‘School readiness’ programs are advertised across the nation, with some early learning services and preschools promising to provide children with literacy and numeracy skills for a head start in school. On social media, parents frantically seek recommendations on where to send their children to ‘get ready’ for school. Educators arm themselves with worksheets and a […]
Early childhood is an undeniably critical life stage. Decades of research and neuroscience supports this and the knowledge that quality early education and care (ECEC) programs are beneficial for children’s learning and development (OECD, 2017; Shonkoff, 2010). We also know that, alongside academics, we can (and should) be working towards wellbeing outcomes for children in […]
I recently read the book The Enchanted Hour (Gurdon, 2019) in which the author recalls what novelist Kate DiCamillo once said to her: ‘We let down our guard when someone we love is reading us a story … We exist together in a little patch of warmth and light’. Image: supplied, Darren Halim These words […]
English is not the first language of many families in Australia, with 21% of Australians speaking a language other than English at home (ABS, 2017). Today, Australia is one of the top 10 countries in the world where the most languages are spoken (Eberhard et al., 2022). This will probably not surprise early childhood educators, […]
Storytelling exists as a vital aspect of every culture and has existed in every corner of the world which people call home. Stories exist to inform, explore and hypothesise as well as to entertain and amuse. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used stories as their main way of sharing their worldview and understandings […]
Books and the stories they contain have the power to connect communities and help children learn and grow values and empathy. There are hundreds of wonderful books for children written and published each year. Sometimes as educators and as parents, it can become overwhelming to figure out what books to buy or which books will […]
Children who fail to read regularly during long breaks from school will often see their reading ability drop. This is termed the “summer slide”. Socio-economic status can be a factor – if a child’s household has fewer books to read, then they will have fewer authentic reading opportunities. But those children who keep up their […]
