Children's Corner Learning Centre

We believe that children learn through play and as such we have created an environment of open ended, explorative and tactile experiences in which children can use their senses to discover, grow and learn.  Children are supported to function independently allowing them to respond to their natural instinct to explore and learn to develop their creativity and imagination. Our service aims to promote healthy lifestyles, good nutrition and the well being of all children, ensuring they are provided with high quality nutritious meals, support with recognising their need for comfort or physical needs, and including physical activity in their daily lives. 

Children’s individual routines are incorporated into the program through consultation with families, ensuring that regular communication and routine discussions are responsive to the child’s needs and ever-changing routines as they grow and develop.  We believe that providing predictable environments for children supports them to build a sense of trust within their learning environment and form strong attachments with educators.  As routines develop, children’s sense of agency is supported to enable them to make positive choices about their place in the world, their routines and engagement; developing an individual sense of responsibility, confidence, independence and a healthy self-esteem.

We support children in learning how to regulate their own behaviour as well as ensuring children are acknowledged for positive decision-making in regards to their behaviour, including communicating effectively when resolving disagreement with others, developing a strong sense of empathy and kindness as well as building a strong sense of democratic and ethical principles.  We believe in learning by example and therefore use role modelling as well as positive reinforcement to encourage children to engage in co-operative, pro-social behaviour, build their resilience and feel safe and confident to respectfully express their feelings. 

Our focus is to build on each child’s strengths, whilst recognising and supporting the child’s developmental journey, providing an opportunity for children to visually see and celebrate their achievements and receive acknowledgement and encouragement in their future endeavours.

Our service promotes and values cultural diversity and equality for all children, families and educators, respecting the expertise of parents in their knowledge of their child, and supporting parenting competency.  We respect the existing and emerging identity of the child in context of their family and we aim to support and guide them in their exploration of different identities, points of view and family practices, guiding children in their sense of respect and appreciation of others.  We have a great sense of community within our centre and hold family input and involvement in the highest regard. We believe families are the most important people in their child’s life and we welcome them to share their journey here with us.

Centre Manager, Children's Corner Learning Centre Ringwood

Montessori Pedagogy:

​Concentration skills

Learning, in Montessori, is not an adult-led process of transmitting knowledge, but rather a process whereby the child teaches himself. The educators act as a guide. The first skill a child needs to acquire is an ability to sustain attention, to concentrate. By offering activities which the child is naturally interested in, and which lend themselves to repetition, makes it an enjoyable process where the child learns to focus and appreciate the developing ability to solve problems independently.

Independence and self-esteem

Children will spend a lot of time with practical life exercises, which help develop the ability to take care of their own needs, care for the environment, to dress and undress, to have cooking experience, and to pour water. The materials are designed, and the educators trained, to help the child learn how to break down the required actions, to perform them step-by-step, and to do them repeatedly. For example, the dressing frames isolate the skill of buttoning with an attractive material, children enjoy buttoning and unbuttoning, over and over, until they master the skill.

Mature social skills

In a Montessori environment, children are taught to respect each other and to act with grace and courtesy, to walk around another child’s mat, to avoid interrupting when others are speaking, to say please and thank you. Like everything else in the learning environment, social interactions are voluntary, children choose whether to work alone or together, whether and when to share. Under the expert guidance of the educator the classroom becomes a civilised social environment where children appreciate each other.

Academic skills

Children learn handwriting and reading by a similar, carefully sequenced process. For instance, children use sandpaper letters and sound games to associate sounds with alphabetic symbols. They naturally develop a sense of quantity by encountering numbers everywhere in their environment, counting snack items, arranging rods by length and then exploring a wide range of math materials to further develop their skills.

PALS Social Skills program

The PALS Social Skills Program teaches children about greeting others, listening, sharing, taking turns, dealing with feelings of fear, sadness and anger, and solving problems. Learning social skills like these in early childhood is just as important as learning numeracy and literacy. The early childhood and early school years are when children start to make friends, learn to cooperate with others and begin to solve social problems. Like all skills, some children develop social skills more easily than others. Social skills are of the utmost importance for children's future development. The PALS Social Skills Program teaches children constructive ways to solve problems that arise in social situations. This is done through stories acted out by puppets, video scenarios, probe questions, role-play activities and songs. Teachers are provided with detailed information on how to implement the program and run the sessions and parent information sheets for each session will help to support the program at home.

Music and Movement Program

​Music and musical activities support children's learning and development in early childhood. Music is a universal source of pleasure and triggers positive emotion, aids wellbeing and self-regulation for children and should be a core part of every high-quality early childhood program. Being involved in a musical program helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during early childhood development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. The music sessions are practical and will involve the children in singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, and active listening to music.

At Children's Corner Learning Centre Ringwood, there are six rooms to suit the different age groups:

• Baby 1: 6 weeks - 12 months
• Baby 2: 12 months - 2 years
• Toddler 1: 2 years - 2.5 years
• Toddler 2: 2.5 years - 3 years
• Pre-Kinder: 3 years - 4 years
• Kinder: 4 years - 5 years

Teaching creates all other professions. It takes a big heart to change a little mind. 

Marit Almenning, Assistant Director, Children's Corner Learning Centre Ringwood

At Children's Corner Learning Centre Ringwood, children are provided with freshly prepared meals that are nutritionally balanced. The centre’s qualified chef prepares the meals on-site on a daily basis.  Hot and cold meals are served from a variety of different cultural backgrounds to enhance the children’s learning experience during meal times by exposing them to multiple colours and textures.  

Meals and menus are produced on a 4 week rotational basis and can be viewed by parents when they visit the centre. Some of the children’s favourite meals include minestrone pasta, beef burritos, pork chow mein with noodles, and sausage rolls with salad. Some of their favourite snacks include homemade muffins, fruit platters, sandwiches, pancakes, scones and yoghurt.