Shine Foundations

19/08/2025

🎉 Growing in confidence, one playdough birthday song at a time!

✨ Precious shared moments of joy around the playdough table in our Ready, Set, Grow program. Today we celebrated with a happy birthday song, full of smiles, laughter, and togetherness.

Miss H is blossoming each week, growing in confidence, joining in play alongside her peers, separating more smoothly from her parents, and staying engaged in play for longer stretches. She is also learning to ask for help in her own way.

Words are not always needed to communicate, her body language, expressions, and joyful participation tell the story of connection, growth, and belonging. 💛

21/07/2025

Therapy doesn’t have to feel clinical.

At Shine Foundations, we use DIRFloortime® — a relationship-based approach that supports children to grow through play, connection, and emotional safety. It's about meeting your child where they are and supporting their development in ways that feel natural and respectful.

We’ve created a free Parent Handbook to help you understand what DIRFloortime looks like in real life. It’s a gentle introduction to how we work, written for parents — not professionals — and grounded in real examples.

Download your free copy here: https://shinemoveandplay.com.au/
Just leave your name and email, and we’ll send it straight to your inbox.

If you're curious about how we support families, you're also welcome to book a free Discovery Session — a 30–60 minute conversation (online or in person) where you can meet us, ask questions, and explore what support might look like for your child.

Book a Discovery Session here: https://shinemoveandplay.com.au/
Or email us at office@shinemp.com.au

05/07/2025

✨ What a Term it’s been in Ready, Set, Grow! ✨

As Term 2 comes to a close, we’re celebrating the incredible growth we’ve witnessed in each and every child who’s been part of our group. From building confidence and making new friends to learning how to share feelings and work as a team — the progress has been truly heartwarming 💛

Each child brought their own strengths, and together, we created a safe, playful, and engaging space where everyone felt seen, heard, and valued. It’s been such a joy to watch them blossom — and we couldn’t be prouder of what they’ve achieved, both individually and as a group 🌱🌈

📣 Ready, Set, Grow returns in Term 3!
If you’re looking for a small group program that supports your child’s social confidence, emotional regulation, and learning foundations through play-based, relationship-focused sessions — we’d love to welcome you.

✅ For children aged 4–6
✅ NDIS-friendly
✅ Small group sizes with high staff-to-child support
✅ Based at Bridgewater Family and Community Centre, Berwick

📅 Term 3 kicks off on Friday 25th July

Spots are limited, so if you’re interested in learning more or securing a place, send us a message or get in touch via our website.

Let’s keep growing together 💫

10/04/2025

Come and say hi at the Source Co Source Kids Disability Expo - we’re at Stand D1 😀

07/04/2025

🌱 Ready, Set, Grow! 🌱
We’re so excited to launch our brand-new early intervention program designed especially for children aged 4–6 years!

Held every Friday from 10am–12pm at Bridgewater Family & Children's Centre in Berwick, this play-based program builds confidence, social skills, and independence in a fun, supportive environment.

🧩 Small group sessions (max. 6 children) led by an Early Intervention Specialist and experienced Therapy Assistant.
📅 Term 2: 2 May – 4 July (10-week program)
💰 Total cost: $1500 (or $150 per week)
Term-based enrolment required.

Spaces are limited — enrol now for Term 2!

✨ For more info, check out the flyer or send us a message today!

09/03/2025

We’re excited to be part of this expo in April! Looking forward to meeting lots of people and getting the word out about our services! Come along and say hi if you’re going to be there!

Source Disability Expo is coming back to Melbourne! The expo brings together 150 product and service providers under one roof for you to meet and...

19/02/2025

📢 What is DIRFloortime? 🎈
Have you heard of DIRFloortime® but aren’t quite sure what it means? 🤔

DIRFloortime (Developmental, Individual-differences, Relationship-based model) is a play-based approach designed to help children develop critical social, emotional, and communication skills through meaningful, child-led interactions.

