Are we protecting or exposing children?

All children have the right to experience quality care and learning opportunities in an environment that provides for their well-being, health and safety, let’s explore what that really means… So we know that a strong sense of health and wellbeing is supported by good nutrition, an active lifestyle & provides children with the confidence, energy and optimism required for them...

/ June 29, 2017

Amazing results at Little Diggers

Little Diggers provides quality care to defence families in Moorebank NSW. Little Diggers is a vibrant and welcoming 2 room service that caters to 45 children daily, with 14 staff members on site. The educators at Little Diggers are committed to delivering a high level of service. They recognise the importance of being, becoming and belonging and these principles are implemented...

/ June 28, 2017

Finding Common Ground

Finding Common Ground with Families from Different Religious Backgrounds Human beings are more alike than we are different, right? We all need food, rest, love, and laughter, as every early childhood teacher knows well. The good news, when considering how to cater for families from different religious backgrounds, is that the same principle applies. To a very large extent, all...

/ June 25, 2017

A better way to connect school and home in California

      The Gillispie School is an independent, coeducational day school in La Jolla, California, enrolling 250 students from age two to Grade Six (age twelve). The school began as a small cottage that served hot meals to the underprivileged children of single mothers or working parents in La Jolla in the lean years of the Great Depression. Its founders, pediatrician...

/ June 21, 2017

Tips for engaging with children’s learning from Dan Donahoo

Dan Donahoo gave us 5 tips for parents for engaging in children’s learning. Watch them here, and add your thoughts in the comments! Read more from Dan here: “Using the right avenue to engage with vulnerable families”

/ June 17, 2017

Nature and the Reggio Emilia approach – Dr Anne Meade

Today our guest blog post is from Dr Anne Meade, who is one of Storypark’s advisors and an inspiration to educators across New Zealand and beyond. I grew up in the Wairarapa. My parents and extended family on both sides were farmers and, therefore agricultural researchers. I still have my grandfather’s daily diaries that are filled with weather and soil...

/ June 12, 2017

So they like to put on dresses

The Storypark blog shares diverse opinions from educators and parents all over the world. Today our guest blog post is from the author of ‘Uplifting Early Childhood‘. What are your thoughts? Share them below in the comments, we’d love to hear from you! At one point or another, we’ve all been there, or most of us have. Either as teachers or...

/ May 24, 2017
A young child leaning against a wooden post

A baby’s first 1000 days of life are the most important – here’s why

Did you know that the eldest child is statistically more likely to be the most ‘successful’? All because of one factor called the dyad relationship. More commonly known as the one on one relationship. Watch this talk from thought leader Nathan Wallis to learn about the crucial brain development that happens in the first 1000 days of a child’s life....

/ May 24, 2017

An evolving outdoor classroom at The Gillispie School

At the Gillispie School, we have long aspired to an ‘Outdoor Classroom’ but always felt limited by our concrete playground situated in the middle of a residential neighborhood. With a small lawn and a scattering of trees, it didn’t seem to offer very many opportunities for the children to interact authentically with nature. Although we made an effort to provide...

/ May 24, 2017

If I didn’t have Storypark I would walk away from teaching

It’s 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon and I finally sit down. The kindy is all packed up and my day and week are finished. It has been a beautiful week, a very busy week, but a good one. As I sit here I begin to reflect, breathe a sigh of relief and a thought pops into my head ‘What on...

/ May 17, 2017