Adel is a teacher at Woori Yallock Preschool, a small sessional kinder in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. The preschool has 38 children who each attend for 15 hours a week. Like many preschools, Woori Yallock’s first Innovative Resources card sets were purchased using the State …Read more
In 2023 we will be running a series of free 30 minute online workshops where our highly skilled trainer, Alison Krusec, will share a range of tips and tricks for using our most popular card sets, starting with Strengths Cards® Unlimited. Strengths Cards® Unlimited—the …Read more
When it comes to dealing with big emotions, not everyone has the language to describe how they’re feeling. Today we talk with school counsellor, Judith, who co-created a story to accompany the tactile Bears. What began as a story to help one young student …Read more
Maybe not in the wilds of nature, but in the wild world of our feelings many unexpected things can go together. Look inside on any typical day and you may notice a swirling mix of emotions and body signals. The limitations of language mean …Read more
Given that both trauma and learning difficulties can have significant impacts on a child’s outcomes in later life, it is important to know how to recognise them in order to provide appropriate support. What we often don’t talk about is that trauma and learning …Read more
Many of us who have worked with children have grappled with how we can effectively include the perspective and voice of children in our planning and program development. We know it is important and valuable but how do we do it well? And how …Read more
Despite kids having access to loads of apps and digital games, they still seem to love stickers. Stickers are fun, versatile and tactile. They are also portable so you can take them anywhere, making them easy to whip out to do a quick activity …Read more
Over the hols, we spent some time with author of the Tell A Trusted Adult cards, Sharon Hynes (pictured on right), talking about the evolution of the cards and how she and Katerina Meda, the illustrator (pictured on left), came to be working together. …Read more
As parents, grandparents, carers, teachers and other people who support children, one of our priorities is to keep kids safe. Of course, this isn’t always in our control. Unless we wrap our kids in cotton wool and never let them explore the world, they …Read more
It can be tempting to think that education begins when kids go to school, but in fact it is through play at home in the early years that the very foundations of life-long learning are laid. This is one of the foundations of the …Read more
Thinking of ourselves as a car can be a very useful thing to do. Clean and green with zero emissions, of course. Or maybe not. Depends on the fuel you are putting in your tank, the junk in the trunk, the road you take …Read more
You could say that social and emotional literacy is the heroic journey from the amygdala to the frontal lobe. A very short distance when measured in terms of the physical brain but a life-long journey in terms of developing impulse control, building respectful relationships, …Read more
As a child, did you ever pick up a stone, rub your wet thumb over its surface to reveal the colours, feel the satisfying heft and shape of it in your palm, and then carry it around in your pocket? Before long, you …Read more
Stones, whether in their natural state or through human interaction, remind us of how our world ‘is’. A stone rock face, gradually exposed over millennia through contact with wind or water, can slowly reveal the secrets held within, telling us of what came before …Read more
Talking about feelings, relationships or difficult experiences can be very uncomfortable for people. A cascade of stress hormones can be released by our brain when these topics are raised, especially if trauma is present. Have you noticed that our hands are often clear indicators …Read more
Creating gender equity plays a significant role in preventing violence against women and children. Early childhood educators have an important part to play in modelling equal and respectful relationships; through curriculum, learning environments and interactions with children. The early years are a critical time …Read more
You’ve probably heard of fight, flight or freeze—the brain’s primal response to threat that floods our system with a cocktail of chemicals to help us react and keep safe. More recently ‘flop’ and ‘be-friend’ have been added to this list. Now, that’s a tidy …Read more
