Inside a Day at Imagine Childcare: Routines, Play, and Learning

At Imagine Childcare, each day is a journey of discovery, growth, and fun. Our centres are thoughtfully designed to provide a nurturing environment where children feel safe, valued, and inspired to learn.

In today’s blog, we are unpacking the routines at Imagine Childcare, including child-initiated play, curriculum-led activities, and mealtimes.

Mealtime

At Imagine Childcare, we offer fresh, healthy meals and snacks as part of our all-inclusive fee structure. Mealtimes are a valuable part of our educational program, and all meals are prepared fresh daily by our in-house chefs, with seasonal menus designed to provide over 50% of each child’s recommended daily intake of essential nutrients.

As children grow, they are encouraged to practice self-help skills, including serving themselves and cleaning up afterwards, building confidence, fine motor skills, and independence in a supportive environment.

For our youngest children in the nursery, we follow their home feeding routines as closely as possible. This helps create consistency between home and care, supporting both the child’s wellbeing and family routines.

Mealtimes at Imagine Childcare are calm, social experiences where children learn about food, practice manners, and connect with others—all while enjoying healthy, delicious meals made with love.

Child-Initiated Play & Exploration

Children choose from a variety of inviting learning experiences, both indoors and outdoors. This time supports independence, creativity, and social interaction. Our environments are thoughtfully curated with open-ended materials that encourage exploration.

Group Time and Curriculum-Led Learning

Educators introduce intentional, curriculum-led experiences based on children’s interests and developmental needs. This might include:

Language and literacy activities
Numeracy games
Science and nature exploration
Group discussions or stories

Children collaborate with their peers and continue working on their learning experiences based on the Early Years Learning Framework and curriculum. Educators use a play-based approach and exploration through art and creativity, STEM provocations, and social-emotional group discussions.

Extra-curricular Programs

We offer extra-curricular activities included in our daily fee. This could include specialist sessions such as music and movement, children’s yoga, physical activity and sports, language lessons, cooking classes, or gardening lessons. Each of these lessons sparks the children’s curiosities in a new and exciting way and allows them to further explore new experiences and work to complement our curriculum and support the development of young learners, whether it be intellectually, emotionally, physically, or socially.

Outdoor Discovery & Free Play

Outdoor play is a vital part of our day at Imagine Childcare. Our large, spacious yards are the ideal environment for children to collaborate and explore open-ended play. Whether they are building in the sandpits, exploring the vegetable patch, playing games with peers or practising risk-play, children are constantly learning through movement and discovery.

We also embrace nature-based learning as part of our core philosophy where children engage in their natural surroundings through activities such as gardening, water play, or scavenger hunts. Some of our centres also include Bush Kindy as an extra-curricular whereby the children explore nature outside of the centre. These moments foster a deep sense of wonder and appreciation for their surroundings.

Sleep and Rest

At our centres, we recognise the importance of rest in a child’s development. While our Younger children transition into a restful nap in calm, cozy sleep spaces, the older children who don’t sleep are offered quiet activities such as puzzles, books, or mindfulness moments to relax. These experiences help children to reset, process their learning, and develop emotional regulation.

By respecting each child’s individual needs, we are ensuring that each and every child is feeling refreshed, supported, and ready for the afternoon ahead.

For our youngest children in the nursery, we follow their home sleeping routines as closely as possible. This helps create consistency between home and care, supporting both the child’s wellbeing and family routines.

Once the day begins to slow down with indoor play, quiet reading, and reflective conversations. Educators support conversations on the children’s days by encouraging reflection on what they learned or accomplished, helping to build a sense of pride and self-awareness.

At Imagine Childcare, every moment is filled with purpose, whether it’s guided by our educational program or led by the child’s natural curiosity. Each moment at our centre is a chance to learn, connect, and develop.

Each of our Imagine Childcare centres routines vary across age groups, locations, and days. Give our Enrolments Team a call today on 1300 001 154 to book a tour of your local Imagine Childcare centre to learn more about their individual daily routines.

Imagine Childcare and Kindergarten Smithfield, Imagine Childcare and Kindergarten Melton, and Imagine Childcare and Kindergarten Andergrove are opening soon. Follow them on Facebook to receive regular updates on their progress.

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