The Inspired EC Blog

Just this morning, I read a comment in our online learning community from a legend named Morag which used the term "cross-pollination" when talking about children moving resources from one part of the environment to another. I loved the term straight away - the concept is something I've banged on about for many, many years... but I've never thought to phrase it in that way. 

Does it matter if we have quality fine-liner markers, chunky sidewalk chalk, or a lump of charcoal? Well, it does... and it doesn't. Confused? Allow me to explain. 

In the last few weeks, I've seen quite a number of posts in online early childhood networking groups regarding the placement of educators in rooms for the year ahead.

Now, thousands of educators use our Reflective Journals, but we still have people ask us - how do I use it? how will it benefit me? can I share it with someone else? what's the right one for me? 

So, I thought I would try and answer some of those questions by sharing 5 ways to use a reflective journal

Compliance checks don't need to be scary - we're pulling back the curtain on our recent visit!

I love to take photographs. I love capturing the light. I love focusing on nature's tiny details. I love seeing a moment become frozen in time, knowing I can come back to it whenever I want to. And I love capturing the joy of children's play and exploration.

It's been almost a week. Almost a week since the horrific news that someone in our sector had been charged with crimes related to the sexual assault and exploitation of children.Almost a week since that sickened feeling, that anger, that distress settled upon me.

Family day care is an amazing alternative for educators and a great way to make a difference in the lives of children and families, while also balancing your own life and your own family!

What if instead of always commanding or demanding, or feeling like we have to remind educators, and then hearing "I thought someone else was responsible for that" or "I didn't know I needed to do that", we work with our teams to create an agreement that will work for our room and ensure that when the room leader is not there, the wheels don't fall off?! 

The simple solution might be "don't let casuals or students change nappies", but there's more to it than that isn't there?

The truth is that we don't need an abundance of expensive resources - sometimes the simplest ideas are the ones that spark the most curiosity, joy and play.