Under 5s Day connects families in Chinchilla
Laughter, bubbles, and conversation filled the air, as more than 120 local families participated in the inaugural Under 5s Day in Chinchilla.
Chinchilla Library helped facilitate the successful community event, held at the Chinchilla Cultural Centre (adjoining the Library) on Friday 22 October 2021.
With stallholders from more than 20 local community groups, families enjoyed a variety of hands-on activities and freebies. From playdough kits, kinetic sandbox tables, snackpacks, facepainting, and educational toys, to paint-your-own wooden cars, PMP (perceptual motor program) activities, bubble blowers, puppet shows, and more.
Cheers to the early years!
Chinchilla Library is a member of the Chinchilla Early Years Reference Group — an initiative of State Library of Queensland’s First 5 Forever early literacy program.
The Reference Group aims to establish collaboration and communication between early years stakeholders in the Chinchilla area. It meets once per term, and consists of speech pathologists, kindergarten directors, midwives, school principals, and other staff members of seniority who work in the 0-5 space.
The Under 5s Day was born as the Reference Group focused on ‘strategies to reduce vulnerability for children under 5’. The Group looked at ways to connect families with services, promote local services and activities, the importance of the early years and of parents as first educators.
Under 5s Day: What did families have to say?
“It was amazing! Great to see so many little ones having fun, and the opportunity to do so many different things.”
“The event was fabulous! Definitely exceeded my expectations. So many activities, resources, freebies, and having the food boxes for the kids was excellent. I was grateful that there were allergy-friendly options. We stayed for an hour, and still didn’t get around to every activity!”
“Was absolutely fantastic! Hope it happens again next year. Great little stalls, and lots of them. All the stall holders were amazing and engaging with the kids.”
Thank you to all the wonderful stallholders who contributed their time, and the lovely families who came along and joined the fun. Here’s to next year’s Under 5s Day!
About First 5 Forever
First 5 Forever is an early literacy program delivered by public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs). Its primary aim is to provide strong early literacy foundations for all Queensland children aged 0-5 years.
First 5 Forever connects families to the information, resources and support they need, to build the best foundation for their child’s future language and literacy development.
Discover the First 5 Forever fun at Western Downs Libraries:
- Join us for a friendly Storytime session at your local Library branch
- Browse our collection of fun-filled Storytime at Home Kits
- Browse our collection of Stories for Little Queenslanders, a delightful new series from First 5 Forever.