Amplify! Blog

Have you or a colleague experienced workplace bullying? Do you know how to identify it and what to do if it happens? How would you react if you came across a situation where a young child in your care was being bullied?

We share tips and resources for how to navigate bullying amongst colleagues and young children. 

If you’re considering how to celebrate Harmony Week this year, why not explore how the children in your service could benefit from learning another language?

In this article, we share the benefits of learning a second language, how to support additional language learning, and speak with early learning centre Froebel to find out about bilingual language immersion.
 

We spoke to Sarah Chamberlain, Director of Little Diggers Preschool and Childcare in Lightning Ridge, to find out how they deal with the dust storms, what they do to keep children safe and how they foster a positive mindset.

In many cultures, queuing is a crucial act of social organisation and courtesy. Considered by some to be a basic preschool skill, others say there’s no need for young children to wait in line before meals, outdoor play, or even on excursions.

We take a look at why arguments continue about standing young children in line, and receive some wise words from ECE teacher and thinker Anne Peters.

Ahead of the annual Clean Up Australia Day we share the story of Wee Care, a Kindergarten and Long Day Care service that is truly living up to its name by motivating its students and families to care about their local community and take action against rubbish – especially plastics.

We also share tips for cleaning up rubbish in your area and some handy resources.

There are many benefits to introducing water play both in connecting children to a natural element and opportunities for learning. 

The crucial question is, “How can early childhood services ensure that children have adequate access to water and make connections with the water cycle, whilst developing responsible habits surrounding water use and conservation?”

Amplify answers this question with advice from the experts.

Ensuring that every child in the room is eating well can be a daunting task. You may feel frustrated or even panicked when faced with a child who is refusing to eat or try a new food. Yet ‘fussy eating’ is a normal part of development. The way families and educators respond will influence how a child learns to eat in the long term.

If you’re on the front line of caring for ‘fussy eaters’, the NSW Health initiative Munch & Move offers some tips and best practice strategies to support you.

A project celebrating family diversity at Explore and Develop Lilyfield came to be called ‘Love makes a family’ and has been part of the service program ever since. Find out what it involved and how the service engaged children and families. 

Early Childhood Educators can play a key role in keeping Australia’s indigenous languages alive and supporting bilingual early learning. In this week’s Amplify! We speak with Annalee Pope, project officer with First Languages Australia, about how indigenous languages are being revived by local communities, and share what early educators can do to help.

Here are five workplace reward ideas that you could consider for your team in 2020.