When Wolfred takes on a job pushing the buttons in the lift of the hotel at Fancy Pants Tower, he enters a new world. From the beginning, there are possible investigations: “It was the warmest of lights on the coldest of nights.” Is it always cold when there is no light? Can a lamp warm you up? How does Fancy Pants Tower use so much power? If the children are interested in sustainability, you could investigate how the hotel could save electricity.
With seven years’ experience in early childhood education, Nicole focuses on child-led learning and outdoor play, which is very important to her as she feels this is a great space for children to explore a wide range of concepts, ideas and interests as they emerge.
Encourage the children in your care to engage with classical music? The Story Orchestra book series offers an introduction to this world with picture stories that allow you to listen to the music as you read. They will explore language relating to sounds and music and consider how the sounds make them feel…
A story about building love, hope, resilience and forgiveness. In this story, the reader soon realises that the real ‘tools’ we need as parents and educators are trust, comfort, compassion and unconditional love.
The story allows the children to immerse themselves fully into the journey of the wombat who flees the fire, searches for food and water and eventually finds nourishment and a way home. You can talk about the colours, the smells and all the feelings they evoke. How does the ground feel underneath the animals’ paws? What can the animals hear as they are fleeing the fire?
Hayley Drennan is currently working as a kindergarten teacher in an integrated 3- to 5-year room at Saltwater Childcare Centre in Footscray, Melbourne. With 16 years’ experience in early childhood education, Hayley focuses on blending the magic of both left- and right-brain thinking by meshing drama with STEAM
After the overindulgence that often accompanies the holiday season, many adults take a break from alcohol or chocolate and focus on healthy eating. This could also be a great time to reflect on the role of food in inquiry-based STEM education. There are many ways preparing and eating food can become joyful learning experiences for the children in your care…
In the heat of the summer, why not tap into the educational aspect of refreshing water play? What starts out as a bit of a splash-about to keep cool can easily turn into investigations that develop concepts such as density and buoyancy in children’s minds.
A wonderful story about determination, resilience and perseverance and that sometimes in life the real treasure lies in just sharing an experience with a friend, no matter the outcome…
Snails are so commonplace… so can they still inspire wonder? Did you know, that the metabolism of snails is evolving to be slower. Also snails with shells that coil right will only mate with other snails with right coiling shells. Discover and explore the fascinating world of snails…