wellbeing Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Early Learning Childhood Education

08/12/201609/12/2016

Making the Biggest Decision for Your Child’s Future

There’s so much to think about during the early years of a child’s life. For parents it can be quite a whirlwind, from the sleeplessness of the first months to finding your feet in parenthood and then all of a sudden children are being enrolled at childcare or kinder.

With the knowledge that the first five years of life are when the brain does its most intensive wiring and development, making educated and informed choices about your child’s early learning is vital.

Pre-cursor for School Success

While childcare and pre-school/kindergarten programs are play-based forms of learning, they can play a big role in your child’s success in school.

In fact, a recent study by the University of Missouri College Education highlights the importance of pre-school years for children’s educational development and preparation for success in life.

Continuity of Care: It’s Crucial

When choosing a childcare or pre-school program for your child, it’s always best to think long-term – that is, commit to continuity of care for your child right through to commencing primary school.

Continuity of care means that children remain at one early childhood educational service for the three years prior to starting school. Early Childhood Australia says that consistency between settings is a critical factor in thinking about effective learning over the long term. “While children are certainly resilient and adaptable, their experiences of transitions and change are likely to be more favourable when there is as much consistency and continuity between settings as possible.”

Sometimes parents leave their current service to enrol their children in the 4-year old funded kindergarten year at the local government kinder. This is the equivalent of switching primary schools in grade 5 or high schools in year 11. Of course this can be a necessity when a family is moving areas, but for the most part these transitions don’t allow children to flourish and continue an uninterrupted developmental journey.

Extra Transitions Unnecessary

There are two main reasons we see this final year switch take place. The first is financial. It is often more affordable for families to send their children to the local government kindergarten. However, government subsidies and benefits like CCB make this cost difference less noticeable. Furthermore, you’ll find more flexible hours, excursions and incursions available in some settings like Bonkers Beat, included in the fees. Not to mention school holiday care! Most importantly of course, the very best early childhood education is an investment in your child’s future.

The other reason we find that drives families to change centres in 4-year old kindergarten is that they are under the impression that this will ensure their children have friends who will attend the same school. While friendships that continue into school can be wonderful, many primary schools will in fact separate children who have arrived from the same kinder in order to encourage even more new friendships to flourish in this new environment.

It’s important to note as well that there are often many kindergartens that feed into local primary schools, not just the government kinder nearest to the school. For example, local primary schools in and around Aspendale in Victoria love our Bonkers Beat Music Kinder because the children who transition to school from Bonkers Beat are very confident, creative and have more developed social and emotional skills.

Make the Commitment

Research supports continuity as an essential ingredient for the very best early education experience for children. This is also evident in our experience too. When your child commences care, make the commitment for your child’s future and pursue continuous care where possible for the best outcomes.

Before enrolling your child into a kindergarten or childcare, take the time to do the research and find the right high quality service for your child. To allow your child a smooth transition to school in the future, you may even like to start investigating your options for primary and secondary education. Whether your decision is based on a high quality public, religion-oriented or private school it should resonate with your family values and provide the best foundation for your child’s future.

30/11/201622/09/2017

School Holiday Activities Guide: Indoors, Outdoors, Adventures and Quiet Time

December is here and that means school holidays are around the corner. Our guide to school holiday activities means you’ll have a go-to activity for children over summer for rain, hail or shine.

School holidays are fun but they can also be a little hectic at times. Having a bit of a plan in place can go a long way to making the summer break more enjoyable for everyone.

Working families who can’t take time off over the holidays can rest assured that there are some excellent school holiday programs available. Many of these offer a range of fun experiences for your children while giving you the support you need to get to work. After all, we all know life doesn’t stop for the school holidays!

You might like to print out our guide and stick it on the fridge, or even print and cut some activities into strips and allow children to take a lucky dip to allocate them an activity.

You’ll find most of our suggestions are cheap or free, because financial pressure is the last thing you need this time of year.

