Category: Early Learning
Articles on early childhood education
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 Approach: History and Principles, The Signal World Association for Infant Mental Health Newsletter 2010). When working with the youngest of...
Kaitiakitanga: Children as Champions of Nature, for Nature
Kaitiakitanga: Children as Champions of Nature, for Nature By: Brigitte Alamani (Head Teacher | Daisies Early Education and Care Centre) Background Daisies is a family owned long-day education and care centre in Johnsonville, Wellington, that is licensed for 30 children a day. We are a mixed aged centre, catering from 9 months to school aged children. Our pedagogy embraces New...
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 to have new lambs. My daughter and I have been doing Tuesday Adventure Days since she was just a baby,...
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 fictional books about dinosaurs wearing undies or riding tricycles. That’s great, of course, but today’s list covers books where the...
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 for young children’s wellbeing. If you are of European descent, you’ll find thousands of picture books filled with people that...
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 collection. For a good laugh, read Jesus’ Christmas Party, by Nicholas Allan This hilarious book tells the story of Jesus...
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 for children, and for them to grow up able to navigate through the world by being able to read and...
How to Help Children Cope with the Loss of a Loved One
We are fully immersed in the holiday season, and we love it, right? This is the time for magical moments with family pulled close to our hearts. There are treats to bake, decorations to display – and plenty of music, celebration, and togetherness. But for children who have lost a parent or close family member in the last twelve months,...
Supporting relationships and attachment in the early years
Relationships are broadly defined as the state of being connected or related. This can mean an association by blood or marriage, a kinship or the mutual dealings, connections, or feelings that exist between two parties. It is also recognised as a type of dependence or alliance in the way that we behave or regard one another. When considering the National...
Not another “no” with toddlers
As I was driving this morning, I passed a food van parked by the side of the road. On its side was emblazoned its business name, ‘Not Another Pie Van’. I drove on, wondering what they sold (presumably not pies). How would their customers know? Were they relying on people stopping and checking whether they were actually a coffee van?...