Spring 2016
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ISSN 1179-688X (Print) • ISSN 1179-7517 (Online)
PO Box 5649, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145
CONTENTS
Inside this issue... September 2016
7
FROM THE EDITOR
5
Spring 2016
21 ECC PREFERRED SUPPLIERS
8 CEO'S MESSAGE
28 SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE
9
30 NUTRITION
SO YOU KNOW
10 LEARNING HOW TO LEARN
32 SUPPORTING GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
12 GROWING LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY
34 PROMOTING YOUR CENTRE
14 ECE POLICY
37 RESOURCE REVIEWS
18 PLACE-BASED EDUCATION
46 LAST LAUGH
Editor Trudi Sutcliffe
Production Co-ordinator Luke Lynch
Editorial Enquiries publications@ecc.org.nz
Graphic Designer Liki Udam & Mike Perry
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September 2016
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FROM THE
EDITOR
7
FROM THE
EDITOR
“In the Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” - Margaret Atwood
Spring already! Is there a bounce in your step? I know there is one in mine with the warmer and longer days and of course more opportunity to work in the garden. That’s why I love the above quote. It’s also a great quote to reflect on when working with children outside: why we do it and why it is important to do so. The answers to this question could be as long as a piece of string, but to read one aspect on the ‘why’ read Geoff Fugle’ s inspirational article, ‘Placebased Education: making it real’, who shares and discusses what place-based education means for his centre and what it can mean here in Aotearoa. Read how Geoff’s centre explores their local community, their place, through exploration and storytelling on page 18.
answering questions about nutrition and
Ever wondered on the benefits of collaborating with other ECE centres or schools? Or thought about joining part of a local Community of Learning cluster? Melissa Lewis shares her experiences of being a lead facilitator as part of a Christchurch ECE Learning Community Cluster and how this type of collaboration can build better outcomes for tamariki. You can find Melissa’s article, ‘Building and growing leadership capability’ on page 12.
ECC preferred suppliers
Swings & Roundabouts loves sharing real stories of how ECE centres are reflecting on their journey and the experiences being created alongside best practice to provide better outcomes for our children. An article from Shahla Damoory shares how her centre is reflecting on sustainable practice and an example of this in practice. You can find this article on page 28. Another interesting read is from Kerry Pratchett, who has been researching how movement can help tamariki improve their hand writing. You can read her findings in her article, ‘The monkey bars’, on page 32. Also many of you may have participated on the online survey, ‘Kai Time in ECE’,
•
Defining dyslexia, dyspraxia – how do we recognise and support
•
Autism spectrum disorders – share a story, how can we best support these children and their families
•
Should ECE teachers be post-graduate qualified as a minimum?
activity practices in your centre. On page 30 you can read, ‘Creating an ECE environment where children’s nutrition is valued and promoted’, a summary of the survey’s findings as well as advice on how your centre can promote and develop healthy relationships with food. Being a successful ECE centre depends on a number of factors such as being able to retain highly motivated and qualified teachers to sound business practices. One way the Early Childhood Council supports your business is by providing a range of preferred suppliers to help you provide top quality service and help with your bottom line. If
A big shout out to all our contributors. Thank you for sharing your inspiring stories with us. It makes a difference when we can see what best practice can look like. If you too have a story or journey to share, please get in touch. Trudi Sutcliffe Editor publications@ecc.org.nz
you are not sure who the are, go to pages 21-27
Natural Children's Furniture
to find out how the ECC preferred suppliers can help you as a member. Below are upcoming
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topics we’d like share with our readers, if you have a story along these lines please drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you:
• Is Special Education Service adequately helping children with
1/4
special needs in our ECE centres?
• Success stories: working successfully with your special needs child and their
www.hebe.kiwi.nz
whānau
• Success stories: making great transitions between ECE and school
Hebe is committed to providing the best in quality and design in wooden kids furniture. Our expanding range of 100% kiwi made natural products are built to cater for all of your centre's needs. Choose kiwi. Choose Hebe. CUSTOM DESIGN SPECIALISTS. LIFETIME STRUCTURAL WARRANTY. For a quote or to place an order contact us on:
09 402 5020 or info@hebe.kiwi.nz September 2016
8
SAGE CEO'S MES
by Peter Reynolds The Ministry of Education is undertaking a review of education funding from the beginning of ECE to the end of secondary school. No decisions have been made, but we are now at a point where one can begin to outline where things might be going. There are many options being discussed, and no changes likely until 2020 at the very earliest. But I think the most likely outcome for ECE is a ‘per-child’ base funding rate, coupled with an additional component targeted at ‘at-risk’ children. The per-child base rate might be similar to how ECE services are currently paid for 20 Hours, and focussed on enrolment rather than attendance. The at-risk component is simply a replacement of the existing Equity Funding and is likely to continue to be in the form of an additional payment to services for those children that meet defined criteria. It is the criteria that makes this component a little different to what we’re used to. It is possible these might include some variation on the Government’s existing ‘social investment’ criteria: parental benefit dependence; The Ministry of Vulnerable Children (what was Child Youth and Family) finding abuse or neglect; parental Corrections history; and low levels of parental education.
September 2016
(in part) the extent to which we are able to demonstrate that public money is creating learning progress for children. And it is possible, I think, that we will be expected to demonstrate this ‘progress’ in some new ways. It is possible also that more funding might be directed to collaborative practices that work across the sector, perhaps via the newlycreated ‘Communities of Learning’. That then is a rough outline of what I am guessing might be in store for us. There’s a couple of things, however, that I have failed to mention. The first is a clanger. Twenty Hours is off the agenda. That’s right. More than 50% of our funding will remain as is. The Prime Minister promised to retain 20 Hours in the run up to the 2008 General Election, and it is therefore untouchable. There are, therefore, substantial constraints on any attempt to simplify our funding system and to channel resource to where it’s needed most. There’s one more problem too. The ‘per child’ base funding rate would probably be focussed on enrolment rather than attendance, an approach that would presuppose most services were at a level where attendance was stable. This is an assumption many in
It is possible also that the scope of this atrisk component might be broadened to cover other funding streams that address barriers to achievement - such as lack of English language, and special education needs.
our sector would find laughable - especially
It is possible, I think, that substantial amounts might be assigned to the at-risk component of our funding, and possible also there might be relatively less money assigned to the base funding rate. There is some risk, therefore, of a significant transfer of funding from middle-class services to those with a preponderance of at-risk children.
also that the change process will be stalled
Government is also placing emphasis on the idea of ‘accountability’, by which it means
CEO
those with lots of at-risk children. In conclusion, the funding review has a way to go. Much detail is unknown, and as they say, the devil tends to reside therein. It is possible in the run up to next year’s General Election. It is possible also the whole thing might be thrown out by a new Government. I hope not. Our current funding system is a mess. We need something better. Peter Reynolds Early Childhood Council
SO YOU KN OW
9
SO YOU KNOW welcome The following early childhood centres joined the Early Childhood Council recently:
Food Act Briefing Meeting The Food Act 2014 and associated regulations will impact on all licensed childcare centres.
•
Bell Street Early Learning Centres, Featherston & Martinborough
•
Hillmorton & Halswell Nests, Christchurch
The greatest impact will be on centres that cook and prepare food for children.
•
Te Awamutu Montessori Preschool, Te Awamutu
The Early Childhood Centre has been working closely with the
•
The Ashburton Baptist Church community Trust, Ashburton
•
Learning Curves Montessori Ltd, Christchurch
Ministry of Primary Industries to develop guidance for ECE centres ahead of these changes taking affect.
•
Little Hands Childcare and Early Learning Centre, Auckland
•
The Redwood Kindergarten and Daycare, Havelock North
•
Airdmhor Montessori, Christchurch
•
St Margaret's Preschool, Christchurch
•
Curious Cubs Early Learning Centre, Hamilton
•
Nurture Early Learning, Auckland
•
Butterfly Preschool, New Plymouth
•
Family Ties Educare, Dunedin
•
Back @ Basics ECE, Maungatapere
•
Bright Minds Childcare, Auckland
•
East Tamaki Childcare Centre, Auckland
•
Eden Christian Kindergarten, Fielding
•
Impressions Childcare Centre, Pirongia
•
Morrinsville Kids Ltd, Morrinsville
•
Ohaewai Community Preschool and ELC, Kaikohe
•
Orakei Montessori Preschool, Auckland
•
Rosebank Early Childhood Centre, Auckland
•
Rudolf Steiner School Hastings Trust (Taikura Kindergarten, Hastings; Taradale Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten, Taradale, Kereru Kindergarten, Hastings)
Are you up-to-date with the impact the Food Act will have on your centre? If not, register now for one of the ECC’s two-hour briefing sessions to learn more about this important change; what you need to do to comply, and by when. Facilitator: ECC CEO Peter Reynolds; Cost: $70 + gst; Duration: 2 hours To register for this briefing or find out more information on this and other workshops for both centre managers and teachers go to: www.ecc.org.nz (look under Calendar of Events)
Current market for the sale of Childcare Centres Demand to purchase childcare centres remains high, and buyers have been keen to pay top prices for good businesses.
