Tag: early childhood education

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This is it: 12 months of opportunity has begun

Welcome to 2017! A new year is upon us with 12 months of amazing opportunities for success and happiness for us all.

Like many, you may have made some resolutions entering the new year…  These can come in many shapes and forms – quit a bad habit, eat healthier food, do more exercise, visit friends more often…

Did you know that making resolutions on January 1st is said to date back to the time of Julius Caesar? He created the tradition, basing it on a mythical Roman god named Janus. Janus had two faces so he was able to simultaneously look back into the year that has past while looking forward into the new year that has commenced.

Two faces aside, we can all do a little bit of this, and should. That is, we should all reflect on 2016 and try to work out what went well and why. How can we repeat it? Can we do better?

We can also consider what didn’t go so well or where there was plenty of room for improvement. Again, why? And how can we make change and take steps towards bettering this area in 2017?

This year Bonkers Beat has made the resolution to grow and reach more early childhood educators and industry professionals than ever before.

We are expanding the Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing Program, providing more room for centres right across Australia to come on board. We are even taking interest from those interested internationally!

The Bonkers Beat Program includes more than ever before too – more value and even more amazing results for centres, management, educators, families and, of course, for children.

Just a reminder too that Bonkers Beat members have exclusive access to not one but TWO jam-packed, high quality early childhood professional development conferences in your state this year. We are very excited about our special guest speakers for the 2017 Wellness Summits, and you should be too!

Bonkers Beat could be just what you need to achieve your 2017 resolutions. In fact, it’s not too late to join us and come along to our February and March Wellness Summits! Click here to learn more about our programs or email your expression of interest to admin@BonkersBeat.com.

Again, welcome to 2017 and we can’t wait to make this year absolutely awesome with you all!

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Thank you for another inspiring year

this Just like that, it is almost time to farewell another fun, busy and exciting year! Throughout 2016 we saw educators and parents working together to guide and nurture children, using the power of music to enhance every aspect of children’s wellbeing.

I’d like to say thank you to each and every one of you for being a part of something so important – the shaping of the future. Your endless effort and dedication to the care of today’s young people is absolutely inspiring. I am immensely proud.

I’m very touched to have been given the privilege of presenting at early childhood events in multiple countries this year – I extend my gratitude and best wishes to all who invited me and attended these events. Your commitment makes me excited to see what is in store for the future of early childhood education.

Hopefully you are all enjoying the end of year fun – children really do love this time of year don’t they!

To our wonderful readers and supporters, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and to help you celebrate please enjoy a special Bonkers Beat Christmas song – ‘Ring The Bells’.

All the best for Christmas and the New Year! See you all in 2017!

Happy Singing & Stretching,

Galina

and the Bonkers Beat team

 

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School Holiday Activities Guide: Indoors, Outdoors, Adventures and Quiet Time

December is here and that means school holidays are around the corner. Our guide to school holiday activities means you’ll have a go-to activity for children over summer for rain, hail or shine.

School holidays are fun but they can also be a little hectic at times. Having a bit of a plan in place can go a long way to making the summer break more enjoyable for everyone.

Working families who can’t take time off over the holidays can rest assured that there are some excellent school holiday programs available. Many of these offer a range of fun experiences for your children while giving you the support you need to get to work. After all, we all know life doesn’t stop for the school holidays!

You might like to print out our guide and stick it on the fridge, or even print and cut some activities into strips and allow children to take a lucky dip to allocate them an activity.

You’ll find most of our suggestions are cheap or free, because financial pressure is the last thing you need this time of year.

