Ymca Gungahlin Early Learning Centre

YMCA Canberra Early Learning Centre's at Holder, Holt, Belconnen, Gungahlin and Jamison welcomes you and your family to our “Open Day” Saturday 6 October 10am – 12noon.
Come along to Gungahlin ELC on October 6th and meet the team, see our centre and learn about our inclusive learning environment for your child.
We look forward to seeing you there!

YMCA Canberra Early Learning Centre Gungahlin welcomes you and your family to our “Open Day” Saturday 6 October 10am – 12noon.
Come along and meet our team of educators, see our centre and learn about our inclusive learning environment for your child.
We look forward to seeing you there.

YMCA Canberra Early Learning Centre Gungahlin welcomes you and your family to our “Open Day” Saturday 6 October 10am – 12noon.
Come along and meet our team of educators, see our centre and learn about our inclusive learning environment for your child.
We look forward to seeing you there.

https://www.facebook.com/1816432988414928 /posts/1937820866276139/

Hello spring 🌻 and welcome back to our outdoor sleeping and alfresco dining practices.
Our infants are thoroughly enjoying the change in weather! ☀️

The children of YMCA Gungahlin ELC have spoken and shared their ideas for the new outdoor space in Gungahlin.
We are all very excited to have another space to add to our ‘spontaneous walk’ list! 🌳🍂
Thank you for seeking out the children’s input and voice.
... Can’t wait to see your new project progress Yvette Berry
https://www.facebook.com/565826410233605/ posts/1094434287372812/
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Last Tuesday we welcomed fellow YMCA of Canberra educators into our space to showcase the children’s learning spaces, specially designed by our educators in consultation with our children and families. This was a lovely opportunity to share knowledge, ideas and their underpinning philosophies with others. The spaces are inviting, engaging and breathtakingly beautiful. We are all so incredibly proud with what we have to offer the children each and every day.
Lauren Dunn... Centre Director
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Keep an eye out for our video tomorrow night, showcasing last weeks YMCA educator open night and our breathtaking learning spaces and provocation areas

Did you know that a great big hug (count to 15) relieves stress and muscle tension and releases the “feel good” hormones that improve your mood? It’s true. 8 hugs a day makes for happier, and less stressed, children AND parents.
A huge part of self-care is knowing your own limits and taking steps to manage your own stress level - this is true for children and adults. Try some of these strategies for daily maintenance. Getting lost in old favorite books with children helps yo...u connect with and comfort your child. Bubble baths relieve muscle tension and help children learn to check out and daydream. A mindful walk inspires deep breathing, as does blowing bubbles. (Hint: you’re never too old to blow bubbles!) And never underestimate the power of a cozy spot - having a dedicated space to relax helps children figure out how to calm down when tension builds. Create an anxiety relief toolkit for your family by trying different strategies and figuring out what works for your child. #mentalhealth #childdevelopment
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Science Week Challenge 5- 17th August
Mixtures and potions- Coolibah
Inspired by todays challenge ‘mixtures and potions,’ the children decided to make a fairy potion. With lots of glitter selected and colourful water, the children freely explored a range of materials as they mixed. A sparkly potion was created! They had the opportunity to implement their own thoughts and ideas, while learning through STEM investigation. A colourful and glorious way to finish off the STEM challenge.

Science Week Challenge 3- 15th August
Flight 🚀 Preschool Room
This challenge tied in so well with our current group project. Last week we made 'things that fly', as we focused on the wind. This week we have been having a closer look at energy. So today we had a think about how we could get something to fly, inside away from the wind. We decided a balloon makes a great storage of "wind", like an engine. We made a rocket to fit our engine Our rockets are made from paper we decorated and formed into a cone shape to fit the balloon. The Children also decided to test out how other shaped balloons could work as a "wind engine", as well as testing which how much air was needed for a successful flight.