Pra Jain
Buyers are willing to pay premium prices at the moment for the following reasons:
01. Increased home values mean more money is available to invest and buy a business. Being experts in the industry we are acutely aware of patterns in the market place, and money is currently pouring into business purchases; 02. Figures from Statistics New Zealand show that in the last 12 months long term arrivals exceeded departures by 67,391, which is the highest inward migration ever recorded. This means that there are more business buyers around than ever before; 03. We have a large pool of ECE qualified childcare teachers keen and waiting to purchase and run their own childcare centres; and 04. Existing childcare centre owners are increasingly eager to purchase another centre. Information supplied by Pra Jain, Business Broker. Contact Pra for more information: M: 027 279 4652; E: praj@linkbusiness.co.nz W: www.linkbusiness.co.nz/brokers/Pra-Jain
September 2016
10
OW SO YOU KN
Learning how to
learn – getting the right start for young children
By Dr Graham Stoop, Chief executive, Education Council
The discussions about the quality of early childhood services in New Zealand are useful for our profession. We need to continue having them. I was reminded of this in a much more tangible way when a colleague recently described her daughter’s experience of kindergarten. She said her daughter “loved” kindy and put it down to her daughter learning to enjoy learning. Her daughter’s days at kindergarten were appropriately structured, and her progress linked to key learning areas in the early childhood curriculum - Te Whāriki. Her daughter is now doing very well in her first year at school, reaching the learning milestones expected for her age and stage. Many of you will be familiar with the research that finds taking part
Dr Gra
ham S
toop
We believe reviewing teachers’ education is a good start to bringing a more consistent approach to provision of ECE across New Zealand. Quality teaching is quality teaching regardless of what sector you teach in. We have released our report “Strategic options for developing future oriented initial teacher education”. We have been talking with teachers, leaders and academics in our profession about what future-focused initial teacher education could look like, and as a result, made nine recommendations on areas such as training and induction, supply and demand, provision, the network and funding. You can read the above report and our Action Plan which sets out our deliverables here: www.educationcouncil.org.nz/content/publications-reports
success throughout a child’s school life, and beyond.
We are now working with our stakeholders to shape initial teacher education for the future. The Council’s agenda includes:
My entire career has been spent working with teachers, and I believe
•
Setting standards for graduating teachers that are clear about what a graduate needs to be able to demonstrate;
•
Ensuring there is a clear and managed pathway from graduation through to full certification
in high-quality early childhood education (ECE) is a good indicator for
strongly that we need to invest in getting the best teachers in all sectors. And there is much to be optimistic about. Our ECE participation rates are high - more than 95 per cent, and we have a recognised curriculwum. We also have a highly professionalised workforce compared to many countries in the OECD. But we do need to see the curriculum applied and delivered in a relevant and consistent way for every child. For instance, an Education Review Office report found some early childhood centres’ literacy practices were unintentionally turning children off learning. Our issue is that we have no real way of assessing how effectively the curriculum is being applied and understood. However, there is a Ministry of Education work programme that is looking into this. The Education Council is contributing to this initiative.
September 2016
We also see Communities of Learning (CoL) as playing a leading role in supporting ECE teachers and building capability. CoLs will open up opportunities for all teachers and leaders in the ECE and compulsory school sectors to develop their knowledge and practice, exposing them to research, case studies, best practice and leading thinkers in a more a more broad, structured and systematic way. We know there are many highly skilled and well qualified ECE teachers. That is a good thing. It means that all young New Zealanders can get the very best start in their life of learning. About the author Dr Graham Stoop is Chief executive at the Education Council.
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September 2016
12
IP
LEADERSH
Building and growing leadership capability By Melissa Lewis and when we meet again.
Following the 2010 Christchurch earthquakes the Ministry of Education developed the Learning Communities Clusters to bring education providers within Christchurch together to rebuild and unite communities. The aim was to ensure that we were achieving better outcomes for all learners while our demographic landscape was rebuilt and reformed. In early 2014 a group of primary schools, secondary schools and Early Childhood Centres (ECE) met and developed a plan that would ensure growth, development and most importantly better outcomes for all the learners within Cashmere. However due to the schools already having a previously selfestablished cluster that was working and achieving for them they decided to continue on independently and so left our cluster in late 2014. The ECE members of the cluster met with the Ministry of Education to discuss our options. We were left with the big decision on whether or not to continue working to develop our goals independently. With potential funding at our disposal we decided to make hay while the sun shines.
The Cashmere LCC cluster has 18 ECE separate services, with a core group of 8 centre owners and managers that have been the driving force behind what we have applied for and implemented. The cluster needed to appoint a lead facilitator to ensure that what was planned was implemented, Melissa Lewis the Centre Director at Kindercare in
September 2016
Strickland Street, Spreydon took on this role. Over the last two years the cluster has successfully run a variety of projects both big and small, two of which were a Leadership Development Project and Bicultural practices in ECE.
The model has proved to be very successful and along with personal growth a strong sense of networking and learning from each other has been developed.Another successful project was the Bicultural Practices Project. This was an evening course open to all members of the Cluster run over four nights. We were also able to open this project up to other ECE services in surrounding clusters and the response was large attendance with positive feedback This project was run through Huhana Carter
The leadership project has many components to it. Firstly, it has enabled three members to attend the ECC conference around leadership and development held in Queenstown in 2015. The leadership project also entailed two eight week courses run by Melissa Lewis in 2015 which encompassed the Gigi Schweikert book “Being a Supervisor”. This course had 25 participants who were identified by their ECE service as being a future or current leader within their service.In addition, the 25 participants had the opportunity to participate in a leadership cluster facilitated by Karen Hayward from InterLEAD. Four all day cluster meetings have been held from February – June and we will meet together for a final meeting in October where as part of the day each leader will share their leadership learning trip as a result of being involved in the programme. The focus of the five days has been around INVESTING IN LEADERSHIP CAPITAL including human, social and decisional capital. In addition, we have explored how to create a professional presence and influence change. A wide range of effective leadership skills and strategies have been presented and each participant has identified their own leadership inquiries to focus on between now
who unpacked Taataiako, exposing teachers to how it looks in practice. It was a highly successful project that allowed services to consider what others are doing, gave them opportunities to develop new skills, and enabled them to take those skills back to their services to share with the tamariki.The Cashmere cluster has been very fortunate to have the funding to allow these programmes to be implemented but it has been supported through the relationships that have developed from this cluster. The relationships that have been formed across the service for both the leaders and the teachers have been invaluable. Without the cluster these potentially would not have been made, nor sustained.
LEADERSH
IP
13
Potentially becoming part of the COL in the coming year will require moving the cluster into a new larger group. However, with the relationships that have already been established it will ensure that we are continuing to enrich and build towards better outcomes for the children within our care. About the author Melissa Lewis has been working in the industry for 16 years as a Centre Manager and is currently working at Kindercare in Strickland Street, you can contact Melissa at Melissa.Lewis@kindercare. co.nz or 03 332 7331
Communities of Learning & ECE The Ministry recently formed a group of ECE sector bodies to work on how to extend the Communities of Learning (CoL) initiative to
evaluate on the basis of contribution to the
•
Building a shared understanding of educational achievement issues throughout the education “pipeline”
•
Building a shared approach to localised curriculum planning
education pathway for children/students and geographic location. With the Ministry’s support, proposals are then submitted to the
include ECE services.
Minister for sign-off.
Communities of Schools (now CoL) was
Of the 117 CoL, two involve ECE services
•
Potential for shared PD for teachers
(Geraldine and Oamaru).
•
Potential for shared engagement with parents
•
Recognises that education starts at ECE.
established a couple of years ago by the Minister to get schools in a common area talking and collaborating around how to identify and resolve achievement challenges unique to their areas. The initiative was given
Recently, the Minister has signalled that it is time to expand the CoL to include ECE services.
These Communities set shared goals
funding to cover schools for release time
ECE services are not given any funding for
based on information about their students’
for their principals and for those teachers
release time to participate in CoL.
educational needs and work together to
involved. Overall, the initiative is part of the government’s Investing in Educational Success (IES) strategy. 1,006 schools are now participating in CoL, of which 117 have now been established. That’s 40% of all schools. When a group of schools
The Ministry reports that some CoL are working with ECE services, though this mainly reflects existing relationships and does not mean these ECE services are “part” of the CoL group.
achieve them. 25 communities have already signed off achievement challenges to lift their students’ achievement in areas such as reading, writing and maths. To find out more go to http://www.education. govt.nz/ministry-of-education/specific-
get together and want to form a CoL, they
The benefits of participating in CoL for ECE
initiatives/investing-in-educational-
must submit a proposal to the Ministry, who
include:
success/#faq
Containment
Screening
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14
Y ECE POLIC
JUST STEPPED OUT OF A
SALON ula
By Laree Ta
” There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.“ Nelson Mandela
I wandered through the mall looking for “KESS Hair and Beauty”. A sign flashed before
The receptionist had a somewhat tense but
“I’m so sorry I look so terrible,” she said. I was
quiet conversation to a lady with a white head
in such a rush this morning trying to drop my
me, “The Shearing Shed – No Appointment
band. Something about someone having the
daughter off. She’s been sick. She’s better
Required”. 9.02am. Keep walking, keep
key.
now but I felt so bad leaving her.”
looking, keep scanning. Finally I resort to the information desk. “Just past the Shearing Shed, on the same side,” the lady kindly gestured. How could I have missed that? I wondered. “I walked right past,” I apologised to “KESS Hair and Beauty’s” receptionist. My apology appeared to go over her head. “We are sorry, we just opened,” she replied looking pre-occupied. “Take a seat,” she said. I quickly perused the price list. From $25
Seated in my chair, the headband lady, who
“How old is she?” I asked.
turned out to be my hairdresser, asked me
“She’s 16 months old,” she replied.
what I would like. “A trim please,” I said. “Has anyone seen the green comb?” I heard her ask the receptionist. I wondered if you could tell a good hairdresser by the way they have their hair. “You did a really good cut on my daughter’s hair,” I said. Her face softened. “Thank you,” she beamed.
