Tag: early childhood

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Everyone Belongs – Harmony Day 2019 in Early Childhood

The message that ‘Everyone Belongs’ is so very true and important, and while any time is a good time to celebrate and share that message, Harmony Day is one in particular… We’re so excited to remind you that Harmony Day is coming up on 21 March 2019, accompanied by Harmony Week from 17 – 23 March. Let’s celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity in a way that reinforces the message that Everyone Belongs!

With almost 50 per cent of the people of Australia born in another country or with a parent who was born overseas, Australia is an incredibly diverse nation – a fact that should make us all very proud! We are so lucky to have the chance to share in the cultures of the world right here in our island country!

Here are just a few things you could try while celebrating Harmony Day along with diversity, inclusivity and belonging in your childcare centre or kindergarten

Sing, sing, sing!

We are BONKERS about singing (of course!), and we know just how engaging this approach is for children. Singing can also be a wonderful way to celebrate other cultures and include or bring joy to others along the way. Does anyone in your centre – families or staff – have a song from their own cultural background they can share? If not, there are many to be found online. We have our very own Bonkers Beat song that is perfect: Let’s Celebrate. Take a look at how you can get children singing and moving (and even doing sign language) here:

Move your body!

Dance is a worldwide form of expression, and many cultures will have their own unique dances or movements for a range of occasions. Ask around your centre’s families and staff and see what everyone has to share. If dancing doesn’t pan out, sports can be another area to explore or even cultural dress – this link shows cultural dress from all over the world.

Get cooking!

There’s something lovely about sharing a meal with others and connecting over a feast, so why not extend that sense of belonging during mealtime by getting multicultural with it. Throughout Harmony Week you could have a new international dish each day for children to enjoy and talk about where it comes from.

For more resources and information about Harmony Day, take a look at their official website here: www.harmony.gov.au.

However you choose to celebrate Harmony Day or Harmony Week, it’s all about celebrating our differences and the things that we have in common too. Sharing and learning, exploring and belonging together as human beings.

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Inspired pedagogy – educational theories to inform your centre philosophy

When you’re shaping your approach and the philosophy of your service, there are many areas to gain inspirations. From the practical, real-life experiences of Maria Montessori, to the hierarchy of needs theory of Abraham Maslow, you can research and explore so many early childhood theorists which might influence your centres philosophy.

Of course you want your service to provide the very best start in life for children, and there are many approaches you can use to foster incredible outcomes for children. At the same time, you can utilise the concepts from inspiring historical theorists to help you meet the requirements of the Early Years Learning Framework and achieve the highest possible National Quality Standard Rating.

The meaning of pedagogy for your centre

Your centre’s pedagogy is central to your service. ACECQA sums it up perfectly:

“The term pedagogy refers to the holistic nature of early childhood educators’ professional practice (especially those aspects that involve building and nurturing relationships), curriculum decision-making, teaching and learning. When educators establish respectful and caring relationships with children and families, they are able to work together to construct curriculum and learning experiences relevant to children in their local context. These experiences gradually expand children’s knowledge and understanding of the world.”
-ACECQA, Early Years Learning Framework for Australia

The Bonkers Beat philosophy is inspired by Maria Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Howard Gardner theory. Let’s look a little closer at each of these.

Maria Montessori Philosophy

Dr Maria Montessori was an inspirational educator who developed a unique and progressive method of educating children.

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.

The focus is on self-realisation through independent activity, making use of their scientific powers of observation and reflection and the focus on the educator as the keeper of the environment.

Reggio Emilia Approach

The Reggio Emilia Approach was first developed in Italy in a very small city called Reggio Emilia.

This 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 learning experiences which arise from a child’s natural curiosity are described as child-led.

Howard Gardner Theory

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory is based on the belief that there are eight 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 is taking place.

Linking early childhood educational theory to the EYLF

One of the most important things to note about the Bonkers Beat inspirations outlined above is that you don’t have to subscribe to a theorists’ entire way of thinking. You can take inspiration from elements of an approach without adapting to the theorists’ pedagogy as a whole.

This link is a great resource to show how you can link theorists to different EYLF outcomes: https://www.butler-creative-childcare-resources.com.au/blogs/blog/linking-theorist-to-the-eylf-outcomes

Early Childhood Australia also has a document that covers how the great ECE theorists’ approaches work in practice. You can find it here:
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/shop/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SUND606_sample.pdf

Essentially, begin by considering the areas you need to enhance in your centre, and what is vital to your children’s outcomes and develop your pedagogy to fit this, along with working within the framework.

If you’d like to learn more about the Bonkers Beat approach as you explore pedagogies, visit www.earlychildhoodeducationalprograms.com.au/. You can even access a free trial to get a taste of the Bonkers Beat Music program HERE.

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How to meet the new standards of a revised NQS (and how to excel)

They say change is as good as a holiday, but it can also be a little overwhelming for most of us at first! For many centres who had a comprehensive understanding of the National Quality Standard, the introduction of the revised NQS in 2018 has meant they’ve needed to change up their approach to meet the standards.

