Author: Bonkers Beat

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Schedule A Rewarding Grandparents Day In Your Calendar

The relationship between grandchildren and grandparents is one that is mutually beneficial and offers many incredible rewards for all involved. It is certainly a relationship that deserves recognition and celebration. With Mothers Day in May and Fathers Day in September, we always find July is the perfect time to host a Grandparents Day in centres.

Benefits of Family Relationships For Children

Did you know involving parents in children’s pre-school and school life is linked to closer bonds with children, increased resilience and overall family wellbeing? Involving grandparents is beneficial to strengthening family bonds and further improving the wellbeing of young children. 

This is why each year we encourage all providers of early childhood education to fit in a day dedicated to celebrating grandparents.

Research has shown there are mental health benefits in maintaining a good relationship with grandparents as children get older. Both parties are less likely to suffer from depression as a result of their bond. In fact, the same researchers highlighted the benefits of extended family for children, saying that these relationships are more important today than ever before.

Thoughtful Ways To Share The Love With Grandparents

Grandparents and children’s special friends enjoy spending any quality time with children, but these ideas can enhance the celebration at a morning or afternoon tea at your centre:

  • Create an ‘I Love You because…’ card and children can offer a special reason
  • Create a photo frame as a gift
  • Create a collage together of things that remind them of their relationship
  • Sing some special songs together
  • Play instruments together in a music session
  • All children act out a favourite book for the grandparents/special friends
  • Yoga and wellbeing activities with grandparents/special friends
  • Grandparents/special friends may enjoy sharing a snack with the children
  • Children might like to give grandparents/special friends a tour of their room

Click here to find some great printables and other ideas for your Grandparents and a Special Friend Day.

Keep It Inclusive

The relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren can be varied – some are very close and play a huge role, while others may not be as close and perhaps even live far away or are no longer with us.

It can be a good idea to invite children to celebrate grandparents and special friends, so an aunty, uncle, godparent or family friend can attend too. This gives families the opportunity to celebrate grandparents if they wish or celebrating someone else special in children’s lives if it’s more appropriate for them.

Take a look at our very own  ‘Grandparents and Special Friends Afternoon Tea’ celebrations from last year at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder for further inspiration: http://bit.ly/2NMsvDm

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Increasing Occupancy in Your Centre

If occupancy continues to be a challenge for your childcare business, you are not alone. As the demand for childcare has boomed over the past few years, many new services have opened creating more competition. This has made it increasingly challenging to stand out and attract new families. 

Centre owners, directors, managers and educators have so much passion. They take so much pride in the service they offer, making low enrolments even more disappointing. Not to mention the financial stress and frustration at not being able to convince families of just how special your centre and educators are!

Increasing your centre’s occupancy can be difficult. Established centres can feel as though they cannot compete with brand new centres offering impressive design and newer facilities. On the other hand, some new centres are starting from scratch and face the challenge of establishing a good reputation in the community.

Whichever perspective you’re coming from, here are a few super effective strategies for you to use to increase your enrolments and ensure your childcare centre thrives!

1. Show off your centre!

Whether you’re an established or brand new centre, there’s a chance you’re experiencing lower than desired occupancy rates simply because you’re not putting your centre out there for the public.

You don’t have to spend thousands on marketing to get noticed. Try hosting an Open Day – simply open your centre on a Saturday or Sunday and let families explore it for themselves. A sausage sizzle or craft for children can attract more people.

Facebook is full of opportunities to help familiarise your community with your centre. You can post in community groups and/or create a company page for your centre. Investing as little as $10 on Facebook ads can help spread the word about your centre to a selected demographic.

2. Motivate your team

One of our favourite acronyms: TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More. When your educators work together and are a united team, you will have the best chance of success.

Centres old and new struggle to find passionate, committed staff. Regular professional development can help motivate your team – take a look at our Wellness Summits which are run twice a year and are part of the Bonkers Beat programs. These events provide lots of bonding and brainstorming.

Try brainstorming with your educators about how you can increase occupancy. If families are leaving after one year, discuss why you think that might be and what you could be doing differently.

3. Enhance your point of difference

What makes your centre special? What do you do differently? Find your point of difference and make it stand out.

Centres who utilise Bonkers Beat programs are given plenty of resources and guidance on how to highlight their centre’s unique, powerful and effective approach to early childhood education. Parents love to learn about the incredible results and with their enhanced knowledge, they are more inclined to rave to others and spread the word for you!

If you can identify what makes you different from the other centres in the area, you have a better chance of attracting families who will be committed to your centre. The idea is that these families’ values and goals for their children will align with your centre’s outcomes.

