Tag: early childhood

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1 Day Workshop to give you the best start this year

With the first month of the year done and dusted already, many centre owners and directors are wondering: have we got 2018 off to the best start so far?

A good way to make sure you get 2018 off to the best start is with a free workshop covering all the biggest challenges faced by childcare centres today.

Music Kinder in Action and 7 Stones are free early childhood workshops in Melbourne and Perth and you’re invited!

Specifically designed for owners and directors of childcare centres and educational leaders, Music Kinder in Action and 7 Stones allow you to have a firsthand experience of what the right approach to early childhood education can do for your centre.

Chances are many of you are feeling the pressure from the influx of new centres popping up on every corner. But you’re not alone.

Centres that once thrived caring for children over decades are wondering how much longer they can keep their doors open. A childcare in Rosebery, Sydney has gone from full occupancy to on some days only having one baby to care for. Within 1km radius of their centre are eight new centres, all with vacancies too.

Standing out from the crowd and demonstrating that your centre delivers outcomes that benefit children in every aspect of their development is now crucial. Music Kinder in Action and 7 Stones will give you tools and strategies to do just that.

Our concepts are based on the approach of the award-winning Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing programs. It’s worth noting that centres running Bonkers Beat’s programs are showcasing a strong point of difference, incredible outcomes for children and impressive occupancy rates to show for it.

These workshops won’t cost you a thing, just an investment of your time into this inspiring and practical session.

REGISTER HERE

Let’s achieve something great together.

Hope to see you there.
Galina and the Bonkers Beat Team

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We’re in the Top 100 Early Childhood Education blogs!

Early childhood education is what we dedicate our time to – our spare time, our working time and well, all our time! Most weeks of the year we take the time to put together an email and blog to our followers offering them valuable and useful information about all aspects of early childhood education including industry, theory and the day-to-day aspects too.

At the end of last month, we were informed that our blog has been selected as one of the Top 100 Early Childhood Education blogs on the web!

The honour of being named among the top early childhood education blogs came to us from Feedspot. Feedspot is a content compiling site that gathers the best online content from all over the world and puts it all together in one spot for readers to enjoy in the one place.

Anuj from the Feedspot team explained that “This is the most comprehensive list of best Early Childhood Education blogs on the internet and I’m honoured to have you as part of this! I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world.”

Through our blog in 2018 we will continue to aim to deliver lots of valuable information as well as ideas, encouragement and inspiration to you all as you continue to commit yourselves to the early childhood education industry.

In fact, as we begin our regular blogging again, we’d love to know what you would like to read about on our blog! We’d also love to know what you think of our blog and hope to receive your feedback via email. Our goal is to remain among the top early childhood education blogs!

Head over to Facebook and comment if you have a topic in mind that you would like us to cover in 2018!

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A Merry Bonkers Christmas (And thank you)!

As each year goes by we feel more and more grateful to work with passionate, dedicated early childhood education professionals and parents. I can say without a doubt that 2017 was no exception – and I’ve got a good feeling about 2018 too!

This year we have all worked together to the same very important and honourable goal: to deliver the best education to young children. The children we care for each day are the reason we keep working so hard, striving to improve and find the most effective ways to build their resilience, enhance their wellbeing and empower them to explore, learn and grow.

I think we all did a great job! And next year we will continue on this journey together as educators and parents, doing all we can for young children and their futures.

To our wonderful readers and supporters, from the bottom of my heart and from all of us at Bonkers Beat, we say thank you and Merry Christmas!

Enjoy our special Bonkers Beat Christmas song ‘Ring The Bells’ and spread Christmas cheer to all your loved ones including animals too.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a New Year that is fulfilling, empowering, inspiring and full of happiness.

I hope you will have a well-deserved break.

Keep singing and stretching,

Galina

and the Bonkers Beat Team

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The Best Start in the New Year with the Starter Program

Do you want to start the year off right? If you’re looking for a cost-effective and practical way to get your centre on track to shine in 2018, this is it.

The Bonkers Beat Starter Program is the way forward, enabling you to complete 5 modules of training for a leading holistic early childhood education program. All from the comfort of your centre or home.

