HILAC Occasional Childcare

12/03/2025

Weekly Reflection 17/02/25-21/02/25

This week the children have been utilising the dress ups. They have been super engaged in their role play games. Dress ups, the home corner, and occasional play dough get brought together by the children to create one big play space. We plan on extending on this by adding baby dolls to our March program.

Outside this week, the children have found snails. They searched through the garden looking for more of them. The children have showed interest in bugs and their habitats. In our March program we want to provide the children with magnifying glasses for both indoor and outdoor. Indoors we will have our Tuft tray set up as a bug habitat and the children will be able to look for toy bugs and outdoors, they can search through our garden.

We have used the musical floor piano this week. The children love to jump and run along the piano to make it play. This is also a great activity for coordination, and they can still get active when it’s cold outside. To extend on this we can add in extra instruments and play music at the same time.

We have been making kindness cards this week, in addition to the Valentine’s Day cards that the children really enjoyed. Children feel a sense of pride and achievement when they are able to complete a project for a loved one. When they get to share the special things, they do and make with someone they love it embeds a positive sense of self-worth.

We have provided a smile for miles activity this week with the children. We have cut out mouths that the children have been using white rectangle stickers to stick the teeth in the mouth. Not only does this work on their fine motor development, it also sparks conversations on healthy eating and oral hygiene.

Children’s Voices

Help me, this way-HW
It’s a bit long-FR
My turn, ball-BY
Jourdie, want mower-AD
Ooaa! Money banana-PR
Banana! Banana!-KR
Me want to help you-SD
My mums in the pool-EH
You dropped it-AM
It’s a pizza-EH
Sleeping bunnies-EW
The floor is lava you have to put your feet up-BM
That’s a really big hole-AM
I have a big dozer, it’s digging the grass-FR
It’s a birthday card-FR
Wow look at the snail go up the rock-SP
Oh there’s a tiny one-FR
There’s a snail under the fence-JC
Is there more snails over here-JS
Where is that one going-AM
Everybody wants to rule the world-SD

12/03/2025

Weekly reflection 10/02/25 - 14/02/25

The children have been super engaged in card making this week. We are making Valentine’s Day cards for our families and friends. The children experience pride and accomplishment when making gifts like this for the people that mean the most to them. They spontaneously extended on these gifts asking to do paintings and other craft for their gifts. When children give gifts they build on their relationships, therefore extending and strengthening these bonds. They also gain confidence in one’s self and their abilities.

We have made vanilla and cinnamon, sprinkle play dough this week! The children were very excited to use cookie cutters to cut out cookies, put them on a tray and extend their play into the home corner to cook the cookies. Children get to experience real life scenarios and gain a greater understanding of the world around them when they participate in role play games.

We have created a healthy lunch box game and the children have enjoyed experimenting with this. They put their favourite foods in the lunch box and then we discuss how healthy it is and what could be a better option. Children gain a greater understanding of nutrition and healthy eating habits

The monster trucks and ramps have been utilised in the indoor and outdoor door spaces this week. Some children have used the wooden blocks and pushed the monster trucks toward them to see how many they could knock over, while others created tracks in the sand.

In the outdoor space we have spent lots of time in the sand pit! Some days with the kitchen and kitchen accessories, and other days with the dump trucks, cars, buckets and spades.

With the weather being so warm we have had the opportunity to add water play to our outdoor space nearly every day. The children take turns using the fishing rod to catch fish or use little buckets to add water to the sandpit. The children have been curious about the yard tools and helping Akeira do the gardening this week. Many children joined Akeira in pulling out weeds or trimming the plants back.

The children really enjoy being able to freely access their indoor and outdoor play spaces. We try to keep this available to them as often as possible.

Children’s voices

Some for Eddie too! EH
Shhhh! Shhhhh! Shhhh! (while patting teddy) BY
Oh, he’s okay BY
Say ahhhhh BY
Night, night BY
Tahlia what you doing? AD
It’s raining, right here BY
It’s Nanna! (Holds banana toy like phone) Hi Nanna AL
This is a small pool, so you the mermaid can go in it SP
I’m not a mermaid SD
This is parsley FR
No, it’s broccoli EH
This for Lara? MB
It’s a doggy! ZL
I’m having a cup of tea LC
Berries MB
I’ve got honey on it AM
Super MB
No, no, inside toy! AM

12/03/2025

Weekly Reflection 3/02/25-7/02/25

It has been a week filled with fun and imagination for the children. We have changed our playroom around for the children for some new activities and toys to play with, including cuddly teddies, dress up, monster trucks with new jumps, a BBQ picnic with a tent and our home corner kitchen area.

