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...
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...
Opening lines of communication at Boronia Early Childhood Centre
Mission Australia Early Learning Boronia is a not for profit service with an aim to help provide early learning support for the local community. The service offers 85 places, providing care and education for children from the age of 6 weeks, with a programme that is led by children’s interests in a play based environment. Located at the foot of the...
Top 5 Storypark Tips to support the EYLF and the NQF
Storypark is an important tool for communicating with parents about the development of their children and it can also be used in other ways to support the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Framework. As an advocate for Storypark I look at ways the centres can use this tool to assist them with not only their programming and...
Dear Zoo – extending children’s interests is different to extending learning
A child would come to my Kinder room on a Monday morning and be very excited to share their stories about their trip to the Zoo on the weekend. So as a graduate teacher 6 years ago, I was so proud of my efforts in setting up a table with beautiful fabric, a range of animals, and some construction materials...
Embracing a vision for children’s learning with the early years frameworks
When using the Early Years Learning Framework always remember… That it is just that – a framework. It’s not a syllabus, nor a program, not a curriculum, nor a model, neither is it an assessment tool. Above all, it is not a detailed description of everything children will learn. A framework is developed on sound Principles, Practices (Strands – Goals)...
Ask yourself why
“Is it that we become complacent, lack motivation, are unwilling to become vulnerable to the prospect that we could be wrong? Or all of those?” The Storypark blog shares diverse opinions from educators and parents all over the world. Today our guest blog is from the author of ‘Uplifting Early Childhood‘. What are your thoughts? Share them below in the...
Enhancing Risky Play – Our Little Secret!
A guest post by Shannon Keane, with the support of the team at YMCA Early Learning Centre Manurewa – Awhina Taiohi. In 2016 YMCA Early Learning Centre Manurewa embarked on a journey to engage parents & children in a consultation process around risky play. This is their story… Change was coming with health and safety policy changes in New Zealand. ...
Bring the magic
The Storypark blog shares diverse opinions from educators and parents all over the world. Today our guest blog 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! Why do some mat times fail and others succeed? Do you think that some teachers just have the...
Guardian Early learning Group CEO talks about Storypark
“My educators have said that families often struggle, or don’t know how they can contribute to their children’s learning. Storypark has transformed this for them. It provides a platform for families and educators to engage and contribute different perspectives on their children’s learning, thinking, development and wellbeing. At the end of the day, we are all working to achieve greater...