Creative Play

Aeon Academy’s Creative Play is a diverse Foundation program, catering to students aged 5 – 13 years. Children are given the space and tools to have imaginative and active playtime year round. Led by an enthusiastic, caring and consistent team of Educators, Creative Play provides a welcoming and safe environment for all children across Before & After school and Vacation care.

Children always have access to loose parts construction play using our popular Play Pods, Kitchen & Bush Tucker Gardens & Nature Play and Programmed Activities; these cover a range of experiences and materials including sports and physical games, incursions, excursions, music, drama, arts and crafts in addition to plenty of opportunities for rest and relaxation with a comfortable reading corner and quiet space.

Play Pods

The Aeon Academy Play Pods are a key element of Creative Play. Our Educators support children to interact with and make the most of a collection of loose parts made up of recycled materials that are safe and clean and can be freely accessed by students.

Children are encouraged to learn through self-directed play using these materials to build forts, make rocket ships, create forests and on and on as far as the imagination can stretch! Play Pod sessions enable children to experience their sense of agency by building their own original playgrounds every day thus taking ownership of their learning. Our Play Pods have their contents changed seasonally.

Garden and Nature Play

Aeon Academy invests enormous energy into it’s outside spaces in recognition of the benefits of Nature Play. Our programs integrate these constantly evolving spaces with students able to make noise, jump, run and play unhindered.

The garden includes natural features such as large logs for climbing, hiding and balancing on, a sand pit, a well established herb garden (all great for sensory play) a fruit tree grove and an Indigenous Bush Tucker Adventure Garden.

Educators facilitate large scale outdoor games, from building obstacle courses, to making Summer slip and slides to setting up easels for ‘plein air’ painting. Children can help to grow and maintain a kitchen garden, manage compost bins, worm farms and fruit trees and enjoy regular animal incursions.

This provides integrated learning opportunities around recycling, sustainability and caring for their environment and fosters each child’s sense of identity as active and informed citizens. Children help to harvest food grown in the Garden to supplement our healthy meals and wash their own dishes after eating.

Programmed Activities

Educators are guided by the Creative Play weekly program developed by the Programming Director with 20 years experience in OSHC, a Bachelor of Visual Arts, training and experience working with Autistic children and in STEAM collaborations with primary schools.

Programming is a responsive process drawing upon the needs of the School and Community, strengths of Educators & the interests of children. Activities are designed to stimulate interest and creativity in children and to foster the capacity for independent play. Children are supported to try new things and to have-a-go. Choice and self confidence is encouraged as they learn new skills & build friendships in a supported social environment.

All programmed activities are tailored to the full range of ages and abilities of children. Our keen educators prepare a selection of activities for each day, and children are free to move between spaces, games & projects depending on their interests or energy levels. Some of the games our Creative Play students have enjoyed the most are: