Childspace conference, Wellington

On the 23rd of March I was fortunate enough to be able to fly to Wellington to attend the 'Yeah Baby' conference, run by Childspace. I was asked to write an insert for our newsletter to share some of my experiences with our parents.

As well as with the parents, I have the responsibility to share my new knowledge with my team. I was able to participate in three workshops - Rosters and rhythms don't mix

- Aspiring to co-create an authentic Aotearoa-centric bicultural curriculum in infant and toddler educare

- Respectful care is only fair

The first thing I did was to just give a brief run-down of the main ideas I got that would compliment our nursery room - 'care clusters', and 'bubbles of care'. Care clusters is about doing a group of care tasks during the same moment. Eg: checking a nappy, then a meal time, or nappy and then bedtime. By associating more than one routine together, we spend less moments interrupting what the children are busy doing. Bubbles of care is a term that I really connected with. When a carer is with their child during a special moment, such as feeding, they should only be with that child - in their bubble. This means an uninterrupted moment dedicated to the child or group of children with the other adults within the room taking account of everything else that is happening around them . This is a technique that requires real teamwork. It is also something that other staff need to respect when they come into our room. It shows a real respect for the children, that we value our special moments together, and involves them in their care routines - with not to. I felt that one of the easiest ways to incorporate the different ideas from the conference was to add them to our planning - basically planning for the adults rather than the children.

This was a great opportunity for me to encourage others and to participate in professional development (dimension 28), and for me to lead and support other teachers (dimension 25).

*scan copy of planning (note for me)

Easy communication with parents

Because we have recently changed the carrier of our online profile books, as soon as we post an entry, the parents get an email informing them. When I wrote the farewell page for Isaac, I was really pleased to get a response from his mum. I found it up lifting, knowing that she does look at the entries put on. You can't help but wonder sometimes if all your hard work is even seen. Now I know - it is.

This is evidence of dimension #19. communicates with families, whanau and caregivers. It is also evidence of dimension #20. contributes to the life of the learning centre, as our centre functions best when there is communication that happens both ways between the parents and the staff - especially the primary caregiver.

Isla is about to transition to nursery 2, and her Mum and Dad brought in a thank-you card and gift for Sharron and myself. When I joined the nursery one team, I became Isla's primary career, taking over from Sharron. During the last few months I built a relationship with not just Isla but with her parents as well. It is a lovely feeling knowing that we are appreciated.

Recipes for play

I posted this item on the Natural Steps blog as examples of what parents could create at home for their children. This is evidence of dimention 19: communicates with families, whanau and caregivers