We believe that if children learn early on how to recognise and regulate their emotions, we’re setting up a future of more empathetic, kind and respectful generation.
It’s so important, in fact, it’s a huge part of our Collective curriculum across all age groups. Our educators incorporate age and development-appropriate emotions learning opportunities throughout the year. Children who learn how to understand emotions in themselves and others are better able to regulate their own responses to strong emotions, helping them to move through that emotion and focus on all the other aspects of their lives!
There’s of course a number of reasons why emotional regulation is important to children’s development and wellbeing.
The early childhood years (o-5) have been identified in numerous studies as a crucial period for the development of important executive functions such as attention, inhibition, working memory, and literacy skills, all that are necessary for successful school transition and later academic success.
Even though this seems important, there hasn’t been much research on how emotion regulation affects young children’s academic performance. But we’ve found a couple of examples that highlight what we feel to be quite important in children’s development. Since academic skills tend to stay fairly stable over time, it’s essential to understand how managing emotions can support a successful start to school, especially in primary school.
Researchers have identified factors such as anxiety, aggression and verbal abilities as challenges that can affect children’s success in school, and furthermore relationships and career. One such study, The Role of Emotion Regulation and Children’s Early Academic Success, looked at how emotional regulation in young children can help with early academic success. Researchers identified that adaptive functioning, which refers to ‘numerous global positive outcomes including normative social, cognitive, and language development as well as the ability to cope with daily living tasks and environmental changes’ can be affected negatively or positively depending on children’s ability to succeed in school.
This particular study also emphasises that transition to school. Children enter a school environment where they are expected to learn important skills like reading, maths, and socialising. At the same time, they may receive less one-on-one support because of larger class sizes and a greater focus on their independence. Adjusting to these new academic and social demands, without the extra support they may have had in an early learning setting, can be challenging for many young children.
Another study, The Development of Self-Regulation across Early Childhood, highlighted that children who learn how to understand emotions in themselves and others are better able to regulate their own responses to strong emotions.
That’s where we come in!
At Little Scholars, we believe helping children recognise and name their emotions is an important first step in developing emotional awareness. This approach is also supported by the Early Years Learning Framework, which encourages children to build a strong sense of identity.
One example from our campuses is the use of a much-loved book, The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas. This story helps children identify different emotions through colours. After reading the book, our educators extend the learning with creative activities that use colour and storytelling as tools for emotional recognition. These experiences help children build healthy emotional responses and support their overall wellbeing.
Our campuses also incorporate songs and affirmations as part of their routines to reinforce children’s understanding of feelings, and help them figure out what works for them in regards to regulating those feelings.
We also actively participate mindfulness activities into our days to help children process and manage big emotions. Along with songs and affirmations, we use our sector-leading Bush Kinder program to get children out into nature, as well as deep breathing exercises, meditation and yoga as helpful ways for children to slow down, reset, and navigate their feelings.
At Little Scholars, our goal is for our services to be a welcoming second home for children where they can focus on learning through play, and our educators to be a source of comfort and trust for these wonderful little people. We offer calming zones both inside our studios and in our outdoor environments to allow children to escape and rest when they need a break.
Our hope is the foundations we’re setting in children’s emotional and social development in those crucial first five years of development can be built upon in all stages of their childhood and beyond.
At Little Scholars, we’re focused on the holistic growth of each child in our care, by helping these small humans grow into kind, empathetic little legends who are ready to take on the big wide world. Book a tour at one of our 17 locations across the Gold Coast, Redlands, Brisbane and soon Ipswich to see how we incorporate social and emotional growth into our learning curriculum!
Did you know only about a quarter of Australian children aged 0-4 years regularly participate in organised sport and physical activity?
We all know regular exercise is important for maintaining good health, but we believe it’s even more important for little ones, not only for their health right now, but their optimal physical, emotional and brain development, and to form lifelong good habits for physical activity! The daily recommendation for children each day for physical activity ranges, so here we’ll break it down by age:
Infants (Birth to 12 Months)
Even before they start moving, babies should be active multiple times a day. This can include supervised floor play, reaching and grasping for objects, and at least 30 minutes of tummy time throughout the day while awake. Once they become mobile, activities like crawling, pulling up on furniture, and eventually walking (if ready) help build strength and coordination. Creating simple obstacle courses can encourage movement in a fun way.
Toddlers (1 to 2 Years)
Toddlers thrive on active play and should have at least three hours of physical activity each day, spread throughout the day. This should include energetic movement like running, jumping, twirling, skipping, and dancing. Playing tips, ball games, or setting up fun obstacle courses at home or in the park are great ways to keep them moving. The focus should be on making activity fun and encouraging exploration.