Challenge 3 - August 15
Coolibah room 3-4 years
Today we explored flight, we created an experience that explored a type of flight or hovering. We chose to explore the leaf blower to experiment what would fly with the help of the air that it pushed out using power as energy. We used different size balls which were also different in weight. We also used feathers to observe the distance that the lighter and heavier objects travelled.
... More videos in the comments 🎥
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Science Week Challenge 2 - 14th August
Exploring Shadows - Silky Oak 0-1 years
Today we spent some time exploring shadows and what we can create and learn from them. It is clear that our children love exploring lights, shapes and colours, so today we used many different resources to create shadows. ... One of the experiments we explored was what we could see when we put wooden letters on a window in our room. We noticed that when the sun came through, the shadows created the alphabet on the floor. The infants were very intrigued.
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A big shout out to our team, children and families, and our educational leader Zoe for engaging bravely and courageously with the STEM Detectives Science Week Challenge last week. While we didn’t win the overall challenge, the minds of all who participated were opened and challenged. We gained knowledge, and the skill of incorporating STEM based learning in children’s play.
Real World Learning have awarded Zoe and YMCA Gungahlin with a Makedo toolkit for our commitment.
... Makedo is the most open-ended toy construction system ever because the reusable tools work with cardboard; a universally available, free and unlimited building block 🔧🔨
Keep an eye out for a post every night this week, detailing each STEM experience in full.
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Science Week Challenge 2 - 14th August
Exploring Shadows - Coolibah room 3-5 years
For today’s challenge, the Coolibah children were engaged in creating a human sundial. We headed out into the outdoor environment during different times of the day and took pictures of children’s shadows at different times. ... During the afternoon we sat with the children and showed them the pictures where they were able to observed how the shadow was in a different position throughout the day. This opened up conversation and gave us the opportunity to talk about the earths rotation during the day.
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Science Week challenge 13th August. Make a magnifying glass - Jarrah room 4-5 years
Today our challenge was to ‘invent a magnifier’. We started off with a group discussion about what a magnifying glass was. I asked each child what they thought. One child said “it is used to find things”, a second child said “you look at little things with it” and another said “it’s round, glass and has a stick (making a shape in the air). The next child said “you use it to look at ants and bu...gs’ and another child said “it makes things bigger”, other children agreed. We then went about to try and create a device that could get a little thing, like a bug looking bigger. I drew a little spider on a piece of paper and pulled out a bowl. I asked the children if this could be a magnifying glass.? It was made of glass but it didn’t make anything look bigger. I then told the children I didn’t have any more glass to add to it, but we could add water, and still water is kind of like glass with its clear appearance. I filled the bowl and we looked at the spider again, it looked bigger! Then the children noticed something. The bowl of water was in the sun and it was making a rainbow! We then talked about what makes a rainbow outside, rain and sun, and discovered the bowl of water and sunshine through the window was doing the same thing. It was lots of fun making our magnifying glass, and extra exciting to make an unexpected rainbow too! The conversations were intriguing.
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STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. ... This campaign also addresses the inadequate number of teachers skilled to educate in these subjects. Early education and care in the best place to start.
Gungahlin ELC has been participating in the STEM challenge with Real World Learning as part of National Science Week.
... Over the coming few days, I will share with you some of the STEM challenges explored by our infants, toddlers and preschool.
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The #ChildrenFirstAlliance welcomes the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government’s announcement that it will develop a plan for the extension of universal access of early education to three year old children in the ACT. The ACT Government should be congratulated for leading the way in planning for the introduction of free universal access of early childhood education to three year old children. Introducing this policy in full will have a transformative effect on children in the ACT and particularly on children experiencing disadvantage, not only in their early years, but throughout their lives. https://www.childrenfirstalliance.org/med ia
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/…/sett ing-every-child-up-f…

As a proud member of the Children First Alliance, we are pleased to share today’s commitment by the ACT Government which will see a plan developed for the extension of universal access to early childhood education for three year old children. https://www.childrenfirstalliance.org/med ia

Great child-focused centre with terrific educators and a great philosophy. Our kids love it here!

Great child-focused centre with terrific educators and a great philosophy. Our kids love it here!