Children love to Explore and at Explorers Early Learning Centres we love to help children find out more about their world.
We believe that a holistic approach to learning supports the whole child. Here at Explorers Learning Academy we help every child as they step onto a lifelong path of learning.
Bardia
1 Arthur Allen Drive, Bardia 2565
(02) 9131 6439 | 0419 781 785
bardia@explorerslearningacademy.com.au
Mittagong
27 Belmore Street, Mittagong, NSW
(02) 4880 1768 | 0437 941 520
mittagong@explorerslearningacademy.com.au
Mittagong West
36 Etheridge Street, Mittagong NSW
(02) 02 4872 2280 | 0457 460 711
Mittwest@explorerslearningacademy.com.au
Fully Inclusive Fees
Transparent Communication
Commitment to sustainability and the environment
Dedicated Stable Staff
Safety First
What’s On
Here’s what parents and carers are sharing on Google Reviews
We especially appreciated the educators, manager and director. Our daughter makes caring friendships and loves her classroom teachers. Thank you Explorers for giving our daughter so much of positive experience.
I am so happy with all the admin support as well, especially during his transition to kindy by providing documents needed by primary school. Sam was so amazing and helpful a lot! Can’t thank her enough and all the team in Bardia Explores. Keep up the good work!! X
Explorer's learning academy was/is the complete opposite for us. Huge yard - amazing for kids to be outside exploring, running around and testing their own abilities. The educators are honestly beautiful, and all so lovely. Special credit to Sam who really brought my son out of his shell! I noticed a big change in him as soon as he started at explorer's. He made friends, brought home art and craft "masterpieces", brought home a lot more sand, dirt, bark and grass (means he had fun!), but also came home happily telling me about his day! I wholeheartedly believe that Explorer's assisted in his transition to kindy greatly, and I'm so relieved and glad that we made the decision to move them to this centre.
Our family appreciate the girls at Explorer's so much, and while there have been some staff that have left (as would all other centres) my kids have taken no time in adjusting to a new educator here and there, nor has it affected their happiness and eagerness to attend. My daughter's favourite tends to rotate between many educators, which tells me she's fond of more than just a few of the girls. Shout out to Kasey, Simone and Cristina for loving on my sensitive princess of a baby girl and making her ease into the centre without an issue in the beginning. I'm confident that when Baby #3 is ready to start, he will be well looked after and adored also!
I was quite nervous leaving my daughter for the first time at 4 years old, but all the staff were very welcoming, warm and just really lovely. Highly recommended! Wouldn't go anywhere else!
The teachers are so lovely, and so passionate about the work they are doing with these little minds. We only have 1 year left now before big school and I am excited to see the new things Scarlett will pick up as a ‘Schoolie’ next year. My kid adores her teachers. Talks about how great they are all the time.
She will really miss coming here when she graduates. Another thing I really appreciate about these wonderful ladies is that they want to send my girl out into the world completely prepared for what comes next. They are dedicated to making sure these kids are equipped to handle the transition to ‘big school’ so they will not just ‘be fine’ at school but excel! Thanks again Explorers for looking after my Scarlett. Highly recommend.
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This week, some of our friends stepped into the roles of scientists during our hands-on science experiments! Before each test, we posed two big questions: “What do you think will happen?” and “What actually happened?”
It was wonderful listening to the children build their hypothesising skills as they made creative predictions, tested their ideas, and carefully observed the outcomes. By capturing and recording their thought processes side-by-side, we aren’t just doing fun experiments, we’re helping children develop critical thinking, cause-and-effect reasoning, and a lifelong curiosity about how the world works!
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At Explorers Learning Academy, we believe every child’s voice matters, no matter how young they are. This week, our children under 18 months shared their preferences through their smiles, gestures, sounds, facial expressions, and interactions. Our educators took the time to observe, listen, and reflect using our Children’s Voice template, ensuring these moments help shape our program, learning spaces, and daily experiences. By valuing children’s communication, we support the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), fostering a strong sense of belonging, identity, and agency. When children feel heard and respected, they build confidence, develop trusting relationships, and become active participants in their learning. Together with families, we create an environment where every child’s voice is valued and celebrated.
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We are looking for a Part Time Cert 3 and a Trainee in Early Childhood for our Mittagong centre!
Apply by emailing careers@explorerslearningacademy.com.au
Or apply through seek.
Early Childhood Educators Certificate 3 Job in Mittagong, Southern Highlands & Tablelands NSW - SEEK
au.seek.com
Rewarding early childhood role - Employee discounts, flexible work, and great team culture. Apply now!0 CommentsComment on Facebook
When children take the lead in their learning, magic happens! At Explorers, We are contsantly tuning into child-led interests and needs allowing us to create projects that genuinely excite and inspire our little learners. By building on what sparks their curiosity, we foster confidence, problem-solving skills, and a lifelong love of discovery.
