environment Archives - Early Learning Childhood Education

13/06/201913/06/2019

10 ways yoga and meditation can enhance children’s lives

International Day of Yoga is coming up on 21 June, 2019, which is a day intended to raise awareness of the many benefits of yoga practice across the world. Yoga is a valued element of our Bonkers Beat programs. We continually see the incredible benefits of children and adults practicing yoga every day in many childcare services and homes.

What is yoga?

Yoga is a combination of movement, stretching and breathing that is intended to improve health as well as happiness. The United Nations recognises the value of yoga and offers this definition of the practice: “Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derived from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolising the union of body and consciousness.”

How yoga can enhance children’s lives (and adults!)

Yoga is an excellent way to do a lot of things. Let’s explore all the benefits you could find from practicing yoga with children or as an adult.

Awareness of our bodies
When we practice the physical postures of yoga or feel the rise and fall of our tummies during meditation, we become more aware of the connection between our physical and emotional states.
Improve memory and concentration
Said to be attributed to a combination of deep breathing and the learned ability to focus, yoga and meditation has benefits like improved concentration and memory.
Better breathing
You would think that we are all quite skilled at breathing, seeing as we do it all day, but mindful deep breaths have a special effect on our bodies such as increased oxygen absorption and even a longer life!
A self-esteem boost
Accomplishing a new move in yoga or seeing balance improve can go a long way to show children what they are capable of and boost their self-esteem.
More flexibility and strength
Regular yoga and meditation can enable us and children to move more freely and become strong and flexible.
Learn to appreciate quiet and stillness
Yoga and meditation in early childhood can be a path to feeling comfortable in silent moments, and mindful when we are still. This helps us to listen with attention and make informed decisions in our lives.
Better sleep
Most exercise has this impact and yoga is certainly no exception – regular practice can lead to better sleep, and deep breathing or meditation can be useful tools to help children fall asleep more easily too.
Improved overall health
Cardiovascular health, digestive health, the nervous system, regulated hormone levels, improved immunity, better sleep — the list of health benefits of yoga goes on and on!
Better emotional awareness and control
Deep breathing is an excellent tool to help calm children down when they aren’t able to control their behaviour in an outburst or ‘tantrum’ scenario. Teaching children to use this technique when required can lead to more awareness and control over their emotions.
Connect with themselves and one another
Yoga and meditation in early childhood settings can be a fun way to get more comfortable with one another and connect over something they enjoy!

Getting started with yoga

There are many ways to get started with using yoga to improve your health and wellbeing of your children.

All you need is 5 minutes to fit in yoga and meditation, a few quiet moments here and there or you can incorporate it as a regular experience in your day. For example, at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder, we start each day with a ‘Welcome a New Day’ session. This involves educators, children and even families participating in a 20 to 25-minute session of mindfulness exercises and a range of other wellbeing routines.

Yoga and meditation are great for children as a transitional tool. It allows them to reset after rest time or outdoor play when heading indoors to focus the mind onto a new experience or just to unwind.

Our Yoga Cards and meditation music can be a fantastic starting point. Children enjoy the fun of the yoga cards while being introduced to the benefits of yoga. You can find them in our store.

The Bonkers Beat programs incorporate daily yoga and meditation that children and adults alike LOVE. To learn more about our programs and the wellbeing initiatives within them, take a look here.

30/05/201930/05/2019

It’s great to play outside (even when it’s cold)

When it comes to play and exploration, there’s no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing! Grab coats, boots and beanies and get children playing outside this winter to promote wellbeing, resilience and good immunity.

While we adults tend to avoid the cold weather and opt for a toasty spot near the heater the children in our lives are more than happy to run outside, climbing, chasing and exploring no matter the weather. And let’s not forget children’s love of jumping in puddles! But other than being a lot of fun, there are many benefits of outdoor play too.

Experience the benefits of outdoor play all year long

The benefits of playing outdoors are significant the year round. Outdoor play tends to be less structured and more physical than indoor play, not to mention a lot more ventilation. Let’s look three specific benefits for children who get outside to play.

1. Get moving

Physical movement is so important for good health at any age, especially with one in five Australian children being either overweight or obese. Outdoor space encourages running, jumping, climbing and exploring that can rarely be replicated indoors. In fact, no matter how cold it is, children end up warming up in no time running around outside!

2. Nature time

Australian children are spending up to 30% of their awake time on screens, so a bit of time reconnecting with nature is a must. Experiencing the real world gives children the chance to get excited about life beyond the screen – animals, trees, flowers, rain, hail, rainbows. There’s plenty to look at!