Show everyone what makes your centre SO AMAZING!

Like countless childcare centres and kindergartens in Australia, Ellina from ‘Smart Oz Kidz’ was feeling the pressure that comes with a low occupancy rate. Struggling to find a way to stand out from the competition, Ellina knew she had to take action, and that’s when she decided to try the Bonkers Beat programs.

Eight months ago, Ellina’s centre occupancy was sitting at around 60%. “Since promoting the Bonkers Beat music program at our centre we have reached just over 95% capacity”, says Ellina. That’s a 35% in eight months!

DON’T FORGET: Our very special EOFY Offer is now on! To help you achieve your goals contributing to the meaningful early childhood education industry, we’re offering 20% off a 12-month Bonkers Beat membership. But that’s not all. Following that you will get a further 6 months FREE! Click here to join!

The only catch: to take advantage of this incredibly generous offer and see your centre soar to new heights, you need to join by 15 July, 2019. This is a limited time special offer and gives you the opportunity to join our award-winning early childhood educational programs at drastically discounted rates. With easy monthly payments, we know you will see the incredible value on offer! Access the offer here.

Low occupancy doesn’t need to be the new normal or the end for your centre — take action and change things for the better!

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NAIDOC Week 2019: A Shared Future

NAIDOC Week is upon us from 7 – 14 July, 2019 with this year’s theme: Voice. Treaty. Truth. Let’s work together for a shared future. This theme represents the need for Australia’s democracy to have an enhanced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice and presence. This will ensure that everyone’s voices are heard and everyone has a say in our shared future, as well as acknowledging our shared past. 

Acknowledging NAIDOC Week in early childhood is important for two reasons. Firstly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children deserve to see their identities and culture reflected in their education. We believe in shining a light on all cultures and celebrating them in centres, to help broaden children’s view of the world. Children will also develop an appreciation of our many differences, but also our similarities no matter where we are from or what we look like. Secondly, all children deserve to be able to develop an understanding that Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture is one of the oldest in the world. We are very lucky to share in this beautiful country and its remarkable history.

How to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2019

You can celebrate NAIDOC Week any way you wish. One approach is to take a broader look at Indigenous Australia, exploring land, art, language and music.

The NAIDOC website suggests a few points on how you can go about celebrating:

  • Invite elders or others to talk about local sacred sites or Indigenous culture
  • Learn the traditional names and stories for places, mountains, rivers etc around your region

To celebrate Indigenous culture in a more general sense you might like to:

  • Read a Dreamtime story
  • Create your own Aboriginal art
  • Listen to Indigenous music
  • Take children to visit local Indigenous sites of significance or interest if possible

Alternatively, you might like to focus on this year’s theme, which centres on the power of having a voice. This might encourage you to look at how we use our own voices to shape our worlds and how we all deserve to be heard. 

Expanding our knowledge and understanding of our history and culture is such a special part of learning and being Australian we have a rich Indigenous history that deserves to be recognised and celebrated. Take the opportunity to do just that this NAIDOC Week.

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Reach new heights with a new financial year resolution

As a new financial year approaches, it is the perfect time to assess how your childcare service is travelling. Are you meeting your goals from a business and financial perspective? Are you satisfied with your level of occupancy? Do you offer high quality early childhood educational programs? Are you proud of your centre’s current NQS Rating?

These are areas commonly reported as challenges for childcare business owners. They are also areas that the Bonkers Beat programs help to tackle head on in an innovative way across Australia every single day.

We  have a super special EOFY offer for you

To help you achieve your goals we’re offering 20% off a 12-month Bonkers Beat membership. But that’s not all. Following that you will get a further 6 months FREE!
Click here to join!

The high quality training and ongoing support your team will receive through your Bonkers Beat membership will blow your mind. You simply won’t find it elsewhere!

The Bonkers Beat programs will help you:

  • Attract and retain quality staff
  • Increase occupancy
  • Enhance children’s wellbeing and developmental outcomes
  • Save time on planning
  • Improve all areas of NQS

AND SO MUCH MORE!

To take advantage of this incredibly generous offer and see your centre soar to new heights, you need to join by 15 July 2019. This is a limited time special offer and gives you the opportunity to join our award-winning early childhood educational programs at drastically discounted rates. With easy monthly payments, we know you will see the incredible value on offer! Access the offer here.

Don’t delay — find out for yourself why Bonkers Beat is so loved across Australia!
Visit our website to learn more and grab this super special EOFY offer while you can!

Offer ends 15 July 2019.

