Stories, recipes & ideas
for your family.
Inspiration for home, updates from our centres, and resources to support your child's learning every day.
Starting Childcare
What to Ask on a Long Day Care Tour in Regional Victoria
Visiting a long day care centre in Bendigo, Ballarat, or Geelong? Here's a locally focused guide to the questions that matter most — and what good answers look like.
How to Tour a Long Day Care Centre in 2026
A centre tour is your most important tool for evaluating long day care quality. Here's how to make the most of it — with a practical checklist of what to look for and what to ask.
How to Check a Childcare NQS Rating in Australia
A step-by-step guide to finding and interpreting a long day care centre's NQS rating using the official ACECQA register.
Stories
Why Long Day Care Matters in Regional Communities
For families in regional Victoria, access to quality long day care is not just a convenience — it is essential for economic participation, child development, and community wellbeing.
Long Day Care and Local Community in Regional Victoria
For families in regional Victoria, finding a long day care centre that is genuinely embedded in the local community makes a real difference. Here's what that looks like at Jenny's ELC.
What Community Engagement Means in Long Day Care
Community engagement in long day care is about more than excursions and fundraisers. Here's what it really means — and why it matters for children, families, and the broader community.
Curriculum & Learning
What is Play Based Learning in Long Day Care?
Play-based learning is the foundation of quality early childhood education in Australia. Here's what it actually means, how it works in long day care, and why it is the most effective way for young children to learn.
Holistic Learning in Long Day Care for Young Children
A guide for families on how play-based, holistic long day care supports children's wellbeing, learning, and development from birth to five.
What is Holistic Child Learning in Long Day Care?
Holistic child learning is at the heart of quality early childhood education. Here's what it means, why it matters, and what it looks like in a long day care setting.
Child Development
What is Educator Consistency in Long Day Care?
Educator consistency — the same familiar faces, day after day — is one of the most important and underrated factors in quality long day care. Here's why it matters and what to look for.
Nature Play: Why Time Outdoors Is Essential for Young Children's Development
Children are spending less time outdoors than ever before. Here's why nature play matters — and how we prioritise it at Jenny's ELC.
School Readiness: What It Really Means (and What It Doesn't)
School readiness is often misunderstood. It's not about knowing the alphabet — it's about the skills that actually predict success in school.
Health & Nutrition
What is a Childcare Nutrition Program?
A childcare nutrition program is more than a menu. It's a structured approach to supporting children's health, development, and relationship with food during their most formative years.
Healthy Meals in Long Day Care: A Parent Guide
Children in long day care eat most of their daily meals at the centre. Here's what to look for when evaluating a centre's nutrition program, and why it matters more than you might think.
Nutrition for Toddlers: What to Expect at Childcare and How to Extend It at Home
Good nutrition in the early years sets the foundation for lifelong health. Here's how we approach food at Jenny's ELC — and how you can build on it at home.
Fees & Funding
Funded Kinder in Victoria: What Every Family Needs to Know in 2026
Victorian families are entitled to funded Kinder hours — but the rules can be confusing. Here's a clear guide to what you're entitled to and how to access it.
Understanding the Child Care Subsidy: A Plain-English Guide for Families
The Child Care Subsidy can significantly reduce your childcare costs — but the rules can be confusing. Here's everything you need to know.