Tag: music and wellbeing

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Say it with a poem this Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day poems can be one of the most treasured, meaningful gifts a mum can receive from her child.

Mother’s Day art, craft and morning/afternoon tea are all wonderful inclusions in Mother’s Day celebrations, but this year we’re focusing on poetry for the occasion.

Mother’s Day Poetry – The benefits

The benefits of poetry for children are many and varied.

We recently wrote about how poetry can benefit children’s development, including their memory, emotional comprehension and physical coordination.

In Reading Magic, fantastic Australian author Mem Fox says:

“Rhymers will be readers: it’s that simple. Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.”

There is a huge amount of research to support that poetry makes learning language easier and much more enjoyable for children.

Poetry is fun to learn and reading it aloud can help children to build confidence and self-esteem (along with memorisation and rhythm).

Roses are red, violets are blue, here’s a Mother’s Day poem for you

Use poem writing as an exercise in vocabulary development and self-expression with the children in your centre (or at home).

An acrostic Mother’s Day poem is a great one to try with young children. It is simple and places the emphasis on letter recognition, spelling and increasing vocabulary. Here’s an example from Kidspot:

Adapt this approach to suit whichever name children use to call their mother, including other languages or for relatives who fulfill the maternal role in children’s lives.

As always we remind centres to stay inclusive and open Mother’s Day celebrations to the special women in children’s lives, whether they are grandmothers, aunties, step mums and the like. Every family is unique.

Any child can read a poem to their mother. With a help of an adult, young children can say only some of the words or do actions to accompany the poem.

We would love to share the Bonkers Beat poem ‘My Mum’ with you all to use for this Mother’s Day.

Gain exclusive access to this Mother’s Day poem here.

If you have a special Mothers’ Day poem of your own to share, we’d love to see it on Facebook!

 

 

 

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3 amazing ways poetry impacts children’s development

It’s no surprise that at Bonkers Beat we LOVE music. Along with a beat and some fun instruments, music often includes lyrics or can be based around poems. For children’s songs these rhyming words focus on a message or a subject that they can relate to, escape within, express feelings through or simply enjoy.

On Tuesday 21 March, World Poetry Day takes place offering a special time to focus on poetry in early childhood education.

Children love rhymes, but there’s also three amazing ways that poetry impacts children’s development.

1. Poetry for memory and language

Poetry is closely linked with recognising and memorising patterns both audibly and visually – that is, through both listening to the sound of poems being read and through reading them on paper firsthand. This style of information processing can also be helpful when children are learning maths and new languages.

2. Poetry for emotional development

By producing sounds and beats, poems allow even very young babies and children to experience language and storytelling on a less cognitive and more emotional level. Some studies also show that poetry contributes to building resilience in children and expanding their capacity to experience and understand emotions.

3. Poetry for physical development

Clapping, turning around, hands up in the air – many poems and rhymes work alongside simple, fun physical movement, much like music. At Bonkers Beat many if not all of our poems and songs have movements to go along with them that not only improve children’s understanding of the content but get the blood flowing!

These are just a few of the benefits of poetry for children. One of the most simple and convincing reasons to make sure you expose children to poems at a young age is the first thing we mentioned – children love them!

Head over to Facebook and let’s come up with some of the best poems we’ve used in centres!

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Everyone Belongs – Celebrating Harmony Day

Harmony Day 2017 takes place on March 21, celebrating cultural diversity throughout Australia and the world.

Nearly half of Australians were born overseas or they have a parent who was born overseas. In fact, in Australia we identify with roughly 300 ancestries! Now that’s cultural diversity!

Today’s young children are the key to embracing and nurturing a culturally diverse future – with so many different cultures between all of us Australians, there’s so much to celebrate!

Encourage family engagement

Families at your centre no doubt have many cultural backgrounds – so encourage them to share a bit about where they came from.

Harmony Day is perfect for exploring the special things that make us all different while acknowledging that we are all so alike as well.

Try getting families, children and even staff to share a bit about themselves including:

  • Different languages that may be spoken at home
  • Foods that are unique to certain cultural backgrounds
  • Special customs that are recognised in different cultures

Harmony Day art and craft

The Harmony Day official website has some simple yet meaningful craft activities to help you bring Harmony Day celebrations and discussions into your centre.

Harmony Day colouring in sheet

Paper Doll Chain

A Harmony Day hand tree is always a beautiful piece of art to create: simply trace around each child’s hand on a piece of paper or card and cut it out. Children can decorate their hand cut out to represent them and all hands can then be attached to the top of a painting or cut out of a tree trunk, making a tree top out of hand prints. Here’s a great example – you can make it as simple as you like though:

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Everyone belongs

While we explore our differences, the key message to share with children as we celebrate Harmony Day is that EVERYONE BELONGS.

We are different in many ways, but we are also the same in many ways too – and it is great to celebrate all these things and to share and learn with each other.

Have fun with this special day and we would love to see how you celebrate Harmony Day – share with us on Facebook!

