Bonkers Beat, Author at Early Learning Childhood Education

07/02/201907/02/2019

Starting school (and being ready for it!)

It has been an exciting time over the last week as we have seen so many of last year’s kinder children slip into school uniforms and head into primary school for the first time. First day photos have taken over social media, and smiles and tears have been shared from children and parents alike! In the meantime, a new cohort of pre-schoolers have started, set to gain the skills they need for school readiness when their time comes!

Starting primary school is a special moment in a child’s life (and a parent’s), but the most important factor before commencing is ensuring a child is truly ready for school. That’s one of the most important aspects of early childhood educators’ roles – giving children the experiences and skills that will prepare them for school, and life.

Building and establishing school readiness in children

When considering school readiness and how to build it and establish it in children, educators and parents should focus on teaching children life skills that will prepare them for handling all that the world has in store. These skills will be physical, intellectual and emotional. Think practical abilities that boost children’s independence in various areas of their lives, and give them a sense of responsibility.

Let’s look at some areas to consider when establishing and assessing children’s school readiness:

1. Collaboration and teamwork
2. Creativity and imagination
3. Critical thinking and problem solving
4. Social and emotional skills
5. Empathy, positive thinking, resilience and self-regulation
6. Oral and written communication skills
7. Leadership

If you’re looking for additional resources to guide you in assessing a child’s school readiness, this fact sheet from Kathy Walker of Early Life Foundations
is really valuable.

Government funding to help educators enhance school readiness

The government has recognised the importance of early childhood education and our role in shaping the future generations – the School Readiness Funding offers registered kindergarten programs funding to access some of the best, proven programs available in the industry. And Bonkers Beat Music Program is included in the School Readiness Funding Menu!

It’s an excellent time to join Bonkers Beat too, with our whole-team professional development days – Wellness Summits – coming up soon! Take advantage of your School Readiness funding and join the Bonkers Beat programs.

See what parents have to say about our programs and school readiness:

Thank you for developing Olive’s confidence. You’ve made a difference from the way you start the day with positive affirmations to your amazing end of year concerts, we’re grateful for the above and beyond effort that gave Olive the opportunity to perform so confidently on stage.

Please know that we value the work you do. You’re making a positive impact in the lives of our little people and that’s making the world a better place! Thank you for all the amazing memories and it won’t feel like Christmas without hearing your ‘Ring the Bells’ song. — Kirsty, Mike and Olive Back., Seaford

31/01/201931/01/2019

7 ways you’ll benefit from 7 Stones in February

Have you heard? The widely celebrated, free professional development event ‘7 Stones’ is back in 2019! But if you want to head along, you’ll need to be quick!

Sydney (7 February) is now fully booked, but there are limited spots remaining in Melbourne on Tuesday 5 February and in Brisbane on Monday 11 February. Click here to learn more and secure your spot!

‘7 Stones’ is renowned for being one of the most practical workshops, designed for childcare centre owners and/or directors who want to tackle the big issues in their centre and thrive.

If you have come up against issues with occupancy, market competition, staffing challenges, improving your NQS Rating and more, ‘7 Stones’ is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

What benefits can you gain from attending 7 Stones?

These are just 7 of the many takeaways you’ll leave with that can have a REAL and NOTICEABLE positive impact on your childcare business.

If you’re ready to create some change for the better in your childcare centre and see the benefits for staff, children, families and your bottom line, this is the free professional development event for you! Learn more about 7 Stones here: http://www.bonkersbeat.com/7stones/

Seats are filling fast, so start 2019 off the right way and head along to this hands-on free event! Click here to book.

23/01/201931/01/2019

Case study: Value of embedded music and wellbeing programs

In December last year Bonkers Beat Music Kinder and the Bonkers Beat programs were featured in a case study in Belonging Early Years Journal (page 26 & 27) – the official industry publication from Australian Childcare Alliance.

The special feature in this edition of Belonging Early Years Journal was a series of service provider case studies. Each case study examined ways four of Australia’s most innovative centres took unique approaches to enhance the quality of the centre. Our very own Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale, Victoria was featured as one of these innovative centres!

While we are always so proud of the quality of care delivered at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder, it is extra special to be recognised for the innovative practices embedded in the centre. After all, it is those very practices that contributed to our centre receiving an Excellent Rating under the NQS.