 

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10 ways yoga and meditation can enhance children’s lives

International Day of Yoga is coming up on 21 June, 2019, which is a day intended to raise awareness of the many benefits of yoga practice across the world. Yoga is a valued element of our Bonkers Beat programs. We continually see the incredible benefits of children and adults practicing yoga every day in many childcare services and homes.

What is yoga?

Yoga is a combination of movement, stretching and breathing that is intended to improve health as well as happiness. The United Nations recognises the value of yoga and offers this definition of the practice: “Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derived from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolising the union of body and consciousness.”

How yoga can enhance children’s lives (and adults!)

Yoga is an excellent way to do a lot of things. Let’s explore all the benefits you could find from practicing yoga with children or as an adult.

  1. Awareness of our bodies
    When we practice the physical postures of yoga or feel the rise and fall of our tummies during meditation, we become more aware of the connection between our physical and emotional states.
  2. Improve memory and concentration
    Said to be attributed to a combination of deep breathing and the learned ability to focus, yoga and meditation has benefits like improved concentration and memory.
  3. Better breathing
    You would think that we are all quite skilled at breathing, seeing as we do it all day, but mindful deep breaths have a special effect on our bodies such as increased oxygen absorption and even a longer life!
  4. A self-esteem boost
    Accomplishing a new move in yoga or seeing balance improve can go a long way to show children what they are capable of and boost their self-esteem.
  5. More flexibility and strength
    Regular yoga and meditation can enable us and children to move more freely and become strong and flexible.
  6. Learn to appreciate quiet and stillness
    Yoga and meditation in early childhood can be a path to feeling comfortable in silent moments, and mindful when we are still. This helps us to listen with attention and make informed decisions in our lives.
  7. Better sleep
    Most exercise has this impact and yoga is certainly no exception – regular practice can lead to better sleep, and deep breathing or meditation can be useful tools to help children fall asleep more easily too.
  8. Improved overall health
    Cardiovascular health, digestive health, the nervous system, regulated hormone levels, improved immunity, better sleep — the list of health benefits of yoga goes on and on!
  9. Better emotional awareness and control
    Deep breathing is an excellent tool to help calm children down when they aren’t able to control their behaviour in an outburst or ‘tantrum’ scenario. Teaching children to use this technique when required can lead to more awareness and control over their emotions.
  10. Connect with themselves and one another
    Yoga and meditation in early childhood settings can be a fun way to get more comfortable with one another and connect over something they enjoy!

Getting started with yoga

There are many ways to get started with using yoga to improve your health and wellbeing of your children.

All you need is 5 minutes to fit in yoga and meditation, a few quiet moments here and there or you can incorporate it as a regular experience in your day. For example, at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder, we start each day with a ‘Welcome a New Day’ session. This involves educators, children and even families participating in a 20 to 25-minute session of mindfulness exercises and a range of other wellbeing routines.

Yoga and meditation are great for children as a transitional tool. It allows them to reset after rest time or outdoor play when heading indoors to focus the mind onto a new experience or just to unwind.

Our Yoga Cards and meditation music can be a fantastic starting point. Children enjoy the fun of the yoga cards while being introduced to the benefits of yoga. You can find them in our store.

The Bonkers Beat programs incorporate daily yoga and meditation that children and adults alike LOVE. To learn more about our programs and the wellbeing initiatives within them, take a look here.

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Encouraging children’s community engagement

A sense of belonging is something that is vital for human beings of all ages. With a world of screens at our fingertips though, people are increasingly existing in an online space. Buying groceries and clothes online, sending emails instead of letters and doing banking via an app are convenient, but it also means  less engagement with our local communities. We believe it’s important to foster a sense of belonging within your neighbourhood, and for children to experience it too.

Most children live fairly local to their childcare service or kindergarten, so we become a place where broader connections are made. In fact, for some children and families a childcare service may be the first community they become a part of outside of the family home.

So, how can we build on this further and extend children’s sense of belonging to the local community? We’ve got a few ideas.

Sense of belonging through community engagement

1. Visit the local shops

This is not only a great way to help children feel connected within their communities, but can also give them useful life skills. For example, we visit the bank to deal with our money, the local newsagent stocks newspapers for us to learn about world affairs.. If the local shops are too far to travel,, a visit to a post box can be a great approach.

2. Have local services visit your centre

Many adults will remember having the local fire brigade or members of the police visit us during our early learning years. It’s exciting and educational! It’s also a great reminder for children of the unique roles we all have in our communities and how we work together and support one another.