“I was getting my husband to look after her but he’s no good. I have to keep asking him if he’s changed her nappies, done this, done that. I can’t believe its better for a stranger to look after my baby.” “It’s alright, he’s got a job making kebabs now, he can do that.” “The lady who looks after my baby, she does it at home. She looks after some other kids too.
for a trim and from $30 for a women’s style.
At that, she pulled off her white head band
It’s only until 3pm though. I asked her if she
Great prices, but I wondered how they could
frustratingly and smoothed her hair back
can look after my baby till I can finish work
make a profit with rent and wages to pay.
with her hands, while squinting at the mirror.
and I’ll give her some money. I don’t know
September 2016
ECE POLIC Y
15
what I’m going to do when this one’s born,”
(Early Childhood Services) Regulations
hairdresser’s list of priorities. I am sure that
she said patting her stomach.
2008 state that these minimum standards
all she cares about is that her child is safe
are to ensure the education, care, health,
and well cared for.
As I sat in my chair, I thought about how we as a nation support working mothers. But ultimately I thought about how society as a whole supports families. The economic realities are real. Having children is one of life’s greatest treasures but unfortunately it is becoming increasingly stressful. For a busy working mother with a 16 month year old, I can see the appeal of an easily accessible home-based ECE option. The small ratio with one parent in a home situation is a comforting thought for a mother. I wondered though in this context, what could
comfort and safety of children. This includes the implementation of New Zealand’s ECE curriculum, Te Whāriki. The Education Act’s definition should be amended to Education and Care. According to the most up to date
There needs to be a greater awareness of the needs of very young children in ECE settings, especially under twos. And we need to ensure that quality ECE for all age groups is affordable for families, especially those on very low incomes. For a mother who is torn
neuroscience and other social science
between her job and the wellbeing of her
research, the most rapid amount of brain
child, it should be the role of the Government
development occurs between conception and
to intervene for the well-being of children to
two years of age. What happens during these
ensure that parents can choose the option
years will have a fundamental impact on what
that is best for them and their children.
happens for the child for the rest of its life.
I was most happy with my hair cut and it was
be done to empower/affirm the father in his
If more and more children below two are
only a third of the price of a cut and blow
role as contributor to the family unit. And is
going into licensed ECE services as a
wave I would have got elsewhere.
this home-based option the best option for
result of women going to work, then those
the child? Is the home educator qualified,
charged with responsibility for these children
is her home safe, is she professionally
should have at least a basic fundamental
supported in her role as educator, does the
understanding of child development and be
“Am I allowed to give her a tip?” I asked the receptionist. She paused then nodded hesitantly. As I walked away, I glanced back through
home-based network have a license to open
able contextualise Te Whāriki for each age
for longer hours?”
group. We are not talking learning algebra,
the window to see my hairdresser prancing
but simple things such as positive discipline,
around the empty salon waving the twenty
communication, and learning through play.
dollar note above her head.
My instincts told me, that at this present
A smile grew within me. I imagined her joy at
Care. But the minimum standards in order
point in time, a document known as
the end of the day when she will be swooping
to be licensed as outlined in the Education
Te Whāriki is likely to be low down my
her baby daughter back into her arms.
The Education Act 1989 currently defines the provision of early childhood education (ECE) in terms of providing Education or
About the author Laree is responsible for helping to develop the ECC's policy position on a range of areas as well as researching topics, preparing submissions, and overseeing key projects. Laree’s background includes senior advisor in the Pasifika team at the Ministry of Education, and roles at the Ministry of Education’s Lower Hutt regional office as part of the Early Learning Taskforce, the Ministry of Health, the Children’s Action Plan directorate at MSD, the Tertiary Education Commission and Parliament. She has a Masters in Public Policy and a Bachelor of Political Science from Victoria University. Laree has two children and one grandchild.
September 2016
Embedding Excellence; lead, learn, live! The ECC is proud to bring you a conference focused on Childcare Centre owners, committees and managers.
Convention Centre, Wellington 26th - 28th May 2017 Features: One programme, no concurrent choices - you get to go to everything! International and local key notes Interactive Opportunities for one-on-one support Networking Political Panel Gala dinner included in registration Trade exhibit deals to be made!
Places will be limited. Reserve your registration now!
Early Childhood Council
ECE Teacher’s Forum
The Colours of ECE Saturday 13th May 2017
Convention Centre International and local presentations on a wide range of ECE topics designed to help you grow your professional practice
Watch this space for programme details! Places are limited.
Early Childhood Council
18
M
CURRICULU
Place-based Education:
MAKING IT REAL By Geof f Fugle
Place-based education is an idea that seems to flit about our pedagogical periphery like an excited pīwakawaka. I first heard about it while studying at the University of Auckland: a scathing article by Richard Manning about the inappropriate use of the Ngāti Toa haka Ka Mate by a Christchurch-based centre and of the need to think local, to shift from the superficial (everyone loves the All Blacks haka... and ERO are coming!) to bringing it down to the place we stand. Te Rauparaha and his warriors chanted their haka Ka Mate during raids through the Canterbury region in the 1820's and 30's. It was the last thing the tipuna of many centre whānau heard before they were killed. Whoops. Place-based education (PBE) is a pedagogical framework that foregrounds ideas of place. By 'place' they mean your local community, be it in the context of past, present or future and thus we can see that it is a pedagogy woven with social and cultural contexts.
PBE is very much about living in Aotearoa and it meshes perfectly with our bicultural curriculum, Te Whāriki. Think Whakamana (empowerment), Kotahitanga (holistic development), Whānau tangata (family and community), and Ngā
September 2016
hononga (relationships) where “Children learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, and things ...” (Te Whāriki).
are able to position themselves, imaginatively and actually within the continuum of nature and culture particular to that place,” (Zucker, cited in Manning 2012).
PBE is about recognising that the early childhood centre is not just a space, but is an integral part of a community. It's about moving from passive observation to active participation by looking beyond the four walls and being part of your community. It is about embracing the complexities of whakapapa and tūrangawaewae through a critical lens that acknowledges that history and knowledge are more often than not constructed by those with power who seek to maintain power.
Personally, it was the idea of storying that transformed PBE from theory to practice – but I had to look elsewhere for that 'lighbulb' moment. Check out American educationalist and author Ann Pelo:
It is this action of stepping out of the centre - both physically, psychologically, and pedagogically, that makes PBE distinguishable from tradition teaching practice - it requires Kaiako to “challenge conventional notions of education and ask simple questions like Where am I? What is the nature of this place? What sustains this community?” (Zucker, cited in Manning, 2012) Manning, (2012) describes this shift in thinking as being a 're-storying process' that enables tamariki to “respond creatively to the stories of their home ground so that they
“Every child lives someplace. And that someplace begins to matter when children are invited to know where they are and to participate in the unfolding life of that place, coming to know the changes in the light and in the feel of the air, and participating in a community of people who speak of such things to each other.” Ann Pelo A Pedagogy for Ecology 2009 Pelo lays out a framework to engage children with place. While her end-goal is growing young environmentalists, the process is pure PBE. At my centre we initially took this framework and turned it into a guide for teacher practice in the way it was intended – to nurture and support a nature-based curriculum, but we found it to be relevant in all areas our work. The more we understood
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it, the more we realised that it is the perfect lens for bicultural planning and assessment. Shilo Hayes (Sense of place, 2015) argues that notions of place grow best in an outdoor space, that daily contact with the natural
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environment allows children to develop relationships with the past, present and future. And so our love of nature transforms into a love for our place. Now we draw upon Ann Pelo's guiding principles where she first invites us to walk the land.
“As teachers we must be mindful of our cultural disposition for superficial knowledge. Rather than novelty, we invite children to look below the surface, to move slowly, to know a place deeply. Recurring visits to the same place over a long period give the children time to feel comfortable with each other and the environment.” Ann Pelo We leave our centre boundary at least three times a week to adventure – urban, rural, cracks in the pavement, fields of flowers, or gullies dense with bush. Walk your land and give the places that become special a name. Labelling places is a way to build relationships with our surroundings. To give a name is to give respect and recognition. Our Paddock of Prickles – five acres of gorse – gets a lot of respect. And learn the names that have been given by others before us. Often when studying new flora or fauna we generalise and lump the unique individual into indistinct groups like 'bird' or 'a tree' and unconsciously create a barrier to building a relationship – the first step towards kaitiakitanga. At my centre we have field guides and use them with the children when we encounter the unknown. This is not a learning 'shortcut' with an instant answer that ends investigation. We ask an expert, we give it a name, we begin to know it, to marvel, wonder and continue with our learning. We embrace sensuality.
“In a culture that values intellect more than emotion, typical environmental education too often emphasises facts in lieu of experience. To foster a love for a place, we must engage our bodies
This doesn't belong (A learning story)
Amy's sense of place and belonging was evident on her last trip to the ngāhere when she spotted Grandads house on the hill and hollered a greeting across the paddocks. "The friendly cow has gone to the meatworks," she informed us. "But he has more friendly cows." While the other children were busy treeclimbing Amy set off on her own adventure... it was all about weeds.... "The horse doesn't like these ones, they walk away from them." "Hmm, they smell like carrots. This one looks like a carrot too!"