Indoors

1. Make something yummy to eat – sweet cupcakes or savoury pizza
2. Get dressed up and dance to music or role play
3. Create a self portrait
4. Create a portrait of someone else
5. Get artsy with a craft project using paper, glue, pencils, feathers, wool etc
6. Build a fort/cubby under a table
7. Do a room clean out and discover some forgotten toys

Outdoors

8. Have a picnic in the backyard or at a park or beach (even a pretend picnic)
9. Fly a kite (make your own!)
10. Do some gardening – get all the weeds out or even plant something like herbs
11. Go on a treasure hunt! Try this nature hunt list.
12. Get out a ball and work on your throwing, catching or kicking

Adventure

13. Head to the library (sign up is free and there are often community activities too)
14. Catch a train or bus somewhere
15. Plan a visit to the zoo
16. Visit your local shopping centre – they might have some school holiday activities too
17. Plan a day at a museum
18. Take a nature walk

Quiet Time

19. Find a nice space to do some reading (books from the library perhaps?)
20. Watch a movie
21. Tackle a jigsaw puzzle
22. Play a boardgame
23. Play cards (snap, go fish, memory or pairs)
24. Try meditation to unwind after a busy day – here are some tips

There you have it – our guide to the school holiday activities gives you 24 boredom-proof activities for children of various ages. We want the list to grow, so share your best ideas with us on Facebook!

 

 

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Ready or Not: 4 Things to Consider Before Sending Children to School

At this time of year many parents of pre-schoolers are wondering “Is my child ready for primary school?”. It’s important to remember that there are so many thing to consider before sending children to school

The end of the year is nearly here and school enrolments are in full swing. Before you enrol a child, be 100% sure that it’s the right time for them to start.

Early childhood educators are usually equipped to know whether it’s the right time for your child to progress to formal education. Parents, you should always feel free to ask your child’s educator about their opinion on the matter.

If you’re a parent who isn’t sure, or you’re an educator who could use a refresher on school readiness, have a read of our 4 Things to Consider about School Readiness.

 1. School readiness is more than age

Of course a child’s age comes in to play when deciding if they are ready for school, but there are so many other factors to consider.

Personality can dictate whether a child is suited to started school sooner or later, as well as their skills – this includes physical, social and emotional ability.

There are many checklists available online, like this one from renowned early childhood expert Kathy Walker. Kathy’s Early Life Foundations fact sheet on the topic talks about 7 key areas to consider whether children are ready for school, including:

-Separate easily from parent / carer at preschool drop off
-Self initiate, engage and sustain engagement (6 – 8 minutes), have the skills to solve basic problems and ask for help from the educator if needed
-Have basic independence skills (able to put shoes and socks on, art smock on, toileting independently)
-Self regulate their emotional response when they need to do something they don’t want to (eg don’t tantrum when it is time to pack up).

 2. Do the research

Research has made it very clear that there are many benefits to starting school that little bit later (while there are no benefits to starting earlier). Read our previous blog on this subject here.

Australia has some of the youngest school entry in the developed world, so there’s no rush. Early childhood educators should be equipped to guide parents in making the right decision that is best for each individual child and their future.

 3. Know the legal requirements in your region

Many parents are confused about what age is the right age for their children to begin formal schooling in a primary school setting and it’s not surprising as the age requirements vary quite a lot across each state of Australia. Currently the law in each state is as follows (via Kidspot):

VIC: Children must be five by 30 April to begin the school year.

ACT: Children must be five by 30 April to begin the school year.

NSW: Children can begin compulsory Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year if they turn five on or before 31 July in that year.

NT: School is compulsory from the age of six. Children can enter non-compulsory Transition at the start of the school year if they turn five by 30 June that year. To enter Year 1 (compulsory) children must turn six before 30 June in the year they are enrolled.

QLD: Queensland offers a year of Prep for children who turn five by 30 June in the year they are enrolled. Prep is not compulsory so compulsory schooling begins with Year 1 when children must be enrolled in the year they will turn six by 30 June.

SA: Children must enroll at school by six years. If your child turns five before 1 May they will start school on the first day of term one in that year. If they turn five on or after 1 May, they will start school on the first day of term one the following year.

TAS: Children must be five by 1 January to be enrolled in Prep, the first year of school. In Tasmania you may enrol your child in non-compulsory Kindergarten if your child turns four on or before 1 January of the year they start.

WA: Schooling is compulsory from the beginning of the year a child turns six years and six months of age. Children must be five by 30 June in the same year to attend the first year of school and it’s now compulsory for children in WA to enrol in Kindergarten or Pre-Primary programs.

