It was lovely to reconnect with everyone again on Wednesday. We had quite a few families out in our garden throughout the morning - playing in the sandpit, using the ride-ons and enjoying the craft activities Lee put out.

And lots of our long-standing friends popped in to see us too - either coming for a sausage or a coffee as part of our 12pm BBQ lunch … or popping past throughout the day for a chat. It was great to see people in the flesh!

Jill ran the lunch, and juggled the timing complexities of sausage cooking and coffee making with aplomb … and I was very happy to be the guinea pig for her latte’s, they were pretty good! We’re very pleased to be able to do some fundraising for Friends of Baucau via the fancy coffee as part of our regular program.

And now we're looking forward to next week! Note we will be closed Monday and Tuesday for the Cup Day long weekend … but will be raring to go on Wednesday.

A special thanks to Brenta Meats in Fairfield who donated the sausages - we’re so luck to have such wonderful community spirit in our neighbourhood (and I can tell you the chicken sausages were really delicious!).

This year Children’s Week runs from 23-31 October and celebrates the talents, skills and achievements of children, and their right to connect with others and respectfully share their views.

This year’s theme is ‘Children have the right to choose their own friends and safely connect with others’. 

To celebrate Children’s Week, we’ve made a series of neighbourhood pop-up playstations that engage the senses, capture the imagination, and encourage creative expression.

Look out for them on the street outside ACC and at the Wingrove Street shops. Our playstations all have different themes to suit different interests and are designed so children can stop for a play by themselves or if the choose, share the experience with a friend.

Our playstations are just one of over 115 free Children’s Week events supported by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. You can also check out other events taking place across Victoria at www.education.vic.gov.au/childrensweek.

Keep your eye out over the long weekend for this super cute covid-safe neighbourhood play experience.

Hi Leanne here.

Well, I feel our news this week is full of creativity and arty goodness. Which is pretty lovely. I am always so inspired when we have new things and creative things on the cards …

Kalimna and I had our first day back together onsite on Friday … it was so very nice to catch up in real life and start thinking about getting going again. And now we’ve both got lists on lists of things to do!

In the next couple of weeks we will be touching base with all our groups to discuss the path forward for each … but feel free to call us or email us too if your group has a plan and/or is feeling impatient … it’s the squeaky wheels that get attention and all (especially in the chaos of once again rebuilding and reimagining everything).

In the meantime we have two things that are definitely happening:

1. Join us for our very casual Playtime in the Garden on Wednesday from 10am … and a BBQ sausage in bread with Jill at 12pm. She’s also upped her barista skills in the last months, and we’ll be firing up the Friends of Baucau coffee machine … and seeing how that goes!

2. Then … on Friday we’re offering another outdoor opportunity to catch up. Join Katrina for Gardening Group from 10am and Arty Gardening from 10.30am (we’ll be decorating tin cans and planting up seeds and seedlings 🌱 this week). Followed by Morning Tea on the Corner with Kalimna from 11.3am.

See you soon.

Remember our community building blocks? Well they are ready for their street debut.

We’ve made a little (fake) grassy bench for them, and added a lick of paint here and there.

They’ll be out on the corner from this weekend.

This year we are again super pleased to receive funding from the Department of Education and Training to deliver a Children’s Week neighbourhood activity … and here’s a sneak peak at one of eight playstations that will be out on the street as part our efforts to promote creative and imaginative play and create opportunities for children to play by themselves or with others as they choose.

How cute are all these little snails? Lee made them from polymer clay and shells donated by Shirley

Take a stroll past ACC and the Wingrove Street shops to check out our snail world … and the other seven playstations we’ve created as well - from Wednesday!

And what about these pot plants with appendages? Gorgeous.