Proven protection from germs & odours
Amy was intrigued by how the root system was so similar to the plant itself and that it smelled. We talked about what carrots grow in (soil) and how the roots of other plants were also in the soil. Perhaps that is why they smell similar? ^
"This one has a long root, see? It was really hard to pull out." Amy set off... "these don't belong here.... these don't belong here..." Amy is showing us how strong her relationship with this 'place' is: the close proximity of family, the familiarity of the landscape and its uses, what plants and animals are on the land and their interactions. "This doesn't belong," is a very affirming statement that goes a long way to further strengthening her sense of place which in turn supports her explorations and "working theories about the living world and knowledge of how to care for it." (Te Whāriki). Amy is inquisitive and not shy in asking questions - dispositions that are perfect for developing the skills to 'learn how to learn'. We have being working hard to provide the foundations to provoke questioning and hypothesising and Amy is become well versed in utilising these! By Geoff Fugle
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and our hearts – as well as our minds – in a specific place. Intellectual knowledge needs a foundation of sensual awareness and for very young children, sensual awareness is the beginning of most, if not all, learning. Feel the breeze, the wind and rain, smell the flowers and brush past the leaves...”Ann Pelo Then we learn the stories. To form a relationship with a place we need to know the stories and histories that are linked to that place. In gathering these stories it is as much about children's imaginations as it is about names and dates; the real and the make-believe. In the bush we read the stories of Tane to introduce new ways of thinking about the ngahere that move beyond our lived experiences. Our stream has a name, a source, a history, a life. Narratives based around such fundamental themes of life resonate with children who are always eager to contribute their own... And now we can contribute our stories and become part of the journey of this place:
climbing tree which he was the first to conquer… Tamariki who never knew Jacob talk about him like he's just up ahead on the track... Place-based education is another 'lens', it's a reflective pause in our planning. It reminds us that there's nothing more important for a child than home. It's easy really. About the author Geoff Fugle is Head Teacher at Open Spaces Preschool in Whangarei, an area rich in the stories of land and people. He spends his days crashing through the bush with a horde of kids – it’s a good life.
Tired of wasting valuable time finding innovative resources?
References: Manning, R. (date unknown). Place-based Education: Helping early childhood teachers give meaningful effect to the tangata whenuatanga competency of Tātaiako and the principles of Te Whāriki. Pelo, A. 2009. A pedagogy for ecology Hayes, S. 2015. Sense of Place. Chapter in Outside Voices: conversations with early childhood educators about playing outdoors in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“We're often encouraged to see the earth as just scenery – something to look at but not participate in. When we collapse the distance between the land and ourselves and allow ourselves to become part of the story of a place, we give ourselves over to intimacy. This can be our work with children – weaving them into the story of the place where they live.” Ann Pelo Can you feel it? Perfection. So we talk about our mountain, stand in our stream, look at the insects and birds found in our backyard, read stories and poems about our community… and we nourish and strengthen identity, belonging, relationships and that sense of place, of knowing that you will always have a home, a place to come back to. Now we are ready to embrace your place. The ngāhere at our centre is blessed with children's stories and history. The Paddock of Prickles, Waterfall Creek, Fairyland, the climbing tree, the tuna in the stream who love their cheese… and alongside the bush tracks that take our tamariki to these magical destinations are baby Kauri rakau planted by tamariki as part of their graduation ceremony. In 2014, Jacob planted this Kauri near the
September 2016
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CURRICULU
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE By Shahla Damoory
In 2016, we renewed our reflection on
invite their attention first. We soon had many
sustainable practice. While we all agree that
determined young buddies on their daily hunt
the heart of sustainability is nurturing a belief
for gathering cabbage tree branches in our
that the earth is a living organism and its
playground, as they had recognised it as an
resources should be looked after (Childspace
essential ingredient in making fire.
Early Childhood Institute, 2015), we often see not much action taken! I wonder if it is because we are unsure what is the right thing to choose to do from an early age? Thinking about our own context and how we could possibly change our way of doing things to produce less waste and re-use the natural treasures our environment creates, we noticed the increasing number of our cabbage tree branches and thought about what we could possibly do with them. One
McFarlene (2007) states that if learning experiences we offer young children can interconnect our minds and bodies, holism as an important principle of human development has been exercised. This learning experience created moments of joy and mindfulness, tinana and hinegaro (physical and emotional wellbeing) while children, teachers, families and whānau made a stand to sustain what our earth offered us.
of our passionate teachers, Jacqueline,
Some children liked to observe others and
suggested we provide children with a positive
some liked to participate. Sharing the photos
outdoor experience of cooking kai on a
with children later provoked more thinking
brazier and organising our own ‘Damper Day’.
and comments such as “we made damper
We decided to have a go and made a fire with our own cabbage tree branches, accessing these precious elements of nature to make bread with tamariki on one beautiful rainy morning in June.
bread”, or “bread on the stick”. One toddler sounded excited and looked impressed with making “a fire”, while another child who was away that day commented that “I wasn’t there!” that led us questioning them if they
In preparation for this learning experience,
wanted us to do this again in the future. With
our conversation with young children was to
no hesitation, the answer was positive.
This was a great learning experience for our city children – to feel in touch with something as potent as fire as well as making food. As Dr Rangimarie Turuki Pere (Pere, 1997) recalls us to value Aotearoa as a wonderful country, that is famous for the treasures of its natural environment, each one of us can become a universe and reach a point in understanding that education has no boundaries (Pere, 1997). Staying open to such learning experiences can move our minds in an infinite direction to think, know, perceive, feel, sense and respond (Pere, 1997). So our journey is just beginning and our teachers are keen to continue reflecting on ways to reduce, reuse and recycle in our daily lives and in our teaching practice. While we know that there must be numerous other ways we can rethink sustainable practice, it feels good to remind ourselves the process of our ‘Damper Day’. It highlighted for me that if we want our children to become the recipients of the knowledge, abilities, and strengths of their teachers and whānau and ancestors, we should start doing sustainable practice from an early age! Taking small steps at a time and making it part of our early childhood curriculum.
References:
Childspace. (2015). Sustainable practices in Early Childhood Education, Auckland: Early Childhood Institute. McFarlene, A. H. (2007). The value of Māori ecologies in the study of human development. In L. Bird and W. Drewery (eds) Human Development in Aotearoa: A journey through life. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Pere, R. T. (1997). Te Wheke: A celebration of infinite wisdom. (Reprint). Wellington: National Library of New Zealand.
September 2016
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30
NUTRITION
Creating an ECE environment where children’s nutrition is valued and promoted A summary of research on best policy and practice - By Sarah Gerritsen The first goal of the Wellbeing strand in Te
collected written policies and menus. Most
Whāriki is that “Children experience an
services that participated in the survey had a
Weak statements (using words such as
environment where their health is promoted”
written food and nutrition or hauora/wellness
may, can, could, should, might, encourage,
and yet we have found in our research
policy (82%) and two-thirds had written
suggest, some, partial, make an effort, and
that this can be particularly difficult when
nutritional guidelines for food brought from
try) can be difficult for staff or management
it comes to the promotion of nutrition
home (66%). However, the most common
to action (3).
and healthy eating. These quotes from
barrier to promoting nutrition was a lack of
participants of the 2014 Kai Time in ECE
support from families (21% of all services
survey show the diversity of opinion, the challenges and tensions early childhood educators can face: “Our biggest difficulty is educating the parents about healthy food.” “We have recognised that there is a need for better education for our parents in regards to healthy eating.” “We are continually reflecting on a kai culture that recognises all children as competent learners who can become more confident.” “It is parents’ responsibility to provide healthy options for their children.” “Many, many, many families simply don't 'get' food.”
reported this) and less than one in six services said ‘all’ of their families complied with their written nutrition guidelines (18%) (1).
Not many of the nutrition policies we analysed referred to the Ministry of Health’s Food and Nutrition Guidelines (4) which contain useful guidance on recommended number of servings per day from the four
Strongly worded, comprehensive policies and
food groups, variety across the week, and
nutrition guidelines create a culture of health
appropriate serving sizes for preschoolers.
promotion, where teachers and parents
Policies could also include directives for staff
alike are encouraged to reassess unhealthy
regarding best practice behaviour to promote
preferences and follow best practice to
healthy eating. Even in ECE services where
promote nutrition for the children in their
food is not provided, teachers and staff are
care (2). The 131 written policies we analysed
able to promote nutrition and encourage
were not particularly comprehensive (1).
healthy food preferences by following these
There were a large number of potential
practices that assist children to develop a
topics that nutrition policies could have been
healthy relationship with food:
included in the policies. We were looking
•
sitting and eating with children while they eat;
•
having discussions about food, including where food comes from and its positive effects on the body (e.g. growing strong and healthy, providing energy) and mind (e.g. fuel for the brain);
•
modeling healthy eating, and smart choices for food and drink, including at celebrations and fundraising events;
for statements covering nutrition education (for children, parents and staff), nutrition standards for food and beverages (served onsite or in lunchboxes, at celebrations,
Kai Time in ECE was an online survey of 257
fundraising), healthy eating promotion (the
managers or head teachers of education and
staff behaviours described below), physical
care centres, kindergartens, playcentres and
activity, health communication and evaluation.
kōhanga reo in Auckland, Counties Manukau
Strongly worded statements on these topics
and the Waikato. The survey asked questions
(using words such as shall, will, must,
about nutrition and activity practices, and
have to, insist, require, all, and total) are
September 2016
unambiguous and easy for staff to enforce.
NUTRITION
• •
•
•
not rushing or pressuring children to finish eating; prompting children to ‘listen’ to their body about when they are full (not finishing everything in their lunchbox or on the plate); never using food as a reward or for comfort, and not withholding food as a punishment; involving children where possible in food production (growing and shopping), and the preparation and serving of meals and snacks.