The case study makes note of the philosophies and educational approaches that the Bonkers Beat curriculum draws on, notably Reggio Emilia, Maria Montessori and Howard Gardiner, as well as Kodaly and Orff. It also highlights the incredible power of music, stating “it has been proven that there is no other art form, hobby or activity that can produce the same level of lasting neurological benefits as music”.

The Belonging case study talks about our daily singing and music making, breathing exercises and positive affirmations, stretching and yoga – all designed to lay a strong foundation for children’s lifelong love of learning.

While these elements, that are all part of the Bonkers Beat program available to all centres Australia-wide, enhance outcomes for children and families, they importantly can benefit childcare centres from a business perspective. The Belonging article explains that thanks to a unique point of difference delivered by Bonkers Beat programs, our centre thrives regardless of marketplace challenges.

Every centre is looking for a magic spell to bring success to their centre, but we have found that the magic of music is the answer! Specialised, ongoing training for educators, programs that can be enjoyed at home as well as during care, and an approach to learning that has lifelong benefits – that’s the Bonkers Beat approach and we would like to thank ACA for sharing it with Australia in this case study!

Read the entire case study here: http://belongingearlyyearsjournal.realviewdigital.com/#folio=28

17/01/201931/01/2019

The Three C’s for Positive Change in 2019

Welcome to 2019! A new year full of opportunities. While we believe that any time of the year is a good time to get set up for success (personally or professionally), the beginning of the year is ideal. After all, it means you can start seeing positive outcomes sooner! So, what are you doing in 2019 to foster success and enhance your centre?

For many, you know you want to see things improve in various areas, but it can be so hard to know where to begin. A simple yet effective thing you can do to assess whether a strategy is worthwhile is assessing it against the Three C’s for Positive Change. That is, will it create positive change for children in your centre? Will it contribute to positive change in your centre’s culture? And will it bring about positive change in your centre’s community?

The Three C’s for Positive Change

When we look at embedding programs, trying a new approach or executing a strategy in centres, we want it to have the farthest positive reach and impact possible, right? So if you can discover or develop one thing that creates positive change in multiple areas in your centre, you’re on to something great!

Let’s look at the three C’s in a little more depth:

Children: What does positive change look like for the children in your centre? We think it looks like enhanced outcomes across the board, including more confidence, engagement with learning and play and resilience, to name just a few.

Culture: Positive change in your centre’s culture comes down to ensuring your educators are happy and fulfilled and feel valued. Is the workplace you have created a positive space where people have the best opportunity to thrive in their work in early childhood?

Community: The community involved with your centre and the relationships between educators and families and children is so vital to the overall success of a childcare centre. Strengthening the engagement and connection between the centre and its community can benefit everyone and provide children with the ultimate foundation for the optimal early childhood experience.

So what can you do in 2019 to set everyone up for a successful and fulfilling year? Whatever you have in mind, assess it against the three C’s and discover whether it’s going to get you your desired result or if you need to develop it further.

And don’t forget, the Bonkers Beat Programs are available to start any time throughout the year but now is the best time to kickstart a fantastic 2019.

The Bonkers Beat programs are proven to enhance every element of your centre so plan this year now to get amazing results in 2019 and beyond.

Now, let’s get stuck into this new year!

13/12/201813/12/2018

30 fun ideas to do with children this summer

Whether you’re a parent who will have children home with you all summer, or you’re an educator looking for new ideas for activities with children, we’ve rounded up 30 fun ideas that are perfect for summer!

Our number one activity with children is always getting musical, so feel free to sing songs while you’re trying out some of these activities too!

