard about your chosen centre. Check for testimonials that speak in an honest, genuine way about how childcare has enriched the lives of families just like yours.
Choosing the best childcare centre near you is no easy feat. There are so many variables to consider and so little time to make big decisions in! After all, this is your baby. You don’t want to trust your beloved child to just anyone.
If you’ve Googled “childcare near me” talk to Little Scholars School of Early Learning before you settle on a childcare centre. Our commitment to Brisbane, Redlands and Gold Coast families is to provide more than “just supervision” – we go beyond “childcare” – we even go beyond the EYLF guidelines for quality early education.
We believe that these formative years are the building blocks for your child’s whole life and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. Yes, we offer childcare near you, but we offer so much more than that. Just because you urgently need a place for your child, doesn’t mean you need to compromise on care.
Your child doesn’t just deserve the closest childcare to you but the best one. Little Scholars provides the resources and opportunities for your child to flourish
A return to work after having children isn’t all that bad – in fact, there are some pretty good reasons why it could be the best decision you’ll make! Of course, as many mothers experience, mummy guilt will be in full force, but hopefully, these benefits will help you see past that guilt so that you can genuinely look forward to putting your career hat on again.
Just imagine being able to have real adult conversation and drink your coffee in peace – without it going cold. Being able to have a chat on an adult intellectual level is extremely refreshing. No doubt your children will be on your mind at some point in the day which is why you can login to Kindyhub to see what they’ve been up to!
It makes sense, less time with the children at home means your house is likely to stay a lot tidier and you won’t have to clean as often. If mess and clutter does appear, use some nice baskets to quickly throw the clutter into and deal with it on the weekend. Now that’s got to be a huge win, right?
It’s not uncommon for some mothers to feel they lose a bit of themselves when they are home raising a family. They go from being a career woman with ambition to a stay at home mum who finds it hard to focus on her own passions amongst nappy changes, playtime, tantrums and making meals. Of course, every woman is different but many women certainly do regain a sense of purpose and identity when they return to work.
There’s no doubt about it, returning to work after a long period spent at home with your children isn’t easy but, it can be made easier. If you work in Brisbane City, Little Scholars city childcare means you can enjoy quick lunchtime visits to curb the ache!
Looking at the same four walls at home day in and day out can be debilitating for some. Returning to work can mean having the chance to listen to your own music in the car (not The Wiggles), talking to different people every day, looking at different walls and looking out different windows. They say a change is as good as a holiday and returning to work is no different.
As a stay at home mum, having limited opportunities for intellectual stimulation can lead to discontent and restlessness. Although reading books, listening to podcasts or meeting up with friends can be a good way to give your brain a workout, they’re often not the same as getting back into work and doing something that you enjoy and do well.
Going from a stay at home mum to a working mum now juggling two roles, you may think that you’re failing in so many ways. The truth is, going back to work will have your children seeing another side of you and admiring the new you at the same time. You’ll truly become supermum in your child’s eyes if you order their favourite from the takeaway dinner menu, too!
As a mum, you’ll always be your own worst critic but when it comes time to return to work, why not look at the positives and remind yourself that you’re doing it for you – and a better you means you can be a better person for your kids.
Time to return to work? Contact us to arrange a tour!
Make going back to work easier for yourself and your little one. With convenient locations and speciality services Little Scholars will ease the mental load so you can enjoy your return to work.
At Little Scholars School of Early Learning, we’re dedicated to shaping bright futures and instilling a lifelong passion for learning. With our strategically located childcare centres in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, we provide tailored educational experiences designed to foster your child’s holistic development.
Let us hold your hand and help looking for a child care centre. Leave your details with us and we’ll be in contact to arrange a time for a ‘Campus Tour’ and we will answer any questions you might have!