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The Benefits of Open Days for Families (and Centres!)

Open Days are an essential ingredient to help families make the right choice for their children when it comes to starting their early childhood education.

For a family to choose the centre or kinder that best suits their needs and preferences for their child isn’t as simple as looking at a website or hearing positive things in the community. While these are important and help with the decision-making process, there’s no substitute for getting up close and personal with a centre and its staff.

Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale, Victoria is hosting an Open Day on Saturday 4 March. From 10am until midday we have invited members of our local community to come along and visit our centre.

We’ve arranged a music show and yoga with Bonkers for children and families to be entertained as well as gain a deeper, more interactive understanding of our approach to early childhood education.

Attending Open Days presents many benefits to families. Here are three of the main reasons families should definitely attend Open Days to get firsthand experience of a centre:

How Families Can Get the Most from Open Days

1: Programs and Facilities
Explore the centre and see for yourself what it has on offer, rather than read or hear about it.

Questions to consider:
-Does the centre have a rich curriculum to benefit my child?
-Are educational programs embedded in the curriculum and offered daily?
-Is there a funded kindergarten program?
-Are the facilities clean and up to date?

2: Meet the Educators
Meet some of the individuals you would be entrusting with your child’s wellbeing.

Questions to consider:
-Do I find the educators and staff to be likeable and friendly?
-Did the team seem genuine and passionate?
-What are the team’s qualifications and specialty areas?

3: Trust Your Feelings
Get a feel for the centre that can only be felt in person.

Questions to consider:
-How do you feel visiting the centre?
-Can I see my child enjoying spending time at the centre?

Perhaps you’re from a centre and have been wondering if an Open Day is worthwhile for you to showcase what you have on offer for local families – here’s how you can deliver to the community and give them the information they need to decide if you’re the right fit for their families.

Reasons Why Your Centre Should Hold an Open Day

1: Showcase your centre
Don’t just tell – SHOW the local community and families what you have to offer. Planning an open day allows you to put your best foot forward and demonstrate to families why they should choose your centre for their child or children.

2: Meet the Families
Early childhood education is a crucial part of a child’s life and in our communities. Engaging with local families shows and grows your passion for your centre’s wider community and its members. An Open Day could be the beginning of a long relationship between you, your centre and these parents and children.

3: Be Transparent
You can have great flyers, ads and a perfect centre, but the way your centre makes parents and families feel when they are there is a key factor when it comes to enrolling. Let your centre’s positive energy and warm atmosphere shine through to families on a day dedicated to your centre and all that it has to offer children who attend!

Attend or hold an Open Day this year and enjoy the benefits for yourself as either a parent or a centre.

If you’re local to the Aspendale area, visit our Open Day at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder & Childcare on Saturday 4 March, 10am-12pm. Hope to see you there!

Open Day Poster 2017 (wo bleeds)

 

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A Holistic Approach to Educators’ Wellness

If you focus on the wellbeing of the children in your care but perhaps don’t do enough for the mental health of your educators, you’re not alone.

As early childhood educators it’s only natural that our emphasis on wellbeing and health usually focuses on the children in our care. However, the wellness of educators is vital too and can have an impact on children in their care.

Thankfully, you can tackle both with the one holistic approach.

The importance of educator wellbeing

In order to deliver the best outcomes for children, we need to ensure the health and wellbeing of educators is taken care of.

According to a 2014 paper on the subject of childcare providers’ mental health, is it essential that we prioritise educator wellbeing. The paper specifically states:

“Childcare providers’ mental health is important for their well-being and its potential impact on turnover and care quality”.

This is alarming, yet not entirely surprising. If an educator’s is physically unwell, we understand they will not be capable of performing to the best of their ability. Mental health should be considered similarly. That is, if an educator’s mental health needs attention, their work will suffer too.

How can we do better?

The mental health of educators impacts staff retention, quality of care delivered to children – not to mention the personal overall wellbeing of the individuals themselves.

With this knowledge, we as an industry must consider how we can do better.

We believe a greater focus on the mental and physical wellness of children and educators is a must.

A priority of our Bonkers Beat training is to help educators to learn the knowledge and practical tools they need to improve the overall wellbeing.

The wellbeing education of children should start from educators self education and their own wellbeing.

A focus on wellbeing practices in centres

We see more and more centres promoting yoga, meditation and music to attract families, but the key is in how we embed these practices in centres.

The benefits of these approaches to enhancing wellbeing in children – and educators who take part alongside children – will not have the profound impact we desire without consistent, regular, ongoing routines.

At Bonkers Beat we believe that wellbeing practices deserve a daily time slot. Over the past decade we have developed a program dedicated to this. We have now successfully incorporated the wellbeing-enhancing approaches of yoga, meditation and music into various centres across the country. And the results speak for themselves.

Each day we hear about staff becoming more motivated and inspired, children’s behaviour improving dramatically and boosts in family engagement.