Our research has shown that early childhood management and staff are critical to ensure children experience a supportive nutrition environment where the teaching and promotion of healthy eating behaviours occurs every day (5). It can be helpful to have one person in an ECE centre nominated to be the ‘nutrition champion’, that is, someone who shares knowledge and skills about nutrition, raises awareness and promotes positive change. Half of the services in our survey said that they had a nutrition champion. Attending a professional development workshop on child nutrition and/or menu planning provides champions with an understanding of the reasons and mechanisms behind health promotion messages, ideas about implementing best practice, and the confidence to share this knowledge with their colleagues.
Check out www.learnbyheart.org.nz or your local DHB public health unit to find out about upcoming workshops in your area. Just over half of services in our survey provided food daily to children, with twothirds of privately-run education and care centres serving lunch and at least two other meals/snacks every day. Centres that provide food are in a unique position to influence children’s nutrition and food preferences, with children often relying on them for more than half of their daily nutritional requirements. We know from child development research that dietary patterns and nutritional habits develop early in life
, serving a diversity of foods
(6,7)
to children increases acceptance of food , and repeated exposure improves taste
(8,9)
preferences and liking (10,11). Centres serving food to children can ensure:
•
water only (or sometimes unflavoured milk) is served with meals and snacks, and is easily available to children throughout the day.
•
appropriate serving size and number of portions from each of the food groups (according to the Food and Nutrition Guidelines (4);
•
a variety of foods from each food group are offered, repeatedly;
•
‘everyday’ foods dominate the menu, with ‘sometimes’ foods served only a couple of
References 1. Gerritsen S, Wall C, Morton S (2015) Childcare nutrition environments: results from a survey of policy and practice in New Zealand early childhood education services. Public Health Nutr 19, 9, 1531-1542. 2. Hawkes C, Smith TG, Jewell J et al. (2015) Smart food policies for obesity prevention. The Lancet 385, 9985, 2410-2421. 3. Falbe J, Henderson K, Schwartz M et al. (2014) Wellness Child Care Assessment Tool modified for use in New Zealand (WellCCAT-NZ). Online supplementary material for ‘Child-care nutrition environments: results from a survey of policy and practice in New Zealand early childhood education services.’ Public Health Nutrition 19, 9, S1-S30. 4. Ministry of Health (2012) Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (Aged 2–18 years): A background paper. Wellington: Ministry of Health. 5. Gerritsen S (2016) Nutrition education for early childhood managers, teachers and nursery cooks: a prerequisite for effective obesity prevention. Public Health. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2016.05.025 6. Birch LL & Fisher JO (1998) Development
of eating behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatrics 101, 3 II SUPPL., 539549.
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times a week at most, and no ‘occasional’ foods on the menu (12); This article has outlined best practice ECE policy and staff behaviours that assist children to develop a healthy relationship with food. Regardless of the nutrition practices in the home and wider community, early childhood managers and educators have the ability to influence a child’s understanding of and exposure to good food. How does your centre value and promote children’s nutrition? About the author Sarah Gerritsen is undertaking a PhD with Growing Up in New Zealand at the University of Auckland. She has an MA in Social Science Research and has worked for over a decade in health research with a particular interest in child health, food and obesity prevention. Prior to working in research, Sarah was an early childhood teacher in Wellington. Her supervisors are Associate Professor Susan Morton (a specialist in Public Health Medicine and Director of the Centre for Longitudinal Research and Growing Up in New Zealand at the University of Auckland) and Associate Professor Clare Wall (Head of Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Auckland). To find out more about the Kai Time in ECE Survey, see www.growingup.co.nz/kai-time Sarah will be speaking at the Mana Atua Health & Wellbeing: The Heart of the ECE Curriculum hui 25-26 November in Auckland. To register for this free event Please visit www.manaatua2016.eventbrite.co.nz
7. Ashcroft J, Semmler C, Carnell S et al. (2008) Continuity and stability of eating behaviour traits in children. Eur J Clin Nutr 62, 8, 985-990. 8. Cooke L (2007) The importance of exposure for healthy eating in childhood: A review. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 20, 4, 294-301. 9. Birch LL & Anzman SL (2010) Learning to Eat in an Obesogenic Environment: A Developmental Systems Perspective on Childhood Obesity. Child Development Perspectives 4, 2, 138-143. 10. Singer MR, Moore LL, Garrahie EJ et al. (1995) The tracking of nutrient intake in young children: the Framingham Children's Study. Am J Public Health 85, 12, 1673-1677. 11. Wyse R, Campbell E, Nathan N et al. (2011) Associations between characteristics of the home food environment and fruit and vegetable intake in preschool children: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 11, 938-2458-11-938. 12. Heart Foundation (2012) Fuelled4life Nutrition Guide for Early Childhood Education Services. www.fuelled4life.org.nz
September 2016
32
PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY
The monkey bars By Kerry Pratchett
“It is through his muscles that a man can act on the external world and give expression to his thoughts.” (Montessori, 1967, p.76).
Myelination Shannon Helfrich (Montessori Learning in the 21st Century) describes ‘myelination’ as being like the plastic coating that protects
We seem to be constantly reading articles
an electrical cord. The myelin protects the
that recommend children need to come off
nerves and allows messages to flow from the
the screens and start moving. This makes
brain through the nerves to move parts of
sense to us as we know that a sedentary life
the body. The nerves need to be myelinated
is an unhealthy life but why is it so vital for
before messages can be translated. The
tamariki (children) to move?
process of myelination begins before birth
During the last year, I have been doing research on how we can help tamariki improve their hand writing. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that we need to increase the child’s fine motor ability. But before this can happen the child needs to have strong core and upper body strength. For this to develop, tamariki need to be engaged in gross movement. For the child to reach potential; the mind, body and muscles need to be able to work together. Inviting and encouraging the child to do purposeful activities supports the creation and development of the neural connections, this is called myelination. A purposeful activity might involve the child cutting their own fruit for morning tea. The challenge of holding a knife will certainly ask their mind muscles and nervous system to work together as much as possible, this is one of the reasons why real tools are great. The baby, when born, can only lift their head, this is because their muscles are not developed. After a short while the child is able to sit, crawl and eventually walk, leaving their hands free for exploration. When the child is born the hands are closed and grasping is a reflex. Over time grasping becomes intentional as the child realises that if they reach out, they can grab things. We see young children reaching for the tiniest speck on the floor and unsteadily bringing this to their mouths to explore further.
September 2016
but is not complete by birth; therefore the baby cannot activate their muscles. The child will only gain control of his body through effort – we can see this happening when we watch a baby move. The child is driven to move, and through repetition and practise, their movements become more coordinated and refined, this helps the process of myelination. The process of myelination begins at the head and works its way gradually down the body centred around the spinal column; first the mouth (1st month), then the head (2nd month) rolling over (between 4 and 5 months) to sitting and eventually walking. The child’s movements eventually become unconscious, thus freeing
the brain to process other things. Being able to walk without needing their hands as aids also means that the child’s hands are again free to touch and explore all that is around them. To help with a child’s self-construction (bringing the mind, muscles and nerves together to work as one) we can encourage children to move as much as possible. The book ‘A moving child is a learning child’ states "Climbing, hanging, swinging, and any other high-energy activities that build strength in his upper body and core muscles are vital precursors to fine motor skills", (McCarthy, C. Connell, G. p.236) Muscle control and coordination develops in a natural, orderly way from the top down and from the inside out - starting at the head and working towards the toes while building out from the torso to the limbs. This order of priority, established by the brain, ensures that the large muscles necessary for coordination and locomotion (getting from here to there) are well organized and in control, before taking on the complex mastery of combined muscles in the hands.
PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY
33
This is why, the monkey bars are a great way for children to development their gross motor and visual hand eye coordination as they learn to swing from one bar to the next. Children set challenges for themselves swinging from one end to the other, skipping a bar, turning upside down all the time further developing their muscles. We found that when children became competent at swinging, it increased the child’s confidence in other areas. All of a sudden they had a can do attitude and perseverance built up. At Wa Ora Montessori, the children are in the preschool from aged 3 to 6 years. We found that by supporting the child in developing their gross motor muscles, their fine motor muscles were built up too, meaning that they could hold a pencil correctly and write with the right amount of pressure to be successful. So next time a child calls to you to watch them swinging on the monkey bars think of all of the amazing things that are happening for their mind, muscles and nerves. Monkey Bars Rock! This article was originally published in Montessori Voices, Issue 81, April 2016 References Helfrich, S, (2011), Montessori Learning in the 21st Century, A Guide for Parents and Teachers, Newsage Press, Oregon. Montessori, M. (1967) The absorbent mind, Dell Publishing Co. New York, USA. McCarthy, C., Connell, G (2013), A moving child is a learning child, USA
About the author
Montessori in the Kerry Pratchett is a teacher at Wa Ora 13 years ago and preschool. She moved here from the UK and Catherine, both is married with two children, Rebecca e about the Montessori who attend Wa Ora. Kerry is passionat developmental journey. approach and supporting children in their research, particularly how She has lately taken a real interest in help the child in their the body works and what we can do to full potential. quest to self-construct and reach their
September 2016
34
G
MARKETIN
WOULD YOU LIKE SERVICE WITH THAT?