3. Immunity boost

While it’s important to rug up as the weather cools down, getting outside won’t harm children and could actually improve their health with extra vitamin D and fresh air. Even just 10 to 20 minutes outside each day will help make a difference to children’s health.

PLUS The cold doesn’t cause colds

We have to mention this one. It’s a common misconception that the dreaded cold – complete with sniffles, sneezes and a cough – is caused by exposure to the cold weather. This isn’t true, as colds are actually caused by a contagious viral infection and you’re more likely to catch one in winter due to increased time spent indoors!

So next time you think it’s too cold to play outside, think again! Grab the jackets and hats and experience all the Australian winter has to offer.

Click below to get inspirations from our Facebook Pages:
Yoga Outdoors, Adventure Days

10/04/201911/04/2019

Exploring Easter beyond the chocolate

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

Four facts about Easter to help you celebrate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

image from www.freepik.com

21/03/201921/03/2019

Celebrate 10 Years with Us and Help Aussie Farmers

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

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

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

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

The Bonkers Beat Open Day features:

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

Helping communities in need

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you there!

14/03/201914/03/2019

Focus in a world full of stimuli – 10 daily yoga & meditation benefits

Whether it’s television, tablets, toys, jobs to do or activities to attend, there’s no denying that today’s world is packed with stimuli. It’s a busy place for brains, whether you’re a young child or an adult. Taking a moment to clear your mind and reconnect with your body can help with gaining focus and moving forward positively. It’s time to squeeze in some yoga and meditation!

Experiencing the benefits of yoga and meditation in early childhood or as an adult doesn’t take much time or effort. You can reap the rewards and then proceed with your busy day in no time feeling more productive and focused than before.

You can fit in yoga and meditation in for five minutes here or there as needed, or incorporate it as a regular feature in your day. For example, at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder, we start each day with a ‘Welcome a New Day’ session. This involves educators, children and even families participating in a 20 to 25-minute session of either yoga, meditation or mindfulness exercises.

Yoga and meditation are great for children as a transitional tool, to reset after rest time, or outdoor play when moving inside, to focus the mind on to a new activity or just to unwind.

The many benefits of yoga and meditation in early childhood

As well as broadly assisting with focus and relaxation, yoga and meditation in early childhood has a range of benefits. Here are some reasons why we love yoga:

1. Better breathing

2. Improve memory and concentration
Said to be attributed to a combination of deep breathing and the learned ability to focus, yoga and meditation has benefits like improved concentration and memory.

3. Awareness of our bodies
When we practice the physical postures of yoga or feel the rise and fall of our tummies during meditation, we become more aware of the connection between our physical and emotional states.

4. More flexibility and strength
Regular yoga and meditation can enable us and children to move more freely and become strong and flexible.

5. Learn to appreciate quiet and stillness
Yoga and meditation in early childhood can be a path to feeling comfortable in silent moments, and mindful when we are still. This helps us to listen with attention and make informed decisions in our lives.

6. A self-esteem boost
Accomplishing a new move in yoga or seeing balance improve can go a long way to show children what they are capable of and boost their self-esteem.

7. Better emotional awareness and control
Deep breathing is an excellent tool to help calm children down when they aren’t able to control their behaviour in an outburst or “tantrum” scenario. Teaching children to use this technique when required can lead to more awareness and control over their emotions.

8. Improved overall health
Cardiovascular health, digestive health, the nervous system, regulated hormone levels, improved immunity, better sleep — the list of health benefits of yoga go on and on!

9. Better sleep
Most exercise has this impact and yoga is certainly no exception – regular practice can lead to better sleep, and deep breathing or meditation can be useful tools to help children fall asleep more easily too.

10. Connect with themselves and one another
Yoga and meditation in early childhood settings can be a fun way to get more comfortable with one another and connect over something they enjoy!

If you’re finding that children need a means of escaping the overload of stimuli that we are all faced with daily, yoga and meditation could be perfect to incorporate into your centre.

To make it simple for children to get involved at home or in centres, we even created our very own Bonkers Beat Yoga Cards! Click here to take a look at them in our shop.

15/11/201815/11/2018

6 Ways to Celebrate Christmas (plus FREE access to the Bonkers Beat songs!)

In case you didn’t realise, it is Christmas in less than six weeks! Have you got the remainder of the year mapped out in your centre? What about your plans for the New Year to get 2019 off to the best start imaginable? Well, you’re in luck. Not only have we got six special Christmas ideas to share with you, but also an extra special gift – free access to the award-winning Bonkers Beat Program!

We are giving you your free access as an early Christmas present, so you can utilise all that it has to offer from now until Christmas Day! Sign up here!

