RIE – Respectful care with infants
“The application of Emmi Pikler’s respectful and affectionate image of the baby has helped babies to develop well, and adults to change their internal representations of the baby’s capacities and their role as care providers.” (Introducing the Piklerian Developmental...
Setting professional goals
Teaching goals, slightly different from the usual ‘drink more water/walk more’ type of goals. Nowadays, there is heaps of advice about goal setting, the Dec/Jan magazines are covered in how to get the new-you in 2018. Teaching goals are a...
Tips for Tramping with Toddlers
Have you heard of vitamin N? According to author, Richard Louv, the N is for nature. He’s written several books about the value of nature for healthy development and quality of life, such as Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to...
The Benefits of Tramping with Children
“It’s Tuesday Adventure Day! Where do you want to go today?” My 4-year-old turned to her friend to begin a serious discussion about their favourite local day walks. In the end, they voted on a track through nearby farmland rumoured...
Six great dinosaur books for young scientists
Just about every child I know has been through a dinosaur phase – and for some, it never stops! Here are some fantastic books to make the most of this interest, and extend it. Now, there are lots of funny...
Do your books have characters that look like the children in your neighbourhood?
Do the books on your centre’s bookshelves reflect the ethnic make-up of your families? Can every child in your centre read books, lots of them, every day, about children who look like them? These are important questions for anyone responsible...
Six lovely Christmas picture books
Books and Christmas are a great match! If you would like your children to have an idea of why some people have a special holiday at Christmastime, here are some lovely picture books you might want to add to your...
Better Books: Does Your Book Collection Encourage Gender Equality?
Are you a huge fan of reading with children? There’s just about nothing better, is there, than cuddling on a sofa with small people, watching them learn to love the world of books. Every parent and teacher wants the best...
Self care part 2
In part two, the thread of self-care continues with some ideas about control, choices, and saying yes. In this two-part blog, I talk about self-care as not being a ‘one-shot deal’- it is more a bunch of little things repeated...
Self Care
Self-care is one of those trendy ideas right now. It’s a funny mix with people who are ‘typically Kiwi’, and are ‘just getting on with it’, and for the most part that’s ok. But, sometimes it’s not. Leading up to...