We all have fond memories of our time as children, pretending to be someone or something else when playing with friends. Play was free, relaxed, and enjoyable, but we were acquiring valuable skills during our pretend games. Research shows that young children who regularly engage in pretend play are often better in several learning areas […]

Mentoring for service teams is widely recognised as a valuable tool for service providers seeking quality care outcomes, educator growth and business success. What does it mean for a service and how can it help achieve your goals? What is mentoring and what can it offer? Mentoring is defined as “a relationship based process between […]

– prepared by Pam Maclean, Child’s Play Consultancy Services and Linda McConville, Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS)   What is Loose parts play? “Loose parts” refers to a theory, not just a collection of objects and occurs when children choose from a range of random items. The materials are selected, combined or utilised in any […]

Creative arts in the early years involves far more than “messing about with paint and paper.” Research shows that children engaging in creative work develop important life skills including being open minded and the ability to contribute to advances in technical, artistic and social areas as they can “think outside the box.” Skills acquired enhance […]

At BDO many of our team have undertaken Child Protection Training. You may have wondered what this entails so I thought we could explain that a bit more here, even though this is not an easy topic to discuss. You will have seen or heard the slogan, “Child Protection is everyone’s business” and this is […]

Music is an important part of culture, wherever we come from in the world. In many cultures, songs share the story of everyday lives and help people understand who they are and how they fit into the community. We also know that music is part of modern life. It is all around us in nursery […]

Books for children appear in many venues these days—even at the post office and online, but how do we know if they are a good or suitable read for our children? It is helpful to consider the elements of a good story and view the offerings through that filter, before purchasing. Reading is a skill […]

Families visit our rooms on a daily basis, but how do you know what has been happening in each space and what children have been doing or learning? In other words, how do we make the learning ‘visible’ for you? Each room shares information with families in a range of ways to ensure that we […]

Stores are bursting with colourful and exciting options for purchase. So how could you go wrong? In fact, it is easy to purchase the wrong toy or one not particularly helpful or suited for your child. Whilst toys should be fun, they should also have something developmental to offer. So, with the festive season approaching, […]