The word gap Hands up who knows about the 30 million word gap? You probably learned it in your diploma or degree as an article of faith in research terms, or maybe you’ve read about it since in a journal article or heard it at a conference. The concept is so well accepted that you […]
If animals can be a child’s fourth educator, have you thought about a two legged beastie becoming a bestie for children at your service? We’re looking at hens this week, one of the closest living relations of dinosaurs and yet also one of humanity’s longest running domestic animal companions. Amplify editor Bec Lloyd checks out […]
Welcome back to Amplify in 2019. We’re starting the year in traditional style, looking forward and back. Looking ahead, there’s a story tapping into the New Year resolutions many of you are making to improve your own and the children’s physical activity and guess what? Research is saying that improving educator and parent activity is […]
Nobody else but the rosebush knows How nice mud feels Between the toes. From the short poem Mud, by Polly Chase Boyden Mud, mud, glorious mud, goes the old music hall song*, and mud play in mud kitchens has become a standard feature of many early childhood services. ACECQA’s document for the Early Years Learning […]
Be alert not alarmed Fear of digital devices including iPads for young children is an ‘archetypal moral panic’, according to Professor Nicola Yelland, currently at Flinders University in South Australia and heading for the role of Professor of Early Childhood Studies at the University of Melbourne in 2019. Amplify editor Bec Lloyd interviewed Prof Yelland […]
Early Childhood Australia’s biennial* conference was held in Sydney this year and Community Early Learning Australia, a long-time supporter of ECA, attended as an exhibitor. The experience of immersion among 2000 educators left CELA CEO Michele Carnegie pondering the nature of the early childhood and OSHC sector in Australia, and led to this reflection and […]
Outdoor education is a priority for many early learning services. The rich experiences can make remarkable differences in the way children learn even after they are back under a ceiling. This week we hear from a service that asked the children how to embed sustainability education into its program. CELA writer Margaret Paton spoke to […]
What do we know about Dan Tehan MP? Amplify Editor Bec Lloyd put together this post as an overview of the man who will be sworn in as Education Minister for Australia this week, putting him in charge of billions of dollars worth of funding for early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education. Australia’s newest […]
‘Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær!’ (Norwegian saying: There is no bad weather only bad clothes) Baby, it’s cold outside, so we’re playing indoors until spring is sprung, right? Why would you risk colds and flus, grizzly children, wet clothing, and perhaps anxious educators and unhappy parents? We might love those images […]
Darren Brisbane, program manager at Sherpa Kids St Pauls, returns to share a story that began as an article about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) in OSHC for Science Week this week, but it became something more – something quite special. This is a reflection on the way one staff member’s passions can change a […]