 4. Don’t rush it

There are so many things to consider before sending children to school, so don’t rush it. The argument that some children are moved into school because they are bored at pre-school is one that may unfortunately be valid at times, depending on the pre-school children are attending.

This is one of the reasons why we are so passionate about ensuring that kinder programs are able to attain the delicate balance of structured and somewhat challenging learning and school readiness initiatives along with free play at this crucial time before children enter formal education.

Make sure children are in a program that is stimulating and creates an exciting pre-school experience. This can go a long way toward preventing young children from starting formal schooling before they are emotionally and socially ready. And that means a better chance of laying the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.

 

 

 

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A Practical Approach to a Positive and Stimulating Environment

In 2016 we launched Wellness Works! The Complete Early Childhood Leaders Conference – and what an inspiring response we have had for this practical professional development for early childhood educators.

Our Newcastle event was no exception, taking place on Monday 14 November. If you haven’t heard about Wellness Works yet, it’s a collaboration between Bonkers Beat creator and innovative early childhood expert Galina Zenin with international early childhood presenter and renowned Early Childhood Business Developer Alina Dan.

Galina and Alina (or the “Duolinas” as they were dubbed at one event!) have dedicated their careers to improving the quality of care in early childhood in Australia and overseas, taking their holistic approaches to the masses. The goal? Well there’s not just one.

Tackling the Challenges Faced in Centres Together

Earlier this year we revealed the top three challenges faced by early childhood educators: motivation, transitions and documentation.

This remains true. Here’s a few things we identified during the year:

-Management find their educators are struggling with motivation, and management are struggling to find ways to motivate them.

-Everyone feels overloaded with documentation.

-The lack of practical knowledge found in centres reflects the need for more hands-on training – both initially and through ongoing professional development.

-Educators find themselves focusing on managing behaviour – this needs to shift with new strategies in place.

We address all of these areas and more at Wellness Works, so if you haven’t signed up to be among the first to learn of new dates for this event, please do by heading to the registration section: bonkersbeat/wellnessworks

Creating a Positive and Stimulating Learning Environment

We need to create a shift in our approach to children’s behaviour and the way we manage it. This is a key area because managing behaviour is a major source of stress for educators. If we can use more effective strategies for this we can simultaneously tackle behavioural issues while improving educator wellbeing – and in turn, improve the wellbeing of children.

Empowering educators and managers to create of a learning environment that is positive and stimulating could be an important first step, incorporating a holistic approach that caters to every child’s needs.

We can’t wait to continue this early childhood revolution with you all in 2017!

Don’t miss out on our next Wellness Works event – sign up in the registration section of our website and you’ll be the first to know about our next Wellness Works! The Complete Early Childhood Leaders Conference: bonkersbeat/wellnessworks

P.S. A HUGE congratulations and thank you to our inspiring, passionate and AWESOME attendees! You all make us so proud to be working together and we can’t wait to create positive changes through practical professional development.

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The Child’s Developing Brain

Children bring joy and laughter to our lives, there’s no doubt about it. They can also present the adults in their lives with many challenges as they grow and learn about the world around them and where they fit into it.

Whether you’re a parent of a young child or you work in early childhood, there are many strategies you can use to get the best out of children.

We’ve all heard that a child is like a sponge and when you spend time around young children you probably know just how true that is! (Even if they can be sponges with selective absorption at times!)

Research over decades has continued to make it really clear that the first five years of a child’s life are when the major wiring of the brain takes place. Meaning, those first five years can have a big impact on the next five, 15 or even 50 years.

With so much developing going on, the brain of a young child is a busy place and also a very special place. That’s why we need to take time and care to understand how children learn. This is something we will be paying close attention to at our upcoming free event for parents.

Understanding a Child’s Learning

As caretakers of young children – both parents and educators – we must educate ourselves on the developmental changes a child is experiencing at each different stage.  Often what some adults may view as naughty or bratty behaviour will actually stem from a developmental stage.

