Toddlers

Our possum room houses children aged from 2 years to 3.5 years.

There are 19 children in the room and up to 6 educators work in the room each day. This room also offers a 3-year-old kinder program for the older children in the room which means the room comes with the added bonus of an early childhood teacher. As this room has both 2-year-old toddlers and 3-year-old kindergarten children the group is often separated into two groups throughout the day. Each group has their own indoor and outdoor play time and the children eat lunch in two different sittings. There are times when the children are all together which allows children to develop friendships with peers of different ages.

Our possum room educators focus on building children’s social skills and emotional development. Educators support children’s communication development and assist them to build strong connections with their peers and educators through play. Educators work with families to cater for each child’s individual needs. The room follows a flexible routine to provide children with engaging indoor and outdoor learning opportunities.

The possum room is connected to our large outdoor play yard, this yard is a beautiful natural play space where children can connect with country and all the beauty that Eltham has to offer. The yard offers multiple play zones including natural small worlds, a bike track set amongst gum trees, a large open sandpit, a sports field, fixed structure playground with multiple slides and open plan cubby houses that offer a multitude of imaginary play experiences.

We are very fortunate to have an open reserve surrounding the centre, this reserve is often used as an extension of our play yard and offers an opportunity for the children to explore their world beyond our fence line and use their imagination to engage with nature.