Indoors

1. Make something yummy to eat – sweet cupcakes or savoury pizza
2. Get dressed up and dance to music or role play
3. Create a self portrait
4. Create a portrait of someone else
5. Get artsy with a craft project using paper, glue, pencils, feathers, wool etc
6. Build a fort/cubby under a table
7. Do a room clean out and discover some forgotten toys

Outdoors

8. Have a picnic in the backyard or at a park or beach (even a pretend picnic)
9. Fly a kite (make your own!)
10. Do some gardening – get all the weeds out or even plant something like herbs
11. Go on a treasure hunt! Try this nature hunt list.
12. Get out a ball and work on your throwing, catching or kicking

Adventure

13. Head to the library (sign up is free and there are often community activities too)
14. Catch a train or bus somewhere
15. Plan a visit to the zoo
16. Visit your local shopping centre – they might have some school holiday activities too
17. Plan a day at a museum
18. Take a nature walk

Quiet Time

19. Find a nice space to do some reading (books from the library perhaps?)
20. Watch a movie
21. Tackle a jigsaw puzzle
22. Play a boardgame
23. Play cards (snap, go fish, memory or pairs)
24. Try meditation to unwind after a busy day – here are some tips

There you have it – our guide to the school holiday activities gives you 24 boredom-proof activities for children of various ages. We want the list to grow, so share your best ideas with us on Facebook!

03/11/201604/11/2016

Good Habits Start Young – National Recycling Week

From November 7 – 13 it’s National Recycling Week – the week for paying extra attention to the way we take care of the environment by avoiding excess waste. Teaching children about the three ‘R’s and how they can take care of the world around us is essential for a healthy, sustainable future.

The three ‘R’s are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It’s a simple and memorable way of thinking about how we can all make a difference by making small changes and by being mindful and aware.

To make your recycling discussion more engaging – and just because we love music – please enjoy this gift from Bonkers the Monkey. Click here for your exclusive access to our song ‘Bonkers Rap’. A fun resource for talking about looking after the planet!

Recycling can be fun, especially if you do it creatively. After all, in many centres the majority of craft activities are born of recycled cartons and containers!

Let’s look at the three ‘R’s in more detail, as well as how adults and children can make positive changes at home and in centres.

Reduce

Look at all the packaging on everything from food to toys and it’s not hard to imagine that a huge amount of waste is created in every household year in, year out. Christmas and birthdays are always an insight into this as the bins are overflowing as packaging fills them to the brim in one day. When just one kilogram of aluminium generates more than 15kgs of greenhouse gas, we can’t ignore the impact of packaging on the environment.

Between us all we can make a huge difference by aiming to minimise the amount of packaging-heavy products we buy. The less we purchase things that are excessively wrapped, the better example we are setting for children and for these companies that reducing waste is important to us and the planet.

Avoiding individually wrapped items is an easy one to stick to. Skip the plastic at the supermarket and put the fruit and veg straight in the trolley or basket. Don’t forget to take a plastic bag alternative when you go shopping.

Reuse

Reusing things is an excellent way of helping to reduce waste. There are so many ways we can do this.

Using refillable containers for drinking as well as for handwash, toiletries and more minimises waste. Washed plastic containers from takeaway, egg cartons and milk bottles can all be used in centres and homes to store things and as the basis for art and craft projects.

When it comes to electronics, homewares and clothes, there’s no doubt another family who needs these things so rather than throw them away in your next clean out, consider donating or offering to people you know.

Food scraps are often suitable for pets or for compost. Maybe a neighbour has a garden that could utilise your organic waste.

Recycle

Recycling goes a long way to reduce the impact of pollution and helps to keep the planet in good shape.

At Bonkers Beat Music Kinder we have rubbish and recycle bins arranged in each room and discuss with children the importance of using the correct bin. Needless to say, children are fascinated to learn that their off-cuts of used scrap paper can be turned into tissues, newspapers, kitty litter and moulded cartons for eggs and fruit.

A good key to recycling effectively is to always aim to buy recyclable items. This means avoiding things that are packaged in materials that need to be separated and make recycling challenging.

Children might enjoy watching this video, How Recycling Works: http://www.getitrightbinnight.vic.gov.au/how-recycling-works/

Work with children to feel the different textures of plastic and paper and how to separate them for optimal recycling – as always the key is to make it fun. Creating a sustainable future is something that should be engrained in children in a positive way and now is the time to begin!