This government resource outlines some of the skills children will learn from 0-12 months, 1-3 years, 3-5 years and 5-8 years of age. It can be a useful guide to add to our knowledge bank and really can help us with seeing the world through a child’s eyes.

Approaches to Early Childhood Education

Many parents have an idea of what sort of program or approach to early childhood education they prefer… We believe a holistic approach is always the best approach when it comes to early childhood and we aim to incorporate elements of three of the most prominent early learning approaches.

At our free parent Information Night on Wednesday 16 November (open to any parents who would like to attend) we will be covering these three main approaches: Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory. You can read more about these at the end of this blog.

The impact on children from the empowering nature of these approaches can be quite amazing, which is why they are at the heart of our own approach.

Strategies for Tackling Challenging Behaviour

When we equip ourselves with knowledge and understanding then we have the power to think critically about a child’s behaviour.

Going back to our holistic approach, the types of strategies we employ to work through challenges with children and their behaviour involve a focus on the overall wellbeing of the child.

Our methods will often be trying some new and tackling the behaviour in a natural, gentle way focusing on neurochemicals, engagement and effective release of energy.

If you’re a parent of a child or children under 6 and you’re ready to make a plan to work through challenging behaviour and bring out the very best in your child, please feel free to join us at our hands-on, practical and informative free event from 7.30pm-9pm on Wednesday 16 November 2016 at 49 Laura Street, Aspendale, Victoria 3195. Please register for catering purposes via this link: http://bit.ly/2eGtPnK

A Quick Guide

Getting to Know Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Multiple Intelligences Theory:

Montessori is an approach that aims to support the development of the whole child. Broadly, the Montessori approach considers education as an “aid to life”, and has a lengthy track record of success – more so than any other educational approach. The Montessori goal is to inspire children to have a lifelong love of learning that follows their natural learning direction. It enables children to become confident, independent and responsible learners.

Reggio Emilia is an approach that values the child and views them as capable and curious – able to discover the world on their own as driven by their own interests. Playing, asking questions, investigating and exploring the world – these are at the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach. The adults are viewed as mentors and guides and learning experiences are born of a child’s natural curiosity, described as child-led.

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory is based on the belief that there are seven ways people perceive the world. The predominant message to take from the Multiple Intelligences Theory is that we must deliver a range of different types of learning experiences to ensure that all children are learning no matter which learning style theirs happens to be.

 

 

 

 

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Good Habits Start Young – National Recycling Week

From November 7 – 13 it’s National Recycling Week – the week for paying extra attention to the way we take care of the environment by avoiding excess waste. Teaching children about the three ‘R’s and how they can take care of the world around us is essential for a healthy, sustainable future.

The three ‘R’s are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It’s a simple and memorable way of thinking about how we can all make a difference by making small changes and by being mindful and aware.

To make your recycling discussion more engaging – and just because we love music – please enjoy this gift from Bonkers the Monkey. Click here for your exclusive access to our song ‘Bonkers Rap’. A fun resource for talking about looking after the planet!

Recycling can be fun, especially if you do it creatively. After all, in many centres the majority of craft activities are born of recycled cartons and containers!

Let’s look at the three ‘R’s in more detail, as well as how adults and children can make positive changes at home and in centres.

Reduce

Look at all the packaging on everything from food to toys and it’s not hard to imagine that a huge amount of waste is created in every household year in, year out. Christmas and birthdays are always an insight into this as the bins are overflowing as packaging fills them to the brim in one day. When just one kilogram of aluminium generates more than 15kgs of greenhouse gas, we can’t ignore the impact of packaging on the environment.

Between us all we can make a huge difference by aiming to minimise the amount of packaging-heavy products we buy. The less we purchase things that are excessively wrapped, the better example we are setting for children and for these companies that reducing waste is important to us and the planet.

Avoiding individually wrapped items is an easy one to stick to. Skip the plastic at the supermarket and put the fruit and veg straight in the trolley or basket. Don’t forget to take a plastic bag alternative when you go shopping.

Reuse

Reusing things is an excellent way of helping to reduce waste. There are so many ways we can do this.