Sing, sing, SING: This festive time of year is a wonderful time to get singing! With free access to Bonkers Beat’s well-loved children’s songs, you have plenty of resources to get children (and staff!) singing all day long and feeling the excitement of this time of year.
Arrange an end of year concert: if you haven’t yet, there’s still time to put together a Christmas concert or end of year presentation with children. Use your free Bonkers Beat access to include three Bonkers Beat songs. It’s simple to implement: just watch the videos, print the words and even enhance children’s engagement with the songs through the suggested provocations. Children will love seeing out the year with such fun, and parents will go away raving about your centre.
Keep it inclusive and diverse: Have a focus on inclusion in your end of year celebrations. Explore Christmas the world over and even talk about the fact that not all cultures celebrate Christmas. Where possible, involve families and educators in discussing how they celebrate during the festive period. These books could help too.
Cooking to celebrate: Christmas and other celebrations often have many different cuisines associated with it. Why not get children exploring this? How do you make the food, what does it symbolise, what do their families eat when celebrating?
Special reflections: As the end of the year approaches, encourage children to reflect. What has been learned this year? How are things different now compared to the beginning of the year? Reflections can relate back to Christmas, other cultural celebrations or the year that was.
Inclusive craft: Fostering a sense of belonging is important all year round, so consider the diversity of your children and families when planning craft. It can be helpful to shift the focus to the giving of gifts and appreciation of family, so making presents for loved ones is a great idea.

And don’t forget to come and get your gift of almost 6 weeks of free access to our Bonkers Beat Programs! If you start embedding our programs immediately, you can see the year out with so many benefits:

Parents raving about your centre
Educators feeling motivated with improved practical skills
An enhanced curriculum that boosts children’s brain development
A centre with a fun and stimulating environment
Engaged parents and even your entire local community
Happy, confident children with tools to learn and express themselves

Discover more about the Bonkers Beat Programs here.

Ready to get started on your free, no obligation, no strings attached trial? CLICK HERE!

08/11/201808/11/2018

Inspiring ways to build collaborative relationships with families

In a busy, fast-paced world, to involve families with your centre when they are already juggling children, work, home duties and many other commitments can be a complex challenge. On one hand, we all understand being time poor, but we also know the positive impact collaborative relationships between centres and families can have on children’s outcomes.

The National Quality Standard has a Quality Area dedicated this very goal; Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities. Here’s how it is officially defined as per the ACECQA website:

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.

So, what is a collaborative partnership?

Running events that parents come along to is great, but it’s not quite a collaborative partnership. To be collaborative with families and the community you need to create opportunities for them to contribute to the curriculum and have active input into children’s education at your centre. Thankfully, collaboration doesn’t have to be a huge time-consuming commitment for families.

Many centres continue to struggle with involving families in their Quality Improvement Plan or decision making, but it can be done – and it doesn’t have to be as challenging as you might think. Let’s explore some ways you can inspire families and communities to work with you and your centre.

Simple ways to inspire collaboration

Not only will developing collaborative partnerships contribute positively to children’s outcomes, they can also play a role in the success of your centre and help you achieve an Excellent Rating under the NQS. In fact, services must be able to demonstrate that they provide exceptional education and care in a minimum of three of these six areas

Collaborative partnerships with professional, community or research organisations
Commitment to children that respects, reflects and celebrates culture and diversity, including place of origin
Inclusive partnerships with children and families
Positive workplace culture and organisational values
Practice and environments that enhance children’s learning and growth
Sustained commitment to professional development and support of educators.

Choose three that you want to focus on to get started. For Bonkers Beat, we have always been passionate about engaging families in the curriculum and empowering parents with reinforcing music and wellbeing practices at home.

Therefore, in the application for Excellent Rating, Bonkers Beat nominated three excellence themes, which are very close to our heart:

Commitment to children that respects, reflects and celebrates culture and diversity, including place of origin
Inclusive partnerships with children and families
Practice and environments that enhance children’s learning and growth

What will your three focus themes be?

Once you’ve chosen them, these are simple and achievable ways to start creating some meaningful collaborative partnerships with parents and your centre’s local community:

Active events

Social events like a family fun evening, family picnic, movie night, sports event, attending community festivals, or even try a working bee. Not just events where families come and watch. We want it to be collaborative and active rather than passive. A working bee, for example, gets everyone working together — planning, learning and being productive while having fun! Working bees are a fantastic way to bring people together in an active way. Here are some photos from our latest working bee.

Effective feedback processes

In addition to fostering an open line of communication with families which is a must, actively ask for their opinions and feedback on a variety of topics. Before making a decision, where possible try to get families involved in the process.