Prioritise wellbeing for your educators (and centre) to thrive

For your educators to thrive and flourish, along with the children in their care and of course your centre, switch the focus to wellbeing.

Our Melbourne Bonkers Beat members did just that at our Summer 2017 Wellness Summit last week – click here to take a look.

If you need guidance in doing this, rest assured this is what the Bonkers Beat community does best. You can register your interest in joining us here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Soothing Separation Anxiety in Children (and Parents!)

separation anxiety

Many children have just started in new centres, new schools or perhaps new rooms with an existing care provider.

For some families and educators it will be all smiles and a smooth transition. For others it can be very upsetting as children can be distressed, particularly at drop off time. Sometimes we see parents feeling separation anxiety around this time too. This is nothing to be concerned about.

Separation anxiety is not unusual – in fact, it’s quite common. With a few tried and tested strategies, educators and centres can help families to overcome separation anxiety and make drop off time easier for everyone.

What causes separation anxiety?

To understand it best we need to know what brings on bouts of separation anxiety.

Two of the most common causes of separation anxiety we tend to see in early childhood education are directly related to:

-Change in surroundings eg moving house, changing schools/care providers

-Manifestation of parental separation anxiety.

Strategies to soothe separation anxiety

As educators, there are things we can do to help parents and children feel less anxious at drop off time and keep separation anxiety under control.

1. Get ready

A good orientation process can be really effective at reducing the onset of separation anxiety.

Whether it’s a new room, new educators or a new centre, we should guide parents and children to prepare for the impending change in advance.

2. Create a routine

It’s not just children who love routines – adults benefit from them too! Parents and children should be encouraged to create a regular, reliable routine for childcare/kinder days. This helps everyone understand what to expect.

On arrival, knowing what will be happening in the centre will assist children to be even more confident and settle into the day better. (This will help parents to relax too!)

3. Focus on relationships

We believe that collaboration with families is essential for the best outcomes for children in early childhood.

Communicate with parents and reassure them. Parents need to know that educators are capable of identifying signs of discomfort or distress in their child and that their wellbeing is your priority.

4. Incorporate transitional songs

The Bonkers Beat Music Program harnesses the power of music in many ways for centres and children – one such way is through the use of transitional songs.

A transitional song is a great way to facilitate a smooth transition between activities in childcare settings. This same approach could be applied to the drop off period for parents and children. A simple song to be sung by families on the way into the centre each time could be a valuable addition to the routine to help everyone to adapt to the approaching shift in environment.

Your support counts

Separation anxiety isn’t enjoyable for anyone, however your support as an educator can go a long way to help families through it.

Calm voices, reassuring words and body language and a positive attitude paired with our strategies will help guide you through as children settle in to 2017.

If you feel you would like more tips, this ACECQA resource is very handy and full of information to help.

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Thank you for another inspiring year

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Singing & Stretching,

Galina

and the Bonkers Beat team

 

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The Child’s Developing Brain

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

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

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

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

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

Understanding a Child’s Learning

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

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

Approaches to Early Childhood Education

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

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

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

Strategies for Tackling Challenging Behaviour

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

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

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

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

A Quick Guide

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

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A day of professional development for your ENTIRE team

professional development to your entire team

Each and every centre running the Bonkers Beat Music and Wellbeing programs gets the opportunity to attend two exclusive Wellness Summits each 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.

Professional development delivered to your entire team

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!

As if that’s not enough, 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.

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

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

The Winter Wellness Summit will travel across Australia over August and September with all participating centres attending.

The event features:

-Reggio Emilia expert Kerrie O’Neill from Early Childhood Hub

-Wellbeing expert

-Managing behaviour with music and games

-Learning enhancing strategies

-A practical and informative session on setting up systems in your centre

-MUCH MORE!

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

If this innovative, practical and cost-effective professional development day sounds like something you and your team would like to be involved in, 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.

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Reflections and Resolutions

There’s nothing quite like a brand new year to start something new, set some resolutions and plan for success! Let’s not rush in too quickly though – first we should reflect on the year that was.

Here’s a video of the highlights of 2015 for the Bonkers Beat team:

While we note down those highlights as elements of 2015 that we’d like to replicate for 2016, it’s also important to reflect on things we could improve, things that need a fresh approach and things that were not worthwhile. This may include events, excursions, systems and procedures and many other areas. Ask questions: What worked? What needs to be tweaked? What caused us stress and how could we minimise that stress this time around?

Set yourselves up for success in 2016 by having this discussion about reflections and resolutions within your team, and perhaps even with your families, and find the lessons from 2015 that will help make this year even brighter and more successful!

On a final note as we reflect and look forward, we wish all 2015 kinder graduates a very special year as they begin their formal schooling! What an exciting time for many children and parents – the first day of school is a memory to be treasured for life and we are so proud of all the young children who are taking that next step in their educations this year.

Now, let’s get stuck into 2016! Keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter!

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