By Ph
il Sale
Recommending a business is a great thing
For most New Zealanders the end of July is
People spend their money on things that
the turning point in the year, when the days
make their lives better, easier or more
to do but it carries with it a risk element.
start getting longer and (hopefully!) a little
fulfilling. Often there is a particular ‘pain
Imagine that your best friend is having
point’ which they need you to address. In
a wedding anniversary and you have
bit warmer. For me, July means two things. Firstly, it is the start of the new teaching semester where I work. Secondly, it means that I pack away my Entrepreneurship paper and replace it with Problem Solving and Decision Making. Of course it isn't really as straight forward as all that. In particular, I find that many of the lessons from one paper spill over into the other paper in quite weird and wonderful sorts of ways. Let me explain what I mean by this and why this is relevant to you. Regardless of whether you think of your early childcare centre as a conventional business or as a community service, I sincerely hope that you think of it as both an entrepreneurial endeavour and as an opportunity to solve problems for your community of clients.
short, people are looking for you to provide
recommended your favourite restaurant for
solutions to their problems, some of which
a romantic candle-lit dinner and intimate
may be significant, massive or urgent and
atmosphere. If all goes well then you feel
some of which may be smaller or more
good about your suggestion. But if the service
mundane. If they pick you as their preferred supplier then this is your opportunity to impress them with the solutions which you provide. If you
is lousy, the food is cold and the restaurant over-booked then it is you who ends up feeling bad about a good deed gone wrong. No one likes to see their friends disappointed.
do a good job then these same people might
Of course, you can always qualify your advice
come back again and if you do a really good
(“Well, it was good the night that we went …”)
job then they might even tell other people
but why should you need to protect your own
how great you are! What could be easier?
reputation if the service REALLY is good? As
So why is it that so many businesses seem to go out of their way to create more problems for their customers, than they supposedly solve? If you have a list of businesses which you won’t use again then you know
a customer, good service should leave you feeling confident that your experience was great and that it will be great again, the next time that you go there. There is also something else to consider
what I mean. Conversely, how often do you
here: Speaking as a parent, the most
Solving other peoples’ problems is something
recommend a business to other people
valuable thing that I have is not my car or my
that all businesses should aspire to do.
without being prompted?
house. It is my children. If my house is on
September 2016
s
MARKETIN
G
35
fire and I have to choose between putting out
When we think of being ‘the best’ we have
them as customers. You are a guardian, a
the fire and getting my kids to safety then
to ask ourselves what we mean by this. In
defender and a trusted soul.
the kids win every time. I may put on a brave
quality management theory there are two
face whenever I leave my children for the day
different meanings to ‘being the best’. The
but inside I am suffering parental anxiety
first meaning is sometimes referred to as the
syndrome until I see them once again!
Rolls-Royce definition (‘the best of the best’)
I expect only the best for my kids and I would suggest that the same goes for most (if not all) of the parents who leave their children
while the second definition might be thought of as the Mini (‘fitness for use’): If you need a round-town-runabout then the best car for
By this definition, you can’t buy a client in the same way that you could buy a list of potential customers. Clients place themselves under your care in response to your knowledge, experience and customer-service. In return you get their trust and loyalty.
at early childcare centres throughout New
you is definitely the Mini, not the Roller!
So, as you think about ways in which your
Zealand. We are taking a huge leap of faith
So, think of your service in terms of what
early childcare centre can really stand out,
when we leave our children in the care of
your parents and their children need and
think for a moment about your relationship with the families who use your services and
our minds at ease the better.
then make sure that you deliver it to them, each and every time. Make sure that you are
ask yourself whether they are customers
Professional training, industry standards and
consistent, reliable and predictable (in a nice
or clients?
strangers and the more that you can do to set
compulsory audits are the impersonal side of quality assurance. Living-and-breathing unparalled customer service is the thing
sense). When you do need to vary the day-today service (for example, if you have to wait for a late parent to collect their child) then
which shows me that my decision to leave my
make sure that it remains part of the service
children at your early childcare centre is the
that you have always expected to provide.
right thing to do.
Finally, take the time to think about the
The appliance firm LV Martin and Son built
people who use your services. Business guru
a reputation around their motto, “It’s the
Jay Abraham makes the point that there is
putting right that counts”. A few wags have
a subtle difference between customers and
asked, “Isn’t it better to make sure that it
clients. While we may happily switch between
is right in the first place,” but the Martin
these two terms in everyday use, Abraham
family’s philosophy is essentially quite sound:
suggests that we should be aware of a
It is their job to take the risk and pain out of
fundamental difference which exists between
your purchase. If there is a problem, then it is
the two.
their problem, not the customer’s problem.
our services. You are probably a regular
winners but sometimes it just isn’t possible
customer of Pak’n Save or New World or
to always be seen as the number one provider
Countdown. You may (or may not) show
in your community. If your early childcare
great loyalty to one of these brands.
centre isn’t the biggest or newest in town
Maybe you advocate on behalf of your
then figure out what you are a leader in and
supermarket on price, range of goods
then make some noise about it. Sometimes
or service. However, if you are just a
being smaller can be a virtue in the eyes of
customer then you miss out on one
in town”; “our teachers spend more time with your child”). Many years ago, rental car firm Avis came up with a cunning plan to take on category leaders Hertz. Avis made a virtue out of being smaller with the tag line, “We’re number 2. We try harder”. The message (and the service expectations) was clear: Avis would work harder and provide better service than its bigger competitor.
upcoming centre manager workshops].
According to Abraham, clients are people who are under your protection. Read that again. Clients don’t just buy from you; they rely on you to give them the best advice and to work in their best interests. If they have a problem then they come to you for the solution, even if the solution isn’t a service that you currently offer.
great way to sell the story!
Phil Sales heads up Business Development and Entrepreneurship for the Faculty of Business and Information Technology at Whitireia New Zealand [www.whitireia.ac.nz]. Whitireia are the ECC preferred suppliers for the ECC Centre Manager workshops [go to www.ecc.org.nz for
important benefit which clients enjoy
something similar with a campaign that said, wine in Australia … fussy buggers!” What a
About the author
at your expense.
Australian wine producer Hunter Valley did “Hunter Valley produces less than 2% of the
becomes a whole lot easier!
Customers are people who purchase
The New Zealand public loves home-grown
your customers (“the best teacher-child ratio
Once you know the answer to that question, delivering excellent service suddenly
Why do they do this? Because they trust you to protect them from
Which brings me to my next point: Great
people who have a vested
customer service isn’t about being flash.
interest in just acquiring
September 2016
BlueBook
Welcome to the BlueBook Online Portal brought to you by The ECC YOUR BLUE BOOK ONLINE
My Blue Book Summary Menu
Providing teachers with a sense of direction in the identification and management of development goals
Welcome
Welcome to your Blue Book on-line.
My Portfolio
While the Blue Book on-line is a website with a structure, it is you as you see fit.
PTCs / Tataiako Reflective Questions
The Blue Book on-line has three core parts to it:
Evidence
My Portfolio – this is where you start. In this section you will find the Tataiako, facility for you to add your own reflective questions on free text dairy notes; upload evidence to support your progress of the overall average self-evaluation by others using the Blue Bo
Self Evaluation Diary
•Fast, easy-to-use interfaces •Smart phone friendly •Downloadable templates •Knowledge-base of resources
My Plan – once you have completed the self-evaluation, My Plan that focuses on those PTCs you have identified as requiring mos Against each PTC you will be able to add your own development will be invited to add an objective due date for each objective give permission to your mentor to access your Blue Book on-line
My Plan
PTCs / Tataiako Objectives Evidence
My Appraisal – pulls together a summary of the evidence you h section also provides an opportunity for your mentor to read and point for your progress against each PTC.
My Appraisal My Details
You can access these three core parts from here. You can also and evidence in your Blue Book on-line.
My Subscriptions
1. Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all akonga
Set your PTC goals in
View PTC Overview
My Plan
Reflective Questions
•Choose your own reflective questions
Help
How is the role of a teacher viewed in my setting? Within my teaching practise, how do I demonstrate effective relationships with akonga, their whanau, my colleagues and others? How do I show that I enrich the learning of those I teach?
My Portfolio
How do I show in my practice that I actively promote the well-being of all akonga for whom I am responsible?
•Combines PTCs and Tataiako •Upload photos, videos Add new Reflective Question and other file formats •Make comments
How have my ‘everyday’ conversations with families given me inspiration to plan and respond to children?
Objectives Due by 09/12/0015
Class uses a range of high-frequency, topic-specific, and personal-content words to create meaning Delete This Objective
Edit This Objective
Evidence
U p lo a d F ile
Comments
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Bank of reflective questions and planning objectives to choose from or write your own •Membership to Blue Book Online is by subscription •Purchase subscriptions for yourself or your centre could purchase for you •Ongoing support
Contact the ECC for more information
Manage your progress in
My Appraisal
Close the performance loop with
My Mentors
•Grant mentors access to your Blue Book online
RESOURCE
Resource
REVIEWS
37
Reviews
Snooze with Hairy Maclary: Touch and Feel
nap or at least, it’s about trying to take a nap. “Everyone’s sleepy, a need of a snooze. What
By Lynley Dodd
place do they go to? What spot do they choose?
Puffin
In the sun…in the shade…on a ledge…”
After some frolicsome fun, Hairy and his
Young readers will enjoy exploring the
gang are ready for a nap. But where will they
different textures on each page, such as Hairy
choose to sleep? This touch-and-feel tale
Maclary’s shaggy tummy. Lynley Dodd’s all
starring the rascally Hairy Maclary and his
new rhyming story is told with her signature
rollicking gang of friends is all about taking a
humour and fun.
