Families are children’s first and most important teachers. From birth, children are learning from those closest to them. When children enter the care environment, the educators within their early childhood centre will have a significant influence on how those children grow and develop. The relationships that exist within an early childhood centre play a crucial […]
Staffing arrangements and service leadership mostly cover administration and policy areas of early childhood education and care services. These include important areas like educator-to-child ratios, ethical and respectful practice, continuity of care and striving for continuous improvement. For educators in an early childhood setting, communication is a vital tool. With routines to be communicated and […]
Since its introduction, the National Quality Standards have raised the bar for facilities providing care and education for children. The task of documenting your centre’s progress and engagement with the quality areas can be a daunting task for leaders and educators alike. Recording evidence, milestones, ideas and progress is easy with Kinderloop! Providing evidence of […]
‘Mindfulness is a way of paying attention that originated in Eastern meditation practices. It has been described as “bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis” (Marlatt & Kristeller, 1999, p. 68) and as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally”’ (Ruth Baer – […]
In every child care educator’s day, there are a significant number of tasks to be completed: engaging in meaningful interactions with the children in our care, completing a myriad of routine tasks, observing the learning of children, and programming the curriculum for the interests and skills observed. “Curriculum: in the early childhood setting curriculum means […]
Ok, so you have your chunk of time off the floor to do your “programming”. What do I do? For most educators this time is precious and jam-packed with expectations! Depending on the centre, educators may have a focus group of children that is their responsibility to observe and program for, or may make a […]
When the National Quality Standard was released, I read the support guide cover to cover. The term “each child” jumped out at me. I began to ponder how we were ever going to provide evidence to assessment and compliance officers that we appropriately observed and assessed each child’s learning and development as well as providing […]
Early childhood education and care is an industry governed by regulation. These regulations are vital to ensure the safety of the children entrusted into our care. With regulations come paperwork and documentation used to evaluate each early childhood setting in line with the National Quality Standards. Along with new quality measures have been emerging digital […]
“A digital immigrant is an individual who was born before the widespread adoption of digital technology. The term digital immigrant may also apply to individuals who were born after the spread of digital technology and who were not exposed to it at an early age. Digital immigrants are the opposite of digital natives, who have […]
Back when my 3-year-old was a toddler with new teeth, we were purchasing a whole lot of “training toothpaste.” (Lorelei was fond of cracking it open and sucking it down like a sports gel when we weren’t looking – fortunately, part of the “training” aspect of this product is fluoride-free and safe if swallowed, though […]