The children gravitated straight towards the dress ups to play with, dressing in princess dresses, PJ mask characters like Cat Boy and Gecko, fire fighter jackets or head dresses. There were crowns, unicorn horns, rainbow head bands and some fun handbags. This area has been incorporated into the camping tent area with the children preparing their picnic in their kitchen before leaving on their trip. Our BBQ tent area has also been a popular play space where the children pretended to cook up some food on the BBQ, telling us they cooked sausages, hamburgers and other veggies or fruits.

Outdoor play this week has been fun with the children exploring the dirt and sand in different ways, using their hands to dig and move the material around. We also had fun running around, playing running games together about the yard. The children also requested bubbles during outside play, jumping up and trying to catch them, a few of the children took turns blowing the bubbles as well.

The babies that have attended HILAC this week have enjoyed showing us their climbing skills, using the furniture to hold onto and balance on their feet.

We have started some Valentine’s Day craft with the children including some playdough which has sparkles mixed throughout it and we also started making some Valentine’s cards, using pictures and paste, encouraging the children to use their fine motor skills to paste on their cards to give to a special person.

Next week from the 9th to the 15th of February, is also National Lunch Box week so we have created a lunch box game for the children to use where they can build their own lunch box from different foods pictures like yogurt, fruits, sandwiches or even sushi. We will continue this activity next week with the children and include discussions about what a healthy lunch box can look like.

Children’s Voices:

Don’t touch the beetle, EH
Let me in let me in, KR
Where moon? AL
Puppy, AL
I draw shapes too, EH
The baby's name is Cinderella, PR
Play music, BY
I want to smile, EH
Oh my tail, AM
PJ mask, AM
This is for my mummy, (holding flower) JC
I’m cooking pasta in the oven, SP
It’s some toast in there, ZL
Wake up bunnies, JD
Zoom, zoom, helicopter, LC
Cold spaghetti, MB
I have a dress on, JD
I’m going to the pub, PR
Do you want some cake? EH
Why do you pat the baby? ZL
This is where I live, FD
Naughty possum, DM

12/03/2025

Weekly Reflection 27/01/25-31/01/25

We have continued our January program with the children this week, including beach themed activities, craft, and some games together.

For craft, this week we continued to do some collage pasting of the three flags including the Australian flag, Aboriginal flag, and Torres Strait Islander flag. The children practiced using their fine motor skills to paste different coloured paper to the flags.

We enjoyed some beach and ocean themed activities as well including our ocean sensory tray, some stories about the beach and some ocean/beach themed play dough.

Outside the children have enjoyed using the see saw, balancing on it and learning about cause and effect as it went up and down from them pushing their feet on the ground. The children also had fun using some hula hoops, seeing if they could spin them around their bodies, using their gross motor skills to move them around. They called out to their educators to watch how they could use the hula hoop. Some other outdoor activities that were enjoyed included bubble catching, digging around in the sand pit and gardening.

We shared in a game of hide and seek with some of the children on Thursday this week which the children seemed to really enjoy. We took turns counting to 10 or 20, using our knowledge of numbers, and then some of us hid around the room, under tables and behind shelves. The children laughed and were so excited once they were found.

A few of the older children have been telling us of their time at kindergarten this week which some of them have started, talking to us about how they played outside or inside and in sand pits at their new learning environment.

We have enjoyed time with some new babies this week who have settled in well, playing with different toys and alongside the older children. Some of the older children played peek-a-boo with the babies which they smiled at.

We will be starting our February program with the children next week. Thanks for a fun week, everyone.

