Join the Conversation: Explore and Soar’s Parents and Caregivers Community!

Are you ready to join an empowering community? Explore and Soar is excited to join with parents and caregivers to launch our new Monthly FREE support group.
On the second Thursday of each month, take an hour or so to connect, unwind, and share with other parents. Conversations will be guided by your interests and needs. This is not an occupational therapy (OT) session; rather, it’s a space where parents and caregivers can support one another, regardless of whether their children are seeking or needing OT services.
This group is all about building your village within the local community! You are welcome to attend as many or as few of these gatherings as you like.
Click here or scan the QR Code to reserve your spot today!
Everyone is welcome!

Announcements

Welcome to Term 1, 2025 – Off to a Great Start!

We’re excited to kick off Term 1, 2025, with our team hitting the ground running! The year has started strong with assessments underway, and regular intervention sessions set to begin in March.

You’ll see many familiar faces around, including Jess, Lori, Lauren, Maddie and Bree, and we’re thrilled to welcome some wonderful new additions to our team. Check out our team page to learn more about us all!

Meet Our New Team:

• Brogan – Occupational Therapist
• Sophie – Occupational Therapist
• Ciara – Occupational Therapist

We’re looking forward to a fantastic year ahead, supporting children and families. Stay tuned for more updates, and feel free to get in touch if you need support!

The Explore and Soar Team

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Holiday Program Highlights!

Big School STARS – Week 1 January 2025

The wonderful Big School STARS had an exciting week filled with fun activities, meeting new friends, and preparing ourselves to start the transition to Kindergarten this year! Each day, we started with a different respiration challenge, followed by crashing into beanbags to set us up for a successful morning. Our STARS had a blast inventing animal walks and practising our pre-handwriting skills by creating drawings of ourselves, a house, and even a cheeky monkey sitting in a tree.
We loved making all kinds of crafts this week, including projects involving snakes, elephants, and rocket ships, to name just a few. We had so much fun keeping our creativity soaring. The boost in confidence, sharing ideas, and working together with new friends made the experience even more enjoyable. We cannot wait to start school in a couple of weeks!
Until Next Time, Jess

Build, Create, Master! – Week 1 January 2025

This week, our Build Create Master group took on an epic Lego challenge! We worked together as a team, practising the sharing of responsibilities across the roles of Engineer, Supplier, Builder, and Director. Throughout the week, we took turns in each role, focusing on developing our skills to create a range of Lego models, including a bird, digger, bus, whale, and many more. After each of our builds, we enjoyed some free play time to create our own designs.
This was when all our friends sprang to life with a whirlwind of fun and imagination. Friends collaborated, sharing ideas and constructing their own Lego masterpieces. We had everything from roaring dinosaurs to cozy houses, flashy cars, and sprawling farms. Overall, it was a fantastic week filled with laughter, creativity, and unforgettable teamwork!
Until Next Time, Jess

Sensory Adventure AM Group – Week 2 January 2025

Our morning Sensory Adventure group had a blast this week! As our very first sensory adventure group, it was nothing short of spectacular! We loved meeting new friends as we explored different places in our community.
Our Sensory Adventure challenges involved the exciting task of building boats and people from what nature has been able to give us! Searching for the perfect sticks, leaves, and feathers was so exciting. And can you believe our boats even floated?!
Our second challenge let us unleash our creativity even more! We crafted nature photo frames complete with pictures. Such imaginative minds in our group!
It was heartwarming to see our friends enthusiastically sharing ideas, materials, and creations. They also enjoyed sharing in team Uno games, racing on scooter boards, and navigating our dynamic air mattresses. It was a wonderful week filled with new friendships and inspiration from nature!
Until Next Time, Jess

