Tag: early years learning

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Connecting with the environment and self through yoga

Connectedness is a powerful feeling for adults and children alike. Creating connections with ourselves and others is important for development on many levels. Connecting with the environment is vital too. So how can we make these connections? One enjoyable and a highly beneficial way is through yoga.

The benefits of yoga anywhere, any time are amazing. While we have explored the many benefits of yoga for children before (take a look here!), taking yoga practice outdoors can offer further rewards. Let’s explore a few of them.

Three notable benefits of yoga outdoors

1. Reset an overloaded brain

Yoga is always a useful tool to relax, but taking it outside can actually enable the brain to recalibrate. Our bodies see nature as our natural environment and adding in the mindful activity of yoga or meditation while outdoors takes that calming effect to the next level.

2. Boost immunity

Fresh air is essential for good health, even in the colder months. In fact, many common colds are caused by spending too much time in confined indoor spaces. Take your deep yoga and meditation breathing exercises outside with children to gain the benefits of that fresh oxygen in their systems and yours.

3. Feel at one with nature

Children can use their observations of the outdoor environment to inspire their yoga. Standing tall like trees, stretching to the sky. Stretching to the side like a tree in the breeze. Many yoga poses use animals and nature so it makes sense to combine the two in real life!

International Yoga Day is coming up on Thursday 21 June — if you don’t currently practice yoga with children in your centre, maybe this could be a good day to start. Our  Bonkers Beat programs are incredibly valuable tools to help you bring the benefits of yoga for children (and adults) into your service too.

Enjoy your yoga practice and watch for yourself as children experience the physical, mental and emotional benefits of yoga and meditation combined with being outdoors.

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You are a part of Bonkers Beat Music Kinder success story

Getting the Bonkers Beat Music Kinder and our award-winning programs to where they are today has not been an easy feat. Over the last nine years, long days (and nights!) of hard work and immeasurable passion have been behind the creation of something truly special that has impacted the early childhood education industry in Australia and beyond.

That’s why, when we found out we were one of only 55 early childhood services across the country to be honoured with an Excellent Rating from ACECQA, we had to celebrate!

Last week we invited families from our centre and local community along with highly regarded guests from within the early childhood sector, to attend Bonkers Beat Music Kinder to join us in marking this achievement.

Families and early childhood professionals came together for the celebration

What a lovely evening we had! Presentations and beautiful words were a delight to hear from a number of our wonderful guests. You can see the images from the night here on Facebook.

We kicked off the celebrations with some delightful singing from the Bonkers Beat Music Kinder children. The enthusiasm was undeniable! The children are the reason behind everything that Bonkers Beat stands for and so it was important to have them front and centre in our receipt of the Excellent Rating.

Rhonda Livingstone, ACECQA’s National Education Leader, was in attendance to officially present the award. She spoke highly of Bonkers Beat Music Kinder and our programs, particularly how they are having a far-reaching impact on children’s education all over the country. We were so touched by your recognition and kind words Rhonda, thank you!

Alina Dan, from Alina Dan Consultancy and Holistic Approach, has been a valued colleague to Galina and to the Bonkers Beat family over many years. Thank you, Alina, for taking the time to fly down to celebrate with us too! Alina made a speech applauding Galina’s commitment, the contributions of the parents of all Bonkers Beat children and their commitment to laying the best possible foundations for their children’s bright futures.

One of our current parents was brave enough to present to the crowd as well. Josie Katakouzinos talked about her experience as a parent with a child at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder and how the music and wellbeing-based programs have had an obvious and powerful impact on her son throughout his early childhood development. Josie noted the benefits of being able to carry through the educational and behavioural strategies her son receives through the programs at kinder while at home too. Thank you, Josie! And thank you to all Bonkers Beat parents and children, past and present. Your continuous support is amazing and invaluable.

Here are a few images for your from Bonkers Beat Excellent Rating celebration.

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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

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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:

  1. Self-awareness: The ability to recognise your own emotions and their effects.
  2. Self-regulation: The ability to control your emotions.
  3. Motivation: The ability to motivate yourself to reach goals.
  4. Empathy: The ability to recognise how other people are feeling.
  5. 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

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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!

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6 surprising benefits of music for children’s development

We all know music is enjoyable to listen to and create, but there’s more to music than just having fun. The benefits of music for children’s development are impressive and even a little surprising.

While there are countless benefits to exposing children to music on a daily basis, let’s look at just six of the surprising and important benefits of music for the development and wellbeing of young children.

