Articles, curiosities about childcare, family and our kindergarten
Coping with challenging behaviour during challenging times
Jennifer Fiechtner Angela teaches three-year-olds in a program affiliated with a local hospital. Her class normally has ten children in it, but currently several children are staying home with their families. Lately, there have only been four children attending...
The importance of play for learning
Insights from Friedrich Froebel Dr Stella Louis and Dr Sacha Powell Childhood is a time for, well, childhood! It’s not a preparation for school or adulthood. It’s a time for allowing children to go at their own pace, giving them the time they need to explore,...
Enjoyable play from very early years
Jennie Lindon Babies and very young children love to play, and some bought play resources can be very useful. However, many suitable play items are safe, ordinary items and not commercially produced toys. In a nutshell, babies, toddlers and very young children need...
The gift of wonder
Ruth Wilson “Wonder” and “extinction” are concepts I think about a lot as they relate to both my professional and personal life. Wonder makes life such a magical experience. Extinction, on the other hand, drains the magic from our everyday lives. Wonder takes us to...
The cycle of life – Answering some tough questions about life and death
“The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere, the dew is never dried all at once, a shower is forever falling.Vapour is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth...
Growing beans in a bag
Instructions: 1. Place several damp, folded paper towels into a zip lock bag. Insert 5 staples about half way up the bag. This will keep the beans in the right place so that there's room to watch the roots grow. 2. Place a few beans into the bag. 3. Tape the bag onto...
Outdoor play
Johnson, Christie and Wardle Everyone who works with young children in early childhood programmes and schools knows how quickly bacteria and viruses spread in these environments. One way to reduce the spread of infection is through lots and lots of fresh air. Outdoor...
Nature pedagogy and answering children’s questions
Death, decay and disappearance Dr Claire Warden “The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere, the dew is never dried all at once, a shower is forever falling.Vapour is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and...
Nurturing children’s biophilia and love of nature
Developmentally appropriate environmental education for young children Randy White and Vicki L. Stoecklin Extensive research in children’s development and experience in early childhood education has shown that young children: Have unique learning styles that match...
Lego’s message to parents: Playtime benefits you as much as your kids
What’s good for your kid’s development is also good for your emotional well-being. Most kids in the U.S. have plenty of access to toys. What they may lack is one particularly important person to play with: their parents. On average, 17% of kids across nine...