3. Head to a place of significance

This could be a park, a historic area or a cultural landmark. Many reserves and statues in your local area would have more significance to your community’s development than perhaps you realise. This is great knowledge to pass onto today’s young people.  Understanding where you live helps you to create a deeper connection with the place’s past, present and future.

4. Attend community events

If there is a festival or event coming up in your community, consider organising an excursion along to it! Alternatively, encourage families to head along and meet there to connect with one another and the community simultaneously.

5. Create a community space or event

If your community doesn’t have a lot to offer in the way of community spaces or events, why not create your own? A communal vegetable or herb garden has countless benefits for children and families. Bonkers Beat annual Working Bee have always been involving the wider community and have been a huge success or your centre could host a fundraiser – this not only raises money for something important but also showcases how wonderful your centre is too!

Of course, every community is different with access to community spaces and events varying widely from place to place. However, we are confident that with a bit of imagination you can discover community spaces to share with children. This will help them feel more connected to their local communities and help to develop their sense of belonging.

What do you do with children to help them engage with the community? Share with us on Facebook or via email and let’s inspire one another!

Take a look at our Facebook page to see Bonkers Beat Music Kinder getting out in the community too!

 

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It’s great to play outside (even when it’s cold)

When it comes to play and exploration, there’s no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing! Grab coats, boots and beanies and get children playing outside this winter to promote wellbeing, resilience and good immunity.

While we adults tend to avoid the cold weather and opt for a toasty spot near the heater the children in our lives are more than happy to run outside, climbing, chasing and exploring no matter the weather. And let’s not forget children’s love of jumping in puddles! But other than being a lot of fun, there are many benefits of outdoor play too.

Experience the benefits of outdoor play all year long

The benefits of playing outdoors are significant the year round. Outdoor play tends to be less structured and more physical than indoor play, not to mention a lot more ventilation. Let’s look three specific benefits for children who get outside to play.

1. Get moving

Physical movement is so important for good health at any age, especially with one in five Australian children being either overweight or obese. Outdoor space encourages running, jumping, climbing and exploring that can rarely be replicated indoors. In fact, no matter how cold it is, children end up warming up in no time running around outside!

2. Nature time

Australian children are spending up to 30% of their awake time on screens, so a bit of time reconnecting with nature is a must. Experiencing the real world gives children the chance to get excited about life beyond the screen – animals, trees, flowers, rain, hail, rainbows. There’s plenty to look at!

3. Immunity boost

While it’s important to rug up as the weather cools down, getting outside won’t harm children and could actually improve their health with extra vitamin D and fresh air. Even just 10 to 20 minutes outside each day will help make a difference to children’s health.

PLUS The cold doesn’t cause colds

We have to mention this one. It’s a common misconception that the dreaded cold – complete with sniffles, sneezes and a cough – is caused by exposure to the cold weather. This isn’t true, as colds are actually caused by a contagious viral infection and you’re more likely to catch one in winter due to increased time spent indoors!

So next time you think it’s too cold to play outside, think again! Grab the jackets and hats and experience all the Australian winter has to offer.

Click below to get inspirations from our Facebook Pages:
Yoga Outdoors, Adventure Days

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EOFY Special Offer: Your Time to Shine

When trying to run a successful childcare centre, it can sometimes feel as though you are surrounded by risk. The risk of not appealing to enough families and experiencing low occupancy. The risk of new competition within the local area. The risk of not gaining a high NQS Rating and the risk of staff challenges such as avoiding burnout and team motivation.

With the end of the financial year approaching, we wanted to provide you options that reduce risk from your life and your business. We think it’s time to go risk-free with a free ticket to this widely-celebrated early childhood education event for owners and directors…

Join us next week at 7 Stones, Melbourne for a hands on, high value three hour event for centre owners and directors. To claim your free ticket – Click Here.

Take on the New Financial Year – Risk-Free!

End of financial year is a great time to reflect and review the practices in your centre, where they currently stand and your future direction.

Our free 7 Stones event offers owners and directors a practical three-hour workshop that covers our tried and tested 7 pillar approach.

These insights will dramatically boost your occupancy, enhance curriculum, motivate educators, improve your NQS rating, engage parents and stand out in this crazy, busy marketplace.

We limit seats at our 7 Stones events to ensure you receive a more personalised session to get the most out of the event. With only 4 spots remaining you had better claim yours now!

PLUS…

By attending the 7 Stones workshop, you’ll gain access to our EOFY Special Offer: 6 Months FREE!

If you want to make next year, your best year ever, you will definitely want to take advantage of this Special Offer!

Remember, only four seats left at 7 Stones next week: get yours now!

