If a statistic could be found representing the number of early childhood services that name their rooms after Australian animals it would be included here, but unfortunately the data doesn’t exist. In my experience I would estimate it would be high—around 80 per cent, at least. Often there are online posts in early childhood forums […]
ECA Members recently received an email communication explaining that the Federal Government intends to introduce a phonics check for Australian students. The phonics screening test that has been applied in the United Kingdom (UK) since 2012 has been recommended and, if agreed by the Australian states and territories, will be administered to students in Term […]
Meeting, learning, chatting, listening and sharing online is all part of the KidsMatter experience. We have many places where you can go to join our online learning community. Here you can connect with others who are interested in growing healthy minds and finding ways to explore KidsMatter. As early childhood professionals when we get together […]
When I run professional development workshops for early childhood professionals, the first task I do is to get us to use a practice from Stanford Design School called, ‘I lie, I wish, I wonder’. Participants share with each other what they like, what they wish and what they wonder when it comes to children and […]
How do adults enter toddlers’ play in institutional practice? How does an educator position themselves in play with toddlers to support their imagination and learning in a shared play space? This paper finds the educators’ involvement and peer interaction are significant for learning and social construction of collective knowledge. What the research tells us We […]
Early educational experiences had by children in the years prior to school are key to later academic, social–emotional and health outcomes. This has been shown to be especially true for children who experience high levels of disadvantage as this formative period lays the foundation for positive learning trajectories[1]. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) highlights […]
Play helps children to develop healthy bodies, minds, social and emotional capacities, thinking and learning abilities. Play is essential for children. Play can be pretending, learning a new skill, dressing up, being active, or being quiet. Children should make the rules for play, except when it comes to rules for safety. Children’s social and emotional skills […]
Collaboration is vital to inclusion for young children with developmental delay or disability, but it doesn’t always happen easily. Early childhood educators are well positioned to nurture collaborative partnerships with families and communities through their everyday relationships and practices. When external professionals visit early childhood settings, there is the possibility for great things to happen […]
Negative body image and the issues associated with girls being dissatisfied with their bodies are often talked about in relation to teenage girls. It may alarm some to know however that 38 per cent of four-year-old girls want a different body size (Damiano et al., 2015). It is indeed concerning that such young girls feel […]
How can parents best help their children with their schooling without actually doing it for them? This article is part of our series on Parents’ Role in Education, focusing on how best to support learning from early childhood to Year 12. The phrase “parent involvement” in children’s learning may conjure images of parents in the classroom […]
