Sunday, the 30th of October, was Grandparents Day and marked the last day of Seniors month.
Our centres have been celebrating to show our appreciation for all grandparents in our communities, and those, past and present, that play an active role in our children’s lives.
Our lovely Milestones Early Learning Dalby hosted their Grandparents Day on Thursday, the 27th of October. The implementation of the event was a collaboration of ideas, Centre Management, the Teachers and Educators, all working on designing a fun-filled day for the children and grandparents alike.
The event attracted over 70 families with various experiences, allowing everyone to get involved. Centre Manager Leanne Stewart explained, “There were many activities on offer such as flower planting, biscuit decorating, colouring in, puzzles, and we encouraged the Grandparents to take the time to look through portfolios with their children.”
They finished the event with a morning tea prepared by the Centre Cook and the children.
Leanne continued, “Involving the family and community into our service is a fundamental part of our philosophy; we recognise the importance and value that it brings to the children, and supporting their sense of belonging is one of the many important things strive to achieve every day. “
“We will continue to engage in community and family events, inviting them to play an active role in their children’s experience here at Milestones; it is a very important part of our vision. “
The wonderful Kids Academy Claremont Meadows hosted their Grandparents Day event on Friday, the 29th. Centre Manager Katrina Karlsson and the wonderful team at the centre prepared various activities and environments designed for children and grandparents to participate in.
Katrina said, “We were beyond excited to welcome the children’s grandparents into the centre for our first-ever event as an Affinity-owned centre. One of the Affinity Values is being Completely Connected. We truly believe in the importance of welcoming our families and extended families, participating in special events, learning about all the wonderful daily learning, meeting with the incredibly dedicated and passionate team and building long-lasting and meaningful relationships.”
With over 30 Grandparents attending, the families enjoyed activities such as making pasta bracelets and creating artwork of the grandparents to take home with them, using craft materials, fingerprinting family trees, collaborative colouring in and sharing family photos.
Katrina continued, “We wholeheartedly believe that Grandparents play a significant role in the upbringing of children. It is so true, ‘it takes a village’, and by extending the invitation to the children’s grandparents, we had the opportunity to meet with, learn about and develop relationships with these significant family members. We felt so honoured to witness the genuine love and connection the children share with their grandparents.”
The last day of October was busy, with Grandparents Day and Halloween, so Papilio Early Learning Centre Cashmere decided to combine them!
Centre Manager, Elise Mallet, explained, “We had a huge number of grandparents attending the centre; we lost count after 41!”
The centre provided an exciting afternoon with afternoon tea at 2.30 pm followed by spooky activities, including making spider webs and spiders, black playdough, painting pumpkins and more!
Elise said, “At our centre, we love spending special days together, especially with the ones that we love. Our children love to talk about their grandparents, so what better way to celebrate Grandparents Day than by having a special afternoon tea and inviting our Grandparents to join in with our spooky activities.”
All our centres celebrate Grandparents Day in one way or another. The special bonds our children hold with their family members are something that is continually encouraged and nurtured by our Managers, Teachers and Educators. We would like to wish you all a Happy Grandparents Day from the team at Affinity Education Group and our Centres.