Hit the beach: A classic but always a day of fun. Get creative with your sandcastle building skills!
Head to the aquarium: Some much to see and learn! Good for those days when it’s too hot to do much outside too.
Go swimming: A life skill that’s also very enjoyable, hitting the local pool for a swim is always a winner. Bonus points for a water slide.
Create a puppet show: Finger puppets or sock puppets can perform any story children wish. Create the characters and story and get performing!
Get cooking: Find a simple child-friendly recipe or two and work on familiarising children with the kitchen. Start super easy with a fruit salad or pizzas but keep working on it.
Fly kites: Whether you choose to make or buy a kite, getting it up in the sky is an exciting feeling for any child. Schedule some kite flying for a day with a good breeze.
Do a scavenger hunt: Set children the task of gathering a range of objects on a nature treasure hunt. Depending on what you have children find, a craft activity can follow.
Visit the local library: An endless source of fun and education, the library is a must for children and can be a good place to cool off on the super hot days. Make a regular habit of going and borrowing books to encourage a passion for reading.
Playdough fun: Make a batch of play dough with children and make some amazing shapes.
Practice bike riding: Feel the wind in your hair with a bike ride. Training wheels or not, it’s a wonderful, environmentally friendly mode of transport that is also lots of fun.
Explore the local community: Check the local council website and find a fun local activity to try. There are many events held over the summer that are family friendly.
Watch the sunrise: We’re often so busy (or tired) this doesn’t happen often but make a point of getting up to see the sunrise in the morning. Too early? Taking notice of the sunset is special too.
Chalk drawing: The driveway can be the perfect spot to get artistic and do some chalk drawing. A simple hopscotch is a fun starting point.
Make smoothies: A healthy snack that children can make too, create a delicious family smoothie recipe. Bonus points for giving it a name!
Get gardening: Gardening a fantastic sensory activity with many benefits. Whether it’s veggies, herbs or plants, get gardening together.
Camp out the back: Create a camping experience in your very own backyard. Set up the tent or swags, tell stories and sleep under the stars. What a great memory to make.
Create a summer journal: Encourage children to draw pictures and write notes about what they get up to over summer. You can even take pictures and print them to add and they’ll have a special memento of a special summer.
Explore those nearby parks: Instead of visiting your usual park, head to a new one for something different.
Get scientific: Science experiments are fascinating for children (and adults to be honest!). Head here for a few great kid-friendly science experiments to try.
Discover a new skill: Get children to identify a skill they’d like to learn. Maybe it’s a musical instrument, how to hula hoop, kick a goal, skip rope… Then practice practice practice and make note of progress.
Eat breakfast for dinner: Those hot summer nights make big heavy dinners less appealing anyway, so have a little fun with it over the holiday period and set a day for having breakfast for dinner. Children find it very funny.
Go out for ice cream: Ice cream dates are many children’s dream come true. It can be fun at home too, with your own cones.
Start an activity jar: Write a bunch of fun activities on pieces of paper, put them all in a jar and any time someone is feeling bored at home, they can simply find a random activity from the activity jar.
Do painting: Best done outside, set up some paper and paints and let children explore their creative sides. Perhaps you could even do a painting of each other!
Clean windows: A chore for parents, but actually children often enjoy doing this.
Bushwalks: There are many trails to be explored, so get your best walking shoes on and explore nature. Add in some wildlife spotting too.
Make paper planes: Make and decorate paper planes, then race them and experiment with shapes and styles to improve flying technique.
Family movies: Share a few of your childhood favourite movies with children and let them choose some too.
Experiment with new hairdos: We all tend to style our hair the same quite often, but why not see what else you can do with your hair. You could even do each other’s!
Get meditating: The festive period, in particular, can be hectic. Give children the tools to unwind with meditation and yoga.

So, there you have it! And if you have any extra ideas, share with us on Facebook. We’d love to see pictures if you try any of these ideas over summer too!

Don’t forget, if you’re a parent who will also need to work, don’t forget to explore the school holiday programs available to you in your area.

06/12/201806/12/2018

Nature-Inspired gifts for Christmas

If you haven’t had time to plan some Christmas craft for your centre yet, don’t worry – we have you covered! This selection of Christmas craft is engaging yet simple and produce a really great festive gift!

We also like to incorporate natural materials where possible, so you’ll find that some of the requirements for these Christmas craft activities can be sourced from the garden or centre’s surrounds.

Pinecone Christmas Trees

Parents will love to display these works of art! Get as simple or as complex as you like with these pinecone Christmas trees. They are fairly self-explanatory but if you need some guidance in creating them, click here.

Leaf art

We felt so incredibly inspired by the work by artist Elena Nuez and feel that children would love to create something similar. Collect a range of leaves, get painting, arranging and glueing. It’s up to you how Christmas-themed you go with this but you can arrange the leaves to be a Christmas tree or attach them to a circle to make a leaf wreath.

