The Inspired EC Blog

This is what I miss about documentation. The opportunity to dig deeper, to learn, to discover something new, to wonder, to question, to reflect, to discuss with colleagues. And I worry that this isn't commonplace. I worry that the digitisation of documentation has taken some of this away.

Recently we had someone ask if we had any blog posts on appropriate affection in early education and care, and on pondering the question I realised that not only did we not have anything, but that it was a minefield of a topic! So I am wading into it cautiously, sharing my experience and thoughts.

Do we need to be scaring children with the doom and gloom of our planet? No. But do we need them to be aware of how the choices that they make impact our planet? Yes. 

When I was working in a service some 20 years ago, our Fridays were a nightmare in the preschool room. It was always chaotic. There was always conflict. There were a large group of children whose sole desire was to play football (whether we were indoors or out) and crash tackle one another. It was loud. It was a LOT. 

On the bus there would be lollies and prizes, which I'm sure were a highlight, but in between that were the rich discussions and reflections, the sharing of ideas, the wonder, the inspiration. And that was the real magic. 

When I became a Nominated Supervisor, I was 21 years old. I'd been in the early childhood sector for three years. I was simultaneously excited about the opportunity to "make my mark", and terrified about what was to come

The term “emotional refueling” is most closely associated with psychoanalyst Margaret Mahler, who used it in describing how toddlers return to a caregiver for brief contact and reassurance during the separation–individuation phase of development.

We don't have to be in children's play to be taking it in, to be respecting it, to be prioritising and protecting it. 

I often have service leaders (Nominated Supervisors, Room Leaders, Educational Leaders) say to me some version of "I've got an educator who just seems to stand around - they don't do anything." Now, the underlying belief is that said educator is lazy, that they aren't pulling their weight, that they're just killing time until lunch. 

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.