Choklits Child Care & Kindergarten Ringwood

Vision: At Choklits Child Care and Kindergarten we endeavour to set every child up for success in their future by embracing every learning experience they have inside and outside the Choklits Community. Reminding all who interact with children that Learning is Everywhere!

Mission: Our aim is to see your child grow from dependence to independence and develop an active, positive and constructive approach to life. The social skills your child will develop will leave him/her in good stead when it comes to starting school. We will provide practical support, assistance and information to parents on childhood development and aim to build mutual trust between all children and between children and staff. 

Philosophy: At Choklits, we believe that learning is everywhere and we are committed to learning from everyone. It’s the differences we see in each other including our backgrounds, experiences and how we think that is our strength in learning everywhere. At the core of everything we do at Choklits is our five pillars.

Growth; we believe a growth mindset is essential for lifelong learning and an important trait to demonstrate in everything we do and in everything we teach.

Communication; we are clear and considered in our communication and we focus primarily on how our messages are received to ensure they are understood.

Collaboration; everyone in our community has the opportunity to appropriately contribute to everything we do and we involve others in our tasks because we believe in the power of many.

Consistency; the clarity in our intentions, behaviours and actions comes from our best practices and leads to our consistency.

Reflection; we consider and review our actions to understand the impact on both ourselves and our community, and we make adjustments to improve all outcomes.

Our aim in the early years is to establish a firm foundation of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary for further learning. Of the greatest importance is to ‘spark the fire’ for a love of lifelong learning.

The Choklits Child Care Team

Sports Program: Choklits Activate

At Choklits, the team has a real passion for the outdoors, games and sport. The centre loves getting active so much that they have developed a unique program called Choklits Activate which is facilitated within the Choklits grounds by specialist teachers. Aside from the obvious fun, sports play a key role in children’s developmental areas including; gross and fine motor skills, teamwork and cooperation, social interaction, listening and concentration. Children can also develop greater self-confidence through sport, enhance their self-esteem, develop a sense of achievement and shape their overall well being. 

Music & movement lessons

Music and movement are an integral part of each room’s program on a daily basis. The benefits of being involved in music is to help children familiarise themselves with instruments, different forms of music, dance and songs as well as group participation and interaction. Movement develops gross motor skills, coordination and cognitive skills. Additionally, the centre offers a complimentary weekly music incursion run by specialist music teachers.

Yoga tuition

The introduction of yoga at an early age helps children to develop healthy lifestyle practices and gives them several techniques to help them navigate life challenges. In early stages, yoga is the study and practice of the connection between mind and body. Simple techniques like learning to use deep tummy breathing in times of frustration introduces children to tools and ideas to help them stay calm and focused. The centre’s weekly yoga sessions are facilitated by specialist teachers.

Weekly library excursions & language classes

Reading and language form the basis for lifelong learning. Each week the kindergarten class leaves the Choklits grounds and heads to the library where they return, browse, read and borrow books. Getting out into the community helps children begin to understand their place in the world and how to interact with others. As the telling and sharing of stories is one of the most effective ways children learn, the library visits are much loved by the children, often stoking their imaginations and enhancing their storytelling skills. The kindergarten class is currently learning Chinese via the language program called ELLA, an Australian Government initiative that inspires children by driving a genuine interest in new language and culture.

All incursions and excursions

The centre’s educators facilitate many incursions and excursions each year to ensure they incorporate knowledge from well beyond the Choklits grounds. In the past that has included; animal experts, drama and dancing, indigenous awareness, an animal farm visit, dentist visit, photographer visit, road safety awareness, pet awareness, water safety awareness and a visit from Father Christmas. The centre also holds an annual Christmas concert and BBQ for the community to attend. Each week the kindergarten class goes off site for a library visit and children will often travel by public bus with their educators to visit friends at Estia Health in Ringwood. 

Funded Kindergarten Program

Choklits has a funded three and four-year-old kindergarten program run by qualified teachers from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, 52 weeks of the year including all school holidays.

In addition to the Victorian Early Years Learning Framework (VEYLF), the standard curriculum which every government-funded Early Learning Centre must follow, Choklits does things big, really big! Our curriculum is truly inclusive and designed to give every child the best possible start in life. We promote agency, independence and interdependence through interactions, experiences, routines and events, planned and unplanned. We believe Learning is Everywhere and our focus is on learning through play. Our Educators extensive knowledge of the framework allows us to prepare meaningful and engaging programs based on children's development and individual interests.

Jodi McVea, Choklits Educational Leader

Choklits offers a nurturing and stimulating environment, where highly qualified educators implement the Choklits curriculum; an educational framework which is led by the interest of the child to build knowledge and critical thinking. This high quality educational program encompasses literacy, numeracy, science, art, music, and language and is under-pinned by a focus on social and emotional development. This contemporary approach to learning sets the platform for successful transition to school and successful life-long learning.

The centre understands the value of strong relationships with the parents and families, and you are always welcome to visit the centre as part of their ‘open-door’ policy. Children develop confidence and a healthy understanding of themselves and others in a social context which respects and recognises individual differences.

Many parents describe Choklits as “homely”. The huge backyard is very popular with little ones, and educators encourage vast amounts of outdoor play. When you visit Choklits you’ll hear constant laughter, children singing, playing and busy at work. Over lunch, you’ll smell the home cooking and hear young voices cooperating and planning, discussing and sharing.

Our aim is to see your child grow from dependence to independence and develop an active, positive and constructive approach to life. 

The social skills your child develop will leave him/her in good stead when it comes time to start school. 

We will provide practical support, assistance and information to parents on childhood development and aim to build mutual trust between all children and between children and staff. 

Sue Brewer, Centre Director, Choklits Child Care

We develop in children a sense of their own personal uniqueness and respect for others, and ensure they enjoy access to a wide range of creative expression, and more importantly, have fun. 

Educator, Choklits Child Care

Our goal at Choklits is to see each child develop a spirit of independence appropriate to their age and capabilities, have a curiosity about life, have a high self-esteem and be able to initiate their own learning. 

Educator, Choklits Child Care

Chef Helen is passionate about good nutritious food for kids. There is a policy in the centre to use no packets and no sugar. Helen has even put together a free cookbook using some of the favourite recipes from Choklits.

A plant to plate program encourages the children to understand where their food comes from, and to try new things.

Helen prepares all of the meals and snacks for the centre, with a rotating seasonal menu. Think pork curry, beef chilli con carne and chicken mince san choy bow for lunch, sweet and savoury muffins with fresh fruit for morning tea, and some carrot sticks and white bean dip for the afternoon snack.