Johnson House
Waratah Room
Story by Educator Sarah
Over the last few weeks, the children in Johnson House Waratah room have been experiencing the richness of cultural diversity and developing their cultural awareness through festivals, celebrations, and traditions.
Our learning has taken us on a journey of unpacking how, as individuals, we belong to, and are part of and connected to community. We have our immediate family and friends, our local communities and, globally, we are connected to others through our humanity.
Our conversations have led us to discover through story reading, image studying and story sharing about uniqueness and difference in our society. We have started to uncover the importance of wellbeing, and to explore the concepts of gratitude, kindness, and respect as we value the roles we all play in our world. One of the most valuable lessons we are learning is how we can share food and stories to empower others, as well as how simple, yet big acts of kindness help us experience the powerful impact relationships have on us as citizens.
Through our exploration of cooking, we experienced delightful and delicious textures of different foods and spices. This has taken our bodies and senses on a beautiful journey as we explore and experiment through processes. We have shared and cooked many meals, starting with some culturally traditional cuisines. We have made fruit salad, assorted sandwiches, fruit kebabs, feeling fruit faces, vegetarian fried rice and, most recently, chicken kebabs and Fattoush salad. We have shared meals together and with our community, as well as spreading kindness, love, and generosity through drawings and gift making.
This learning continues to take us on a journey to discover culture and to develop respectful relationships with peers, our families, our team, and our community. It has empowered us to learn, listen, taste, observe and experience many things to help us to reflect upon and advocate for social justice and to appreciate difference.
Murray House
Wattle Room
Story by Educator Jessica
Over the course of last week, the children in Murray House Wattle room embarked on an exciting exploration of the ‘star corner’.
Using their little hands, the children reached out to touch and pick up the stars, marvelling at their soft glow and textured surfaces. Attention then shifted to a book about stars lying on the mat nearby, and we eagerly opened it, turning the pages with a sense of wonder and curiosity.
The children sat together and explored the pages, discussing the fascinating world of stars. The children’s faces lit up with joy as they absorbed the information. The buttons on the book produced musical sounds when pressed, and this engaged the children and built up their excitement as they experimented with the buttons, delighting in the melodies that filled the air. Through this engaging activity the children not only satisfied their curiosity about the stars but also cultivated a love for learning and discovery.
Family Day Care Sydney Wide
Story by Educator Support Officer Alix and Educator Una
Last week, the children at Una’s Family Day Care in Randwick adventured out to the Australian Museum for a morning of discovery and exploration. To get there, the children journeyed on the tram from Randwick and then disembarked in the city. They are really becoming quite the seasoned travellers as they venture out on many different excursions, which form an integral part of their educational program. This supports Early Years Learning Framework Learning Outcome 2: ‘Children are Connected with and Contribute to their World’, as they broaden their experiences as participants in different relationships and communities on a regular basis.
At the Museum the children had the freedom to explore the different exhibits, as well as the very interactive children’s area, Burra (the Australian Museums’ Learning and Play Space), which embeds local and national Indigenous perspectives with hands-on learning experiences and resources. Burra is the Dharug word for ‘eel’, and the play space has been envisioned as an immersive journey through the Burra’s eye, tracing its incredible migration along estuaries and rivers, across rockpools and out to sea. As a continuation of their learning, Una purchased a beautiful floor puzzle from the museum to add to children’s resources back at her service.