Speed King: Burt Munro, the World's Fastest Indian
The moment young Burt Munro saw a
By David Hill
motorbike chugging down a quiet Invercargill street, he was hooked. More than fifty years later, he and his ancient Indian motorcycle
Illustrated by Phoebe Morris
would amaze the world by setting a land-
Picture Puffin
speed record – one that remains unbroken to
In 1967 an unknown, elderly New Zealander
this day.
and his ancient Indian motorcycle set a
Burt didn’t have much money. He wasn’t
world land-speed record at Bonneville. The
young. But he was determined. And he
man was Burt Munro, and he became a Kiwi
became a Kiwi legend. A great story to inspire
legend. How did he do it? His amazing true
our young readers and share one of New
story is now a stunning picture book.
Zealand’s great stories!
Jack Feels Big: Volume 1
such as when Jack is learning persistence,
By Adam Millen Illustrated by Matt Haworth Crazy Ideas Ltd
he is dressed in his judo uniform or when he discovers frustration when building a tower Jack is wearing a hard had and carpentry tool belt. At the end of each story there is a reflection page for discussion prompts,
Jack Feels Big is a collection of five short
such as; “When have you seen someone
illustrated stories, with each story presenting
else feel overwhelmed? When have you felt
a scenario where the protagonist, Jack,
overwhelmed?”
experiences a feeling or virtue. In this volume overwhelmed, persistent, frustrated, brave and lonely are explored. Each virtue/feeling word is included in te reo Māori and the New Zealand Sign language. Each story is set up with Jack in a dress-up,
This book due to it's size is best shared in small groups or one-on-one, and is a fantastic opportunity to explore some feelings and virtues, not often discussed in feeling books. To buy the book head to www.jackfeelsbig.nz
September 2016
38
RESOURCE
REVIEWS
The Hoppleplop By Kyle Mewburn Illustrated by Deborah Hinde Lizard Lane Books The Hoppleplop sets the reader on a mission to search for a new creature called a ‘Hoppleplop’, introducing the reader to a fantasy world with creative creatures as they go on their search. The Hoppleplop is a picture book that offers a bit of mystery and in which the reader is
allowing children to fully engage, and explore the fantastic and colourful detailed illustrations as they follow the text. All readers too will enjoy the twist at the end. The Hoppleplop is perfect for the older preschooler and for the first few years of school. It is a perfect resource to increase a child’s level of reading comprehension with the range of language complexity and how the ties between the story and pictures.
invited to participate and engage throughout
Reviewed by Fern Anderson
Roger The Rooster Of Ambury Park Farm
a heart-warming story that will capture a
By Robyn P Murray
Roger the Rooster of Ambury Park Farm is young reader with its delicate illustrations and moving text. The author has used a wide
Illustrated by Robina Adamson
variety of adjectives within his descriptive
Robyn P Murray Hirst
writing which will not only widen a child’s
Roger the Rooster of Ambury Park Farm is
and create a vivid image in their heads.
about a young rooster in whom the reader watches develop in character as the book
vocabulary but will engage them in the text
The illustrator has used colour to identify
progresses. The book begins when the young
important characters in the text and the
rooster is abandoned and after being re-
mood of the story. Children will recognise the
entered into society he rebels and runs away,
New Zealand animals and landscape that are
to live his own adventure rather than being
found within the book.
kept in a hen house. Roger wants to be free. Through his journey he develops kindness, learns the importance of helping others,
A book to share in small groups or one-oneone.
teamwork and he learns to do the right thing.
Reviewed by Fern Anderson
What Could It Be
What Could It Be uses fun rhyming language
By Sally Fawcett
reader into its text by using the images as a
EK Books
‘look and find’ with the first page introducing
What Could It Be is a book to help children
they turn the following page they search
learn their shapes by applying it to everyday
that flows as it is read. The book engages the
children to a geometric shape, then when the brightly coloured illustrations where
objects familiar to young children. There is
they have to find all the different ways this
no doubt that there have been books before
shape can be. What Could It Be is a great first
like What Could It Be with similar concepts
step into learning shapes, with fun text and
of the learning of shapes, but this picture book turns the mundane process of learning shapes into a fun activity.
September 2016
each page. The Hoppleplop has masterfully connected the story with the illustrations,
images that will engage and encourage an understanding of what they are learning. Reviewed by Fern Anderson
Running a successful childcare centre and developing your teachers takes time and planning. Let us help you with a great selection of low-cost workshops. FOR CENTRE OWNERS & MANAGERS
Learn new essential skills! Refine and refresh existing skills!
FOR YOUR TEACHING STAFF
Enhance your teaching practice and improve outcomes for your learners
• Good governance
• Leading a learning culture
• Strategic planning
• Teaching with purpose
• Business planning
• Effective practice with infants and toddlers
• Marketing in a competitive environment
• Enacting and evidencing the Practicing Teacher Criteria and Tātaiako in everyday practice
• Financial management • Managing people • Compliance • Health and safety • Plus much more!
• In centre, whole team professional learning by arrangement • Using the ECC’s Blue Book • First Aid refresher • Plus much more!
ECC members - get special rates! ECC members - spread your payments for workshops over the year!
Go to www.ecc.org.nz for more information & to register now
BUYERS WAITING - NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS • Over 84 children • Well known business in Northland. • Long established. • educators • Easy to manage centre with good lease. • working owner Asking: $197,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/18356
• Located in East Auckland area • Licensed for 80 children • Currently running around half full owing to vendors personal circumstances • • Possibility to increase license numbers Asking: $895,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/16300
MOE licensed for 30 children, well established centre. It runs close to full with some variations and occasional waiting list. Great reputation and provides good personal care to individual children. Excellent teaching methods withe with little input from the owner. Asking: $295,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/14828
Thinking of Selling? There is no doubt we are currently in a seller’s market for good businesses. Market demand exceeds supply and I have motivated business buyers waiting. I know how to reach the right buyers for your business and take you through to a successful the maximum sales value possible. I look forward to hearing from you.
Long established business. MOE license for 46 children (0 to 5). Room to expand to
Long established centre in a sought after East Auckland location. MOE licensed for 45 children over 2. Lovely set up and very attractive leaning environment . Good mix
MOE licensed for 39 Children over 2. Sought after location. Low
Asking $500k for business and $1.25M for Land and Building. Asking: $1,750,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/13625
of experience with the centre. Strong parent relationship is a feature of this centre. Asking: $2,245,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/14274
meeting only, genuine buyers please call for an appointment. Asking: $650,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/17847
• Well established childcare centre with attractive set up inside and out side • It has MOE license for 46 children •
• One of the best preschool outlooks in New Zealand • Licensed for 21 - ready to be expand to 26 children • Located in North East of South Island, just on the water’s edge with uninterrupted ocean views • What a lifestyle living for new owners • Very low rent and good long lease Asking: $240,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/17420
• MOE licensed for 68 children • 18 under 2 years and 50 over 2 years • Currently running under management • Accounts show net surplus $247,000 pa • New owners could do much better • Genuine enquires only Asking: $895,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/14275
Vendor wishes to retire.
• Ideal stand alone or add-on opportunity for prospective buyers Asking: $540,000 Pra Jain 09 555 6091 / 027 279 4652 linkbusiness.co.nz/15563
Well managed centre accounts show managed
About LINK LINK was founded in 1996 and has been providing exceptional business broking services to business owners. Having sold over $1 billion of businesses it is now the largest business brokerage in New Zealand and the Australia, South Africa and the United States.
For best service and best results contact:
Pra Jain DDI M E W
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09 555 6091 027 279 4652 praj@linkbusiness.co.nz linkbusiness.co.nz
For Best Service and Best Results - Experience Counts! The authority on selling businesses
September 2016
Link Business Broking Limited (REAA08) - Level 1, 401 Great South Road, Ellerslie, Auckland 1061
RESOURCE
A Texas Year - Twelve Months in the Life of Texan Kids By Tania McCartney Illustrated by Tina Snerling EK Books A Texas Year is a picture book that will give New Zealand children a taste of the culture of children from the American state, Texas that
illustrations which children will be greatly
By Sarah
ure
agination oices by em. ers with th
lder
Ho By Sarah
finding something new with each read. Each two pages represent a different month in the state of Texas and it ends with a group of fun, quick facts and an accurate map of the state. This will appeal to older preschoolers and
successful, winning an award for the ‘Kids’ Year series’. It’s a book that kids will love to learn from, giving them a sense of culture and showing a small insight into the world's diversity. Reviewed by Fern Anderson
The Tale of a Magnificent Tail; Terry the Turtle and his Flying Adventure
subliminal message seems to be that what
By Sarah Holder
some fruit and vegetables metamorphosis
Holder
raspberries and carrot. This story’s you eat is what you are, with Penny thinking she was an ugly chicken, but after eating
Munchers’ Ink
into a peacock!
The author, Sarah Holder, created these
Terry the Turtle and his Flying Adventure has
and vegetables. The stories themselves are
led advent y Fair!
read differently each time, with children
fond of. These illustrations are modern with
books to encourage children to eat fruit e Turtle Terry Th and Adventure His Flying
interesting and fun book without appearing cluttered. With the layout, the book can be
This fun children's book has been highly
A Texas Year has simple yet fun and creative
ren
package. The design layout creates an
picture book representing a diverse group
culture and lifestyle with past traditions.
ur child ers with yo choices. ir healthy
a retro vibe that creates a visually stunning
those in their early years of primary.
heritages and gender blending modern day
venture hanting ad acock gnificent pe er seen!
41
they can relate to. A Texas Year is a modern of children from a variety of multicultural
of The Tale A nt Tail Magnifice
REVIEWS
Terry the Turtle (made from green apple and grapes) visit the Annual Balloon Berry Fair. A
not the main event, instead its how you can
great introduction to a variety of berries.
have fun recreating the fruit and vegetable
The illustrations of both books are simple
characters in the story, such as Penny the
but cute and are all created with fruit and
peacock from The Tale of a Magnificent Tail, is
vegetables from the cauliflower clouds to the
made from an avocado, cherries, pineapple,
wheatgrass grass to the orange sun!
