Bonkers Beat Music Kinder & Childcare Archives - Page 4 of 7

26/09/201926/09/2019

Changing. Evolving. Growing.

The world is constantly changing. Evolving, growing, shifting — however you prefer to word it, the world as we know it right in this current moment is subject to change. And that’s okay. It is however important that we keep up with progress and adapt and change as needed. This is true for early childhood education, as with many industries, and it’s important to us that we celebrate and congratulate educators and early childhood professionals for their commitment to ongoing training.

To further demonstrate the impact of change and necessity for growth, take a look at this video.

The past few months the news has been filled with disheartening articles about Australian childcare centres, including dozens who are “failing national standards” (Quest Newspapers 16/8/2019).

Supporting our educators in fulfilling their role should be a key focus as we continue to work hard to create learning spaces that deliver the very best outcomes to children across the country.

The ongoing professional and personal development and constant improvement of the quality of education provided has a run-on effect, delivering improved outcomes for children in their care.

Over the last few weeks we saw many inspiring and dedicated educators attend three great events of professional development – Bonkers Beat Wellness Summits.

Group professional development is incredibly effective as it is vital to grow and learn together. Seeing this unfolding in front of our eyes at the Summits was fantastic. It’s amazing how much a team can bond through professional development, but we see it time and time again.

A heartfelt congratulations and thank you to all centre Owners, Directors and educators both individually and as teams for their commitment to children’s development, and to raising the quality of education in Australia.

If you couldn’t be at the Wellness Summits, enjoy a video below, and check out the albums of photos from the events on our Facebook Page.

———–

Allan Preiss from McArthur has spent his entire life working in education and believes that working in early childhood settings should enhance the lives of educators. He specialises in consulting on change management and was a valuable addition to the Wellness Summits. Hear from Allan in this video: ‘Conversations with EL Leaders – Allan Preiss and Galina Zenin’.

Hope to see you and your teams at our next Bonkers Beat Wellness Summits in February 2020!

12/09/201912/09/2019

3 Ways to Enhance Children’s Self-Esteem

Everyone needs self-esteem, but it doesn’t always come naturally built-in. In fact, it can go up and down at various points in life, but as early childhood educators we can do our best to help children develop high levels of self-esteem.

What is self-esteem?
Self-esteem is the word used to describe a person’s assessment of themselves. It encompasses what they believe to be true about themselves, how they view themselves and how they value themselves.

Your self-esteem levels can influence what you do with your time, how you care for yourself and your ability to live a full life.
Low self-esteem can put you at risk for mental health issues, while high levels of self-esteem are protective and enable you to reach your full potential.

Needless to say, enhancing children’s self-esteem is vital for their overall wellbeing and mental health.

Enhance children’s self-esteem
There are many ways to enhance children’s self-esteem.
Take a look at the list of strategies you can utilise in your centre.

1. Music, music, music
Singing and playing musical instruments isn’t just great fun…There are countless studies that show that music contributes positively to self-esteem in children.
According to Broh in ‘Linking extracurricular programming to academic achievement‘ (2002) published in Sociology of Education, students who
participated in musical activities had higher self-esteem and motivation levels.

Furthermore children developed improved relationships they had with parents and teachers.
The children who took part in musical activities talked to their parents and teachers more, leading to richer social
relationships.

2. Focus on strengths
Children who have high self-esteem tend to see the good in themselves, whereas children with lower levels are more likely to focus on what they are not good at.
In childcare centres, we can encourage children to have a go and send a strong message to children about what they are doing well.
Even if they haven’t quite nailed a skill, game or task, focusing on their strengths and what is good about a child can build their
self-esteem up enough to ensure they are willing to continue to have a go in life.

3. Show children love and support
Something as simple as cuddles or a high five can give children the sense that they are a good person who is valued.
Show an interest in what they like to do, ask questions and give support and guidance as needed.
This also develops positive relationships between children and their caregivers which will contribute to enhance their self-esteem even more.

Self-esteem for now and the future
Self-esteem plays a role in school readiness, relationship building, relationship with the self and future career ventures.
Focusing on enhancing children’s self-esteem now will have lifelong benefits for children that enable them to thrive in life.

