Little Learners began from a desire to build the kind of homeschool community where children could experience meaningful friendships and social connection within a safe and welcoming environment that protected their childhood wonder, creativity, curiosity, individuality and love of learning.
The co-op grew as an extension of that community, giving children opportunities to build deeper friendships, explore new ideas, experience collaborative learning and take part in rich hands-on learning experiences together.
Behind Little Learners
Inspired by Nature & Creativity
We love incorporating natural and recycled materials into our activities wherever possible, including treasures collected on nature walks and beach days alongside simple household items like egg cartons, cardboard rolls, loose parts and craft offcuts.
Families are encouraged to contribute spare bits and pieces they may find around the house or out in nature to our shared resources. Sometimes the leftover scraps from one child’s creation can spark imagination and excitement for another.
Part of each cycle fee also contributes toward a large collection of shared co-op resources, including craft supplies, sensory tools, stationery, and hands-on learning materials. We love collecting affordable secondhand educational resources through Marketplace, op shops and local sales, and families are always welcome to donate any outgrown resources that may benefit younger learners within the group.
Inside the Cycle
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Week 1: Featured Incursion
A hands-on incursion that introduces or supports the monthly theme and sparks curiosity for the weeks ahead.
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Weeks 2-4: Themed Exploration
Learning experiences inspired by the monthly theme, encouraging children to explore ideas more deeply throughout the cycle.
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Rich Learning Experiences
An average of four hands-on activities each week, thoughtfully planned to support the core Victorian curriculum learning areas.
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Family Collaboration
A consistent and welcoming space for homeschooling families to build friendships, feel connected and grow alongside one another.
The Co-op Experience
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Each cycle focuses on a new theme, encouraging children to explore topics more deeply throughout the month, with optional incursions planned to support each theme.
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Families contribute to the co-op through shared ideas, activities and involvement, helping create a collaborative learning environment for everyone.
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Open-ended experiences designed to support a wide range of ages, interests and learning styles, while encouraging curiosity, creativity and exploration.
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A welcoming space for homeschooling families to build meaningful connections, friendships and a strong sense of belonging through shared experiences, while also engaging with the wider community through incursions, workshops and local opportunities.
Your Questions, Answered
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The Little Learners co-op is designed for children aged 2–6 years, with activities planned primarily for children aged 4+ to ensure they're engaging and appropriately challenging for our older learners.
Children aged 2–3 years are still welcome to participate in all activities and are considered paying participants. While they may not engage at the same level as older children, they benefit greatly from observing, exploring and learning alongside them.
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Siblings under 2 years may attend free of charge when accompanying an older sibling. Activities and materials are not catered to this age group, and we kindly ask parents to help keep activity materials available for our paying participants.
The co-op is not designed for families attending solely with children under 2 years of age.
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Yes. This is a parent-led collaborative co-op, not a drop-off program. Parents remain onsite and are responsible for supervising their own children at all times.
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This is a collaborative co-op, with every family contributing to the children's learning throughout each cycle.
Before each cycle, every family is allocated a Victorian Curriculum learning area. Families are then responsible for planning and facilitating one activity per cycle that aligns with both their allocated learning area and the cycle theme.
Families are able to make use of the co-op's shared resources and equipment where appropriate, so they’re not expected to personally supply all materials for the group.
As a shared community space, all families are also expected to help care for the venue by assisting with set up, pack down and keeping the space tidy throughout the session.
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Activities vary from cycle to cycle, however we aim to offer a broad range of learning experiences and cover the key learning areas outlined within the Victorian Curriculum guidelines.
Having families contribute and facilitate activities throughout each cycle also allows children to access a wider variety of learning opportunities, experiences and interests that they may not have otherwise been exposed to.
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No. This co-op runs in structured 4-week cycles rather than casual drop-in sessions. This helps children build familiarity, friendships and deeper engagement throughout the month, while also allowing activities and learning experiences to build upon one another across the cycle.
As a collaborative co-op, structured enrolments also allow us to effectively plan activities, create family rosters, organise resources and manage costs and materials appropriately.
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The Little Learners admin team, made up of Liz and Lauren, works behind the scenes to ensure each cycle runs smoothly and families feel welcomed and supported throughout the co-op experience.
This includes:
Preparing the hall and shared learning spaces each week, including set up, pack down and venue access.
Managing and maintaining shared co-op resources, equipment and the Little Learners Lending Library.
Coordinating bookings, hall hire, incursions, participant numbers and overall cycle logistics.
Planning future cycles, themes, events, incursions and learning opportunities.
Organising activity rosters and supporting families with planning activities that align with the Victorian Curriculum and cycle theme.
Sourcing and purchasing resources that benefit both current and future cycles.
Managing the Little Learners website, including bookings, resources and cycle information.
Communicating with and supporting families throughout each cycle.
Creating certificates of completion and sharing digital resources for families to access after each cycle.
Maintaining and caring for shared resources, including cleaning and washing materials ready for future use.
While Liz manages the majority of the day-to-day administration and coordination of the co-op, Lauren also plays an important role by supporting families with activity planning and is available to answer questions and provide guidance throughout each cycle.
The admin team coordinates the overall running of the co-op, however Little Learners remains a collaborative community. All families are expected to contribute by facilitating their allocated activity, helping care for the venue, and assisting with set up, pack down and cleaning throughout the cycle.
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Absolutely! Co-op participants are given priority access to book incursions as part of their cycle enrolment. If places remain after co-op bookings have closed, they are opened to the wider Little Learners community. This means you're welcome to join our incursions even if you're not participating in the full co-op cycle, subject to availability.
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No. Incursions are not included in the standard cycle fee and must be booked and paid for separately.
While attendance is completely optional, each incursion is carefully chosen to align with the cycle theme and is designed to enrich the children's learning throughout the cycle. We highly encourage co-op families to attend wherever possible.
All registered co-op participants receive priority access to incursion bookings before any remaining places are opened to the wider Little Learners community.
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Cycle fees contribute to the overall running of the co-op and help ensure each cycle is thoughtfully planned and prepared for participating families.
This includes:
Hall hire and venue costs.
Shared materials, resources and equipment.
Purchasing, storing, transporting, maintaining and replenishing shared resources.
Preparing and organising shared resources each week for families to use during their activities.
Planning cycle themes, learning opportunities and activity allocations.
Coordinating bookings, participant numbers and overall cycle logistics.
Administration, communication and family support throughout the cycle.
Website, booking and payment platform expenses.
The Little Learners Lending Library and shared digital resource library.
Cleaning and maintaining shared resources and equipment between cycles.
Please note that optional incursions and special events are priced separately and are not included in the standard cycle fee.
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Full payment is required at least 2 weeks prior to the beginning of each cycle to allow adequate time for planning, preparation and purchasing materials/resources.
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As places are limited, family activities and schedules are planned in advance, and resources are purchased specifically for each cycle, all bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable.
If you're unable to attend a session, you're welcome to arrange for another family member or caregiver to attend with your child, provided they are able to supervise and participate in the co-op on your behalf.