Last week, our Baby Room has been exploring the wonderful world of emotions, while our Toddlers dived underwater to build an amazing room aquarium full of sea creatures. Meanwhile, our Preschoolers brought their camping dreams to life outdoors with tents, sleeping bags, chairs, and fishing nets! Watching their ideas turn into real-world play is what child-led learning is all about.
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🔴❤️ RED NOSE DAY AT EXPLORERS! ❤️🔴
Today at Explorers Learning Academy Bardia, we celebrated Red Nose Day with a little bit of messy fun our children had their noses painted RED!
There were lots of smiles and giggles as the children admired their red noses and joined their friends in recognising this important day.
Through age-appropriate conversations, we explored the importance of kindness, caring for others and supporting our community, while raising awareness of the wonderful work of Red Nose Australia.
A fun and simple experience with a very meaningful message!
🔴 Happy Red Nose Day from all of us at Explorers Learning Academy Bardia! 🔴
#RedNoseDay #RedNoseAustralia #ExplorersLearningAcademy #ExplorersBardia #CommunityConnections #KindnessMatters
Aug 11
Emus PALS Program – Session 8: Overcoming Fear & Anxiety
This week, our Emus are continuing their PALS Social Skills Program with Session 8 – Overcoming Fear and Anxiety.
Feeling worried, nervous or scared is a normal part of childhood. Through this week’s PALS experiences, our educators will help children recognise these feelings, talk about what might make them feel worried, and explore safe and positive strategies to help them feel calm and confident.
Throughout the week, our Emus will explore:
💭 Recognising when we feel worried, nervous or scared
❤️ Understanding that it is okay to experience different emotions
🗣️ Using words to tell a trusted adult how we are feeling
🌬️ Practising calming strategies such as slow breathing
🤗 Identifying people who can help us when we feel worried
💪 Building confidence when approaching new or challenging experiences
Celebrating ourselves when we try something that initially feels difficult
These important social and emotional skills support our children’s resilience, emotional regulation, confidence and school readiness, helping them develop strategies they can carry with them as they grow.
Continuing the learning at home: Families can support this week’s learning by talking openly about worries and asking, “What could help your body feel calm?” or “Who could you talk to if you were feeling worried?”
We look forward to seeing our Emus develop their confidence and discover that even when something feels a little scary, we have strategies and trusted people who can help us through it.
#ExplorersLearningAcademy #EmusRoom #PALSProgram #SocialEmotionalLearning #EmotionalRegulation #Resilience #SchoolReadiness #ChildrensWellbeing
Aug 10
Cooking Up Something Yummy in the Emus Room!
Our clever Emus have been busy in the kitchen today, making some delicious vegetable fritters with Miss Cristina!
The children loved getting hands-on as they helped prepare, mix and create their yummy fritters, which will be enjoyed as part of our afternoon tea today!
Cooking experiences are such a wonderful way for children to build independence, confidence and practical life skills, while exploring healthy foods, different textures, early maths concepts and working together as a team.
We think food always tastes that little bit better when you’ve helped make it yourself!
EYLF V2.0: Outcome 3 – Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
Well done, Emus, we can’t wait to hear the verdict at afternoon tea!
#ExplorersLearningAcademy #EmusRoom #LittleChefs #HealthyEating #CookingWithChildren #LearningThroughPlay #HealthyHabits
Aug 10
Colourful Learning in Our Toddler Room!
Our curious toddlers have been busy exploring colours through a fun, hands-on butterfly matching experience! 🦋💜💙💛💚🩷🧡
Using colourful butterfly puzzles, the children carefully identified, matched and named each colour while developing important early learning skills. Through play, they were building:
🌟 Colour recognition and vocabulary
🌟 Problem-solving and critical thinking
🌟 Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination
🌟 Concentration and turn-taking
🌟 Confidence through independent learning
Activities like these support children to learn through exploration, investigation and play, fostering a love of learning while strengthening the foundations for future literacy and numeracy.
At Explorers Learning Academy Bardia, we believe the best learning happens when children are actively engaged, having fun and discovering the world around them together.
✨ “Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.”
Fred Donaldson
#ExplorersLearningAcademyBardia #ToddlerLearning #LearningThroughPlay #ColourMatching #EarlyLearning #EYLF #FineMotorSkills #ProblemSolving #HandsOnLearning #PlayBasedLearning #GrowingTogether #CuriousMinds #ButterflyFun
Aug 6
This week, some of our friends stepped into the roles of scientists during our hands-on science experiments! Before each test, we posed two big questions: “What do you think will happen?” and “What actually happened?”
It was wonderful listening to the children build their hypothesising skills as they made creative predictions, tested their ideas, and carefully observed the outcomes. By capturing and recording their thought processes side-by-side, we aren’t just doing fun experiments, we’re helping children develop critical thinking, cause-and-effect reasoning, and a lifelong curiosity about how the world works!
