Johnson House
Story by Educator Sofia
Last week the children at Johnson House continued to discuss the meaning of the Acknowledgment of Country that we do every morning at check-in group.
We started our group by asking ourselves why we Acknowledge Country every morning, which sparked a lot of different reflections from the children. We touched based with some Indigenous history and we talked about how when we do the Acknowledgment it’s like making a promise to take care of the Land, and that it’s also a way to say sorry.
This led to a very interesting conversation, where we talked about how some people have never said sorry and that the hurt that Aboriginal people have gone through has never really gone away. As a group, the children recognised that it’s important to continue to say sorry for those who didn’t. We then read the book ‘Why I Love Australia’, by Bronwyn Bancroft, a proud Bundjalung Woman and Artist.
The children noticed the art throughout the book’s pages, including buildings, waves, trees and leaves, and commented on these as we read the story. Once the book was finished, the children were asked to draw a picture of a place that makes them feel connected to Country and nature, a place to spend time with family and friends and share good memories.
This was a great experience to help children develop a greater understanding of the land in which we live and how to care for it in a meaningful and respectful way.
Community Playgroups
Story by Playgroup Coordinator Rebecca
Playgroups are back for 2022! We are currently running our Red Bug, Baby Time and Father’s and Male Carer’s playgroups.
It has been awesome to see so many familiar faces and to meet the many new families who have been attending since we reopened.
Last week at Red Bug we practiced our fine motor skills by using droppers and coloured water on coffee filter paper to create some very interesting artworks. We also learnt that when we mix red and blue, we can make purple. We had a lot of fun with this messy activity.
Family Day Care Sydney Wide
Prize winner in The Randwick Council Garden Competition
Story by Educator Support Officer Barbara
Towards the end of 2021 Barbara Millist, Educator Support Officer at our Family Day Care Sydney Wide Randwick Hub, entered the Hub’s playgroup garden in the Randwick Council Garden competition. The garden was awarded 2nd prize in the ‘Best School Garden’ category and the team received a certificate and a garden voucher.
The garden provides a great learning environment for children attending family day care when they come to play sessions. The emphasis is to embed sustainable practices, and for the children to become socially responsible and to learn to respect the environment through participating in gardening activities. These include planting seeds, taking cuttings, watering, harvesting and tasting. The children also save morning tea food scraps and put these in the worm farm, and they have learned about ‘worm wee’ as a fertiliser. They also rake autumn leaves for the compost bins and learn about pollination through the garden’s native bee hive. The Educators who attend the play sessions also gain knowledge and ideas to implement with children in their individual services.
