When we talk about resilience training in child care, the focus is often on strengthening children's wellbeing. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) frequently raises wellbeing as it is pivotal to experiencing belonging, being and becoming. Being resilient improves wellbeing. Beyond Blue describes resilience as "Doing well during or after an adverse event, or a [...]
Learning through play occurs naturally through everyday experiences. Children learn by exploring, using their imagination and by making decisions often through trial and error. Play changes as children grow, and many different forms of play support children's agency. Families can promote play by encouraging and participating in children's play. Playing together is one of the [...]
Chase the gloom away with these 20 things to do on rainy days. Our rainy day activities work best when we build them around our children’s interests and invite them to play. Set up multiple play spaces and let them choose which ones they want to play. Below, we’ve gathered indoor and outdoor rainy day [...]
Improving child development is best achieved in early education and care environments when there are strong family partnerships. Documented research and experience widely supports the positive effect on a child's development. A 2010 report for the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, examined a large body of research that shows families have [...]
Not sure what to gift this Father’s Day? Engage your child in creating one or more of these DIY Father’s Day gifts. These homemade ideas for children to make, use art and craft materials as well as recyclables to make gifts from the heart. Dads and grandpas can be some of the hardest people to [...]
Give your child a head start in life with home activities that encourage numeracy skills. It's never too early to learn numeracy skills which go beyond numbers to help us identify shapes, work out chance, recognise data and do everyday things like shopping. The most engaging way to promote numeracy skills in children from ages [...]
Reflective practice in child care helps Educators to approach ongoing challenges, situations and ways of doing things. By engaging in critical reflection, Educators are better informed when it comes to making decisions. Naomi McLeod on "The Reflexive Educator" in Empowering Early Childhood Educators (Routledge, 2019) believes Educators who engage in reflection can open up new [...]
Not sure how to survive working at home with children? While it’s no walk in the park, some families have been doing it successfully for decades. Whether your remote working is temporary or you’re undertaking a lifestyle change, our hot tips can keep you sane. Many people have a problem adjusting to life when working [...]
Nurturing good hygiene practices in child care is necessary for a child's development. Learning self-hygiene tasks helps to stop the spread of disease, and encourages children to develop lifelong positive hygiene habits; an essential aspect of early education and care services. Personal hygiene routines aid in protecting our immune system from being overcome by harmful [...]
Every child has the right to quality early childhood education. When we value these rights, it compels us to provide learning in an environment based on high-quality pedagogy. Reflecting on our teaching strategies in early childhood is crucial to improving pedagogy. When we question the purpose of education and explore early childhood contemporary approaches, we [...]