💡 How Does It Work?
Instead of directing a child’s play, we join their world—following their interests and expanding on their ideas to encourage engagement, problem-solving, and emotional connection. 💙

🌱 DIRFloortime Helps Children With:
✔️ Social skills & making connections 🤝
✔️ Emotional regulation & managing big feelings 💕
✔️ Flexible thinking & problem-solving 🧠
✔️ Communication & interaction skills 🗣️
✔️ Confidence & independence 🚀

At Shine Move & Play, we use DIRFloortime in real-world settings (home, childcare, kinder, school) to support children in a way that feels natural and fun! 🎨🛝

Want to learn more? Drop a 💙 in the comments or send us a DM!

05/02/2025

🌟 Play-Based Early Intervention – Now Accepting New Participants! 🌟

Is your child struggling with:
✅ Social skills & making friends?
✅ Emotional regulation & big feelings?
✅ Transitions & routines (e.g., kinder, childcare, school)?
✅ Engagement in learning & play?

At Shine Move & Play, we use the DIRFloortime approach—a fun, play-based therapy method that helps children build social, emotional, and communication skills in their natural environments (home, kinder, childcare, school).

💡 NDIS-funded sessions available
📍 Supporting families in Melbourne's South East
👦🏼 For children aged 0-9

DM us or visit www.shinemoveandplay.com.au to learn more & book a callback. 💙✨

27/01/2025

🌟 Highlights from Our Ready, Set, Learn Holiday Program! 🌟

Over the last week, we had the absolute pleasure of running our Ready, Set, Learn Holiday Program for children beginning school or finding school challenging. What a wonderful time it was! The children engaged in a range of activities designed to build essential skills for their learning and development.

Here’s a glimpse of what we focused on each day:
💡 Day 1: Getting to Know Each Other – Activities to help the children feel comfortable, build relationships, and develop familiarity with the group.

😊 Day 2: Exploring Emotions – We explored feelings and how to express them, fostering emotional awareness and communication.

🤝 Day 3: Teamwork and Collaboration – Through fun, cooperative activities, the children practiced sharing, turn-taking, and working together.

🌟 Day 4: Building Independence – Focused on self-help and problem-solving skills, encouraging confidence and self-reliance.

Throughout the program, we witnessed incredible progress in each child’s confidence, independence, cooperation, and engagement. It was heartwarming to see friendships form, milestones achieved, and smiles all around.

A big thank you to our amazing team and the families who supported the program! We’re so proud of what the children accomplished in just 4 days and can’t wait to see them continue to thrive.

Check out these moments from the program! 📸✨

27/01/2025

🌟 What an Incredible Week at Our Social Stars Holiday Program! 🌟

Last week we had the absolute joy of working with a wonderful group of children in our Social Stars Program. Each day was filled with fun, connection, and learning as we focused on building social and emotional skills through the Kimochis curriculum and play-based activities.

Here’s a glimpse into what we focused on each day:
✨ Day 1: Exploring emotions – The children learned to recognize and identify basic feelings like happy, sad, and mad through stories, crafts, and play.
✨ Day 2: Expressing and communicating feelings – We practiced expressing emotions with words and body language, helping the children build tools for self-regulation.
✨ Day 3: Building social connections – Through teamwork, turn-taking, and sharing, the children strengthened their ability to interact positively with their peers.
✨ Day 4: Emotional problem-solving – The children explored ways to manage big feelings, resolve conflicts, and ask for help in social situations.

Throughout the program, we saw incredible progress in each child’s ability to separate from their parents, engage confidently in play, and connect with others. Their growing independence and willingness to try new things truly shone by the end of the week!

A huge thank you to the families for trusting us with your amazing children. 💛 We are so proud of their achievements and hope they enjoy using their special Feelings Toolkits at home to continue building on their new skills.

📸 Check out some highlights from the week below!

12/01/2025

Excited to be seeing some of my friends tomorrow at our Group holiday program - our Shine Foundations Social Stars Program and our Ready, Set, Learn Program. There are still 2 spaces available if you are looking for something for your child to do this week that will help to set them up for the year ahead :)