St Peter’s Early Learning Centre

Our 2020 year started like many others, as we welcomed new families and children to the ELC, again based at Loreto Toorak. Term 1 saw the addition of our Wednesdays off in February, allowing time to meet and engage with our families, building relationships and partnerships to ensure the year ahead would provide all that it could for our ELC community.

It was not long after our routine and ‘everyday timetable’ started, that our world gave us all a spin. Miss Hannah had left the Pre-Prep room to have her baby, Miss Melissa was joining us – however, unable to even begin her first day as we moved to Remote Learning.

The end of Term 1 created a different learning environment to anything ever experienced in early childhood education. We are social creatures, and feed off the enthusiasm, warmth and togetherness of the learning environment, but when things need to change, the flexibility and adaptability was outstanding at St Peter’s Early Learning Centre.

We had thought proactively, and prepared some take home bags - ‘just in case’ for the children, which included a journal, pencils, playdough and loose parts for construction or creative play. Our educators swiftly stepped in to action, as we prepared, as best as we could, a Remote Learning program for the children, whilst trying to stay true to our philosophy and pedagogy focussing on play-based learning. New technology was sourced and a program of provocations was created for each group, as well as our specialist program.

Whilst we provided the children with a ‘task’ or experience to guide some thinking each day, this is not how we normally teach our program. This was to provide our families with a stepping stone to engage the children. We set out a routine to keep the children familiar with their day, by providing rituals such as our Morning Meeting, prayer, specialist lessons, and afternoon farewells. This focus on familiarity ensured predictability and routine for the children.

At the ELC, much of the children’s day is spent playing – in all aspects of the indoor program, be it through dramatic play and dressing up, blocks and construction, playdough and water sensory play, puzzles, arts and creativity and making, as well as creative play with dinosaurs or small figures in a dolls’ house. Through their outdoor play – running, climbing, ball play, or being in the sandpit, similar skills and learning occurs through communication as well as gross motor skills development.

We are early childhood professionals, who thrive on the interactions and learning we see and observe, even from afar at times, not interrupting the children’s play. We are not entertainers. I understood and empathised with our community, and recognise that children need and deserve a great deal of attention. And during this time, as families worked from home, it was difficult.

The wellbeing of the children is always our priority and ensuring they are happy – engaged in remote learning or not – their emotional wellbeing is the key focus. This is a time to let the children ‘be’.

We were all in the same storm, but we were all on different ships experiencing a very different journey. Each day brought its own challenges, and whilst some days it was raining, and others felt like we were in a typhoon, for many days, there was joy and sunshine...

Some of the feedback we received was simply exceptional. We are so thankful to have the community of parents at St Peter’s ELC:

“These are indeed strange, challenging times. It makes such a difference to us and the children to connect and remind ourselves that our feelings are shared, that there will be good days and not so good days, and that this too shall pass. Thank you for all the care and attention you are putting into the children and by extension the parents! We are all novices in this new world, and it is great to know that we are all in this together!” – Kindergarten Parent

“Just wanted to send a quick email to say thank you for the wonderful work you have been doing (since last term) keeping us all connected. Our child looks forward to our Zoom chats every morning. He's taught us the prayer and goodbye song, singing it for his baby sister at bed time. Today he enjoyed his teddy bear picnic, the busy bodies and the yoga sessions. We are impressed, though not surprised at how effectively you are ALL able to 'remotely' engage the kids without being at school, certainly takes very special teachers to be able to do this, and we appreciate how challenging it must be to do your job this way.” – Kindergarten Parent

KATHLEEN BROHIER, HEAD OF ST PETER’S ELC