Tag: Child Learning & Development
The Damage of Gender Stereotypes At a Young Age
Parents gender stereotype their children before their baby is even born. If it is going to be a boy the room is painted blue and has airplanes, if it is a girl it is pink with princesses. Ironically Gender Spectrum...
Shyness in early childhood with Dr Robert Coplan
Developmental psychologist Dr Robert Coplan from Carleton University in Ottawa, discusses shyness in early childhood. What is shyness, and what are some strategies for supporting shy children?
The Power of the Word (Teaching inspiration from the voice of Blinky Bill)
“You can give children a life-sentence that is empowering, or a life-sentence that is disempowering.” For our early learning web series Mat Time we talked to Robyn Moore, who created the voice of the iconic Australian cartoon character, Blinky Bill, about...
Yoga and mindfulness for children
Yoga and mindfulness are so valuable for both children and adults alike, especially children who have experienced trauma. For our early learning web series Mat Time we caught up with Nicky, who has taught yoga to refugee children in refugee...
The Gut-Brain Connection (Nutrition in Early Childhood)
Ask many children today where they think food comes from and their answer will be ‘the supermarket’. Whole food eating for families is one of the best things we can do for children to have a healthy diet. A good...
Experimenting with science for kindergarten and early learning
Children are natural scientists, always asking why, endlessly curious about the world around them. There are infinite ways we as educators can ignite their imaginations and feed their natural desire to experiment. These are just a few ideas for supporting...
Including all children – the criteria is breathing
Recently on our new early learning web series “Mat Time” we interviewed Janet Dixon, who is an early learning educator and mentor, as well as a researcher, author and advocate for including all children. We talked to Janet about the...
Supporting a child’s transition from kindergarten to school
Recently on our new early learning web series “Mat Time” we interviewed Carol Hartley, who is the head teacher at Mangere Bridge Kindergarten in Auckland, New Zealand. Carol was part of a 10 year research project about supporting children from...
Reading with children to improve communication and early literacy skills
Recently on our new early learning web series “Mat Time” we interviewed speech and language therapist Amanda White about using books to develop communication and literacy skills. Amanda told us that it’s never too early to start reading with children...
Using the right avenue to engage with vulnerable families
Around three years ago, in an early learning centre, a child was placed under a protection order to attend five days a week because the child’s mum was unable to adequately support his learning and development. This is a scenario...