Children’s Voices

Nah I’m working-EH
My hat blew away-LC
I have a cow-JC
No I’m a cat-AM
It’s a plane-AL
Look a star-AL
I sit rumble-JS
It was in the spiky bush, I got a key-AM
It’s a Toyota-SP
You’re Jourdie, I’m Eddie-EH
It’s yellow-JC
Are you okay?-RB
Ready, set, go-MB
Toyota-AD
When’s my birthday-PR
It’s a bit stronger, a bit strong-CH
I want to be Elsa dog-AM
Where have my toes gone-FR

12/03/2025

Weekly reflection 20/01/25 - 24/01/25

This week the weather has allowed us to provide heaps of outdoor play. We have played in the sand pit with buckets, shovels and dump trucks. We also added our activity table with water in it, so the children were able to add that to their play.

The children have also showed an extra liking to the plastic wire reels we have. Some children building tall tower and others creating long bridges for cars to drive on. The children get to use their imaginations, experience real life scenarios, practice trial and error and develop their patience and persistence further.

We have done lots of different craft throughout the week too. At the beginning of the week, we finished off any beach landscapes and by mid-week we started to set out different flags to collage. We have started with the Australian flag, aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait islander flag. We have 3 different ways to collage for this activity, paper cut into pieces, different coloured cellophane cut into pieces and little pieces of paper and cellophane scrunched into balls for the last one. The children get to develop their fine motor skills, expand their creativity and also learn about our country.

We have had the ball-pit out multiple times this week. The children throw the balls out of the ball pit and then they all collect them and put them back in, just to do it all again. The children are actually developing important skills while participating in this play. They are building on many gross motor skills, their coordination and hand eye coordination. They also develop patience and important social skills when waiting for their turn to throw the balls or cheering on their friends.

The Friday children got to help make playdough this week. We did a pale yellow with sand and glitter, to give it some beach texture. We also did a blue with blue glitter through it. The children enjoyed helping make the playdough, they measured the ingredients out and tipped them in the bowl. They all then had a turn of stirring the dry ingredients while an educator got the hot mixture ready. Making playdough with the children helps teach basic math and turn taking.

Children’s voices

McQueen, wheels, crash! - DM
Oh no - KR
Baby, I made your bed - PR
I’m a baby, goo goo gar gar - AM
I want to be Elsa - AM
It’s your glasses - BY
Wow car - EB
Aww, he likes his home - AM
The moon - AL
Yeah wow - BY
It’s the moon - AL
Balloon -BY
Sleeping bunnies - BY
It’s for my mum - ZL
You’re a stranger SP
Bubbles! - DM
I made a fish - EM
Oh no, pick it up - JS
I saw an electric car - SP
What is this made from - JC
A car, a car - RB
Put it in the bin, put it up high - LC
Sing a rainbow - LC

12/03/2025

Weekly Reflection 13/01/25-17/01/25

We have been enjoying summer themed activities with the children this week, learning about beaches, ocean animals and splashing in some water.

A few of the children have used their creative thinking to paste some ocean pictures, sticking fish, sharks, starfish, and dolphin animals to create an ocean picture collage.

The play dough this week was an ocean themed colours of yellow and blue which then, turned green as it was mixed. The children cut out some sea animals with cutters including whales and dolphins. We then made some different play dough of blues and white, letting the children mix the colours together to create a swirly pattern in the dough, almost like water.

We have been reading stories about the beach and ocean animals including Sheep on the Beach, Leo the Seahorse, and Boo goes to the pool which talks about being safe around water when at the pool. Some of the children told us about how they had been to the pool for a swim.

We have continued to paint some new year’s artwork, stamping firework shapes with cardboard rolls and paint, adding some glitter to the paintings to make them look like fireworks in the sky. Some of the children talked about how they had or didn’t see fireworks this new year's.

We set up a water play table for some sensory play where the children moved the water around, floated boats on the water and fished some toy fishes out of the water, using a fishing rod or net.

The cars and trucks have been enjoyed for some dramatic play, the children making car sounds and pushing them around, using fine motor skills to hold the car and gross motor as the crawled around the room. We also had a shop area set up this week where the children pretended to talk on the phone to us educators or each other telling us stories and using their imaginations.

While outside we enjoyed dancing, bubbles, digging and cooking in the sand pit as well as climbing and sliding down the slide. The children also did some drawing with chalk, asking for different pictures and then using the eraser to dust the pictures away.

Thanks for a fun week, everyone!