Whether you’re a centre owner or director, you’re running a family day care, or you work in occasional care, the Bonkers Beat Starter Program will empower you to run an exciting, comprehensive quality music program that will enhance your curriculum.

5 weeks to transform your approach

Throughout the 5 modules across 5 weeks, educators will learn:

  • Musical Experiences to enhance your curriculum
  • Transitional songs during daily routines
  • Art Experiences to Make Learning Visible
  • Rhymes & Musical Games to Support Children’s Social and Emotional Skills
  • Effective Documentation to Reflect on Children’s Progress

The Bonkers Beat Starter Program is based on the award-winning Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing programs. The approaches used in this early childhood education program have been proven over the course of a decade and are used ongoing by many centres across Australia and the world.

This training will help you to motivate educators, boost your business, strengthen your team, but most importantly, enhance children’s brain development and their multiple intelligences.

What other educators say

Here’s an example of the way you could be feeling in your centre in 2018!

Bonkers Beat Makes Children More Focused and Happy

“Since we started the Bonkers Beat program, our children are happier, more settled, and started to love music. The program helps us to develop our room routines. Our children are now more focused, active and happy. We have a new program that we are proud of and excited to share it with our parents.”

– Marwa Zeyada, Billy Bear Preschool and Long Day Care Centre

Children Enjoyed Singing, Dancing and Playing!

“Throughout the whole year children have been captivated by the Bonkers Beat Music Program. They greatly enjoyed singing the songs, dancing and playing all sorts of instruments. I would highly recommend this music program for any family day care, kindergarten or school.”

– Tatiana Petrove, Family Day Care Provider (Bayside City Council)

Starter Program for the best start!

To make your Christmas super special, we’d love to give you a 50% discount so you can access the program online at half of its price. A New Year’s resolution to make 2018 your best year ever begins with the Bonkers Beat Starter Program.

Let’s make a mark in 2018!

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New ways to get festive this Christmas

christmas in childcare

In the lead up to Christmas, we are often all looking for new ways to celebrate.

Christmas in childcare is an exciting time – after all, no one anticipates the arrival of Christmas morning quite like young children! As early childhood educators, we get to contribute to that excitement and can help them create something special to share with their families.

If you’re looking for some fresh activities and craft ideas, look no further! We’ve done the research for you and gathered a bunch of resources to keep your centre Christmassy right through until December 25!

Ideas for Christmas fun

Handprint Christmas cards: A gorgeous, personalised Christmas card that doubles as a keepsake so parents don’t forget how little those hands once were.

Dancing Santa: Using these printables, cut them out and children can create a dancing Santa! Use your choice of paint, crayons, pencils or markers to create Santa’s iconic red suit. A bit of glitter is always fun too!

Tree decorations: There are a million tree decorations children can make, so let your imagination take charge here. Styrofoam balls can be a good starting point or try cardboard shapes, or even icy pole sticks.

Paper plate angels: A paper plate, folded in on each side, a card circle for a face and two card handprints cut out as wings. Perfect for the top of the Christmas tree!

Christmas colouring in: There’s nothing wrong with some quiet colouring in time, but why not make it Christmas themed this time of year.

As always, when celebrating the festive season in your centre, be mindful of individual children and their families’ varying beliefs and traditions. In some centres, it may be necessary to provide variations on your Christmas celebrations to ensure you are culturally inclusive.

Christmas songs: Christmas wouldn’t be complete without singing Christmas songs! This special song is a gift from Bonkers to you to help you celebrate the magic of Christmas with children. Click here to access ‘Ring the Bells’.

If you have some special ideas to share for celebrating Christmas in childcare centres, share with us on Facebook!

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Music and art make all the difference

music program

We’ve said it before and we will continue to tell the world: the more we share music with children, the better off they will be!

A primary school in Bradford, England was in the news last month because of the incredible turnaround in their children’s results — the key to success? All children get up to six hours of music each week.

Not only did this school find that incorporating more music along with drama and art improved their students’ overall academic outcomes, but it also gave them another outlet and means of discovering a talent or passion. Even school attendance has increased!

The Kodaly Approach

The school said that its methods are based on the Kodaly approach. The Bonkers Beat programs incorporate this same approach. Kodaly is all about using music as a tool for children to learn subconsciously at first.

