Category: Inspiration
Inspiration, tips and fun stuff
Easy, healthy and delicious food for young children
It can be a tireless task coming up with fun and interesting ways to present nutritious meals, but these recipes are all easy, healthy and delicious food for young children. Eating food involves not only taste, but also smell, sight, taste and sound, and these suggestions of foods for children (and adults) are sure to delight all the senses! Most...
Creating a sense of belonging for families in childcare spaces
How to create a sense of belonging for families in childcare spaces As educators, we have a solid understanding of the importance of helping young children develop a positive sense of belonging in early childhood and at our learning service. It’s our knowledge, strategies, skills, and confidence that help children feel safe, learn and thrive in their early years. However,...
The créche that built a family
Emily is a 31-year-old mother of two boys under three. Her first blog post in March 2015 went viral, reaching more than one million people in a few days. Emily is the New Zealand Herald’s parenting columnist, and parenting columnist for the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. She founded and runs a charity called Ballet is for Everyone that provides free ballet...
An open letter to my son’s teacher
Emily is a 31-year-old mother of two boys under three. Her first blog post in March 2015 went viral, reaching more than one million people in a few days. Emily is the New Zealand Herald’s parenting columnist, and parenting columnist for the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. She founded and runs a charity called Ballet is for Everyone that provides free ballet...
Is it wrong to love the children you teach?
When studying to become an early childhood educator, I always remember a lecturer stressing the importance of maintaining a professional distance from becoming too close to the children you teach. It was unprofessional to develop strong feelings for children. I always struggled with this as I am a feelings person. I often asked myself “is it wrong to love the...
Mentoring advice part three – your words
In our third and final article focusing on advice imparted on educators by their mentors, we have a wonderful collection of your own words and personal stories. We have no doubt that they will inspire you in different ways and we hope you find something that speaks to you. One mentor told me to look at my teaching and learning philosophy regularly as...
Mentoring advice part one – Working with children
We had the most overwhelming response to our recent give away where we asked you to share with us the one piece of advice or lesson learnt from a mentor that has influenced your teaching the most. We compiled your entries into lists, defined by category and filled with all of the best advice given to our Storypark users by their mentors...
How to get the most out of your study tour to Reggio Emilia
No one in Reggio wants to teach others how to “do school.” What we seek to do rather is to try and deepen our understanding, together with others, of why it was possible in Reggio Emilia for an (educational) experience founded after the war, to grow and consolidate with time… What we want to do is look together for...
Moving from rostered duties, to a key child approach
To duty roster or not to duty roster, that is the question? During my 14-year teaching career, I have taught in a learning service WITH assigned duty rosters, and am currently working in a learning service WITHOUT duty rosters. When I started in my current learning service and was told there were no rosters I felt a little uneasy. “How...
Alternative job description for early childhood teachers
You must have a warm, smiling face that makes every child feel special and loved. You must be able to laugh at jokes that you don’t understand, or you don’t find funny. Child humour can be a confusing minefield to navigate. You will preferably have a little bit of quirkiness. If a child requests that you be the captain of...