If you’d like to learn more, these links may be of interest to you:

http://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/10-ways-make-recycling-fun-kids/http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Campaigns/reuse–recycle–reduce.html
http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/putrubbishaway.pdf
http://www.wwf.org.au/get_involved/change_the_way_you_live/sustainable_shopping_tips/

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20/10/201620/10/2016

Celebrating Children’s Rights this Children’s Week

Whether you’re an early childhood educator, a teacher or a parent, a huge part of your life is dedicated to caring for children and celebrating their achievements.

From October 22 – 30, the whole of Australia is encouraged to celebrate children’s rights, talents and abilities during Children’s Week.

A Caring World Shares

Children’s Week has a permanent theme that remains each year: ‘A caring world shares’. What a beautiful sentiment to teach to the children in our care!

In 2016 Children’s Week bases their week of celebrating around an article from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2016 it is Article 17: ‘Children’s right to Reliable Information from the Media’.

Article 17 as written in the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) is:

“You have the right to get information that is important to your well being, from radio, newspaper, books, computers and other sources. Adults should make sure that the information you are getting is not harmful, and help you find and understand the information you need.”

Perhaps you could be inspired by this to talk to the children in your care about the various places they can find information – and that information can be different because there is not always one answer or solution.

We live in a world in which we are bombarded by messages and information. Whether it’s via the TV, radio, internet, tablets, smartphones – the media and information sources are everywhere 24/7.

Resources for Celebrating Children’s Week

To further assist you in your discussions with children, the book ‘Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood – Teaching Young Children in the Media Age’ is a valuable resource. Click here to read an excerpt of the book on the NAEYC website about how teachers can protect children and promote their development in a media-saturated world.

If you’re up for a song – and you know the team at Bonkers Beat is ALWAYS up for a song! – take a look at the Children’s Week song! It’s a bit long for younger children, but take a verse or two that you really love and try it in your centre. Click here to listen to the song or view/print the lyrics.

Children’s Week is all about children’s rights but also their talents – another way to celebrate might be to encourage children to discover their own special talent and share it with one another. Special talents may be a dance, singing, drawing or even just doing a funny voice! Have fun with it and enjoy celebrating children during Children’s Week – although no doubt you already do that each day.

People photograph designed by Pressfoto – Freepik.com

22/09/201622/09/2016

Be Fit, Stay Fit

To optimise the wellbeing of young children, it’s important to give them the tools they need in life to achieve and maintain good health. Physical activity is an essential ingredient, contributing to a child’s development, ability to learn and mental health.

Physical Activity for Children Every Day

At Bonkers Beat we are dedicated to early childhood development incorporating a range of learning experiences that involve physical activity. Our Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale, Victoria incorporates daily yoga for children as well as a variety of active fun.

In our upcoming school holiday program we organise incursions from Active Start Sports who specialise in sports programs for young children. These incursions are always a hit with children at the centre. The sessions equip them with new skills, get them working on their motor skills and allow them to release plenty of energy!

The Benefits of Physical Activity for Children

So what are the benefits of physical activity for children? Here’s our top 5:

Improve children’s balance, coordination, flexibility and strength
Group sports provide a valuable socialising opportunity to make friends and learn how to be a part of a team
Improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance
Maximise children’s ability to learn by improving concentration
Promote relaxation and happiness through burning off energy and the release of endorphins (the happy hormone)

Getting Active Together

Bonkers Beat Music Kinder’s upcoming Working Bee has a physical activity theme too – Be Fit, Stay Fit!

With plenty of digging, lifting and tidying to be done around the centre, it’s an excellent example of how we can work on improving our physical fitness in daily activities. Plus, being active is always more fun when we’re doing it together!

Taking our commitment to staying physically fit and healthy even further, during this year’s Working Bee we will be installing bike racks at the centre! This is to encourage children and their families to ride their bikes to kinder or childcare.

A mini-gym is also a part of our Working Bee plan – another fun way for pre-school children to get active!

Be Fit, Stay Fit

As adults we know how challenging it can feel to embark on physical activity, especially when we’ve let our fitness levels lapse. What a wonderful thing to do for children to embed a love, understanding and appreciation of physical activity and its benefits while they are young. In fact, a commitment to physical activity won’t just benefit children now – it is a gift that can improve their futures and will also have a huge positive impact on their overall wellbeing as they move into adolescence and adulthood.