1. Build children’s confidence

Learning to sing all the words of a song or learning to play an instrument – either way, the act of learning music is a sure fire way to help children to gain confidence in their ability to take on new skills.

2. Enhance children’s communication

As the saying goes ‘Where words fail, music speaks’. As we all know, children can often have trouble with finding the words to express themselves but by being in touch with music and song children are able to explore feelings on a deeper level that they may not otherwise understand.

Music often tells a story in a way that we can all understand. To reference another adage, music is a universal language and so it makes sense that children of all ages can bond through music and the shared joy it brings.

3. Improve concentration

To sing a song, we must first learn the words, then keep practising to get it right. Listening to music to know when to start singing, or even playing along on a drum and trying to keep the beat can be challenging. Music helps children to learn to focus which can help them in many other areas of their development.

4. Work on motor skills and coordination

Where there’s music, there’s movement and while learning an instrument is fantastic for hand-eye coordination, there’s a lot to be said for the combination of singing and movement to go with the song. Many songs tell stories not only through lyrics but through actions too.

5. Enhance memory

Ever had a song stuck in your head? Most of us have. Music has a habit of helping us remember concepts and facts. You can add a highly effective learning technique to any subject matter by incorporating it into a song. In fact, many of our Bonkers Beat songs do just that!

6. Tap into creativity

It’s an obvious and yet important element of listening to and creating music, but encouraging creativity allows children to embrace self-expression and experiment with their own unique approach to singing and playing music.

There are plenty of reasons to incorporate music into every day for children — at Bonkers Beat we make it simple for centres to do just that with our tried and tested songs that children love.

If you want to know more about the Bonkers Beat Music Program that is successfully incorporated into curriculums in childcare settings Australia-wide, get in touch with us today by emailing info@bonkersbeat.com.

To learn or read more about Bonkers Beat Programs, click here.

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The secret to becoming a thriving child care centre

As many of you know, ACECQA recently announced our ‘Excellent’ Rating under the National Quality Standard which was a proud achievement for Bonkers Beat’s flagship centre in Victoria. Now we think it’s time that you and your centre discovered how excellent you really are too!

We’ll let you in on a little secret…

The secret behind our ‘Excellent’ Rating is actually no secret at all.

The Bonkers Beat Music & Wellbeing Programs are the key to the success of Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Victoria — and the success of many other centres across the country.

The benefits of the Bonkers Beat Programs are effective and proven.

Centres incorporating these tried and tested programs experience:

  • More enrolments
  • Increased engagement from children and families
  • A distinct and effective point of difference in the market
  • More motivated educators
  • Reduced staff turnover

These are only a handful of the benefits that Bonkers Beat programs provide for centres!

The Bonkers Beat Programs directly impact how your centre addressed the NQF, giving you the tools and support to improve your NQS Rating.

This is what the centres that utilise the Bonkers Beat Programs are already enjoying:

  • Daily Music Program
  • Daily Wellbeing Program
  • Exclusive conferences for the whole team
  • Online training for all educators
  • Educational resources
  • Weekly support for Educational Leaders
  • Management support
  • Educational resources for parents
  • Music & Wellbeing newsletters for parents
  • Live webinars for parents

A special offer for a special centre — YOURS!

To celebrate our ‘Excellent’ Rating and encourage you to take action towards your own centre’s success, we are offering you a special limited time offer!

You won’t believe what we are giving you FOR FREE!

Click here to take a look at this incredible offer and for the opportunity to grab it for yourself.

If becoming a sought-after, in-demand child care centre is on your to-do list, then securing this limited time special offer for yourself should be too.

Of course, if you do have any questions, simply give us a call on 1300 022 328 or email info@bonkersbeat.com.

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Inclusiveness and respect this Harmony Day and beyond

Harmony Day is one of our favourite days of the year. A day that is dedicated to celebrating cultural diversity, inclusiveness, respect for others and ensuring everyone feels they belong.

For many special days throughout the year we plan activities in advance, and while there are certainly many wonderful things you can do in centres in honour of Harmony Day, sometimes the simplest acts can mean the most. This Harmony Day let’s focus on meaningful conversations with children. The Harmony Day website offers a range of discussion topics that are suitable for early childhood. Consider these:

  • What is diversity? What are some of the ways that people can be different from each other?
  • All the same: What things make us the same?
  • What is Harmony Day? What does harmony mean? What are some examples of harmony in nature/in the world?
  • Family diversity: Who is in your family? Talk about how families are the same and different.
  • My groups: Talk about all the groups to which you belong eg team, family, friendship group, hobby. What things help you to feel you belong?