Build, Create, Master! – Week 2 January 2025

This week, we continued our exciting LEGO challenges in our “Build, Create, Master!” group program! We worked together in the roles of Engineer, Supplier, and Builder to tackle various creative master builds! After practising our skills in these roles, we kicked off an exciting multi-day challenge to build a LEGO Disney train, making sure to swap roles along the way. This really helped us enhance our collaboration and communication skills.
Following our builds, we had the chance to unleash our imaginations during some individual free play with the LEGO. During this time, we joined forces to create a Disney house for the characters aboard the train, beautifully combining our projects. By the end of the week, we had not only mastered our roles but also built strong connections while improving our teamwork, communication, and fine motor skills. 
We can’t wait to see everyone again as we build unforgettable memories while having a blast with LEGO! 
Until Next Time, Sophie

Sensory Adventure PM Group – Week 2 January 2025

This week, we explored our outdoor environment in our afternoon Sensory Adventure group, to find natural materials for a range of art projects, including our own ‘leaf people.’ The creativity on display was amazing. Some of our friends took an extra creative approach, designing their pieces around their favourite characters, such as Steve from Minecraft, Kirby, and even a pigeon! 
Our scavenger hunts transformed into epic missions as we gathered lots of sticks of all sizes to build our boats, photo frames, and cars. We tested our boats to see if they would sail, and yes, they did! 
We have been working hard on our fine motor skills through activities like gathering sticks and leaves, string wrapping, looping, tying, drawing, cutting, and sticking. We also got our hearts racing with gross motor challenges in our obstacle courses, which involved jumping, crawling, squatting, throwing, playing bucking bronco on our air mattress, and scooter board races. 
We played team games like UNO and Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, making us laugh as we sharpened our executive skills and built stronger friendships. Our friends collaborated to share their strengths and support one another, tying the shoelaces of friends who needed a bit of help, offering uplifting words of encouragement for those facing challenges, and sharing resources to complete tasks together. Some even scratched their friends’ heads while their hands were busy stabilising their craft designs. 
Amidst all the hard work, we had moments of free play, allowing our friends to initiate and build social connections with each other. By mid-week, our friends were starting their own interesting discussions on various topics and discovering shared interests. It was a wonderful week filled with creativity, teamwork, and blossoming friendships!
Until Next time, Brogan

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The Write Stuff! – July 2024

Our 5-day school holiday program, “The Write Stuff!” was truly unique and enriching. We had the pleasure of spending time with familiar faces and new Explorer friends alike, focusing on refining our fine motor and social skills. This program provided a wonderful opportunity to review concepts from the January ‘Big School Stars!’ Group and venture into new learning experiences together. From dedicated writing practice to engaging in physical activities, we made sure that every moment was filled with excitement and energy. Seeing the incredible progress that some of our Explorers have made in their first six months at school was truly heartening and a testament to their hard work. We are eagerly looking forward to our next group sessions with enthusiasm and anticipation for further growth and development.

Game Changers – July 2024

Our “Game Changers” 5-day school holiday program has been an amazing week. Throughout the week, we’ve seen each and every Explorer work tirelessly to achieve their individual goals, and it has been an honour to be a part of their success. From delving into the realm of social thinking and strategising to enjoying friendly yet spirited competitions like Freeze and Hungry Hippos, not to mention taking on the obstacle courses, we’ve experienced a wide range of activities. Throughout it all, there have been moments of laughter, immense learning, and ultimately triumphant moments of victory. We are genuinely excited and eagerly anticipating the next adventure with these wonderful explorers!

Shake n Bake” – July 2024

We had a fantastic time celebrating Explore and Soar’s (EAS) 6th birthday in July. To commemorate this special occasion, our group of “Shake n Bake” Explorers, who participated in our 5-day school holiday program, came together to create a birthday cake that will be remembered for years to come. The kitchen was abuzz with enthusiastic teamwork, lively negotiations, and flexible thinking, all punctuated by sounds of laughter, creating an atmosphere of fun and excitement every day. It was heartwarming to witness our friends sharing positive food experiences and engaging in conversations, thereby honing their social skills. Here’s to many more years of nurturing teamwork and fostering creativity as we continue to explore and soar together!