How do you encourage children to be active and stay fit? Share with us on Facebook!

09/09/201609/09/2016

The Purpose of Play in Early Childhood

When we try to think of something happy, children playing is often one of the first things that comes to mind. The simple idea of children playing and laughing epitomises joy. That’s pretty powerful. Even more than just happiness, play and play-based learning are essential to any early childhood pedagogy. Let’s go back to basics and explore.

What is ‘play’?

To get us started with our discussion on the topic, let’s look at the meaning of the word play.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines play as: recreational activity; especially the spontaneous activity of children.

Look up play in the Oxford Dictionary and is says: Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.

Adding to the above, there are several definitions that expand on the above. Early Childhood Australia (ECA) outlines some of these various meanings for us:

-pleasurable-play is an enjoyable and pleasurable activity. Play sometimes includes frustrations, challenges and fears; however enjoyment is a key feature

-symbolic-play is often pretend, it has a ‘what if?’ quality. The play has meaning to the player that is often not evident to the educator

-active-play requires action, either physical, verbal or mental engagement with materials, people, ideas or the environment

-voluntary-play is freely chosen. However, players can also be invited or prompted to play

-process oriented-play is a means unto itself and players may not have an end or goal in sight

What is play-based learning?

Play-based learning is just that – learning that is based in play. But let’s not oversimplify it as it is a research-based approach that has a lot of thought behind it.

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia describes play-based learning as “a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations”.

The benefits of play-based learning

We love that play-based learning works with children’s interests while opening children up to a range of learning experiences.

These learning experiences can be related to so many areas of importance, including:

-Wellbeing

-Relationships with others

-Negotiation and conflict resolution

-Problem solving

-Curiosity

-Creativity

The benefits of play-based learning have been studied extensively, with many researchers finding that children learn best in child-directed settings accompanied by adults.

Of course, it’s up to educators to gently direct children’s play by providing stimuli and activities that will bring about the intended learning. This is where intentional teaching is so important. That is, educators being purposeful and thoughtful about how a centre’s program and learning outcomes are approached.

Let’s not forget about documentation either. Documentation is a vital element of play-based learning and in fact all learning within an early childhood setting if we are to have any chance of meaningful reflection about our curriculum and learning outcomes.

Creating positive early childhood programs

-A play-based approach is best for optimal learning

-Your play program should be child-led by educator-guided and well planned

-Provide children with an early childhood program that takes a holistic approach

-Focus on the learning outcomes and intentional teaching in all that you do as an educator

-Learning – and especially play-based learning – should always be fun so keep it light and enjoyable

-Don’t forget about documentation and following each child’s unique learning journey through play

People photograph designed by Pressfoto – Freepik.com

21/07/201622/07/2016

Revealed: The Top 3 Challenges Faced by Early Childhood Educators

On July 12 the very first Wellness Works: The Complete Early Childhood Leaders Conference took place in Melbourne… And what a fantastic success it was!

In the lead up to the Melbourne event, we did some research to find out exactly what challenges in early childhood education were coming up for educators, leaders, managers and owners working in the field. The reason for this was to ensure that the conference addresses what you really want and need from your early childhood professional development. We asked many centres to share their top three challenges, and it’s safe to say there was a theme in the responses!

Top 3 Challenges in Centres

Here are the top 3 challenges in early childhood education that we identified after reviewing responses from a range of centres. These are challenges that are faced on a daily or regular basis by educators, room leaders, management and owners.

Motivation

Many centres find they have difficulties with motivating their teams – from getting them motivated initially, to keeping them motivated. This is a priority at Wellness Works and is addressed thoroughly. Our approach is through empowering and motivating the leaders in the centre as the basis of improving motivation levels across the team. Our tactics and tips are foolproof…

Transitions

If you’re like the vast majority of the educators we heard from, transitions continue to cause stress and are a great source of frustration in centres. We’ve been careful to focus on this area and deliver practical ways for your centre to tackle transitions. You will even find them enjoyable…!