Aug 6
At Explorers Learning Academy, we believe every child’s voice matters, no matter how young they are. This week, our children under 18 months shared their preferences through their smiles, gestures, sounds, facial expressions, and interactions. Our educators took the time to observe, listen, and reflect using our Children’s Voice template, ensuring these moments help shape our program, learning spaces, and daily experiences. By valuing children’s communication, we support the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), fostering a strong sense of belonging, identity, and agency. When children feel heard and respected, they build confidence, develop trusting relationships, and become active participants in their learning. Together with families, we create an environment where every child’s voice is valued and celebrated.
Jul 30
When children take the lead in their learning, magic happens! At Explorers, We are contsantly tuning into child-led interests and needs allowing us to create projects that genuinely excite and inspire our little learners. By building on what sparks their curiosity, we foster confidence, problem-solving skills, and a lifelong love of discovery.
Last week, our Baby Room has been exploring the wonderful world of emotions, while our Toddlers dived underwater to build an amazing room aquarium full of sea creatures. Meanwhile, our Preschoolers brought their camping dreams to life outdoors with tents, sleeping bags, chairs, and fishing nets! Watching their ideas turn into real-world play is what child-led learning is all about.
Jul 27
Community engagement in early childhood like regular library visits, plays a vital role in a child’s social and cognitive development. These experiences expand their world beyond the family unit, teaching them how to navigate social spaces, interact with diverse groups of people, and build a sense of belonging. Storytimes at the library, for instance, don’t just foster early literacy; they also teach crucial self-regulation skills like active listening and taking turns in a group setting. By actively participating in community life, young children develop empathy, boost their communication skills, and build a foundational understanding of citizenship that helps them feel safe, valued, and connected to the world around them.
Jul 17
👩🍳✨ Cooking with Miss Cristina in the Emus Room! ✨👩🍳
Our Emus had a wonderful time getting busy in the kitchen today as Miss Cristina led a fun, hands-on cooking class making fresh scones!
The children helped measure, pour, mix and prepare the dough, building early numeracy skills, following instructions, strengthening fine motor skills and developing confidence and independence along the way.
Of course, the best part was knowing our freshly baked scones would be shared together for late snack!
Cooking experiences provide such meaningful opportunities for children to learn about healthy food, ingredients, teamwork and where our food comes from, while creating some very special memories together.
EYLF V2.0: Outcomes 1, 3, 4 & 5
Well done to our little Emus chefs and a big thank you to Miss Cristina for another delicious learning experience! ... See MoreSee Less
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🥣🍓 Little Bakers, Big Healthy Habits! 🍎🫐
We’re continuing to share some simple Explorers-inspired recipes that families can enjoy together at home!
This week we’re sharing our Scone Friendly Recipe, with a classic plain option as well as some easy ways to add a little extra nutritional goodness.
Children can help transform traditional scones by adding blueberries, apple, banana, raisins, grated carrot, zucchini, dried fruit or seeds. It’s a wonderful opportunity to explore different tastes and textures while sneaking in some extra fruit and veggies!
Cooking together also supports so much learning children can measure, pour, mix, count, follow instructions and build independence, all while spending special time with their family.
We’ve attached our child-friendly recipe for you to try at home. We would LOVE to see your little Explorers helping in the kitchen feel free to share your scone creations with us!
Healthy habits grow when home and Explorers work together! ... See MoreSee Less
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🍛 Healthy, Hearty & Loved by Our Explorers! 🍛
Another delicious favourite on our Explorers menu is our Chicken & Vegetable Curry, alongside our tasty Vegetarian Curry option!
Packed with colourful vegetables and nourishing ingredients, these meals provide children with opportunities to experience different flavours, textures and nutritious foods while enjoying mealtimes together.
We know how much our little Explorers enjoy their curry, so we’ve attached a simple family-friendly recipe idea for you to try at home! Why not get your little chef involved with washing the vegetables, helping to stir or choosing which veggies to add?
By sharing some of our favourite centre meals, we hope to strengthen the connection between healthy eating at Explorers and healthy habits at home.
Happy cooking, Explorers Families! ... See MoreSee Less
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🔴❤️ RED NOSE DAY AT EXPLORERS! ❤️🔴
Today at Explorers Learning Academy Bardia, we celebrated Red Nose Day with a little bit of messy fun our children had their noses painted RED!
There were lots of smiles and giggles as the children admired their red noses and joined their friends in recognising this important day.
Through age-appropriate conversations, we explored the importance of kindness, caring for others and supporting our community, while raising awareness of the wonderful work of Red Nose Australia.
A fun and simple experience with a very meaningful message!
🔴 Happy Red Nose Day from all of us at Explorers Learning Academy Bardia! 🔴
#rednoseday #RedNoseAustralia #explorerslearningacademy #explorersbardia #CommunityConnections #KindnessMatters ... See MoreSee Less
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