Using refillable containers for drinking as well as for handwash, toiletries and more minimises waste. Washed plastic containers from takeaway, egg cartons and milk bottles can all be used in centres and homes to store things and as the basis for art and craft projects.

When it comes to electronics, homewares and clothes, there’s no doubt another family who needs these things so rather than throw them away in your next clean out, consider donating or offering to people you know.

Food scraps are often suitable for pets or for compost. Maybe a neighbour has a garden that could utilise your organic waste.

Recycle

Recycling goes a long way to reduce the impact of pollution and helps to keep the planet in good shape.

At Bonkers Beat Music Kinder we have rubbish and recycle bins arranged in each room and discuss with children the importance of using the correct bin. Needless to say, children are fascinated to learn that their off-cuts of used scrap paper can be turned into tissues, newspapers, kitty litter and moulded cartons for eggs and fruit.

A good key to recycling effectively is to always aim to buy recyclable items. This means avoiding things that are packaged in materials that need to be separated and make recycling challenging.

Children might enjoy watching this video, How Recycling Works: http://www.getitrightbinnight.vic.gov.au/how-recycling-works/

Work with children to feel the different textures of plastic and paper and how to separate them for optimal recycling – as always the key is to make it fun. Creating a sustainable future is something that should be engrained in children in a positive way and now is the time to begin!

If you’d like to learn more, these links may be of interest to you:

http://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/10-ways-make-recycling-fun-kids/http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Campaigns/reuse–recycle–reduce.html
http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/putrubbishaway.pdf
http://www.wwf.org.au/get_involved/change_the_way_you_live/sustainable_shopping_tips/

 

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Four Reasons Why Professional Development is a Must

Professional Development for educators

When it comes to professional development, we are huge advocates of ongoing professional development training that involves the whole team.

Of course, it’s not always possible to send the whole team along to conferences. However, we still believe that by sending along one or a couple of members of your staff you can reap the benefits and continue the professional development for educators and your centre.

So why do we think professional development conferences are so valuable? Here’s just four of the many reasons why it just might be worthwhile sending some members of your staff along to an upcoming Educational Leaders and Early Childhood Managers conference:

LEARN

It’s an obvious one, but there is absolutely no doubt that any member of your team who attends a conference is going to learn something. And what they learn will only be maximised by making sure you offer the right conference opportunities to the right people. There has to be a willingness to learn, and as we discuss later, the ability to share what you learn.

NETWORK

Who knows when a fantastic opportunity will pop up? What we can say with a degree of confidence is that fantastic opportunities are likely to pop up at places like conferences – large gatherings of like-minded professionals coming together to learn and share. What better place for your team to network and find new opportunities for your centre to explore.

GET INSPIRED

No matter how much anyone loves his or her job, there are times when we all need a boost to motivate us. Conferences can offer a huge amount of inspiration, especially if the right people attend the right conference at the right time. Empowering the leaders in your centre by sending them along is a really effective approach. Speakers often come from all corners of the globe with insights to share about approaches to early childhood education.

SHARE AND MOTIVATE

We’ve mentioned it a couple of times already – send the right people who are willing to learn and willing to share. This is crucial to maximise the return on investment. Through effective note-taking and resource gathering, hopefully, the team member/s who do attend will be able to convey what they learn to your team, making it all the more worthwhile.

So there you have it. Four reasons why you should consider professional development for your team, even if you don’t send the entire team along every time.

The results speak for themselves:

“It was fantastic & a pleasure to have attended! Thank you, Galina & also Alina for sharing your
knowledge & passion. You are both extremely inspirational people.” – Victoria Petka

“What an informative conference. Certainly, each single attendee walked out with many strategies to improve not only children’s wellness but also their own. Looking forward to more and more of these conferences by the Duolinas. “ – Bama Ganesan

“Thank you to Galina and Alina, your names together are a mouthful but you are
an inspiration team to listen too.” – Georgie Kincaid

“Wonderful day Alina Dan and Galina thank you! Plenty of
energy in the room from fellow leaders!” – Tracey Yeomans

If you’re in the vicinity of Newcastle, you’re in luck. Internationally renowned early childhood presenter and business developer Alina Dan has teamed up with multi-award winning educator Galina Zenin again for Wellness Works! The Complete Early Childhood Leaders Conference.

