The Gut-Brain Connection (Nutrition in Early Childhood)
Ask many children today where they think food comes from and their answer will be ‘the supermarket’. Whole food eating for families is one of the best things we can do for children to have a healthy diet. A good place to start is by talking with children about where food comes from! We interviewed Hadley from The Remedy Project:...
Mat Time chats at the 53rd Annual ECNZ Conference 2016
Did you attend the 2016 Te Rito Maioha conference this year? Missed some talks that you really wanted to see? Well we’ve got that for you! Watch this highlights reel of some of the fabulous speakers who presented. And while you’re there, you really should subscribe to the Storypark YouTube channel for early learning inspiration. We share regular videos to...
How to support rainbow families at your early learning centre
What does heteronormativity mean? How does it relate to early childhood teachers? In this Mat Time interview, early childhood education lecturer Kath Cooper shares tips on how to include rainbow families in your early learning centre. Some families have two mums, some have two dads. Some children have one parent, and some have four! The important thing is that we accept...
Storypark is the platform of choice for IB schools
This blog post was written by Matt Dolmont who is the IB PYP Technology Coach at ISPP The International School of Phnom Penh (ISPP) is a non-profit IB World School based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It hosts learners of over 50 different nationalities from Early Years (pre-kindergarten) to Diploma (Grade 12). Increasingly, families turned to the teacher’s school blog to get weekly...
Experimenting with science for kindergarten and early learning
Children are natural scientists, always asking why, endlessly curious about the world around them. There are infinite ways we as educators can ignite their imaginations and feed their natural desire to experiment. These are just a few ideas for supporting science for kindergarten and early learning in your centre, school or home. Before each experiment, try asking the children what...
Including all children – the criteria is breathing
Recently on our new early learning web series “Mat Time” we interviewed Janet Dixon, who is an early learning educator and mentor, as well as a researcher, author and advocate for including all children. We talked to Janet about the skills early childhood teachers already have to be inclusive of all children and to be supportive of the families of...
Supporting a child’s transition from kindergarten to school
Recently on our new early learning web series “Mat Time” we interviewed Carol Hartley, who is the head teacher at Mangere Bridge Kindergarten in Auckland, New Zealand. Carol was part of a 10 year research project about supporting children from early childhood to primary school, and helped author a book on transitions called ‘Crossing The Border – a community negotiates...
Reading with children to improve communication and early literacy skills
Recently on our new early learning web series “Mat Time” we interviewed speech and language therapist Amanda White about using books to develop communication and literacy skills. Amanda told us that it’s never too early to start reading with children and babies, and shared some really helpful tips for both educators and parents about how to make reading enjoyable, as...
Quick and easy recipes for sensory play
Here are a bunch of resources for sensory play ideas that are so easy for you to make yourself! You don’t have to spend a lot of money and time creating exciting sensory and play materials for children to spend hours exploring with touch, language and imagination. For more early learning inspiration and professional development, subscribe to the Storypark YouTube channel...
Engaging parents with the PYP curriculum and improving quality outcomes through digital technology
Zoe Roles, Dean of Preschool at St Mark’s Church School in Wellington, New Zealand shares how new digital technology is improving practice and engaging parents in the PYP. “One of the most important aspects of reporting and recording assessment is treating it as a journey. We are always discussing, reflecting and reviewing what we do and this involves our parents...