Planning with consistency and coherency at Daisies Early Education and Care Centre
Before Daisies Early Education and Care Centre used Storypark’s planning tools, their planning mostly took place on many notebooks and pieces of paper, which made keeping track of what different age groups had been exploring and investigating difficult. Since implementing the planning tool at their centre, Daisies have mostly been using it for their investigation work with children – for...
More study tips for ECE students
In my previous blog, I started a conversation about the issues of working, life, family and studying. The challenges are real, and the trifecta of time, energy and location is often times a real challenge. I might ‘feel’ like studying, but there is a whānau event, I might have the time to study, but I don’t feel like it, and...
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?...
The power of friendships in early childhood – video
Early childhood educators sometimes overlook the power of friendships. Hear Jane Bertrand from the University of Toronto discuss socio-emotional responsiveness, cognitive responsiveness, and scaffolding.
No tech in your early learning center? No problem!
There’s a lot of talk about digital tools in early childhood. If you don’t have ipads and other devices at your center, you might feel like you are limited in ability to utilize some of the latest developments. The good news is you don’t need mobile devices and wifi to create digital portfolios to document children’s learning and engage families....
From start to review – the ongoing nature of reflective practice
Some practical advice for when undertaking the continuous improvement process is to become more comfortable with being uncomfortable. The sooner we are, the better we can accept the ongoing nature of true reflective practice. From Start to Review: the ongoing nature of reflective practice and how we can better use it to support our role and save time. Ok, let’s...
Study tips for ECE students
Early childhood teachers are a studious group of people, and this means they often find themselves engaging with some higher learning over the course of their life time. Taking on a ‘couple of papers’, starting a Master’s degree, or gaining a qualification in a specialist area. Studying is rewarding and awesome, it gives you a sense of accomplishment; you make...
12 Fabulous Picture Books Featuring Great Dads
Would you like to get your hands on some brilliant picture books featuring great fathers? Here’s a selection to look for in your local bookshop. Keys, by Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (English version, Huia, 2014) Ngā Kī, by Sacha Cotter, translated by Kawata Teepa, illustrated by Josh Morgan (te reo Māori version, Huia, 2014) When you’re...
How to Teach Kids about Caring for the Environment
How can we support children to care for the environment? We’re brainstorming different ways an early childhood education centre could live its values out loud and make a big noise about these wonderful things we want our children to pick up on. Today we’re looking at caring for the environment, and we’d love to hear your ideas and tips in...
Perfectionism in Young Children and How to Help
Perfectionism in Young Children and How to Help Written by Dr. Kaylene Henderson, Child Psychiatrist, and Parent Educator There’s a perception in our society that perfectionism is a good thing, akin to ‘being perfect’; That it’s something to strive for or to drop into conversation in job interviews… Yet the reality is quite different. Perfectionism leads people to place unreasonably...