Carrying the message of Harmony Day through your centre’s culture

This Harmony Day feels especially timely for us this year, given the news that ACECQA has recognised Bonkers Beat Music Kinder with an Excellence Rating under the National Quality Framework.

ACECQA specifically recognised Bonkers Beat’s “commitment to children that respects, reflects and celebrates culture and diversity, including place of origin, inclusive partnerships with children and families, and its practice and environments that enhance children’s learning and growth”.

Not only can your Harmony Day efforts contribute towards shaping inclusive, respectful and kind attitudes in young people — you can even transform the way your centre approaches early childhood education!

If you’re ready to see how Bonkers Beat’s culture is inspired by the values of Harmony Day, why not come and see for yourself?! We are hosting an Open Day this Saturday 24 March from 10 am until 12 pm at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder. Activities for children at this free event include music, yoga and a jungle treasure hunt plus lots more!

Event: Open Day – Music Show and Yoga with Bonkers the Monkey
Where: Bonkers Beat Music Kinder, 49 Laura Street, Aspendale, Victoria
When: 10am – 12pm

To discover why Bonkers Beat Music Kinder is different, click to watch the video submission to ACECQA.

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Bonkers Beat Music Kinder is Rated Excellent by ACECQA

We are thrilled to share with you the great news – Bonkers Beat Music Kinder & Childcare Aspendale has been awarded the ‘Excellent’ rating by Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)!

The Excellent rating is the highest rating an education and care service can achieve under the National Quality Framework.

This acknowledges the exceptional standard of education and care that Bonkers Beat Music Kinder is providing and its commitment to improving outcomes for children and families.

As at 31 December 2017, 14,687 children’s education and care services in Australia have received a quality rating from ACECQA and only 50 services are rated as Excellent. Out of these 50 services, there are 25 long day care centres, and the others are Preschools, OSHC and Family Day Care providers.

Currently, Bonkers Beat Music Kinder is one of only two privately run long day care services in Victoria, which are rated Excellent by ACECQA.

We congratulate all our educators, current and past families and our beautiful children with this significant achievement and thank our followers who’ve been supporting us over the years.

We’re thrilled with the outcome and delighted that many services who run Bonkers Beat Music & Wellbeing programs are part of our success story.

To read the special report on ACECQA website about Bonkers Beat Music Kinder rating please follow the link below:
www.acecqa.gov.au/media-releases/excellent-rating-awarded-bonkers-beat-music-kinder-childcare-aspendale

To see our video submission to ACECQA, watch the video below:

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Engaging Easter experiences to try with children

easter-in-early-childhood

Easter is around the corner and many centres are getting ready to celebrate this much-loved holiday in early childhood settings!

Colouring in images of Easter bunnies is fun, but why not fire up children’s creativity this year and do something different? There are so many learning experiences for children around the subject of Easter – let’s look at a few of them.

Talking about religion at Easter

As we know, Easter is traditionally a religious acknowledgement. Perhaps your centre would like to explore the religious aspects of Easter this year.

While many Australians will celebrate Easter over the long weekend from Friday 30 to Monday 2 April, it’s worth noting that these dates are based on the Catholic Easter dates. Other families may celebrate Orthodox Easter on Sunday 8 April in 2018.

A simple way to share the traditional Christian story of Easter with children is through books. Easter Story and Tiny Tots Easter are suitable for children as young as 2 and can help start the discussion.

Perhaps other children and families could share their religious or cultural views on Easter and how they celebrate.

Engaging Easter experiences for children

There are plenty more creative, hands-on Easter activities to try when incorporating Easter in early childhood.

Get hatching

A big part of the meaning of Easter is around new beginnings, and what better way to learn about new beginnings that with new life?! At Bonkers Beat Music Kinder the Henny Penny Hatching Program is currently an exciting and engaging experience for children (and educators!).

Traditional eggs decorating

Egg decorating is a traditional Easter activity that is lots of fun. Any egg-shaped object is fine, but why not use natural resources by hard-boiling eggs for decorating and making your own natural dyes. This means fewer chemicals and an additional learning element.

The Easter Bunny song

There is a song and music for every occasion as far as we are concerned! Easter is no exception. As a Bonkers Beat follower, we invite you to access our special Easter song ‘Easter Bunny’. Watch the video for our simple movements and print the words if needed. Children always love this song! Access ‘Easter Bunny’ here.

Share your Easter celebrations and educational ideas with us on Facebook!

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