Amazing early childhood services – Chapter two!

Last week CareforKids.com.au showcased some of the extraordinary efforts early childhood services are making to stay connected with their communities. We were blown away by the number of services going above and beyond to ensure the wellbeing of children, families and staff within their communities.

Here are some more examples of how early childhood services are leading the way:

Montessori Academy has launched a free @Home Learning Hub to help families which have made the decision to educate their children at home. The portal delivers hand-on educational activities that families can participate in using simple everyday items, in addition to an abundance of free resources including detailed guides on how to work from home with children, sample lesson plans for learning at home, and a set of curated video resources for infants, toddlers and preschoolers with printable worksheets specifically designed for each age group.

Nido Early Learning School Lakelands is bridging the gap between children attending care and those staying at home by using the Storypark platform to deliver story and mat time videos to children at home, and children attending care are drawing pictures and posting them to absent friends. 

Bumblebee Early Education Centre Goonellabah has been posting videos for parents and children on its parent portal to extend learning opportunities for those at home. Content includes music, stories, gardening, language and art and craft activities for children to try. In response parents have been emailing back videos of their children which are shared with children attending the centre. 

In addition, in lieu of visiting aged care homes, the service has started a pen pal system which enables children to scan and send artwork and messages to their elderly friends.

Bethlehem Preschool and Kindergarten Woongoolba has created weekly learning kits, with activities, books, games, science kits, puzzles, art supplies and curiosity kits. These kits are updated weekly and the service even offers delivery services to ensure equity of access.

Narnia Christian Preschool and Early Childhood Centre in Waratah has been uploading daily videos, offering enrolled families the opportunity to participate in songs, dancing and STEM activities. Dress up days are on the cards for next week and the service is also offering a drive through Mother’s Day stall, to share some love with all the hard-working mums in the community.

Little Miracles have been busy creating video content, this includes online learning for children at home, which is freely available to all families and a series of educational clips for to support parents and educators during the challenging circumstances presented by the Coronavirus lockdown.

Green Leaves Early Learning have been very innovative and busy in the range of initiatives they have introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. At Waverly Gardens children have been busy creating original ‘happy’ art to add to care packages being sent to local aged care homes.

At Pelican Waters and Chapel Hill educators are creating videos of activities such as slime making, reading, yoga, hand washing, playdough and language practice to ensure children continue their play based learning, even while at home.

While at centres in Moonee Beach and Albany Creek educators are creating Children’s Care Packs, which include a range of sensory, imaginative, crafting and creative activities for children at home to try.

In recognition of the financial struggles many families are experiencing right now, Green Leaves centres in Ashgrove and Forest Hill have placed community tables loaded with essential household items outside their premises and encouraged families to either help themselves or donate what they can.

Many early childhood services are doing it tough right now, which makes these extraordinary efforts, all the more extraordinary. On behalf of all the families and communities who are benefiting from these efforts, we say a very big thank you!