• Art and craft

• Cooking

• Gardening

• Yoga

• Music

• Tennis

• School readiness

• Regular incursions

At Bright Little Stars on Mowbray, the educators believe that children are strong, capable and are individuals with unlimited imagination. They believe that learning for children is based on cooperation within their environment with an authentic approach. Through an emergent and experimental experience, children develop their potential and knowledge throughout their own investigations and with the guidance of educators.

Through play-based learning, children achieve the confidence to express their thoughts and creativity. The educators believe that there is a strong connection between children's physical, social, emotional and spiritual well-being. It is important to have families and communities involvement in Early Childhood Education. Children see learning as a social activity and they value collaborative learning from their community. Mutual relationships and respect with families play an important part in the lives of the child.

At Bright Little Stars, the educators provide each child with a secure, caring, stimulating and enriching atmosphere in which they will be able to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically and socially. They support children as they embark on a journey to explore the possibilities of themselves and learn to recognise their feelings. They understand that it is important to provide an environment where children and families from different cultural backgrounds feel welcomed and accepted.

Bright Little Stars is inspired by Howard Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences, which includes visual-spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, naturalist intelligence and logical – mathematical. The educators firmly believe that each child is unique. Children’s different learning styles and strengths are supported within the centre’s environment. The educators have extensive experiences in supporting and providing opportunities for children to explore their intelligence. 

When designing their educational program and practice, the educators reflect on The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Children’s interests, experiences and needs are taken into consideration to develop authentic learning tasks. 

The educators believe it is important to provide an environment where children and families from different cultural background feel welcomed and accepted with no discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the race, skin colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status (The General Assembly Resolution 44/25 (1989, November 20) Convention on the Rights of the Child).

The team embeds sustainable practices, and the children are encouraged to reduce, reuse and recycle. There is a garden where children are free to explore and further develop their sense of wonder. Educators believe that by understanding and respecting the natural environment, children will come to learn that the environment surrounding us plays an important part in life. 

Community and caregivers’ involvement is a vital part of the centre’s philosophy. They believe it is important for children to experience the way communities work and how individuals can have an impact on the community and environment. Children are provided with the opportunities to connect with their community through incursions, excursions and guest speakers.  The team creates a supportive and open environment for all families and children, taking on feedback from families and communities. 

Bright Little Stars on Mowbray provides healthy and nutritious home-style meals for the children every day, which are prepared by the nutritionists from child care centre catering company Kids Gourmet Food. 

The team understands that the early years of a child’s life are important in developing positive, long-term eating habits. By providing the children with a diverse healthy diet, it will not only give them the best start in life but also help to ensure their future health, development and wellbeing as they grow up. 

The educators provide an enjoyable and positive eating experience by providing children with new flavours and textures which will encourage them to make their own healthy choices of food later in their life.

Morning 

Alexandra is ten months old and loves taking part in the centre’s fun incursions. Today they have a visit from some local firefighters and Alexandra gets to check out the fire truck.

Lunch 

Alexandra is playing with some soft blocks on the mat before she heads off for a nap in the sleeping area. Her educator reads her some books before preparing her for a rest. 

Afternoon

Alexandra loves music, and today the educators have set out lots of small musical instruments for the children to explore.