Goondiwindi First 5 Forever Tickets (0-5yrs)

Hello! Welcome to the Goondiwindi Regional Council’s First Five Forever page. First Five Forever connects parents and caregivers to a range of resources and ideas and to their local library for more ideas and information you can use anywhere, any time to assist with your child’s development.

We look forward to seeing you at your local library for a First 5 Forever session! So, when are these held?

The Inglewood First Five Forever is held on the 1st Wednesday of each month; and the Texas First Five Forever is held on the 3rd Thursday of each month.  Have a look below for information about sessions in the Goondiwindi Library. They are held every 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month but there are a few changes coming this year.

Times for Goondiwindi First Five Forever: 

*Sing & Story Time – 2nd Thursday of each month – 10:00am – 0-5 years combined

Rhyme Time sessions are fun, high-energy opportunities to brush up on your nursery rhymes and sing and dance with your child. Learn new songs to try at home and match actions with words to help your child learn. Enjoy this special time together, meet other parents and caregivers and learn something new! After this, kick back, listen to or interact with a couple of special stories. This is a great session to pick up some ways to introduce some early literacy skills to your child.

Activity Examples:

• Sing and dance to nursery rhymes
• Listen to some stories
• Learn tips and ideas to try at home
• Meet other parents and caregivers
• Welcoming, friendly atmosphere
• Free

*Play Time – 4th Thursday of each month – 10:00am – 0-5years combined

Come along to participate in a variety of simple activities that can provide interactions and experiences that assist your child’s development and inspire you to re-create some of the opportunities at home.  

Some skills and benefits gained throughout activities:

• To learn new concepts based around the monthly theme in a fun and engaging way
• To encourage creative and critical thinking through role-play, crafts, puzzles and other games
• To improve language, early literacy and communication skills
• To support social and emotional development including working collaboratively, building resilience when ‘competing’ in games and taking turns
• To enhance physical development including gross and fine motor skills
• To enjoy some sensory experiences
• To spend some quality time with your little one

*Online Theme

New content will be updated on the website each month

First Five Forever sessions are running in all libraries across our region. You will need to BOOK your FREE TICKETS for each session. Please see the links above for the Goondiwindi Library or call Inglewood or Texas libraries to find out more details.

If you unfortunately miss out on a spot or are unable to make it, I have put together some books, rhymes and activities online for you to explore in the comfort of your own home. Everything that you will find below is what you and your child would normally take part in if you were to attend the face-to-face session in the library.

The theme this session is Gardening Gurus’. Through gardening, children are engaging all their senses. They smell, touch, see, hear, and taste. The motor skills they develop through digging and planting will help them with other fine motor activities like holding a pencil or using scissors. Gardening involves multiple steps which makes it a great motor planning & sequencing activity. It also involves the gross motor skills of walking, squatting, digging, lifting & carrying heavy objects, and potentially pushing/pulling movements if you are raking, hoeing, or using a wheelbarrow. Gardening teaches children about growing their own food and encourages them to try different fruit and vegetables. We all know that eating a strawberry picked from the garden tastes so much better than one you’ve bought from the supermarket. In addition it is a perfect chance to give them a bit of responsibility in caring for a plant and remembering to water it.

Don’t forget to take any opportunity to tap into your little one’s interest is always a must. This is because when they are interested in a topic, they will be engaged in any activity, interaction or experience you offer them. When your little one is engaged, it guarantees you are helping them learn, build connections, and develop their understanding of the world surrounding them. Any time you spend simply talking, reading, singing, or playing with your child is of benefit to their growth. There are many books, rhymes, and activities that you can engage in with your little one based on the theme that will support their growth and literacy development.

Some Suggestions could be to:

• Designing a garden / fairy garden
• Scavenger hunt in the garden.
• Wheelbarrows herb garden
• Making mud cakes (Best fun ever!!!)
• Grow grass heads.

Remember there are always opportunities to discuss with your child colours, letters, numbers, animals and to provide different experiences to extend your child’s development. This can be through a simple conversation about their day and yours – it does not have to be a planned lesson with bulk resources! YOU are their best resource.

Call, Click and Collect Service: You can still ring the library and request for some books, audiobooks, DVDs or puzzles to be put aside for you.

I hope you enjoy this month’s books, songs and activities and I would love to see you at a session soon.

Click on the picture below to guide your rhyme singing at home.

There are many more rhymes and songs about this theme. Try searching through these platforms:

• YouTube
• Spotify
• Apple Music
• ABC App

Click on the book/s to listen to the stories related to the theme. Some of these books can be accessed via the Story Box Library. If you are a library member, follow the How to Guide to assist you when logging in. You can then type in the book name in the search area. After this, sit back and enjoy the story. Others are linked to YouTube clips for educational purposes only and with the understanding that we are not the producers/authors/creators of the following clips.

Isabella's Garden