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Top tips for high health standards in childcare

As we all know, children aren’t always “naturals” when it comes to good hygiene habits! While we encourage playing in the dirt, exploring nature and getting creative, there should always be support for practicing good hygiene and safety too. Children often need extra support when it comes to creating and sustaining these habits.  

Below are some tips for upholding high standards of health and hygiene in childcare settings. They will not only help everyone stay safe and healthy but they will also help you to meet Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Standard.

1. Handwashing should be second nature

Handwashing is a simple way to reduce the spread and potential ingestion of germs. Help children to get used to handwashing after playing, using the bathroom and always before eating.

  • Use images and signage around the centre as reminders
  • Set times for handwashing
  • Make soaps and taps easy to use
  • Have a handwashing song that encourages action and duration of adequate handwashing (here are some to try)

Ensure all educators and staff lead by example!

2. Covering your mouth to cough and sneeze

A simple but effective practice to embed in your centre is covering mouths when a sneeze or cough is ready to escape. Ensure tissues are readily available around your centre and are placed in the bin once used.

Another clever thing children can learn, especially for those coughs and sneezes come along when we aren’t prepared, is coughing and sneezing into the elbow. Here’s a handy poster you could print for your service that demonstrates this technique.

3. Have an illness policy in place

Getting sick from time to time is inevitable. No matter how healthy and cautious families and educators are, illness does happen. It’s important to manage it well. A good policy will ensure that if you are unwell you remain home so that others are protected from sickness. Take note of different exclusion periods for illnesses via Health Vic.

Help parents assess whether their child should attend childcare or kinder with these three questions from Care for Kids:

  • Will my child be well enough to comfortably and happily participate in the activities of the day?
  • Will my child’s care provider be able to care for my child without it affecting their ability to look after the other children?
  • Will my child pass the illness on to their playmates if I send them in today?

4. Avoid Sharing

Children often want to share cups and utensils, but it can increase the risk of germ spread. On top of encouraging children to keep their own cups, plates and spoons to themselves, labelling can be a useful approach. There’s nothing children enjoy more than spotting their own name on something and knowing they have a special item to themselves.

5. Keep the centre clean as can be

Staying on top of disinfecting toys, bedding, carpets, toilets and surfaces at your centre is the best way to ensure that your service doesn’t become a hub for illness spreading germs. Hospital grade disinfectants will be the best bet to kill nasty germs and keep everything safe for playing, resting and learning!

What hygiene practices do you have in place to keep children’s health protected at your centre? Share with us via Facebook!

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Reflecting on the Incredible Women in Our Lives

With Mother’s Day on Sunday, we have been doing a lot of thinking about the role of women not only in our personal lives but in our professional lives too. With around 97% of early childhood educator positions filled by women, working in childcare we are frequently reminded of the wonderful women we are surrounded by.

While not all women become mothers, all mothers are women. This Mother’s Day we celebrate mums, aunties, grandmothers as well as all the special female role models in our lives and the lives of children. This certainly includes all the special early childhood educators who support and guide children, and also provide support to mums who are often juggling children, work, family and other commitments.

Each day in centres we see so many mums dropping off their children before heading to work, study, to organise the family home and run errands in support of their families. We see educators coming in to work to provide loving care for many children, some who arrive after getting their own children sorted for school or care.

Among all these women we are continually in awe of their caring nature and willingness to learn and help. We see women with incredible commitment to their families, their work and supporting those around them, and we see the heart and passion by which they are driven. This Mother’s Day we’ll be celebrating you all and sending out a big THANK YOU for all you do.

Next week, we’re going to be in the presence of many women who do incredible work in shaping the next generation at ELAA’s 2019 Early Childhood Education Conference held in Melbourne over May 17 and 18. (If you haven’t registered yet, there is still time: click here).

Bonkers Beat will be sharing the message of ‘Empowering Educators to Create Pathways to Children’s Wellbeing’ in the conference poster exhibition. Galina is looking forward to seeing all the friendly faces so make sure you come and say hello to Galina and Bonkers the Monkey! In fact, those who visit us will even get a special gift from Bonkers. If you can’t make it along to the ELAA Conference, hopefully you can join us at our upcoming free event in Melbourne, ‘7 Stones’. Click here to claim your free spot now.

Speaking of gifts, to help celebrate Mother’s Day and all the incredible women in our lives, please enjoy access to our Bonkers Beat Mother’s Day poem here. Many children enjoy performing this poem for their mums on Mother’s Day or reciting it together at your centre’s Mother’s Day celebration.

 

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