A chance meeting with a former student leads Jennifer Dudding to muse on the far-reaching influence of our teachers. Education and the journey of lifelong learning encompass the whole child. Within the school environment, each child is given opportunities that will enable him or her to...
According to YouGov’s Annual Back to School Research Report*, commissioned by BIG W, Aussie families are expected to spend an average of $538 per child on school supplies and uniforms in 2020, representing a $62 or 13 per cent increase on last year. For the second...
Carol Soleymanbik has been a childcare centre director for 17 years. She believes the very best childcare centres are those which go over and above the basics to truly nurture each child’s early development. Here she shares her top five tips to help you choose...
Michelle Mitchell looks at self-harm, why teens do it, and what you can do to help. Self-harm is probably a lot more common than most research suggests The 2015 Mental Health Child and Adolescent Report tells us that approximately 10% of young people consciously experiment with self-harm...
Who doesn’t like chocolate or a triple-cheese pizza with extra cheese? Food is a joy, but eating is also serious business. When it comes to food, says Natalie Ritchie, do you eat for fun or fuel? Kids’ bodies and minds need the right intake to thrive,...
An illustrated book and a card game look at ways to engage kids in storytelling and critical thinking away from their devices! Take Heart, Take Action by Beci Orpin (Lothian Children’s Books, hardback $19.99) Age Group 4+ years This simply designed book for children is ‘a reminder for everyone,...
In this tech-riddled era, an age-old board game still rules. A two-and-a-half-thousand-year-old board game holds out the promise of getting the kids off screens: chess. A lot of principles are built into the game, explains current South Australian chess champion and Adelaide dad to three children, 25,...
The Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW has responded in disillusionment following the announcement by the NSW Government of a new star rating system to be imposed on July 1st 2020 in over 5,500 New South Wales-based early childhood education and care services. It has raised...
Forget young men playing Warhammer in dark rooms – the new people huddled over board games are families. Family boardgaming is back in a big way. “Boardgaming culture has blown up in the last decade, hitting the mainstream and moving from a ‘nerdy’ subculture to a...
Current approaches to assessing and reporting what a student is learning may not be the best way to represent individual progress in school reports, writes Geoff Masters. A child whose learning is lagging behind that of other children can be judged to be ‘failing’, even though...