Children’s Voices:

Look at this-HG
Play dough, playdough-GG
I saw Tahlia, it was a video call-HG
Jourdie, guess what, nothing, hahaha-PR
My nanny has a white car, it's like a ghost car-HG
I like butterflies-GG
Build a bridge with a roof on it-RB
Write a name on it-ZL
I got Santa-JM
Twinkle, Twinkle-SP
I like playing with list of toys-SP
That's a long road-PR
This is enormous-SP
Let's play on the seesaw-EM
I will answer the call and not hang up on you-SP
Hi Keira-KR
Stomp, stomp, stomp-AD
My toes are gone-ZL
Bunnies-AD

12/03/2025

Welcome to 2025 at HILAC Occasional Care! We have had a busy start to the year and after finding our rhythm with the children we are ready to share some more Weekly Reflections and Posts on our service page.

Weekly Reflection 06/01/25 - 10/01/25

A big welcome/welcome back to all our occasional care families! We hope you have all enjoyed the Christmas/new year break.

We start January with a new program and room set up. The children had been talking about going on holidays to the beach at the end of last year, so we are expanding on that with through our craft and various other activities. The children have been creating fish using paper bags. They have been pasting foil, cellophane, and glitter to a paper bag then once it’s dry we stuff the bag with paper and tape the and to create the tail. They have also been doing a beach landscape scene pasting waves and using their fine motor skills to peel and stick sea animal stickers.

Our large sensory tub and play dough are also beach themed this week. Our sensory tub has sand, white strips of paper and blue cellophane to mimic the ocean. We have blue and yellow playdough with lentils through it to give it some texture. We have sea creature play dough cutters, rolling pins and patterned rollers out with this.

On the square table we are swapping between train tracks and trains and tractors, the barn and farm animals. The children get to practice real life scenarios while they are engaged in this activity resulting in gaining a greater knowledge on how the world works.

Our role play area is a swap between a fruit market and an office. The children gain so much from participating in role play games. They build on important skills like social skills, communication, develop resilience and understanding what is and isn’t fair.

With the weather being so warm we decided to add an element of water play within the room as well as in the outdoor play space. Inside the children have pushed boats around the activity tray and caught fish. In the outdoor play space, we added some water to the mud kitchen. The children have been using herb shakers with different natural resources inside to create yummy mud pies and smoothies.

We have added all the steppingstone rocks to one side of the garden now and placed them in small piles. We have then added various dump trucks, other machines and vehicles to this space for the children to create a construction site environment. This has been quite popular with many of the children.
It wouldn’t be a morning at occasional care without musical instruments, our favourite songs, bubbles and of course lots of dancing!

We are very excited to see what 2025 has to bring our service!

Children’s voices:
Donkey donkey- AD
Sleep sleep -AD
Yep green - BY
This colour pink - BY
Choo Choo - BY
I jump it -BY
Ball ball - AD
To infinity and beyond- AD
I do it- JM
Where’s that go - ZL
But more blue - ZL
Door open - BY
Nice mixing - JM
Your turn - ZL
You mixing - JM
Not cold water - JM
I like your hair - ZL
I buzz- AD
It’s an ant - AM
I made the little guy and that’s me - AM
KEIRA - AD
Keira we went to the beach in port fairy - PR
Oh car wash - FR
Hello sir - FR
Toyota - FR
You want a lemon? PR

26/11/2024

Weekly reflection 18/11/24 - 22/11/24

This week we have participated in many different activities. The addition of kinetic to be swapped over with colour pasta or a variety of different lentils in the large sensory tray has been a huge hit. We aim to have at least one sensory experience available for the children to enjoy throughout each session.
Sensory play has many benefits to your child’s development, like:
• Helping children understand how their actions affect what’s around
them (cause and effect)
• Supporting brain development, enhancing memory, complex tasks and
problem solving
• Developing fine motor skills through tactile play
• Enhancing memory and observational skills
• Encouraging creative and independent thinking
• Emotional regulation by providing a calming effect on children’s angry or anxious feelings

The children have been asking more regularly for action songs this week. We have had many dance parties where the children have copied the dance moves from the educator. Songs that have actions are a fantastic way to build on children’s coordination, memory and self-confidence. This then improves their
physical development, cognitive development, and their social and emotional development. Their favourite actions songs are the wheels on the bus, rock-a-bye your bear and, of course, sleeping bunnies!