Because we know it’s a big commitment to send a whole team to a conference, this event is specifically designed for leaders and managers from centres to attend. Wellness Works is a professional development opportunity that has delivered real results for educators, children and for centres.

Details:

Date: Monday 14 November, 2016

Time: 9.30am – 3.30pm

Price: From $167.45

Tickets: Wellness-Works-Newcastle-Tickets

Hopefully we will see your leaders and managers at this upcoming event and you too can enjoy the excellent outcomes delivered by Wellness Works.

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Amazing results in centres – and an exciting announcement

early childhood professional development

There are many centres across Australia running our Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing programs. And the management and educators at each and every one of those centres get the opportunity to attend two Wellness Summits each year. These Wellness Summits are early childhood professional development days exclusively open to centres who are Bonkers Beat members.

Taking place in summer and winter, the Wellness Summits head to each state so teams don’t need to worry about traveling – or missing out.

Our Winter Wellness Summits 2016 have just finished up, so this is the time to reflect, summarise and share feedback from our participants. Now is also the time to get ready for a BIG announcement about our keynote speaker for Summer 2017.

More Children, Motivated Educators, Engaged Parents

Reflecting on the success of the recent Bonkers Beat Wellness Summits and Bonkers Beat Program progress over the last seven months, many centres who implemented Bonkers Beat programs have noticed that:

  • Their occupancy increased by 18% (some centres reached full capacity!)
  • The attitude of their educators has improved, leading to a more positive culture
  • Educators became more confident and competent using music and wellbeing experiences with children
  • Parents became more engaged, leading to an increase in participation
  • Children have improved a vast range of skills and can’t stop singing and dancing at home
  • Parents are raving about centre programs and are spreading the good word to other parents!

Improved NQS Rating, Saved Thousands on Professional Development

We also found that most centres have improved all seven areas of the National Quality Standard and some centres have even achieved a higher rating.

Last, but not least, the owners and management have provided their entire team the most comprehensive and practical training, which has saved them over $23,000 within one year!

Another Successful Early Childhood Conference

We were thrilled with all our speakers this year. At the Wellness Summits we had the honour of providing three of Australia’s leading parenting and education experts, public speakers and authors Kathy Walker, Shona Bass and Kerrie O’Neill, who is also a founding committee member of the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange.

We were also delighted to bring to the Summits some of the best wellbeing experts who gave us inspirational and practical strategies to enhance children’s and our personal wellness.

In summary, we were overwhelmed with the results and are proud of the practical and inspiring professional development training that we have provided to these incredible teams.

Benefits to Educators

In summary, the benefits to educators included:

  • Gaining a vast range of practical skills
  • Learning new songs and games
  • Learning new wellbeing strategies
  • Discovering new ways of documentation
  • Bonding as a team
  • Meeting many other likeminded, passionate educators

“The Bonkers Beat Winter Summit is so different… hands-on, engaging, participations that can be implemented into the service and into the program, real topics that are relevant to educators in centre, broken up with activities. One of the best things was to learn and incorporate Bonkers Beat into the program, the explorations, Kerrie O’Neill was engaging, fantastic, provocative and inspiring!” – Troy Murphy, Room Leader – Billy Bear Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

Benefits to Management 

The benefits to management included:

  • Connecting with management from other centres
  • Discussing ideas for effective marketing, meaningful documentation, motivation and strategies for retaining quality staff

“Practical…Meaningful…Engaging! Kerrie O’Neill’s presentation on documentation and of course Galina’s presentation of the songs were fabulous – just not long enough!” – Kay Doyle, Approved Provider, Bachelor ECE – The Forest Childcare Centre

To find out more about what management and educators thought of the Wellness Summits, click here.

Currently we’re working on many projects that will enrich centres and will be announced before the end of 2016. We look forward to continuing this exciting journey together.