Bud-e Books 41-60
automatically many small words such as:
By Jill Eggleton
a, the, here, is, to. Each book focuses on three words that are repeated on each page,
Global Ed
i.e. ‘We like the roof. We like the door.’ On the
Bud-e Reading is a complete online and
opposite page as well as illustrations that
print reading experience for young children,
offers hints to children it also offers adults
designed to guide children as they take
prompts for discussing the illustrations and
their first steps in the reading world. Bud-e Reading supports beginner readers with a series of books that teaches, encourages and entertains and is a fun interactive and happy experience. Bud-e Reading helps children recognise
how to share the text with young readers, e.g. ‘Watch me point to the words and listen to me read them. You touch the words and read them with me. What do you think is funny on this page?’ A great set of books for those showing interest in reading words.
September 2016
42
RESOURCE
REVIEWS
Bud-e Creative III; Bubble Bop; Big Bubba; Isabella Buckarella Jill Eggleton Global Ed
which makes this a good book for beginner readers. Big Bubba is a fun story that uses word
These four books are a range of titles that
repetition to not only drive the narrative and
Jill Eggleton has written for young beginning
reinforce the book’s message about listening
readers. Bud-e Creative III compliments Bud-e Books 41-60 by having a page for each of these Bud-e Books to give children the opportunity to reflect on their reading and learning. Each page is blank so children have a myriad of options such as drawing, writing, creating a collage etc to encourage creativity and their imagination. A good prompt to remind adults/teachers to encourage not just learning to read but creativity and using your imagination. Bubble Bop is a rap that teaches the letters
to your parents but it draws in the reader with easily memorised words due to the repititon, i.e. “Big Bubba Hippo lived in the Ringting River with Big Papa Hippo and Big Mama Hippo. Every night when the sun went down, they waddled out of the river. Waddle, waddle, waddle. They went munch, munch, munch on the green grass. Then they waddled back into the river again. Waddle, waddle, waddle. A bonus CD is included. Isabella Buckarella is an entertaining story that bucks gender stereotypes and shows children it’s okay to be different and that you don’t have to be perfect all the time,
of the alphabet. The rap first uses the name
for example, Princess Isabella Buckarella
of the letter then a repeat reading the sound
refuses to put on her princess clothes,
of the letter. Children will discover and learn
but instead wears her ‘raggy taggy pants,
to recognise and name the letters of the
her raggy taggy shirt, and her flippy floppy
alphabet; to hear and say the first sound
shoes’. The story offers rich layered rhyming
in words; to recognise how sounds can be
language, alliteration and onomatopoeia.
written; that a sound can be written with one
The enchanting language and delightful
letter or more than one letter; and that the
illustrations will demand repeat readings. A
same word can be pronounced in different
bonus CD is included.
The New Zealand Dyslexia Handbook
difficulties some children have and be able
By Tom Nicholson & Susan Dymock NZCER Press This book was written to raise awareness about dyslexia because research shows dyslexia is still largely mysterious and misunderstood in many schools and out in the community. When the authors, Nicholson & Dymock, completed a survey of New
to recognise a child who may have dyslexia, rather than thinking a child is disinterested in reading/writing, the child too not being able to articulate what they are struggling with and possibly already feeling like a failure before they even start school! The book covers questions such as; What is dyslexia? What does the latest research tell us about the brain and dyslexia? How do I know if one of my students has dyslexia? and How do I make my
Zealand schools, it was discovered most
classroom dyslexia friendly?.
schools believed they had students with
Both Nicholson & Dymock are university
dyslexia, but fewer than half felt skilled
September 2016
ways. We are learning how important phonetics is for children learning to read
teachers and researchers with literacy
enough to teach these students.
expertise having spent many years teaching
Although this book is primarily for primary
dyslexic students to read and spell and
and secondary educators, those working
believe that we can do much better for
in ECE with a high interest of literacy or
students with dyslexia. The book layout and
those ECE services who offer a pre-school
language is simple, easy to read and highly
literacy programme would highly benefit in
informative. A great book for the teacher and/
being aware on the different types of reading
or parent library.
RESOURCE
Spilt Milk Yoga By Cathryn Monro Familius To set the record straight this isn’t your traditional parenting book. Spilt Milk Yoga is a book to nurture and guide mothers along
REVIEWS
43
each experience and a guided self-inquiry for mothers to contemplate, respond to, develop, and record their practice. Questions asked include: Will motherhood ruin my life? What happened to my body, and my career? Am I doing it right? Whose anger is this? Is an ordinary life good enough? How do I achieve
this beautiful, but also somewhat confusing
anything?
and frustrating journey by approaching
This inspirational book is for all mothers,
motherhood as a path to greater selfknowledge.
especially those seeking to experience happiness, peace and purpose in each
Each chapter is short and sweet to meet
moment of parenting and living, and who
the needs of the busy mother. Within each
want to be more present and connected to
chapter the author shares her own honest,
themselves and their children and find their
down-to-earth and humorous parenting
own inner strength, balance and greater self-
stories, a practical practice applicable to
awareness.
Intentional Teaching Promoting Purposeful Practice in Early Childhood Settings By Ann Houghton Licensed by Essential Resources This Australian resource has been created to help ECE educators understand the principles of intentional teaching and highlights how intentional teaching practices can support learning outcomes for children.
strategies, use of insight, humour and common sense. It portrays real and meaningful stories and examples to show how educators have been intentional when planning for children. Although this book is an Australian ECE resource and nothing new to the experienced and trained ECE teacher, the bulk of the book will still be useful for any ECE teacher, particular those new to teaching, untrained teachers or those returning to the profession and needing a quick refresher on intentional
The book is easy to read due to its practical
teaching and best practice.
Developing Early Maths Skills Outdoors
teachable moments under the various math
Activity ideas and best practice for teaching and learning outside By Marianne Sargent
but there are suggestions for looking for concepts, as well as providing advice on planning and assessment, curriculum and home links. The activities are not about sitting outside and counting to ten under a
Essential Resources Educational
tree, but they are activities that are played in
Publishers Ltd
the outdoors or large spaces as the activities
This book demonstrates how the outdoors, as much as the indoors, can offer learning opportunities in maths and is divided into 17 sections discussing various math skills and concepts, for example; comparing quantities, adding, subtracting, patterns, time, capacity and volume, and much more. Other sections of the book cover planning and organising outdoor mathematics and offers advice on collecting evidence of children’s learning. The activities on offer are mostly adult-led,
tend to generate lots of noise, fun and action. The content will inspire educators to offer further maths experiences outside with an active, social and exploratory pedagogical approach. The book has been written for both early childhood education students and educators and has links to both the Australian and New Zealand Early Childhood Curricula and is part of a wider series that promotes outside learning with further topics in literacy and science.
September 2016
44
RESOURCE
REVIEWS
Kanohi: My Face; Kararehe: Animals; and Kākahu: Getting Dressed By Kitty Brown & Kirsten Parkinson Illustrated by Kirsten Parkinson
pick up some skills in the reo”. Kanohi: My Face asks questions such as, ‘Kei hea tō upoko? Where is your head?' With beautiful portraits on each page opposite from the text. Kararehe: Animals features animals found in
Reo Pēpi Tāpui Ltd
New Zealand; He hōiho tēnei. This is a horse.
If you haven’t already bought these three
Kākahu: Getting Dressed uses clear
stunning bilingual board books for your early childhood centre, you should, they are a must for all young New Zealand children. The authors who are cousins were inspired to write these books when they were home with their own pēpi, “As beginners we wanted something bilingual to share with our pēpi,
instructions for example: Whakamaua tō poraka. Put on your top. The simple text reinforces sentence structure with te reo Māori in bold and the English translation below and at the back of the books is a pronunciation guide.
with good illustrations and that was durable!
Go today and buy up this series, you won’t be
Something that would help our whole whānau
disappointed!
Penguin Random House Prize Pack
Penguin Random House as kindly donated THREE prize packs for Swings and Roundabouts readers, each pack containing THREE Books!
To win a free pack of Penguin Random House books answer this question: Which famous New Zealander has just had a picture book written about his journey? Email your contact details and the answer to the above question to publications@ecc.org.nz by Friday 14 October 2016 and be in to win.
September 2016
Competition Winners Congratulations to the following winners who have won 3 Penguin Random House books for their ECE centre: Karen Wratt, Annabel's Educate Somerfield, Christchurch Rachel Hagan, 171 Kohanga Road, RD3, Tuakau Heather Goodall, Ako Rolleston, Christchurch
September 2016
46
H LAST LAUG
Last Laugh
Now that I'm older here's what I've discovered: 1.
I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.
7. When I'm finally holding all the right cards, everyone wants to play chess.
2. I finally got my head together, and now
8. It's not hard to meet expenses. . .
3.
9. Some days, you're the top dog; some
my body is falling apart.
It was a whole lot easier to get older, than to get wiser.
4. It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.
5. The world only beats a path to your door 6.
they're everywhere.
days you're the hydrant.
10. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
11. I wish the buck really did stop here;
when you're in the bathroom.
I sure could use a few of them.
Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
12. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he'd have put them on my knees.
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. ‘Mommy can’t come to the phone to talk to you right now. She’s hitting the bottle.’
Recycled garden mulch for a safe environment
Providing quality bark for playgrounds, equestrian arenas and other garden sections
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September 2016
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