The weather has been fantastic this week so we have been able to get outside everyday. The children have enjoyed having the outdoor kitchen in the sandpit. They create various role play games like cafes and families. Role play experiences provide endless opportunities for the children to strengthen and create new friendships. They develop important social skills, build up self-confidence and gain a greater understanding of the world around them.

We have also been intentionally setting up different balancing activities using the steppingstones, small balance beams and the large balance beams. We do this with the intention to develop the children’s gross motor skills, coordination and overall balance.
The children have requested bubbles a lot this week, along with asking to water the garden.
We have had water play, plane flying and chalk paint outside this week also. To finish up this week we made new construction play-dough for the children to engage with next week. We made grey and brown play-dough and added sand to the grey and dirt to the brown. This adds a rough texture to the play-dough and enhances the children’s experience. I have added icy-pole sticks, rolling pins and various construction trucks and machines to the activity.

Children’s voices 18/11/24 - 22/11/24
We’ve got to build it higher! SD
• Ice cream for sale PR
• Need tape, my flowers SD
• Come here friend, come see BM
• I built a big tower HG
• Jump, jump, jump up high SD
• Race care, race car JM
• Under arrest AM
• I hide, you found me BM
• Can you play Mario song HG
• Read a story EH
• Happy birthday to you JS
• Why you shy? BM
• Everybody, flick your hair *singing* BM
• For rocky AD
• I found flowers RB
• I have baby chickens RB
• I made cake AM
• I want to do a picture with a fish and a boat, you do the fish and I’ll do the boat BM
• Oh no, he’s hiding rocky! There he is AD
• Me want to do this horse picture BM
• Help me big brother FD
• Mines going to be amazing FD
• Ho, ho, ho CH
• This can be the doctors for cars PL

25/11/2024

HILAC Occasional Care

NOW ACCEPTING ENROLMENTS FOR CHILDREN OVER 3 years FOR 2025

If you or someone you know has a child over 3 years of age and needs casual or permanent care in 2025, please email [email protected] for an enrolment pack.

Open hours: 9am-12pm – Monday to Friday
CCS available for eligible families
HILAC members receive reduced hourly fee

For enrolment we require Parent/Guardian 1 (this is the person who is linked to the child with Centrelink and applied for the childcare subsidy) to complete the Harmony Web digital enrolment form. You can access the enrolment form by clicking on the link below:
Compliant Written Agreement Enrolment Form:
https://portal12.harmonykids.com.au/OnlineEnrolments/Register?id=6c864255-3962-4813-9996-ecc1c0b89198

Please note: You will be asked to upload a current copy of your child’s Immunisation History Statement (accessed by logging onto your online my.Gov account), so please have this ready before you start completing the enrolment form. Please ensure you have BOTH parents details, CRN numbers for both yourself and your child, we also require at least 2 emergency contacts other than parents with address, email, phone numbers and relationship to child. We also require any parenting plans/orders, medical action plans and birth certificates to process enrolment. Please ensure you fill in ALL details incomplete enrolments will not be accepted.

Booking requests due Monday December 2nd, please follow link to complete request. Please note children must be enrolled prior to being added to waiting lists.
https://www.cognitoforms.com/SouthernGrampiansShireCouncil/HILACOccasionalCareBookingReviewFormhttps://www.cognitoforms.com/SouthernGrampiansShireCouncil/HILACOccasionalCareBookingReviewForm

Send a message to learn more

20/11/2024

Weekly reflection 11/11/24 – 15/11/24

This week we taught the children about Remembrance Day, sharing a short video on how we remember those who fought for us in World War 1. We also did some poppy pasting where the children stuck red petals on the paper and had a turn at pasting them like a poppy flower.

We have enjoyed some sensory play with the children this week, including lentils and pasta. The children used their fine motor skills to drive diggers through the lentils, scooping them up with their hands. They used scoops and string with the pasta, learning how it could be threaded onto string or funneled and scooped with the cups and bottles.

Some of the children requested to do some painting this week where they picked their own colours and painted a picture on some paper, we also had fun doing some painting with our hands, mixing colours together on a group painting.

We have been building castles and digging holes in the sand pit, using some trucks to load and move the sand around in the sand pit. The children also watered some of the garden and collected flowers for their families during some outdoor play.