You can see the confidence bursting from children over at our
Facebook page in photos from our recent
Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in action album!

24/07/201924/07/2019

7 Reasons You Must Attend 7 Stones

early childhood professional development

The practical ‘7 Stones’ workshops are back by popular demand! ‘7 Stones’ is renowned for being one of the most practical workshops, delivering early childhood professional development 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. Need convincing?

Here are 7 reasons why ‘7 Stones’ is a must!

1. Early Childhood Professional Development is a must

Regular early childhood professional development opportunities are vital to your centre’s success. Stay on the pulse of the latest changes in the industry, including the NQF and ELYF, best practice and innovative approaches.

2. A truly practical, hands-on experience

Many workshops are simply sit, watch and listen scenarios. Not 7 Stones! This is a workshop that gets you involved and demonstrates rather than tells. A fully immersive workshop that gives you the confidence to take what you learn and apply it right away!

3. Directly address your biggest challenges

Occupancy, staff issues, competition, NQS, documentation, wellbeing, relationships — we address all the biggest challenges in early childhood education.

4. PD designed for childcare centre Owners and Directors

This early childhood professional development has been designed specifically with childcare centre Owners and Directors in mind. This means you’ll find the entire session relevant and you’ll be surrounded by likeminded individuals, many of whom will be facing the same challenges you are. Many attendees find it to be a great networking experience as well as a practical workshop.

5. Leave with an actionable plan for improvement

The hands-on nature of the 7 Stones workshops means you have the opportunity to really take away practical knowledge and skills. We take a real-life approach so you can implement what you learn in your centre without hesitation.

6. Feel inspired

If there’s one item of feedback that is consistent every single time we run 7 Stones sessions, it’s that the attendees leave feeling completely inspired. Inspired to make a positive change in their centres and reach their full potential!

7. It’s FREE

A free 3-hour professional development session with an award-winning early childhood expert? What are you waiting for?! Book your seat here: www.bonkersbeat.com/7stones

Can’t wait to see you there!

09/05/201909/05/2019

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.

10/04/201911/04/2019

Exploring Easter beyond the chocolate

Who doesn’t love chocolate? We can’t think of a single person who doesn’t love some variety of the sugary treat, especially children! And while a chocolate Easter bunny is nice, there’s plenty more to explore about Easter that children will love too!

Four facts about Easter to help you celebrate

As we prepare to celebrate Easter, it can help to have a little more insight into this much-loved time of year. Perhaps it will inspire you to approach it a little differently.

1. Easter is all about new life
The eggs, flowers and baby chickens – they’re not a random bunch of items, but actually symbolise one of the meanings behind Easter which is new life and rebirth. Furthering this theme is that for most countries, Easter takes place in the season of new life – the spring equinox!

2. Easter has songs too
While Christmas is renowned for its carols, Easter singing isn’t anywhere near as popular. We think this should change! Our special gift to you for Easter comes in song form — enjoy our Bonkers Beat song, ‘Easter Bunny’! Print the lyrics here and learn the moves and tune via the video:

3. There’s not just one day for Easter
The commonly celebrated Easter days in Australia incorporate Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Good Friday recognises the death of Jesus Christ, and Easter Sunday is significant as the day Christians believe Jesus was resurrected. In addition, there is Orthodox Easter which, this year, takes place on 28 April.

4. It’s a fun, family-friendly time of year that everyone can enjoy!
There are many things you can do to celebrate Easter, whatever your religion or preferences may be.

Decorating eggs is a favourite Easter tradition (real or fake are equally fun – get some inspiration here). You can also organise an Easter hunt (with or without chocolate ) which always gets children smiling and excited. Also meeting an Easter bunny can be enjoyable, though a little scary for some children!

However you choose to celebrate, we wish you all a very Happy Easter spent with your loved ones!

image from www.freepik.com

21/03/201921/03/2019

Celebrate 10 Years with Us and Help Aussie Farmers

It’s true what they say — time flies when you’re having fun! It’s Bonkers Beat’s 10-year anniversary!

