What’s a Kinder Kit?
This year, Kinder Kits are packed into a backpack made with recycled materials. The backpacks have adjustable padded straps and a zip that opens to reveal a felt board on which children can create a story using the provided felt stickers.
All children starting funded 3-Year-Old Kinder in 2026 in Victoria are eligible to receive a Kit, including children commencing Early Start Kindergarten and Access to Early Learning programs.
What’s in the Kinder Kits?
Everything inside the Kinder Kits encourages creativity and open-ended play. The backpack folds out to a felt surface that can be secured with the Velcro tabs and used for imaginative play. Inside the Kit you will find objects and ideas to help you support your child to thrive at the kinder, including:
- books by Australian authors
- educational toys and activities by local Victorian designers and businesses
- tips and ideas to help you engage with the Kit and your child’s learning.
Using your Kinder Kit
Everything in your child’s Kinder Kit is designed to be shared and enjoyed as a family. The following items have been designed to help families get the most out of their Kit.
Each Kinder Kit includes a printed Guide for Families, with tips and ideas to help parents and carers guide their child’s early learning and development at home.
The Guide for Families is also available online in 31 languages. To view or download, select your preferred language on the translations page: vic.gov.au/kinder/translations. Translated information explaining what early childhood education is and its benefits is also available.
Meet Mel Haque, maker of Wild Dough
Auslan readings of Kinder Kit books
Each Kinder Kit includes 2 books from a selection of 4, all of which were written by great Australian authors.
Busy Beaks by Sarah Allen
Country by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson
The Kindness Club by Kate Bullen-Casanova
Can You Dance? by Sally Morgan
Kinder Kits are safe and inclusive
Kits are child-safe and inclusive of Victoria’s diverse communities.
Each of the items in the Kinder Kits has been recommended by education experts to help families make ‘learning through play’ part of children’s everyday life.
All items in the Kinder Kits meet relevant safety standards and are suitable for 3-year-olds.
A small number of items have small parts and are not suitable for use by children under 3 years of age. These items have been clearly marked with suitable warnings on the outer packaging. They should only be used for their intended purpose. If you have a child under 3, please keep these items where they don’t have access to them.
As with all toys for children of all ages, parents and carers should always check before use and discard when there is wear and tear.
The Kinder Kit backpack can be used every day. Leave the Kinder Kit products at home and pack it ready for kinder. While the backpack weight meets the Australian safety standard, families are encouraged to monitor the weight of the bag when filled with kinder items to ensure it’s not too heavy.
How do the Kits support learning?
All items in the kit are chosen to support the following five learning and development outcomes for children from birth to eight years of age:
- children have a strong sense of identity
- children are connected with and contribute to their world
- children have a strong sense of wellbeing
- children are confident and involved learners
- children are effective communicators.
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