Kimmba Bilingual Early Learning Centre 2 Balston Street, Balaclava, Victoria 3183

"We were very fortunate to find Kimmba and their amazing carers. Our kids started at Kimmba at about 6 months of age until they transitioned into prep, usually with 4 sessions per week each. It's a relatively small center and my kids loved the environment, atmosphere and particularly the carers. My kids were lucky enough to have a number of the carers that they started with go all the way through to their transition into prep. The kids are treated with kindness, respect and warmth and i see that in their treatment of others, as well as when they are at home. Our kids learned Mandarin, Spanish and also some French. I liked the environment was regularly updated with regular improvements so it felt well maintained. I used to also love coming in at the end of the day and seeing the rooms setup for the next day with little dioramas, toys and games ready for the kids to try and play with. The end of year celebrations (graduation) and the photos and documents collected by the carers throughout the year is also something we looked forward to and cherish. The kids also learned about helpful things like yoga and breathing techniques. The kids always ate well and nutritionally with the opportunity to try new things. I always appreciated that the kids had warm meals cooked in the Kimmba kitchen. The kids also developed some beautiful relationships with other kiddos that we still keep up with to this day. Kimmba carers identified a couple of behavioral issues and we worked together to help manage this for all of our benefits. This also helped inform our decisions on when to transition our kids to school. Ultimately we kept one of ours in Kimmba for an extra year which in reflection was an excellent decision. We are particularly grateful for the time our youngest could spend at Kimmba during COVID lockdown, and as essential workers. This meant that one of our kids had a largely uninterrupted couple of years, in contrast with our preppy who missed quite a bit of school. Thank you to Kimmba and all our carers, we are so grateful for your support, patience and kindness."

"Our daughter has been at Kimmba since she was 11 months old, has just turned 2, and we couldn’t speak highly enough of our experience. Our daughter is bursting with excitement when we drop her off, and always happy when we pick her up. Her language and social skills have developed exponentially since she started at Kimmba, we love the team there!"

"The best childcare centre you will find. Our daughter started at Kimmba when she was 10 months old. She was a quiet, shy little kid who couldn't yet crawl and was really nervous with new people. With the help of Marisha and the team at Kimmba she has thrived! The place feels like a family with every educator knowing every kid and all the kids across age groups knowing each other too. Our daughter is happy, running around, learning from the older kids and also learning how to be gentle with the younger kids. In addition to English she's learning French, as well as Mandarin and Spanish in the playground which is so wonderful for her developing brain. We love it!"

"At first hesitant to send our son off to daycare at just 8 months old, Kimmba has been nothing short of amazing and we've loved the experience so much we've even increased the number of days! Marisha runs an amazing centre with the most energetic, enthusiastic and caring team. Our son loves his teachers and has settled in so well. He's well fed, sleeps well and has a fabulous time every time he attends. The team is attentive and the bilingual aspect is a huge bonus for our Chinese family. Can't wait to see our son grow up at Kimmba over the next few years! Thank you Marisha & the Kimmba family!"

"I’m not a review writing person but Kimmba is absolutely wonderful. This review is rather long but I encourage you to read it to the end particularly if you are a parent fretting about daycare providers. If you are looking for a daycare centre look no further than here, the love, care and education the children of all ages receive is beyond exceptional. All of the educators are extremely lovely, gentle and really go out of their way to ensure that each and every child is nurtured and well looked after. It’s a small centre so each child receives a lot of one on one attention. Kimmba has a beautiful homely feel and positive atmosphere not at all like a fast food chain or transactional business enterprise like some other daycares I had seen. It was the only childcare centre I had witnessed where all the children seemed to be genuinely happy. The director Marisha is amazing and passionate about not only looking after but also educating the children of all ages, no child is considered too young to learn, one of the many other things that makes Kimmba unique and stand out from other childcare providers. She actively engages with every child and family and is just as involved and on the ground with the children as all the other educators are, she certainly never holes herself up in the office and is never too busy to talk to you or address any concerns. She has a wealth of experience as an early childhood educator. The billingual aspect is fantastic even if you are raising your child in a language not offered by the centre because Kimmba really understand the idiosyncrasies and needs pertinent to multilingual families however I would have sent my son there regardless. The different cultures represented in educators, children and parents is wonderful to see particularly as we have a multiracial family too and I like the fact that my son will grow up seeing lots of children of different nationalities. I was very worried about starting my son at daycare particularly as he had separation anxiety but Marisha put me at ease and was the only childcare director who offered any level of understanding or a workable solution. My husband, myself and my son could not be more impressed by the love, care and education that my son receives at Kimmba, he’s always so happy when he gets picked up to go home. Our only regret is that there is no flow on primary school."