The Inspired EC Blog

"People aren't washing up their own lunch dishes"  "The laundry door needs a new handle - should we get a round one or a different type" (cue 9 minutes of discussion on handle specification) There are plenty more examples, but this is just two. Two examples of wasted time in team meetings. Okay - stay with me. I know it is important to work out who is dumping their dirty coffee cup on the side of the sink, or leaving their slimy salad bowl in the staff room, but there are better ways.  Let's start at the beginning.    Why do we...

  Well, it's that time of year again. Things are winding down, and the end of year gifts are ramping up. This is the time of year where see some variant on these questions being asked regularly:  What should we give the children as an end of year gift?  What should we get the children to make for families as a gift?  What should I get my child's educator as a gift?    Let's be clear - I like the idea of gifting. In fact, our Inspired EC team decided to do a secret santa this year, and given that...

  I remember one of the first services I ever visited as a young student. I headed on into the infant room and was overwhelmed by toys and swings and rockers and stuff. When I went outdoors, I was surprised to see that the outdoor environment was a simple decked area with a mat and a few toys. Unlike the toddler and preschool playgrounds, the infant playground had no grass, no plants, no challenge, no sensory experiences.    What do our infants need?  When it comes to the outdoor environment for infants, I think that many services err on the side...

This post was originally published on our blog in 2017, and has been revised and republished for you to enjoy!   A few weeks ago I watched my youngest child navigate the climbing structure at a local playground. She is 2.8years and is known in our family as the “wild child.” She is adventurous and risk taking and way more capable than people  (including me sometimes) give her credit for.  As she approached this climbing structure, she quietly assessed it. She looked for the lowest point to be able to pull herself up. She moved herself around the bottom of...

I spend a lot of time barefoot. I am barefoot indoors, I am barefoot outdoors, and I prefer to drive with barefeet. This explains how one morning, many years ago when I was the director of a beautiful service, I got out of the car when I arrived at work, and realised that I had no shoes. Yes, I was going to be shoeless for the day. I quickly scanned my brain for important meetings, or activities that would require footwear, before deciding that I could probably manage the day without them.  While there are no doubt times where footwear...