The stepping buckets, plane gliders, slide and ball toys were also enjoyed by the children, using these toys and equipment to support their gross motor skills including, throwing, climbing, and balancing.

We have of course enjoyed music throughout the week listening to Sleeping Bunnies (children’s request), Freeze Dance, songs from frozen and we also enjoyed Dinky Donkey.

A few of the older children have been learning some letters and days if the week in a little school, learning what some different letters look like and practicing some “writing” and drawing on white boards. This is activity supports the children’s language skills, showing them letters where some of the children were able to recognise a letter from their own name.

We have enjoyed using cars, trucks, and airplanes for some indoor play as well, using them the car track or pretending to fly them around the room. The trucks were also used in
some construction play dough where the children discovered lentils in the dough and used their fine motor skills to pull some out.

Our littler children that joined us this week have been sharing their language skills, jabbering, saying words and using gestures to interact with us like waving. They have also been adventuring everywhere around the play spaces, in the sand pit, garden and even practicing some standing at furniture.

Thanks for a fun week, everyone!

Children’s voices:
- I have the biggest Christmas tree, FD
- If it my turn to hide the frogs? CH
- We have to stay on the rocks because the grass is crocodiles-PL
- Are you coming outside? PR
- Can I come in, (the tent), SD
- Yes you can come in, PR
- I have an Elsa dress at home, EM
- Play sleeping bunnies, SD
- No me, not allowed in the boot, BM
- Help Evlin? TH
- Look a garbage truck, EH
- It’s a fire truck! PR
- Fire, fire, neee, naaa, JM
- We want to find bugs, AM
- Please photo me, EH
- It’s my castle, you want to come in my castle? BM
- That book’s so good, HL
- This one’s for my dad, EJ
- I want music, SD
- Incy wincy spider, SD
- Dad’s tractor is green, RB
- Quick guys look, CH
- There’s 5 frogs, CH

11/11/2024

Weekly Reflection 4/11/24 – 7/11/24

This week has been a bit of a different week with a shorter week. We’ve have been so lucky with the warmer weather we have had lots of outdoor play for most of the morning. On Wednesday we decided to have a picnic outside for morning tea with our picnic mat which the children really enjoyed. The slide and steppingstones have been popular outside with the children lining up and taking turns going doing the slide and walking along the stones with assistance from educators.

We have also had a program change for the beginning of November. The children are always very busy during this week exploring their new environment. We have included a large sensory tub with a mixture of lentils and dried chick peas, rocks, logs with trucks and machines. We have lots of different types of vehicles monster trucks, airplanes, matchbox cars, wooden cars and emergency vehicles.

As usual we have had bubbles by children’s request with many having a turn attempting to blow bubbles which proved very difficult. We have also had music and dancing. Lots of story books have been read this week including all the Thomas and friends collection, Hairy Mclairy and Australian animal story books.

On Monday we also made new playdough with help from the children, we chose two colours and added glitter with our wooden clay tools and vehicle cutters. We have also coloured some pasta which the children were really interested in how bright the colours are and how the colour mixes through by shaking the bags. We are going to use this in our sensory tub with wool for threading, small cups and spoons and funnels for the younger children.

We have also set up our dolls house in two pieces with a garden in between. Our school area which we try to incorporate during term 4 each year for school readiness has seen many of the children interested in tracing letters, the letter magnets and copying the big black board by writing on mini white boards and blackboards. We will be adding some cutting practice to this area next week.

Children voices:

Goals - MB
She has cheese- AM
Am I getting buried? - BM
Her like getting buried- BM
Can we have pink?-PR
Help me ‘dis’-EH
Mum and dad at work-VP
Ready, steady, go!-EH
I’m going to make forky-HL
I do my sunscreen myself-EJ
I think the green one-HL
We are pulling weeds-SD
Look what I made m-JK
What your Nan name?-BM
Jump like kangaroo-JD
Oopsadaisy – FR
Hey police man don’t smash up my truck – CH
I should get these earrings like you – PR
Banksi lets play shops – PR
Baby shark, baby shark – FD
Please let me have a juice and apples – PR
I want pink glitter – BM
I want gold glitter – PR
See you when I get home from school – PR
It’s beautiful – FR
Excuse me I have homework to do - PR