Preschoolers (3 to 5 Years)
Preschoolers also need at least three hours of activity daily, with at least one hour of energetic play. Running, jumping, throwing, kicking, skipping, and dancing all help develop coordination and strength. Activities should be spread across the day and designed to be enjoyable, encouraging curiosity and movement through play.
At Little Scholars, we ensure children are getting the recommended amount of physical activity each day in a number of ways!
Our extracurricular program includes a number of active offerings, including dance, soccer, swimming, sport and yoga, all designed and led by experts in their field who are specialised in child development to ensure these extracurriculars are getting heart rates up, improving coordination, building muscle as well as fine and gross motor skills, and most importantly, are fun!
Our outdoor Bush, Beach and Pram Kinder programs are thoughtfully planned to make the most of a child’s time outside. This means walking on uneven ground, climbing rocks and trees, picking up sticks, running and jumping. Even our little ones in prams are given time on grass or sand to crawl or enjoy tummy time on different surfaces providing new challenges to developing strength.
Our outdoor environments are designed to allow for sport, climbing, running, jumping, risk-taking, and other physical challenges! Not only do we have fantastic fort in each of our outdoor spaces for each age group, we have a range of other moveable equipment to help children build coordination and muscle such as climbing frames and trestles, bicycles, trampolines, balance beams and stepping stones.
At Little Scholars, we’re focused on the holistic growth of the whole child, not just building those rapidly developing brains, but ensuring we’re helping these little bodies grow strong and capable, all while learning valuable skills through play. By encouraging regular movement and active play, we’re helping children develop lifelong healthy habits. Whether it’s running, jumping, climbing, or dancing, every movement helps children grow in confidence and ability. We believe in creating an environment where children can thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally through play and learning.
Book a tour at one of our 17 locations across the Gold Coast, Redlands, Brisbane and soon Ipswich to see how we incorporate physical activity into our learning curriculum!
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The best playgrounds on the Gold Coast, Redlands, Logan and Brisbane
Introducing solids is an exciting milestone for you and your baby! Around six months of age, most babies are ready to explore new tastes and textures alongside breastmilk or formula. At Little Scholars, we support families through this journey, whether you choose purees or baby-led weaning with soft whole foods.
Most babies show signs of readiness for solids around six months. Look for these cues:
Sitting up with minimal support
Showing interest in your food
Opening their mouth for a spoon or reaching for food
Losing the tongue-thrust reflex (pushing food out of their mouth automatically) Though as babies begin to take in food, this instinct may remain until they get used to it.
Whatever way you approach the first tastes, go slow and offer just a couple of teaspoon-sized portions at first. Hand them a spoon to let them hold, though they’ll likely just eat (squish) with their fingers
You can start by offering food once a day alongside their normal amount of breast milk or formula, then work your way up over the coming weeks to three or more feedings a day.
To help babies adjust to the unique tastes of foods, one approach we like starting with vegetables for the first 14 days, one new, iron-rich vegetable each day. This helps develop a taste for nutritious foods before introducing fruit or other sweet flavours, as they’re already accustomed to sweet flavours through formula or breast milk.
Queensland Health recommends including iron-rich foods every day to help baby grow well, such as lean meat and legumes, baby cereal with iron, and green leafy vegetables. Of course, you’ll need to work up to these denser foods. It’s also recommended to introduce nuts into diets soon, as this can help reduce allergies. However please note we do not offer nut products at our campuses.
We support both traditional purees and baby-led weaning (BLW). Here’s how they differ:
Purees: Smooth textures, spoon-fed by a parent or educator, with gradually thicker consistencies over time.
Baby-led weaning: Soft, whole foods in safe shapes that babies can pick up and feed themselves, encouraging independence and coordination.
Regardless of your approach, always supervise your baby while they eat and offer soft, easy-to-swallow foods. At our campuses, babies are closely supervised during meals and snacks, but we also use these as opportunities to bond, having lots of fun interactions and conversations with our little ones while they eat!
Offer solids when your baby is alert and in a good mood
Start with small amounts. A teaspoon or two is plenty at first
Encourage exploration. Expect mess, it’s part of the learning process!
Be patient. Some babies take time to adjust to new textures
Watch for allergies. Introduce new foods one at a time, leaving a few days in between common allergens like eggs, dairy, or nuts.
At Little Scholars, we help families introduce solids in a way that works for them. Our educators can support your baby with purees or baby-led weaning while ensuring meals are safe, nutritious, and enjoyable. We work closely with families to understand preferences and keep you informed about your baby’s progress.