Paper roll reindeer

There’s rarely a shortage of empty paper rolls, so put them to good use by turning them into Santa’s reindeer! A few simple cuts and a black marker will have the legs sorted in no time. Then use some cardboard to create the shape for the head and antlers before drawing on the details. Create a stencil for children to use to create the head and antlers if required for the best result.

Twig Christmas Ornaments

A cutting of cardboard, a selection of twigs strategically snapped to size and a ribbon or pipe cleaner and you can create something this special with children for Christmas!

These are so easy and they look fantastic. For detailed instructions, head here.

Pinecone or Gumnut Ornaments

Adorable and fun to make, you can’t go wrong with something this cute! They’re a little trickier than the other craft activities we have listed here but if you have the extra time, they do look fantastic. Get the full information on creating them here.

Happy Christmas crafting at your centres everyone! If you attempt any of these craft activities, we would love to see the outcome! Share with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bonkersbeat

29/11/201829/11/2018

Focus on reflective practice to achieve greater outcomes in 2019

To quote the philosopher John Dewey, “We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience”.

What worked for your centre this year? An open day? A program that families and children love? And what didn’t work? Did the flyers at the local cafes attract new families? When undertaking planning for 2019, the first step is to reflect on how this year went and how you can improve. In reflective practice, we must focus on what we did, what our objectives were, what was the outcome, and, most importantly, why did we do it.

What is reflective practice in child care?

Let’s get real — if we keep doing the same thing and we’re not seeing the results we want, then we are wasting our time. To move forward and enhance every aspect of your centre, you need to create a culture of learning through reflective practice. This can be applied to everything that you do as a centre, including your programs, experiences, events, strategies, marketing and more. And while we are discussing now in the context of the end of year planning for next year, reflection should be a part of our practice throughout the year.

Reflective practice is as it sounds — reflecting on our daily, weekly, monthly, yearly experiences in early childhood and learning from them.

“When educators strive to assess and understand the impact of their practice, they are engaging in reflective practice. Developing a culture of learning through this reflective practice drives continuous improvement and focuses attention on quality outcomes for children and families.” – ACECQA

Reflective practice should guide our decision making for the future and gives us the best chance of improving the outcomes for children, families, educators and the centre. We encourage an individual approach to reflective practice as well as reflection in group settings as this can foster productive discussion.

Using reflective practice to plan 2019

Here are a few of the most common challenges faced in early childhood and ways we can use reflective practice to better tackle them in 2019:

1. Daily routines and the flow of the day: If you find you and your educators are spending too much time settling children into the next activity despite your best efforts, it’s time to reflect.

Consider your objective: You want children to transition smoothly between activities.

Reflect: You tried using different times of the day for different activities to make it run more efficiently. You thought this could result in the children being more settled. It hasn’t improved.

Plan: In 2019 you will try using dedicated transitional songs, as used in the Bonkers Beat programs. These have been proven to aid the transition and will help your days flow.

2. Low occupancy at your centre: Attracting more families to centres is currently a common challenge. If your occupancy isn’t where you want it to be, let’s discover what you can do to improve it.

Consider your objective: You want to attract more families to enrol at your centre.

Reflect: You put some flyers at local cafes but didn’t get many leads.

Plan: You’ll continue distributing the flyers but at a few more locations and you will work hard at creating a point of difference to make your centre to stand out. (May we suggest the tried and tested Bonkers Beat programs?!)

3. NQS Rating Assessment: You were hoping to be assessed as Exceeding this year but didn’t get there. Understand how you can achieve this goal.

Consider your objective: You want to improve your centre’s NQS Rating and be assessed as Exceeding in 2019.

Reflect: You have put a lot of effort into your documentation but have realised through your assessment report that you need to focus on a few other NQS areas.

Plan: Create a strategy that directly addresses each of the National Quality areas and is integrated into your curriculum so that it becomes an embedded approach for your centre. (Again, we suggest the Bonkers Beat programs for this too!)

Now is the time to start your reflective practice, so encourage everyone in your team to reflect on the year that was and make notes. It’s important to also reflect on things that went well. What was GREAT this year? Can you do it better still? How can it be done next year? Don’t forget, everyone’s thoughts count and reflecting as a group is essential too.

