I can't speak highly enough of the Unley Kindergarten and my son's year at kindergarten was one of…read moremy favourites education years so far. Ann is the Director and has a wealth of experience about young children's development. She still remembers my son's name when we see her about the suburbs two years after he was a student there. Quite impressive given the number of children that attend each year. The kindy is in a heritage house on Oxford Terrace between the Unley council and the Unley oval. Each of the rooms has been converted into a themed play area. There's a kitchen for staff use and cooking lessons, art and crafts room, music and general area and an office. Outside you'll find a huge sandpit with toys (one of my son's favourite areas), a raised platform/play area, swings and an outdoor courtyard with tables and chairs and an area displaying that day's drying artwork. I attended a few functions here and there were a really lovely group of parents. Places here are hard to secure, especially given the placement changes from 2012.

My nephew's so rebel that he colours outside the lines. On purpose…read more Luckily for parents that send their kids here my nephews an exception, and let me tell you when I picked him up from kindy today he was the only one drawing outside the lines. Ha. Mind you he's a brilliant drawer. The kids here are bright and awfully cute. Perhaps this is somewhat testament to the great learning environment that Unley Kindy provides... and good parenting! In fact the parents are friendly, the teachers are great and the kids really seem to be enjoying themselves. In my sisters case I know one of her initial concerns was that as her son entered into his kindy and primary school years that he would fall under the radar, thus not receiving adequate attention. Thankfully this has not been the case with Unley Kindergarten, and my sister has been kept in the know-how regarding is learning and development. One thing that I found especially cute was that Unley Kindergarten also has Greek and Italian mother-tongue. There is a lot of culture within the premises, which is ever so important in the Australian multicultural society that we live in. It is nice to see. Not to mention that Oxford Terrace is one of the nicest streets in the area. Lucky kids!

Carclew is a magnificent landmark building in North Adelaide, prominently standing in pride of…read moreplace on the corners of Jeffcott Street, Montefiore Hill and Strangways Tce and to think this was once a private residence up until 1965 is amazing! It has since emerged as South Australia's only youth arts establishment for the under 26 age group, providing many arts and recreation programs to help our youth gain experience whilst embracing multi culuralism in the community. This is all possible due to South Australian government initiatives. During the year there are many events, exhibitions and workshops taking place, so have a look online or go for a impromptu visit as staff are more than happy to answer any queries. During the school holidays is a great time to take your kids to any one of the great programs run by SA artists and tutors at reasonable prices, age groups are divided to cater to their capabilities. Have a look online and book as places are filled quickly.

Carclew is in an absolutely stunning building, built in 1897 and owned by the Bonython family for…read moremost of it's early history. Now it is a youth arts centre, and it was in that capacity that I arrived here - I was invited to teach a cross stitch workshop yesterday - 45 kids over the whole day in 3 separate workshops - PHEW!! The staff here really know what they are doing - they are organised, very good at handling kids and keeping them interested, and very good to work with. There are a lot of activities to keep your kids occupied, and to teach them very important artistic and lateral thinking skills. School holidays they have programs - yesterday I was part of the 3-in-1 Workshop day, where your kids get to do 3 different workshops from 9.00 to 5.00, in groups of 15. All tutors and assistants must have a current police check for working with children, and there are staff on hand all day to make sure everything is running smoothly. Kids are not allowed to wander around by themselves - it's a very tightly-run ship! We will definitely be taking my partner's daughter to the next one of these, as the staff are very trustworthy, and the workshops are of a high standard.

The Plaster Fun House on Unley Road possess a large chunk of my childhood (same to the nearby Fairy…read moreShop) and although they have moved premises, I spent many a friend's birthday sitting on the little plastic chairs and trying to emulate the display pieces of my chosen plaster mould. Oddly enough, I found myself back here as an adult, sitting on the same little chairs sipping on a juice box and covering myself in paint and found the experience just as fantastic as it was when I was smaller. For $10 you can pick one of the basic moulds to paint AND get a packet of twisties and a juice box. Amazing really. The Plaster Fun House was an amazing experience and allowed my friend and I to wile away an hour or to whilst singing along to the Peter Coombe pumping from the stereo. The kids and parents sitting around my friend and I, appeared to seriously enjoy their time. Kids took a lot of time seriously pondering their choice and then spent a long time in silence carefully painting away and thinking of the most unusual colour combinations possible. The Plaster Fun House is well worth the stop on Unley Road, no matter your age, bonus points for the Peter Coombe.

I don't care who you are, this is an awesome place to go…read more SUPPOSED to be for kids, but me and my friend see it as our guilty pleasure as we sit there on the small tables painstakingly painting small plaster models whilst having our adult conversations and PAINTING THEM BETTER THAN ANY STUPID KIDS IN THE SHOP. Because we're adults. Add some glitter? sure! add some stupid glasses and a fuzzy haired hat? Why not?! Get a softdrink and a packet of chips whilst you talk. Affordable and fun, great for kids and no one will tell if you shed your accountant exterior for some naieve painting fun.

