Fun day celebrates historic connection

Lawnton Kindergarten will host a Super Sunday Fun Day on August 20 to celebrate its 50+-year connection with the community and raise much-needed funds.

The event, from 10am-3pm, will be perfect for one to seven-year-olds and their grown-ups. It will be held at the corner of Todds Rd and Nightingale Drive, Lawnton.

There will be craft activities, market stalls, food, giant games, jumping castle, indoor and outdoor classes, a scavenger hunt, face painting, a coffee van and more.

Every dollar raised on the day will go towards essential upgrades, ensuring the kindergarten can continue to provide quality early childhood education for another 50 years.

Entry is $7.50 for children aged one to three years and $15 for children aged four to seven years. Adults get in for free. Head here for tickets

Families can look forward to a day packed with excitement.

Indoor and outdoor mini-classes, sensory play stations, Wacky Races, scavenger hunts, and a Dino Bone Dig are some of the highlights included in the ticket price.

For those looking for even more fun, jumping castles, face painting, a petting zoo, funky hair and nail bar, and a keyring creation space can be accessed with ‘KindyBucks’ which can be purchased online or on the day.

Understanding not everyone loves the hustle and bustle, the kindergarten’s educators will create a quiet zone. Designed for children with sensory sensitivities, it will provide a calm and comfortable space for them to relax and enjoy the event at their own pace.

When the munchies hit, families can stretch out and enjoy a picnic in the park while enjoying a woodfired pizza, a snag from the sausage sizzle, a coffee, or a scoop of homemade gelato.

History of Lawnton Kindergarten

Lawnton Kindergarten started with the Baptist Church in 1968 at Lawnton Community Hall. Land was later donated by the then Pine Rivers Shire Council to establish a community kindergarten. It was built on the present site in the early 1970s. (See historic photos above)

* The Kindy existed for a few years before becoming affiliated with Creche & Kindergarten (C&K).

* In 1985, the sandpit was enclosed in a wire cage structure. Notes from an educator at the time was that this was to keep vandals and animals out, not the children in!

* In 1986, the kindergarten was extended with the addition of a second room. Enrolment capacity was boosted from 45 to 85 children.

* Many improvements occurred through the 1990s including new fencing, new landscaping and play equipment and the building of the outdoor toilet block (which was apparently featured in a UK early childhood journal for being quite groundbreaking).

* In 2007, a veranda and bench seating were added to the front of the two classrooms to offer a reasonably weather-proof place for families to wait to collect their children.

* In 2011, the staff and committee voted to transition oversight of Lawnton Kindy from C&K to the Lady Gowrie, which continues to support the kindergarten to this day.

* In 2013, the veranda space was finally built in thanks to grant from Education Queensland and much hard work from the educators at the time. The kindergarten also received funding the same year so it could be painted inside and out.

Family connection

Emily Hutchinson, nee Kosior, attended the then Lawnton Kindergarten and Preschool in 1991.

“I remember the parachute out the back and everyone hid under it,” she recalls.

Emily also enjoyed making arts and crafts that she would take home to her parents, particularly bubble painting, and loved her teacher Mrs Finney.

Her brother and sister also attended the kindergarten.

Emily now has two children of her own at Lawnton Kindergarten – William, 3, and Florence, 4 – and plans to send her toddler Hazel when she’s old enough.

“A big drawcard was that I went there. I thought it was pretty special to have that family connection,” she explains.

“I did a lot of research in the area in terms of Prep-readiness for Florence. I just felt that the community kindergarten was a better option getting them ready for school.

“They have the same teacher and class every week and they’re not a number. It (Lawnton Kindergarten) had that welcoming community feel that I really wanted, with good behaviour management and engagement of the children.”

The Lawnton resident says it is also close to home and she would love to see a big turnout from the community at the Super Sunday Fun Day.

“It is a vital part of the community … generations have come through it. With community support, we can continue that on,” she says.

“It’s a really good kindy and I love the area.”

To find out more about the Super Sunday Fun Day, head to the Facebook page