Ask for input into the curriculum

Maybe you’re celebrating a cultural date or want to open a discussion about a certain country? Send a note home or post on your service’s Facebook group to invite families to participate by speaking to the children about their culture. Want to talk about different jobs people have? Ask families if they can come and talk to children about their career.

How do you promote collaborative relationships with families at your centre? Share with us on Facebook and let’s continue to inspire one another to deliver the best education possible.

12/07/201812/07/2018

Reasons to get outdoors even when it’s cold and rainy

When winter just starts to seem too chilly to bear, a tropical getaway is a must… Of course, that isn’t always possible so for most of us we need to find other ways to warm up!

Parents and educators alike can relate to the challenge of keeping children entertained, engaged and warm in the winter months. Rainy days, in particular, can leave educators and parents feeling frustrated – not to mention children, most of whom love to run around outside!

Thankfully, avoiding heading outside when it’s cold and rainy is unnecessary! As we like to say, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing! In fact, spending too much time indoors is how many coughs and colds are spread throughout winter. Get your gumboots, coats, scarves, gloves and beanies and get outside!

Here are a few reasons why spending time outside (even in winter) is a great idea:

1. Mood booster

The winter blues is a real thing and is often attributed to the increased time spent indoors which translates to less exposure to natural light and vitamin D.

2. Fresh air

Fresh air and getting amongst nature can give your immune system a much-needed boost. Flush out your airways with some cool, crisp winter air and reap the rewards. In fact, babies in Sweden are almost always bundled up for naptime outdoors to gain the benefits of the fresh air!

3. Get moving

It’s no secret that we tend to be more active outdoors, and that goes for children and adults. With more room to move, getting outside means more physical activity which will benefit your health and mood right away.

An outlet for indoors

If the weather really is too severe to brave the outdoors, there are plenty of ways to get active and boost children’s overall wellbeing while indoors.

Daily yoga practice is something we do at Bonkers Beat daily, and it can be enjoyed indoors or outside. If you’re not sure about how to do yoga with children, start by checking out our Yoga Cards, designed especially for children with simple instructions and engaging illustrations.

Want an effective release for children’s energy while inside? Turn the music up! Get moving to your Bonkers Beat music CDs or any music that children enjoy! Music and dancing enable self-expression, a physical outlet for emotions and is just good fun! Take a look in the Bonkers Beat shop here.

28/06/201829/06/2018

Special offer for your new financial year resolutions

For centre owners and in fact any business owner, the end of financial year is a time for assessing financial and business goals.

The new Child Care Subsidy has meant further challenges for a number of centres too, with some potentially losing families as a result of their change in subsidy.

With the busy admin of getting tax time sorted and switching to the Child Care Subsidy system nearly over, it’s time to focus on your new financial year resolutions!

We think every business should take the opportunity to create new financial year resolutions – it’s a perfect halfway point in the year to consider how your child care centre can be even better.

To help you take your centre to the next level, we’ve got a special offer for your new financial year resolutions!

Make the next financial year your best year ever!

Parting with a lump sum of money is never fun. We don’t like to do it and we’re guessing you don’t either! So, don’t! We’re offering you the opportunity to start the new financial year right by implementing multi-award-winning music and wellbeing programs in your centre with a simple, affordable monthly fee.

Special Offer: New Financial Year Resolution

This offer enables you to avoid paying an upfront fee and only pay an affordable monthly fee to secure the Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing programs in your centre from 1 August 2018 through to December 2019! That’s 18 months of the highest quality, ongoing professional development, training and support for your entire team!

No upfront fees
Easy monthly payments
Award-winning programs
High-quality training and support for your whole team for 18 months!

NOTE: This offer is only available to centres who join the program before 1 August! Submit your interest now.

Embed the most innovative, world-class music program in your centre to boost your occupancy, enhance curriculum, motivate educators, improve NQS rating, engage parents and stand out in this crazy busy marketplace.

The increasing number of child care centres across the country means that standing out from the rest is more important than ever. Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing Programs ensure you do just that! Increasing occupancy is just one of the many outcomes of our educational programs.

Families and communities now understand the incredible benefits of music, movement, yoga and meditation, and our programs enable you to expertly embed these powerful benefits into your centre immediately!

Remember; if you want to incorporate a world-class award-winning program in your centre for an affordable monthly fee and enjoy amazing benefits for your centre, your staff and families and children for 18 months, you have to register before 1 August 2018!

Head to http://www.earlychildhoodeducationalprograms.com.au/ to read more about what is included and the benefits and make the next financial year your best year ever!

Or email us at info@bonkersbeat.com

07/06/201807/06/2018

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.