May 2019 be your best year ever. So keep reflecting and planning to achieve greater results in the future.

15/11/201815/11/2018

6 Ways to Celebrate Christmas (plus FREE access to the Bonkers Beat songs!)

In case you didn’t realise, it is Christmas in less than six weeks! Have you got the remainder of the year mapped out in your centre? What about your plans for the New Year to get 2019 off to the best start imaginable? Well, you’re in luck. Not only have we got six special Christmas ideas to share with you, but also an extra special gift – free access to the award-winning Bonkers Beat Program!

We are giving you your free access as an early Christmas present, so you can utilise all that it has to offer from now until Christmas Day! Sign up here!

Sing, sing, SING: This festive time of year is a wonderful time to get singing! With free access to Bonkers Beat’s well-loved children’s songs, you have plenty of resources to get children (and staff!) singing all day long and feeling the excitement of this time of year.
Arrange an end of year concert: if you haven’t yet, there’s still time to put together a Christmas concert or end of year presentation with children. Use your free Bonkers Beat access to include three Bonkers Beat songs. It’s simple to implement: just watch the videos, print the words and even enhance children’s engagement with the songs through the suggested provocations. Children will love seeing out the year with such fun, and parents will go away raving about your centre.
Keep it inclusive and diverse: Have a focus on inclusion in your end of year celebrations. Explore Christmas the world over and even talk about the fact that not all cultures celebrate Christmas. Where possible, involve families and educators in discussing how they celebrate during the festive period. These books could help too.
Cooking to celebrate: Christmas and other celebrations often have many different cuisines associated with it. Why not get children exploring this? How do you make the food, what does it symbolise, what do their families eat when celebrating?
Special reflections: As the end of the year approaches, encourage children to reflect. What has been learned this year? How are things different now compared to the beginning of the year? Reflections can relate back to Christmas, other cultural celebrations or the year that was.
Inclusive craft: Fostering a sense of belonging is important all year round, so consider the diversity of your children and families when planning craft. It can be helpful to shift the focus to the giving of gifts and appreciation of family, so making presents for loved ones is a great idea.

And don’t forget to come and get your gift of almost 6 weeks of free access to our Bonkers Beat Programs! If you start embedding our programs immediately, you can see the year out with so many benefits:

Parents raving about your centre
Educators feeling motivated with improved practical skills
An enhanced curriculum that boosts children’s brain development
A centre with a fun and stimulating environment
Engaged parents and even your entire local community
Happy, confident children with tools to learn and express themselves

Discover more about the Bonkers Beat Programs here.

Ready to get started on your free, no obligation, no strings attached trial? CLICK HERE!

08/11/201808/11/2018

Inspiring ways to build collaborative relationships with families

In a busy, fast-paced world, to involve families with your centre when they are already juggling children, work, home duties and many other commitments can be a complex challenge. On one hand, we all understand being time poor, but we also know the positive impact collaborative relationships between centres and families can have on children’s outcomes.

The National Quality Standard has a Quality Area dedicated this very goal; Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities. Here’s how it is officially defined as per the ACECQA website:

The aim of Quality Area 6 under the National Quality Standard is to recognise that collaborative relationships with families are fundamental to achieving quality outcomes for children and those community partnerships that are based on active communication, consultation and collaboration are also essential.

So, what is a collaborative partnership?

Running events that parents come along to is great, but it’s not quite a collaborative partnership. To be collaborative with families and the community you need to create opportunities for them to contribute to the curriculum and have active input into children’s education at your centre. Thankfully, collaboration doesn’t have to be a huge time-consuming commitment for families.

Many centres continue to struggle with involving families in their Quality Improvement Plan or decision making, but it can be done – and it doesn’t have to be as challenging as you might think. Let’s explore some ways you can inspire families and communities to work with you and your centre.

Simple ways to inspire collaboration

Not only will developing collaborative partnerships contribute positively to children’s outcomes, they can also play a role in the success of your centre and help you achieve an Excellent Rating under the NQS. In fact, services must be able to demonstrate that they provide exceptional education and care in a minimum of three of these six areas

Collaborative partnerships with professional, community or research organisations
Commitment to children that respects, reflects and celebrates culture and diversity, including place of origin
Inclusive partnerships with children and families
Positive workplace culture and organisational values
Practice and environments that enhance children’s learning and growth
Sustained commitment to professional development and support of educators.