As we celebrate 10 years of music, laughter and learning, we wanted to mark the occasion in a meaningful and special way…

The first thing we felt compelled to do, was open our doors at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale and have a wonderful celebration with you! That’s why we’re having a fun-filled Bonkers Beat Open Day on Saturday 30 March.

If you’re able to make it to Aspendale, then make sure you come along! Parents, children, families, educators – everyone is welcome to join in the fun! (It’s a free event but register here to let us know you’re coming!)

The Bonkers Beat Open Day features:

As part of the Bonkers Beat curriculum, children attending Open Day will be engaged in a variety of Reggio Emilia art experiences, music sessions and our sustainability program, learning about caring for our planet and environment. Through Montessori experiences, we will be learning about Australia, landforms, weather conditions, events and much more!

Helping communities in need

The second thing we wanted to do was give back to our beautiful country and its people. We want to thank the many communities across Australia who we have connected with through Bonkers Beat over the years.

We have decided to support Aussie farmers who are currently in need as a result of climate issues and extreme weather events — and they need our help!

Come along to the Bonkers Beat Open Day and donate a gold coin for the Buy a Bale donation barrel or purchase a raffle ticket for the Open Day hamper on the day!

Let’s work together to help Australia’s farmers through these tough times.

EVENT: Bonkers Beat 10 Year Anniversary Open Day
WHERE: 49 Laura Street, Aspendale, Victoria
WHEN: Saturday 30 March, 10am – 12pm
REGISTER FOR THIS FREE EVENT HERE!

We truly appreciate your support over the last 10 years and look forward to celebrating with you and making a difference to our Aussie farmers!

Don’t forget, this is a free event but do register to let us know you’re coming along to join in the fun: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/open-day-at-bonkers-beat-music-kinder-tickets-57481577947

See you there!

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

24/05/201824/05/2018

Recognise, Reflect and Heal: National Sorry Day

National Sorry Day takes place this Saturday 26 May and this week we would like to take the time to acknowledge this day. Since 1998 Sorry Day has been an annual event for Australians to recognise and reflect on the mistreatment of the Aboriginal people.

Reconciliation and healing are vital to a bright future for all Australians and we must strive for it as united people. One very important part of this process is by educating one and all on the history of Australia, good, bad and in between.

For many of us recognising, reflecting and healing as part of National Sorry Day involves the acknowledgement of the trauma that took place during the white settlement in Australia. Reflecting on the experience of the Aboriginal people and considering how we can contribute towards the healing.

Let’s also look at how we can introduce children in early childhood education to the meaning behind National Sorry Day.

Recognising and reflecting on Aboriginal culture

For very young children the most straightforward way of recognising the Aboriginal people and their experience is by recognising them and their culture. We believe that children should be able to identify an Aboriginal flag as a first step in the right direction and to identify it as a core representation of Australia.

Achieving this is simple and fun. Draw the flag, paint the flag or even simply colour in printouts of the flag. Here’s one.

Talk about how Aboriginal people were here long before anyone else and take note of which people occupied the land where your centre or home is. For example, Aspendale in Victoria was occupied by the Bunarong people from the Kulin Nation. Perhaps you can take a walk around the block and identify some Aboriginal street names.

Aboriginal culture also has a distinct style of art, music and performance that children love. Share this with children by playing music, showing them a digeridoo, or doing their own dot paintings for example.

The journey of healing

Once we have shown children how to identify and enjoy Aboriginal culture, we are well on our way to enabling them to appreciate the meaning behind National Sorry Day as they get older and the importance of inclusion, acknowledgement, commemoration and the journey of healing.

Take the time to reflect this National Sorry Day or even take part in local community events and activities and let’s be a part of the healing journey together.

