Creative Craft Activity or Craptivity Creative craft activity or craptivity? It's all in the delivery. You decide. ‘Craptivity’ memes and subsequent support of this term, has recently besieged educator forums. An audience was divided last... Children's development Craft activities in early years Developmentally appropriate pedagogy Fine motor skills Loose parts 31 Aug 2019 Blog
Getting started with Bush Kinder - Part 2 What exactly is Bush Kinder? Bush Kinder is a general term used for facilitated place session with children in nature. Ideally, bush kinder will involve free time for children to explore a natural env... Bush kinder Children's development Nature play Pedagogy 31 Jul 2019 Blog
A butterfly, a vine and a wish “Could it be? Could it really be?” I started to get excited. The Bush Club kids looked at me with suspicion as I leapt up and squealed. Fumbling for my phone I tried to capture what I knew was a rare ... Bush kinder Nature play Sustainability 1 Jul 2019 Blog
An open letter to hardworking educators Dear Educator, There are some things I need to tell you, I need you to understand..... When I scream and cry I need you. I need you to understand and connect with me. I need your unhurried hands and g... Educator advocacy Educator wellbeing Professional development Schematic play 31 Dec 2018 Blog
3 Steps on how to let S*^# go! For a species that finds it hard to fulfil new year’s resolution's after only a month, you would think it would be easy for us to let go of things. They say regret is a useless emotion. It causes us p... Educator wellbeing Managing emotions Unhelpful thinking 31 Dec 2018 Blog
I need an extension - on extending children's interests “You don’t look like you’re enjoying your job, what are you stressed about?” “I have so much paperwork”, sighs the educator with a furrowed brow as she looks up between piles of folders, and trimmed p... Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) Child engagement Child-led learning Children's wellbeing Critical reflection Group time Meaningful learning experiences National Quality Framework (NQF) National Quality Standard (NQS) Planning & programming 17 May 2018 Blog
It's time to teach food to our children... And I mean Teach (not preach) Food (not nutrition) to our children. Forget nutrition education for children (or even adults for that matter), we need to go back to basics and teach food education firs... Children and food Children's health 1 Jan 2017 Blog
Why we must sing to our babies Singing is an intrinsic part of raising children. When a baby cries, it feels right to hum a lullaby. We sing action songs and nursery rhymes with our toddlers and young children. I have even spoken t... Language and literacy Language development Music in early years Singing in early years 1 Jan 2017 Blog
What is technology really doing to our children? The amount of screen time children receive is alarming. Ernest et al. (2014) report that on average, 83% of children under the age of 6 years old in the United States today use some form of screen tim... Children and technology Children's health 1 May 2016 Blog
Earth Child Environmental Sustainability with Phoenix Support for Educators The earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old.Agricultural humans have only been on this planet for 10,000 years.In that 10,000 yea... Sustainability 31 Dec 2015 Blog
Anything is possible This article was first published in 2015, and still relevant today. Education and care is changing. Quality education and care is no longer rigid, inflexible and bound by Kilometres of red tape. It is... Child-led learning Educator resources 29 Sep 2015 Blog
Get Muddy! No Sanitiser required A few years ago, this photo would have made me squeamish. Mud. Yuck. Now, I’m an educator advocating for this kind of messy play. In fact, when I sat together with this little man, smooshing mud and s... Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) Barefoot Behaviour guidance Behaviour management Child-led learning Children's health Immune system development Nature play OSHC, OOSH & SAC Pedagogy Reggio approach Sensory development 31 Dec 2013 Blog