Documentation

How do we document a child’s learning, how do we maintain adequate – even excellent – standards for our centre’s documentation without it being a job too big to handle? Documentation is a hot topic for early childhood and we set out to improve your understanding of documentation and make sure it is no longer a huge challenge for you and your centre.

Do these challenges sound all too familiar? Not to worry –Wellness Works: The Complete Early Childhood Leaders Conference comes to Sydney on July 26 and Brisbane on July 28. Both Galina and Alina (or the Duolinas as they’ve been dubbed!) are really excited. If you’re coming along to Wellness Works, you should be excited too! (And if you haven’t got your seats organised yet, you’re in luck as there are still a couple of places available for Sydney and Brisbane – be quick and get them here!)

What Early Childhood Professionals are Saying

Here’s what just a few of the Melbourne Wellness Works attendees had to say about the event:

“Thank you today was very enjoyable. I have RSI I took so many notes!”
– Mandy, Joseph Avenue ELC

“Great opportunity. I feel empowered to take back to a team. Loved the songs and games”
– Rebecca

“This PD was fantastic, all the info was great, very engaging and fun”
– Jessica, Aberdeen Street ELC

Join us at Wellness Works: The Complete Early Childhood Leaders Conference and let’s break down your challenges in early childhood education and address them together.

Featuring the engaging and experienced early childhood experts, Galina and Alina, this just might be the best professional development session you attend this year!

14/07/201614/07/2016

Grandparents and their impact on children’s wellness

Did you know that involving parents in children’s pre-school and school life is linked to closer bonds with children, increased resilience and overall family wellbeing? Involving grandparents is beneficial to strengthening family bonds too and further improving the wellbeing of young children. This is why each year we encourage all providers of early childhood education to fit in a day dedicated to celebrating grandparents.

In the Seven Stone Philosophy, a stone is dedicated to relationships and their impact on wellbeing: “Healthy relationships lead to better lives. They are important and have an enormous impact on our physical and mental health.” Mums and dads should of course be celebrated, but we also believe that grandparents unique role in children’s lives should be celebrated too. This is why we always include a Grandparents Day each year!

Relationships can vary

As we all know, families come in all different shapes and sizes, and family dynamics and relationships can vary greatly.

Each child has a different relationship with their grandparents, while some may not have grandparents. It can be a good idea to invite children to celebrate grandparents and special friends, so that an aunty, uncle, godparent or family friend can attend too.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day presents an opportunity for children to share their learning environment – it’s always a treat to watch children give the tour and point out their artwork along the way!

July is the month we choose and recommend for celebrating Grandparents and Special Friends Day at Bonkers Beat – with Mothers Day in May and Father’s Day in September, it fits nicely in between.

Get creative for Grandparents and Special Friends Day

Here are some creative ideas to include in your celebration of Grandparents and Special Friends Day:

Create a photo frame as a gift
Children can simply draw/paint their grandparents/special friends
Children enjoy cooking up a storm to share some special treats with grandparents/special friends
Get out the glue to create a collage that represents their relationship
Sing some special songs together
Put on a special show for grandparents/special friends
Play instruments together in a music session
All children act out a favourite book for the grandparents/special friends
Yoga and wellbeing activities with grandparents/special friends

Bonkers Beat members, share your ideas to celebrate grandparents and special friends on our closed group. Parents, let us know what you thought of our celebration on the closed group for the centre. Everyone else, feel free to share yours on our Facebook Page.

06/07/201608/07/2016

The Journey of a Small Local Kinder

Choosing the right childcare centre, kindergarten or school is one of the most challenging decisions parents have to make. It’s clear that many parents have an idea of what sort of program or approach to early childhood education they prefer… So how can our philosophy, values and early childhood curriculum suit everyone?

As early childhood educators, we want to deliver what all families want, but how do we do this while staying true to what we believe will help a child to reach their full potential?

Have a Vision

After teaching music to children for more than 25 years, it was evident to me that music is powerful! I could see how music could change lives and characters of young people and could become a key for the development of the whole child. The vision for me was to use music as the foundation of a program to nurture each individual, develop their sense of identity and unlock the door to reach their potential.

The questions I asked myself were: “How can we create a curriculum where music will become a strong and valuable foundation for children’s learning? How can we include music in everyday routines? How can we achieve the best outcomes for EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY?”