Musical games and songs about anything and everything can help children to familiarise themselves with themes and ideas in a warm, enjoyable way. Through rhythm and movement, they improve their fine and gross motor skills, literacy and numeracy as well as a range of life skills.

Results that sing for themselves

This primary school in Bradford is just one outstanding example of the power of music for children’s lives and outcomes.

As many of you know, the Bonkers Beat Music Program takes a musically-driven approach to early childhood education. Our results also sing for themselves!

The head teacher of the primary school in Bradford who says music changed everything for them, also said this:

“We had low staff morale, parents not happy with the school, results were poor and nobody wanted to come here, we had budget issues. It’s a downward spiral when you’re there.”

But now he believes that music can transform other schools who are struggling.

Choose success and results

As the end of the year approaches, it is a great time to reflect on what has worked in your centre and what has not worked so well. If you’re ready to get results like this primary school in Bradford has experienced, we can help.

Enquire about the Bonkers Beat Music Program today. This program was carefully created with the goal of helping centres like yours to reach their full potential. And, most importantly, enabling children to become the very best versions of themselves possible.

Click here to discover the magic of music through the Bonkers Beat Music Program.

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Understanding and handling allergies

allergic reactions in children

Did you know that allergic reactions in children range from a mild itch to full anaphylaxis? As an early childhood educator, it is useful to have an understanding of allergies, because prevention, identifying symptoms and responding effectively are all essential to protect children from allergies.

Allergies and what they are

An allergy is what occurs when the immune system reacts to a substance, the allergen, that a child has come in contact with. The allergen is something that is ordinarily harmless, like pollen from flowers, an insect bite or a type of food. The body reacts with allergy antibodies, which react with foreign substances.

The reaction could be minor and mild, or even life-threatening.

What can trigger allergic reactions?

A common trigger for children’s allergic reactions is food. You might find children in your centre who are allergic to foods like:

  • Milk or milk products
  • Eggs
  • Peanuts or other nuts
  • Fish or certain seafood
  • Soy products
  • Wheat

Another trigger you might find is animals, particularly those with more fur. A cat or dog with long hair is an example of an animal a child could be allergic to. There are also allergens like pollen from plants that can even be in the air, bites or strings from a bug or even medications.

What to watch for

Allergic reactions in children could have a range of symptoms. These signs might be:

  • A rash or itchy skin
  • Swelling of the face, lips or eyes
  • Stomach discomfort, nausea or vomiting

In the case of an anaphylactic reaction, the symptoms can be quite severe:

  • Difficulty with breathing
  • Tightness in the throat
  • Swelling of the tongue
  • Wheezing
  • Dizziness
  • Loss of consciousness

Preventing allergic reactions in children

Avoiding children’s allergens is the number one way to prevent allergic reactions in children occurring at your centre. While restrictions can seem frustrating at times, they can be life-saving if a child in your centre suffers from an allergy.

Make sure your centre has an action plan in place for any children who have allergies, and take care to ensure the environment, food and experiences at your centre don’t involve allergens for your children.

More helpful information about allergies, find below:
Developing an allergy policy and allergy action plans
Managing food allergy and anaphylaxis in child care

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Revisiting sustainable practices in centres

sustainable practices in centres

Recycling Week is coming up from November 13 – 19, with this year’s theme ‘What goes around: Why buying recycled matters’.

Sustainability is really important to us and we think it should be to everyone. The Bonkers Beat programs have a focus on sustainability and showing children how to take care of the planet, as well as each other. This is also a focus area for the National Quality Standard, with Standard 3.3 of the NQS stating: ‘The service takes an active role in caring for its environment and contributes to a sustainable future.‘  (ACECQA)

Sustainability in action

Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale was filmed by VEA for  training purposes on how to incorporate sustainability into early childhood services. Take a look to get some ideas and inspiration for sustainable practices.

The cycle of recycling

The theme of this year’s Recycling Week, ‘What Goes Around: Why Buying Recycled Matters’ inspires us to think carefully about where we source the things we need, and what we do with things we no longer need.

