Back to school! Tips for starting your teaching year organized
Do you ever feel at the end of your teaching year that your entire life is in complete and utter chaos? Are you a new teacher who is wondering “how on earth do I stay organized amongst all of the small jobs I need to stay on top of?” All of those little things that you had put off or...
Giving children authentic and specific praise and feedback
Do you often find yourself giving children feedback and hearing yourself use the same phrases many times a day? Do you often think your praise and acknowledgement sounds rehearsed, and non authentic? How does this make children feel about their work? Can you ever master the art of giving authentic and specific praise? Picture this…You have been working hard on...
Evaluation and compliance in New Zealand ECE services
New tools to help with evaluation and compliance for New Zealand learning services We regularly hear from educators and educational leaders that you wish you had more time! You spend a lot of your time reading regulatory documents and guides and figuring out ways to implement the requirements that ensure you provide a quality early learning environment for your children...
The planning feature on Storypark – so many possibilities
The planning feature on Storypark – what’s possible? More than you may think! After listening to educators around the world, we realised that everyone plans differently and that there could be no one-size-fits-all solution. Based on this feedback we developed a tool that enables educators to create and manage their own planning templates, and plan the way they want. The...
The documentation process – 6 easy ways to simplify it
Have you ever reflected on ways you can improve your documentation process and wondered if there are any simple strategies you can use to make this process more effective? There are various ways to document children’s learning, with so many benefits for children, families and the educators who work with them. Relationships and connections with families are strengthened. Families become...
OSHC – 5 benefits for children who attend out of school hours care
OSHC – 5 benefits for children who attend out of school hours care When children attend an OSHC service, they gain more than just exceptional care and supervision. Educators ensure children have a safe, stimulating and inclusive environment where their physical, social, emotional and educational needs can be met. They have opportunities to participate in activities that support their growth...
Children’s Outdoor Play – 3 Key Ingredients
Children’s Outdoor Play – 3 key ingredients There are 3 key ingredients to supporting children’s outdoor play and they are a lot simpler than you might think! Have you been thinking about simple ways you can support children’s outdoor play? Think back to memories of your childhood play. What were you doing? Who were you with? Where were some of...
Setting professional goals in early childhood education
Setting Professional Goals in Early Childhood Education Teaching goals are slightly different from the usual ‘drink more water/walk more’ type of goals. Nowadays, there is a lot of advice about goal setting for early childhood professionals. Professional development goals for early childhood educators are deep, mindful, and have the potential to impact others around you as well as yourself. So,...
2021 – The year in review
2021, how did you speed by so fast!?! After another year of uncertainty, one thing has stayed the same… the love of inspiring content to help you in the important work you do with children and their families! That’s why it is time to dig up and dust off the most popular articles from our blog in 2021. These articles...
An infant and toddler curriculum – what does it look like?
The learning curriculum for infants and toddlers Documenting infants and toddlers learning If you work with infants and toddlers, the requirement to plan for and document a learning programme can seem a little bit out of reach. This means it can feel like you are spending large portions of your day helping children with meals, changing diapers/nappies, in the sleep...