Fix your Focus

With so many expectations from parents, it’s hard to know what to focus on. “Will your programme help my child to read and write before he’ll start school?…” “Can you help my child become independent? He will be going to prep next year…”
“Don’t you teach children math in kinder? They need to know how to count…”

So where do we start? I believe we should start with VALUES. For example, the Bonkers Beat Philosophy is based on Five Principles:
• Respect for all people
• Respect for all animals & living creatures
• Respect for all plants & nature
• Respect for kinder & personal belongings
• Respect for yourself

While our program reflects these Five Principles, it’s clear that every curriculum should have only one Main Focus: THE CHILD!

Ask yourself these questions:

What is the main focus of our curriculum?

Is this working for the children (and educators)?

Are the children really interested and engaged?

Do I really know and understand every single child?

What new and exciting ideas can I offer?

What is my purpose and what is my vision?”

Remember every educator is a creator and every educator is an innovator. If our Main Focus is the CHILD, we are well on our way to delivering a world-class curriculum.

Wellness Works for Every Child

We mentioned in our previous blog, ‘Why Wellness REALLY Works’, that a holistic approach really is crucial to deliver high quality early childhood education. For me, the approach that made the most sense – and demonstrated amazing results – was through wellness. There’s really no denying that achieving wellness for children AND for educators improves every aspect of early childhood education – for families, staff, centres and the industry as a whole.

In our days of pressure and fast living, it’s so easy to fall into the habit of doing the same things over and over again. From time to time we might feel scared to make a change or try something different. Often, we get criticised for not doing things the ‘usual’ way. Believing in your dreams and working towards one goal with a team of supportive and dedicated people, will make a difference. It will help you to put your vision into practice.

For me, one single idea of a music program for EVERY CHILD EVERY DAY, was just the beginning of a comprehensive and innovative curriculum which is now successfully run in centres all over Australia!

There is always so much more for us to learn, that we can never say that all our work is done. There will always be many more opportunities to improve, make our curriculum better and reflect on the changes of our fast moving society.

I’ve joined forces with internationally renowned early childhood expert Alina Dan and invite you to join us at Wellness Works: The Complete Early Childhood Leaders Conference. Come along and see for yourself why a holistic approach is so unique and effective.

26/05/201626/05/2016

Make life easier with systems and procedures

While we all enjoy a little spontaneity and flexibility in our days, one thing is for certain – you can make life easier with systems and procedures.

This definitely applies to the way childcare centres are run – having systems in place reduces stress for educators, management, families: everyone! They are also vital for a successful operation of a centre, and can save money, time and headaches.

Systems and Procedures in Centres

Just about every element of the average day in a childcare/early learning centre needs to run to a schedule with a system in place to govern it. With so many children to guide and nurture, effective systems are a must for a centre that runs smoothly and successfully. Systems and procedures are also important for your NQS Rating – in fact, Standard 1.1 and Standard 7.3 specifically outlines the need for systems and processes in various areas of centres’ operation.

Here are some suggestions for systems and procedures to make sure your centre is set up to meet its full potential:

For Staff

Checklists – these are a fantastic way of tracking necessary tasks and systems on a daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly basis. So simple, so effective
Ensure educators have set days/times for planning and documenting children’s progress and a system of how to do this eg a book, template etc
Document all systems and procedures – a folder with standard operating procedures and guides for everything should be informative and accessible
Display procedures where possible: for example, have a script taped near the phone for answering calls and what to do with new enquiries etc

For Children

Transitional songs are an excellent element to add to your daily routines – whether it’s for packing away toys or washing hands.
Depict systems for arrival with clear images, steps and flowcharts around the centre. Eg reminder to put bag in its spot upon arrival, packing up bedding etc

For Parents and Families

Create a system for arrival and pick-up to ensure children’s safety and minimal disruptions to the other children
Provide families with a calendar of events well in advance to allow for adequate planning time (for centres and families)

Systems and Procedures in Life

Identifying patterns and turning them into systems can make your life less effortful and more enjoyable in a broader sense too…

With any systems and procedures, there should be an element of flexibility – it’s important to assess regularly and be open to change if something could be done better in some way. The goal should be to empower through effective systems and make life easier with more time for the fun things!