The message is simple: if you no longer want or need something, don’t just dispose of it. If it works, chances are someone else wants or needs it! And the item you’re looking for could be the very item someone else no longer requires.

When it comes to electronics, homewares and clothes, don’t throw them out. Offer to your friends or on Facebook, pop them on a buy/swap/sell website, sell them in a garage sale, donate to an op shop.

Same goes when you’re considering a new purchase. Ask around for the item as someone may have one sitting somewhere unused. Check op shops for items that have been tested and certified as being in good working order. You’ll save money too!

Dispose thoughtfully

Of course, sometimes things have been used to death and really must be let go. But think carefully about how you dispose of it. Recycling can contribute enormously to reducing the impact of pollution on our planet.

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.

Another tip is that 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. All of these acts of recycling and reusing contribute to sustainable practices in centres.

A valuable free resource for sustainable practices in centres

We all know music helps to convey messages in a memorable and engaging way, so please enjoy an access to the Bonkers Beat song, ‘Bonkers Rap’. This song is a great resource which is about taking care of the environment and sustainable practices in centres.

Planet Ark’s Recycling Week website has some great resources for you too, including lots of tips and posters to show the right ways to recycle. Explore these resources here.

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Creating collaborative partnerships with parents and communities

creating collaborative partnerships

They say it takes a village, and we tend to agree. When it comes to raising children and providing a well-rounded childhood, parents, families, friends, early childhood educators and communities all play a role. To get the very best out of your village, working together and creating collaborative partnerships is a must.

The National Quality Standard emphasises the power of collaborative partnerships too: “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.” (ACECQA)

There are three simple ways you can start to foster these partnerships.

1. Focus on communication

Communication is the key to beginning a solid, rewarding relationship, no matter who it involves. Encourage an open line of communication between parents and educators.

This can include posters, emails, Facebook groups, notes sent home, a welcoming space at centres and an invitation to call the centre as needed. Share ideas, feedback, concerns, reminders, invitations – you’re a team! The shared goal of educators and families is to provide children with a fantastic start in life.

2. Host fun events

Life can certainly be busy, but when something special comes up most people are willing to do their best to make it work. Don’t forget to create opportunities for families and centres to have a little fun outside of the normal day-to-day routines.

Picnic dinners are cost effective and simple. Everyone can bring a plate and share food at the local park – a great example of a family-friendly event that gets everyone together in a community-minded way.

3. Collaborate on something

At Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale, we love getting together for a good, old-fashioned, Working Bee. We work with families on improving the centres’ environments, share a nice lunch and have a great time.

Most recently our working bee was a huge success. Educators together with families and children created a Community Garden! This was in addition to a new working bench, a teepee, landscaping, gardening and lots of tidying up of our centre’s spaces. Educators, parents and of course our clever children all worked together to create something wonderful – and that’s a collaborative partnership! Take a look at the photos of the day unfolding here.

How does your centre work on creating collaborative partnerships with parents and communities? Let us know on Facebook – we love to share ideas!

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Celebrate National Children’s Week

celebrate National Children's Week

Celebrate National Children’s Week 2017 as it takes place from October 21 – 29, drawing our attention to children’s rights, talents and citizenship.

The rights of the child are something that we are passionate about – you may have noticed our children’s rights posts on social media.

To celebrate National Children’s Week is to simply acknowledge children within our communities and to focus the attention of the community on children as well as their needs and achievements.

You can adapt this approach to your centre for a day or a week and celebrate children and their rights. For example a child’s right to explore or discover new things. The options are endless.

If you like, you could download a National Children’s Week 2017 poster from the official website to display in your centre. Click here to see the posters.

Each state has its own events to celebrate National Children’s Week. Select your region below to see what’s on in your state to celebrate children:

NSW / Victoria / Queensland / Northern Territory / Western Australia / South Australia / Tasmania / ACT

As a side note, while we are talking about celebrating children, let’s talk about this wonderful industry for a moment.

We are so proud to be part of Australia’s early childhood education industry, working with like-minded organisations who are committed to continually improve and raise the standard of education and care. As such, this year’s Early Years Award finalists in Victoria deserve to be congratulated for all their incredible work – well done!

You can see the list of 2017 Early Years Award finalists here.

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