Choose three that you want to focus on to get started. For Bonkers Beat, we have always been passionate about engaging families in the curriculum and empowering parents with reinforcing music and wellbeing practices at home.

Therefore, in the application for Excellent Rating, Bonkers Beat nominated three excellence themes, which are very close to our heart:

Commitment to children that respects, reflects and celebrates culture and diversity, including place of origin
Inclusive partnerships with children and families
Practice and environments that enhance children’s learning and growth

What will your three focus themes be?

Once you’ve chosen them, these are simple and achievable ways to start creating some meaningful collaborative partnerships with parents and your centre’s local community:

Active events

Social events like a family fun evening, family picnic, movie night, sports event, attending community festivals, or even try a working bee. Not just events where families come and watch. We want it to be collaborative and active rather than passive. A working bee, for example, gets everyone working together — planning, learning and being productive while having fun! Working bees are a fantastic way to bring people together in an active way. Here are some photos from our latest working bee.

Effective feedback processes

In addition to fostering an open line of communication with families which is a must, actively ask for their opinions and feedback on a variety of topics. Before making a decision, where possible try to get families involved in the process.

Ask for input into the curriculum

Maybe you’re celebrating a cultural date or want to open a discussion about a certain country? Send a note home or post on your service’s Facebook group to invite families to participate by speaking to the children about their culture. Want to talk about different jobs people have? Ask families if they can come and talk to children about their career.

How do you promote collaborative relationships with families at your centre? Share with us on Facebook and let’s continue to inspire one another to deliver the best education possible.

31/10/201831/10/2018

Why developing a centre philosophy is of vital importance

What makes a centre special and why developing a centre philosophy is of vital importance? It’s a sum of many things, such as people, culture, values and your mission as an organisation. Together these things make up your centre philosophy. Does your centre have a philosophy? It should!

The Bonkers Beat philosophy grew and developed over a period of time rather than all at once. It began as a simple statement of our values and principles, before growing into our ‘7 Stones’ philosophy that we now share with centres all over the country (and the world). In fact, that ‘7 Stones’ philosophy became one of six overarching achievements for Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale receiving the ‘Excellent’ rating from ACECQA.

Special note: If you’re on or around the Gold Coast, check out our ‘7 Stones’ practical early childhood workshop for centre owners and directors on Wednesday 7 November from 9.30am – 1.30pm.

It’s a free event but do register so you don’t miss out!

A centre philosophy is the heart and soul of your service. It gives you, your educators and your families a clear understanding of what your centre stands for and believes in. Let’s explore why your centre needs a philosophy and what it will bring to your service.

Here’s why you should develop a centre philosophy

1. Refine your centre’s vision for everyone

As mentioned above, a philosophy can sharpen your vision. What are you striving to achieve together as a centre? Your philosophy will keep you in check.

2. Ensure educators work in harmony with centre philosophy

If you’re all working with a common goal, you will work together more effectively. A clear philosophy ensures everyone knows what their shared mission is and how they are expected to go about pursuing it.

3. Stand out as a centre

A strong, meaningful philosophy can help families understand what your centre is about and showcase to others what is important to you. Your philosophy becomes a part of your brand and helps you to stand out above the rest. (This has been incredibly true for Bonkers Beat).

4. Enrich your curriculum

Your philosophy isn’t just a piece of paper or some writing in a booklet. It can be actively embedded in your curriculum. The educational programs you choose should work with and enhance your philosophy.

Educators should not only support but enhance, and embrace the centre’s philosophy in everything they do, every day in every practice. And remember, your philosophy as a centre can grow and change with you.

If you’re serious about a meaningful centre philosophy, come along to see how we have developed a childcare centre philosophy that has enriched centres and the lives of educators, parents and children. Discover how the ‘7 Stones’ philosophy has enabled many centres to overcome challenges like occupancy, staff retention and lack of motivation.

This ‘7 Stones’ free workshop takes place next Wednesday, 7 November on Gold Coast, QLD. We’re also taking this event to Sydney in December. This is a rare opportunity to attend a free industry event and network with other dedicated professionals. Perfectly timed ready for you to tackle 2019 with a renewed sense of ambition!

Click here to register now.