The Pros of Pets

Cheep Cheep Cheep.... 6 adorable little chickens made their way into preschool today! Our chicken coop is undergoing some minor repairs and then these 6 fluffy little gems will become permanent preschool residents (saved by Tash from an unfortunate fate!!) In the mean time, they have gone home with one of our lovely families.

Having pets/animals in our service has always been important to us. Currently we have tadpoles and silkworms and we have previously had ducks, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds. I am always amazed at the joy and learning animals bring:

• Gaining an understanding of lifecycles - watching the tadpoles and silkworms grow and change
• Caring for others - feeding, changing water, sweeping out the enclosure, adding new straw
• Gaining an understanding of where food comes from - collecting the eggs from the chickens and using them in cooking
• A calming effect - so often I have seen littlies who are struggling with mum or dad leaving, calm down when face to face with a furry friend

Sometimes I hear that it must be hard work to have animals in the centre....and yes, it is... But the reward is totally worth it!!

Things I’ve learnt from Playschool

Yesterday afternoon I sat watching Playschool with my 18month old. I usually miss it due to being at work, but a Friday afternoon early mark let me spend some extra time with my unhappy (sick) little man. We snuggled together and watched Playschool and the whole time I was amazed at how it engaged him (and me!) This is a kid that has very little interest in television, usually only giving commercials a passing glance or stopping to dance to some music. But somehow, Playschool got him in! And it used to get me in too….well I guess it still does! This made me reflect on all the things I (and other Early Childhood professionals) have and no doubt will, learn from playschool.

·         Made up songs are great – sure there are the old classics, the “fall-backs” but making up songs about things that the children are interested in is great! It doesn’t matter how well you can sing, just make it rhyme and make it fun and the kids will love it

·         Don’t be afraid to act silly – not only will the kids find it funny, but they are more likely to let go of any inhibitions that they may have and really get in and enjoy dance and drama

·         A box is amazing – yesterday I saw boxes get turned into moving trucks, furniture and shoes. The potential of a simple box is so often forgotten! I’ve noticed over the years that kids will often be creative with boxes, but as a teacher I am not. Why haven’t I made story props from boxes before? In addition to the boxes, yesterday they made a waterwheel out of a laundry basket lid and some yoghurt containers – genius!

·         Stories are so much better with props – yesterday’s story was about a little girl moving house. It was acted out through dolls and bears and using cardboard box houses and moving trucks. So often we just pull out a book and read it. Sure we might use voices to engage the kids, but they really do love us acting things out – and even better if they can help! Two of the amazing educators at my centre regularly put on a puppet show for the kids and use it as a way to discuss issues – the kids love it!

I’m sure there are many more things I have learnt from Playschool, but these stood out from yesterday’s viewing. I would love to hear what you have learnt from this iconic Australian children’s program…

Oh – and it also inspired me to set a weekly challenge for my team. They are to get the children engaged in an “active” song (one with dance moves etc) that they haven’t done before and then share with the team. Cant wait to see what they come up with (I might even have a go myself!)

The arrival of Spring

Just a quick post for today (have been off sick for a few days now!)Finally the warmer weather has arrived and I love it! I love walking out into the yard and finding kids (and often teachers!) knee deep in the mud pit with hoses and pipes distributing water from our rain tank. I love seeing barefeet running through the yard. I love picnics under the shade of the trees. I love seeing the kids splashing and searching for frogs in our trickle stream. I love watching a “slip and slide” being created on the hill just outside our back gates – a giant piece of black plastic lathered in soap, a teacher with a hose and a pile of crashmats at the bottom. I love the grins on the kids’ faces when they land at the bottom. I love the laughter of the adults who revel in seeing children having so much fun with such basic materials!

Would love to hear about some of the “warm weather” experiences in other centres!

Just a pile of sticks?

Earlier this week one of our amazing educators bought in a stack of branches that had recently been cut down. Perfectly straight and smooth, these quickly attracted interest from the children. On the first day they used them to create structures in the sandpit, the next day to make a large cubby in the yard. At various times, children were observed carrying them around the yard, picking up different branches (appearing to compare the weights of them!)