If you’d like to learn how your centre can join us, simply email info@bonkersbeat.com. While we only offer a limited number of spots across the country within our Bonkers Beat Programs, we do have some availability.

Here’s the BIG news!

Our next speaker for Summer Wellness Summits 2017 will be National and International Early Childhood presenter and renowned Early Childhood Business Developer, Alina Dan.

Alina will give a very clear, concise and empowering presentation about documentation, the role, responsibilities and goals every Educational Leader and Manager should know about.

Summer Wellness Summit Dates 2017

Melbourne: February 11 2017

Sydney: February 25 2017

Brisbane: March 4 2017

Mark these dates in your calendar now and get ready for a big adventure in 2017. Don’t miss out!

If you’re centre is not currently a Bonkers Beat member, you can find out how to join us by emailing info@bonkersbeat.com – there’s still time to sign up and have your entire team attend our Summer Wellness Summit in 2017.

Not to be confused with the recent (and fantastic!) Wellness Works! Early Childhood Leaders Conference, which was a ticketed event, the Wellness Summits are early childhood professional development sessions only open to centres with membership to the Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing program.

For all centres running Bonkers Beat within their curriculum, please remember that the Wellness Summit is a 1-day event for your entire team to attend together with NO additional costs, fees, tickets – it’s all included in your Bonkers Beat membership!

Can’t wait to see you all again soon!

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The Purpose of Play in Early Childhood

play-based learning

When we try to think of something happy, children playing is often one of the first things that comes to mind. The simple idea of children playing and laughing epitomises joy. That’s pretty powerful. Even more than just happiness, play and play-based learning are essential to any early childhood pedagogy. Let’s go back to basics and explore.

What is ‘play’?

To get us started with our discussion on the topic, let’s look at the meaning of the word play.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines play as: recreational activity; especially the spontaneous activity of children.

Look up play in the Oxford Dictionary and is says: Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.

Adding to the above, there are several definitions that expand on the above. Early Childhood Australia (ECA) outlines some of these various meanings for us:

-pleasurable-play is an enjoyable and pleasurable activity. Play sometimes includes frustrations, challenges and fears; however enjoyment is a key feature

-symbolic-play is often pretend, it has a ‘what if?’ quality. The play has meaning to the player that is often not evident to the educator

-active-play requires action, either physical, verbal or mental engagement with materials, people, ideas or the environment

-voluntary-play is freely chosen. However, players can also be invited or prompted to play

-process oriented-play is a means unto itself and players may not have an end or goal in sight

What is play-based learning?

Play-based learning is just that – learning that is based in play. But let’s not oversimplify it as it is a research-based approach that has a lot of thought behind it.

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia describes play-based learning as “a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations”.

The benefits of play-based learning

We love that play-based learning works with children’s interests while opening children up to a range of learning experiences.

These learning experiences can be related to so many areas of importance, including:

-Wellbeing

-Relationships with others

-Negotiation and conflict resolution

-Problem solving

-Curiosity

-Creativity

The benefits of play-based learning have been studied extensively, with many researchers finding that children learn best in child-directed settings accompanied by adults.

Of course, it’s up to educators to gently direct children’s play by providing stimuli and activities that will bring about the intended learning. This is where intentional teaching is so important. That is, educators being purposeful and thoughtful about how a centre’s program and learning outcomes are approached.

Let’s not forget about documentation either. Documentation is a vital element of play-based learning and in fact all learning within an early childhood setting if we are to have any chance of meaningful reflection about our curriculum and learning outcomes.

Creating positive early childhood programs

-A play-based approach is best for optimal learning

-Your play program should be child-led by educator-guided and well planned

-Provide children with an early childhood program that takes a holistic approach

-Focus on the learning outcomes and intentional teaching in all that you do as an educator

-Learning – and especially play-based learning – should always be fun so keep it light and enjoyable

-Don’t forget about documentation and following each child’s unique learning journey through play

 

 

 

 

 

People photograph designed by Pressfoto – Freepik.com

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