Image source: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/stories/national-sorry-day-2016

17/05/201817/05/2018

Understanding and Enhancing Emotional Intelligence in Children

Emotional intelligence is an invaluable life skill and one that we can help children develop from a young age. We can do this at childcare centres and at home, ensuring children have the skills to understand their emotions and express them effectively. First, we need to have a solid understanding of what emotional intelligence is.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is a complex concept involving several different capabilities. It can be broken down into the 5 following categories:

Self-awareness: The ability to recognise your own emotions and their effects.
Self-regulation: The ability to control your emotions.
Motivation: The ability to motivate yourself to reach goals.
Empathy: The ability to recognise how other people are feeling.
Social Skills: The ability to communicate and interact with others, also known as having people skills.

Sometimes known as EQ, it is often argued that emotional intelligence is more important than IQ when it comes to achieving success in all facets of life, be it education, career or relationships. In fact, in any situation in life, we can all benefit from being aware of how we are feeling, why we are feeling that way and how this affects us and those around us.

Why emotional intelligence is so important

Learning how to deal with emotions is an essential skill that enables young people to communicate effectively and foster more productive and meaningful relationships. It also means that they will be well equipped to deal with stressors in life, which can assist in overcoming life’s challenges.

Emotional intelligence teaches childcare aged children how to discern their own and others emotions and can even help them to recognise the difference between right and wrong. For example, if Sarah pushes Tom on the ground and Tom begins to cry, Sarah will recognise that her actions have made Tom feel sad. With guidance from her parents and educators, Sarah will learn that it is wrong to push.

How to enhance children’s emotional intelligence

Helping children to develop their emotional intelligence in early childhood can start with simple activities, such as identifying different emotions on faces like anger, happiness and sadness. Once children understand what these emotions are, they will begin to align how they feel with the names of the emotions that they have learnt. For example, when a child falls over, they may realise that the emotion they are feeling is sadness or even embarrassment. Similarly, when a child gets to play in the sandpit or have their favourite snack, they may realise that they are feeling happy.

Using music and wellbeing to nurture children’s emotional development

It is never too early to start nurturing a child’s emotional development. That’s why the Bonkers Beat programs have a strong focus on feelings and self-expression.

We use music and movement to help children develop their understanding of the world around them and to express themselves. Yoga and meditation are other powerful tools we believe in to enable children to connect with themselves and come to better understand how their brains and bodies work.

Guiding children through developing emotional intelligence should be an essential part of early childhood education and there is no doubt that it will help to shape a brighter future for children.

If you have been thinking of introducing the award-winning Bonkers Beat programs into your centre, there is no time like the present. Get in touch about what Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing programs can do for your centre, your staff and the children in your care by emailing info@bonkers.com.

Find out more about Bonkers Beat programs, follow this link: earlychildhoodeducationalprograms.com.au

10/05/201810/05/2018

Last Minute Mother’s Day Fun

Mother’s Day is here this Sunday 13 May, and that means it’s time to celebrate the mums in our lives. In childcare centres many of us have a morning or afternoon tea with mums attending centres to take part in some art and craft — this is always a fun way to celebrate, but what else can we do to make Mother’s Day extra special?

Last minute Mother’s Day ideas

Teach children a poem: While you won’t be at children’s homes with them on Mother’s Day, it doesn’t take long at all for children (especially the older children) to learn a little poem to recite for mum. Enjoy this special gift from Bonkers Beat the Monkey – our poem ‘My Mum’: Access here.

If you haven’t yet had a Mother’s Day event at your centre, a group performance of this is always lovely for mums!

Breakfast in bed: It doesn’t have to be complex to be a thoughtful and much-appreciated gesture for Mother’s Day. A grown-up will have to lend a hand but for the most part, children can manage these:

Fruit kebabs

Fancy breakfast toast

Granola parfait

Create something special from the garden: Nip to the garden and pick some flowers for mum. A hand-picked posy will be sure to put a smile on mum’s face!

Make a crown for the Queen of the family: If a quick craft is what you’re after, this printable crown is perfect for Mother’s Day. Simply print, colour in and decorate and join together!

A questionnaire about mum: Mums love to hear what their children have learned or gain insights into how they see the world. This questionnaire for kids is all about mum and is a guarantee to give mum a laugh or even make her tear up! Print here.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mums, grandmothers, aunties, step-mums and other wonderful female role models in children’s lives!