Last week Bonkers Beat members have attended the first of their biannual professional development full-day workshops – the Wellness Summit. At the current Summer Summits we’ve been lucky enough to have Order of Australia Medal recipient and early childhood consultant – Heather Barnes. Not only is Heather an industry expert, but she was contracted Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to facilitate the training of Authorised Officers – needless to say, her knowledge of the requirements of the NQS is comprehensive!

Heather shared that a number of services have found meeting the standards and achieving an overall Exceeding Rating has been more challenging since the revision of the National Quality Framework (NQF).

So, what were the revisions? And how can your centre meet the standards?

At the Summits, Heather unpacked each of the Exceeding themes and provided us all with ideas and strategies for preparing for the next Assessment and Rating visit, while of course improving outcomes for children.

It’s clear that the number one priority should be to have an in depth understanding of what the framework wants from your centre. You should take great care in going over the official comparison document (find it here) to ensure you haven’t missed anything in the way of changes. And take a look here to understand the new guidelines on how Exceeding Rating is determined.

Is there a simple way to improve your NQS Rating?

Thinking it’s time to find a way to deliver an educational program that enhances every child’s development and empowers your educators to reach Exceeding through a practical and strategic approach that benefits everyone. You’ve come to the right place!

The Bonkers Beat programs were designed in line with revised NQS in mind as well as fosters optimal development and wellbeing for children. Not to mention the benefits for your centre and your educators (including the incredible Wellness Summits!)

To make the decision easier, and allow your centre, educators and children to reach their full potential, we want to offer you this FREE TRIAL of the Bonkers Beat Music Program!

Take an action! Start your free trial today and see for yourself how this award-winning music program can help you to go ‘above and beyond’ what is expected at the Meeting NQS level.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS YOUR FREE TRIAL

Hopefully, we’ll see you and your whole team at the Winter Wellness Summits! Take a look at what we did at the Summer Wellness Summits here and read the feedback from our wellness speaker at the events:

“Thank you Galina, for organising such a brilliant event. I had a wonderful time presenting at the Wellness Summit in Sydney. It was a joy meeting so many Educators committed to doing their best & achieving positive outcomes for children in their care. Educators who go the extra mile to make a difference in the lives of others. I’m looking forward to the Melbourne & Brisbane events” – Suzanne

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A breakthrough in ongoing professional development for early childhood educators

We all know that professional development opportunities are essential in early childhood, especially if you want to achieve the following:

    1. Retain educators and ensure that they feel valued and fulfilled;
    2. Keep staff in the know with the latest industry strategies and knowledge to deliver the highest standard in education and care.

But timing professional development and fitting it in to the year for your whole team can seem impossible, particularly when you want to avoid interrupting the smooth running of your child care centre or kindergarten.

It’s also important to see real, tangible value in the professional development opportunities you choose to invest in – you want to see inspired and motivated educators, fresh ideas and strategies and positive changes to make a difference.

Professional development with REAL benefits

As a childcare owner myself, I know the importance of practical and effective professional development. That’s why I developed the Wellness Summits as part of the Bonkers Beat programs. The entire team from each and every centre running the Bonkers Beat program gets the opportunity to attend TWO exclusive Wellness Summits EVERY year. The Wellness Summits take place in summer and winter, plus we run them in each state so no one misses out or has to travel interstate.

It’s not just the management or team leaders that are invited to head along – the Wellness Summits deliver a day of exclusive professional development to your entire team!
Other significant benefits include:

    – Bonding with your entire team
    – Networking with educators from other services
    – Engaging in practical, hands-on experiences
    – Learning from the best early childhood and wellness experts
    – Takeaways you can implement in your centre immediately
    – And so much more!

The Summits feature guest speakers who are ready to share with you and your team, enlightening you on a range of different topics and unique approaches to grow your knowledge on various aspects of early childhood education.

A whole day of the highest quality professional development with your entire team twice a year – this must be among the most cost-effective approaches to professional development available!

The Wellness Summits are 1-day events for your entire team to attend together with NO additional costs, fees, tickets – it’s all included in the Bonkers Beat membership! And because your whole team is welcome to come along, you don’t need to worry about passing on what you learn – everyone will be there to take it in!

I believe that nurturing the wellbeing of educators, owners and directors is vital to enhance the wellbeing of children. For this reason, the Wellness Summits aren’t just professional development – they offer valuable personal development to your team too.

To all the Bonkers Beat members, we cannot WAIT to see you there!

If you’re not yet a member but you want to access our innovative, practical and cost-effective professional development day for your entire staff, feel free to send us an email to info@bonkersbeat.com to find out the many benefits of being part of the Bonkers Beat family.

To view some images from our latest Wellness Summit and get the feel of these incredible events, click HERE.

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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

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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.

    1. Motive educators and empower them to achieve greatness.
    2. Stand out from the competition and attract more families to your centre.
    3. Transform children’s behaviour, enhance their self-esteem and improve concentration to build a lifelong love of learning.
    4. Build and nurture strong, collaborative relationships with the families and local community.
    5. Reduce staff turnover and attract the best of the best to your centre.
    6. Create meaningful documentation that makes learning visible.
    7. Embed a curriculum that directly addresses Quality Areas and improves your NQS Rating.

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.

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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

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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!

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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

 

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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.

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