It really reminded me what I love about our yard. We have created a space that really doesn’t require any equipment to be put out. It encourages the children to explore the natural environment and to be creative with resources. Just this week I have loved watching a group of girls creating “cakes” with dirt from the garden and water from our rainwater tanks, watched a little one make a “fire” on our herb hill (as he scooped up rocks and bark and piled them up, it created dust clouds which he likened to smoke! I also love watching the kids climb and just hang out in the trees! It was particularly exciting to see an art book up a tree today – evidence of some creative little being using the natural environment to their advantage…it just makes me smile!

A little tricky to see - but evidence of creativity up a tree!

If you didn’t get any equipment out in the outdoor environment…what would the children do? Do you have open ended, natural materials for them to explore? How do they use them?

Drawing with felt tip pens...oh how I love it!

About a week ago I was spending some time in our preschool room. We are fortunate enough to have our very own, dedicated art space – Umiliko (which means “To create”) We had out some fine black markers as well as a few coloured pencils. With these, one of our passionate educators had put a pineapple as a provocation. I looked at some of the observational drawings that the children had been doing and was delighted! The detail in these drawings was just amazing.

I stayed in the art room with one of our young creators (4.8years) and watched as she finished her observational drawing of the pineapple. Once it was completed she selected a new piece of paper and began drawing.

The detail that went into this drawing was incredible. We have so many art mediums available for the children, but I must admit that these pens are my absolute favourite. In the last week I have watched children combine felt tip pens with coloured pencils, watercolour paints and also oil pastels. The amount of detail they allow (and I think encourage) children to use is just amazing.

A quick flick through the beautiful book It’s Not A Bird Yet: The Drama of Drawing – by Ursula Kolbe shows some wonderfully detailed drawings using felt tip pens. Ursula also says “Each medium has its’ own voice” – what true words! Looking at the drawing by this creative little being I got those chills up my spine that you get when something just fills you with delight (or is that just me??)

I would love to hear about your use of fine tip pens and other art mediums

Rainy Days...

What’s worse than watching the clock tick by ever so slowly on a Friday afternoon? Having 15 pre-schoolers stuck inside going crazy while it ticks by! This is what happened to me last Friday afternoon and I struggled to come up with ideas. We ended up playing hide and seek, sleeping dogs (or as the kids call it – dead dogs!) kangaroo skippyroo and freeze. We managed to survive the afternoon and actually have a pretty good time, but it got me thinking about things to do on rainy days…

·         Put the clear tunnel off the verandah and let the kids lie in it and watch the rain (our kids love this, but its best for light rain!)

·         Grab gumboots and an umbrella and go for a rainwalk around the yard

·         Make cubbies using odds and ends

·         Bring some of the large foam shapes and gym mats inside and create an obstacle course indoors

I did some browsing of some of my favourite blogs and found this great article on let the children play - http://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2011/08/chalking-in-rain.html

Can’t wait to try this one…

Would love to hear some different rainy day ideas – how do you “embrace” the wet weather, rather than letting it ruin the program?

The Hunter Alliance for Childhood - A must!

I have just returned from day 2 of the Hunter Alliance for Childhood  Expo for Childhood and have to share! Yesterday I listened to an Additive Alert presentation which I believe is going to change how I live my life and how I view the lunchboxes that come into our centre each day. The startling facts about additives in our food (or as presenter Natalie Stackhouse referred to it – edible food like substance!) blew my mind. As an advocate for children I feel I can’t watch the kids in my care put those things into their body without trying to share the information with our families. Because of this, we are planning an Additive Alert presentation for families at our service,

Prior to the presentation I visited each of the stalls, all offering natural services to make parenting easier. There were books that would make a great addition to our parent library, gorgeous wooden toys and delicious organic food.

Today I headed back with my partner and little one in tow. We watched an amazing film – Consuming Kids, which shed light on marketing and the commercialisation of children. It helped to confirm why I don’t have Wiggles/Dora/Ben10 etc in my household! If you ever get the chance to see the film – DO IT, you won’t regret it.

Anyway, the point of this post isn’t just to promote all of the wonderful things at the expo (that’s just a bonus!) it is to make everyone aware of the Hunter Alliance for Childhood. I think as educators of young children we are also advocates. We have a responsibility for their well-being and for ensuring that the children in our care get to be exactly that – children!! For as little as $5, you can join HAC and support this amazing organisation that advocates for children's rights to 'Real Food, Real Play, Real Life.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the expo if you went!