All posts by Sonya McIntyre

Sonya was born in Lower Hutt and went to Rata Street Kindergarten and Petone Kindergarten. A qualified ECE, she studied at Victoria University in Wellington and has worked with home-based educators, in community-based childcare and in kindergarten. With childhood memories of reading books and writing stories, combined with her passion for all things social media, Sonya segued into her role with us at Storypark as social media manager.

teacher using computer

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...

/ July 29, 2022
two teachers planning together

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...

/ July 23, 2022
teacher photographing children playing in tree as part of documentation process

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...

/ June 23, 2022

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...

/ June 2, 2022

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...

/ March 10, 2022

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,...

/ January 28, 2022

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...

/ December 9, 2021

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...

/ November 11, 2021
boy on digger in sand

Educators are researchers

Educators are researchers If I said to you “you are a researcher”, would you brush that off as being untrue? It’s true though, educators are researchers! Historically, an educator was the holder of all knowledge. And a student was the recipient of this knowledge. The child learnt by listening, reciting, copying, observing and remembering all of the knowledge and information...

/ November 8, 2021
teacher researching and supporting children's interests in playing with water

Researching children’s interests

Researching children’s interests Researching children’s interests is part and parcel of our work as educators. But do we often rush to make assumptions about what they are truly interested in, without really digging below the surface? If we rush this process, we can make the mistake of veering off course with our programming, and miss the opportunity to deepen children’s...

/ October 31, 2021