I've been interested in sculpture for quite some time now, and not too long ago I enrolled in a…read moreshort course at the South Australian Woodcarving Academy to up my skills in working with wood. The Academy is something of a revival of the dying art of woodcarving. The guys who run the place are very experienced and kowledgable, but also possess the patience and consideration to take time with begginners and to carefully pass on their knowledge. A time consuming and laborious process, wood carving is incredibly meditative and surprisingly enjoyable. At first one is introduced to the basic wood carving cuts by copying preprepared bits of wood which look something like cornicing or skirting board. One these basic moves are mastered you move on to a free choice roject, which, under the guidance of the masters, enables you to put into practice you new found skills. A very enjoyable experience, a time at the woodcarving academy is suitable for all ages and all levels of ability.

What an amazing place this is!!! Our twins just had their 4th bday party there today and we have…read morenothing but fantastic things to say. Debbie was fantastic throughout the booking process and makes a mean cappuccino for us parents. To the 2 girls to helped the kids today.... wow wow wow they were fantastic. Very attentive and patient. The face painting was a hit too. Even a few of us mums got in on some of that actio too!!! We will be back for more!! You don't have to have a party to enjoy Splodge. You can attend the fun during the week as a walk in or book for one of their school holiday work shops too!! Great value indeed. Thank you ladies for making our kids special day enjoyable xoxo

We decided to try somewhere new and drop into splodge during the school holidays, BIGGEST waste of…read moretime/money ever. We didn't do a workshop but paid the $10 to get in with our complimentary 'craft' (pieces of cut paper and a few stickers). The place is filthy, stuff all over the floor the decor and toys haven't been washed EVER by the looks. We had 1 glue stick between 5 kids so gave up on the 'craft' and just waited for some food. I ordered a hot chocolate to enjoy while my kids had their $4 slice of jam bread. It was literally the worst Hot Chocolate I have ever had, Frothed milk and... yeah it was pretty much just frothed milk. My friend and I made a quick exit, I took the hot chocolate back to complain on the way out but after waiting for 5min for someone to come to front we just left. Never again.

I enrolled in the Sampler Arts Course, 6-9pm Mondays, designed to give beginners an understanding…read moreof different mediums and their applications and felt excited about the upcoming learning. On the first night it became apparent that half the class had different instructions on what materials to bring to first class. I was gifted materials from the kind person next to me. (that person did not turn up again) The teacher appeared tired and unenthusiastic. The information she provided was minimal and sometimes inadequate. Her voice, with strong accent, was very hard hear and this was exacerbated by clanging and banging from the adjacent room. Over the subsequent weeks, this demeanor continued and one had to work hard to understand her instructions, observe her practice and try and reproduce that at our desks in short time frame. I felt that with this level of engagement, more learning could have been acquired by googling and you tubing. I note that this teacher does most of the art classes WEA run and maybe she is overcommitted? My overall experience of WEA has been much better and comes down to the qualities and character of the teacher which is usually a good standard.

This is a great, much cheaper, alternative to TAFE and takes a lot less time. Basically WEA offers…read moreshort courses in almost anything you can imagine (and some things you probably wouldn't believe anyway unless you read them). Not sure if there is an age minimum but as a teenager in high school I did a couple of courses there. One was a Beginner Saxophone course. My mum was sick and tired of me wanting to play an instrument, doing it for a couple of terms of a year then getting bored and choosing a different instrument. So this time she told me I had to do this course first and see if I really liked it. Well her bad luck - I loved it! Then she had to start getting me more expensive real lessons so I could progress further after the course but I still have my sax and play to this day. I also did a hair braiding course here where I learnt so many cool things for a) a female, and b) one with long hair. My friends was as glad as I was that I had done the course! Plus I've done a speed reading course here to help me get through work quicker at school. All 3 were fantastic experiences and I met some new people and learnt some new skills. A great alternative to meet some friends with similar interests - especially if you're not a pub type person. Check out their website. As well as the courses they even have educational trips, like study tours I guess, which can travel to many places in the world and be from a few days to a few weeks long. There really is something for everyone!

My oldest son went here and I couldn't be more pleased with this kindy. Popularly known as a kindy…read morein the park as it's right smack in a park, the kindy has an excellent curriculum. Boasting a huge outdoor, with a picnic turf garden, play area, sandpit, a covered deck for easels and painting activities and a vege patch, affectionately grown by the students and teachers ( they later cook them in the kindy!), there is so much of fun and activity to do here. I've met some wonderful family here and earned some good friends from this kindy. The kindy has a beautiful mixture of multicultural families and is very popular with families in the southern suburbs. My son has many happy memories here, and still talks about his kindy days when we visit the nearby park.

I have a soft spot for this school as it's located at Paradise Community Church, which I frequent…read morefor my drama classes. Some of the teachers that work here are friends and acquaintances I've met in church. Offering a junior primary school curriculum till Grade 7, they cover a holistic and cohesive educational programme which includes English, Maths, Foreign Languages, Technology, Studies of Society and Environment, Physical Education and Science. Being a private school, there is a strong sense of community spirit here and parents play an active role in helping out the school where required. In 2006, the Paradise Parent Group raised funds via a fundraising activity to help build and upgrade new playground facilities. Mr. Lee Avery is the Paradise school principal. For more information, check out their website.