Starting solids is an exciting step in your baby’s development. With patience, variety, and support, mealtimes can be a wonderful experience for both of you!
We aim to be an extension of your family and are here to support you and your child during those important childhood milestones. If you’re in need of high quality early childhood education for your little ones in South East Queensland, book a tour today.
Babies are a mysterious bunch. For many months, their main forms of communication are cries, squeaks, gestures and coos. Parents fall madly in love with these little humans without knowing what they’re thinking and feeling, often just guessing at best.
How babies play, how and what they’re learning, and what they’re interested in can be a mystery to many. Many parents have seen their baby pull out every book off a shelf, for example, watch it fall, then grab another, while that parent scratches his or her head and says ‘why?’
There’s an answer. It’s a schema. A schema is both a category of knowledge as well as the process of acquiring that knowledge. In play, babies are often involved in repeated actions or certain behaviours as they explore the world around them and try to find out how things work. Those repetitive actions, such as a baby pulling out book after book, allows a child to practice and construct meaning to something, until they’ve understood that schema. Then they find something else to focus on and lather, rinse, repeat!
As Yvette, educational lead from our Burleigh campus says, it’s children’s development making sense.
“All of those little things that you see children do that seem a bit cute, or frustrating even, like throwing, it’s a schema, a child’s pathway of development for making sense of the world,” Yvette says.
The repetitive action of a schema allows a child to practice and construct meaning until they have mastered the understanding of the schema. Being aware of play schemas helps in two ways:
There are a number of types of schemas when it comes to babies.
Trajectory schema – The trajectory schema is one of the earliest schemas observed in babies. They are fascinated with how they, and objects move. Children will often throw objects or food from their pram or highchair. They climb and jump in puddles and enjoy exploring running water.
Transporting schema – Little ones enjoy repeatedly moving resources around, from one place to another. They will carry many items at a time using their hands, pockets, containers,
baskets, bags, or anything else that will hold their newfound treasures.
Enclosing schema – Children show an interest in enclosed spaces. They may want to sit (and hide in) boxes or laundry baskets. Or they may show interest constructing fences and barricades to enclose toy animals or themselves.
Rotational schema – Children showing a rotational schema may display a preference for turning taps on and off, winding and unwinding string, and playing with
hoops. They may also be fascinated with the physical experience of twirling and twisting their body, spinning around on the spot, or rolling themselves down a hill. They have an interest in things that turn, such as wheels and windmills. They enjoy rolling tyres around, turning lids and watching the washing machine on a spin cycle.
Enveloping schema – Children with an enveloping schema are interested in covering and hiding items, including themselves. They will enjoy dressing up, and filling and emptying bags and containers with different objects.
Connecting schema – Children displaying the connecting schema want to join items together. They find resources like string to tie things. They connect and disconnect toys such as rail tracks.
They enjoy construction toys, and doing arts and crafts where they can glue and stick pieces together.
Orientation schema – Children like to turn objects and themselves around and upside down, to get a view from under the table or from the branch of a tree. They may bend over and look at the world backwards through their legs. They enjoy seeing things from a different view when exploring using cardboard tubes, binoculars or a magnifying glass.
By adapting this theory, we have been able to slow down and become more in tune to the children and noticing their behaviour patterns in play. It is now so important to us that we allow our babies and young children the time to explore the repetitive actions of schematic play.
-Jodie, lead educator
Jean Piaget was one of the first to use the term “schema” back in 1923. Piaget was an important child development theorist and his Theory of Cognitive Development was and still is read and followed today by early childhood specialists. He was one of the first who believed children think differently than adults and that they have an innate desire to learn and actively build up their knowledge about the world. They are not passive creatures waiting for someone to teach them.
Susan, our group pedagogical leader, is bringing her schema knowledge across our campuses to the lead educators in the nursery and toddler studios in 2023. Learn a bit more below about how we use schema theory, and how one educator has taken it on in her nursery.
Schematic Pedagogy
Through our collective curriculum, our educators are guided through a ‘schematic lens’, meaning they can plan for children’s thinking, not just activities. This has a strong link to our Collective Curriculum, our educational program for children.
The learning environment
Our educators apply teaching methodologies to design their play spaces and are intentional in the resources offered.
Observing and planning for children’s thinking
Through our collective curriculum, our educators observe the children through their play, to determine schemas explored through the children’s engagement to an activity or resource. Through observing patterns of learning, our trained educators can plan forward to scaffold their cognitive capabilities.
Partnering with children in play
Through ongoing mentoring and coaching, our educators are able use their knowledge of schemas and plan effectively. Our educators are encouraged to partner with children in their play and observe behaviours explored through schemas.
“Schemas are an intrinsic part of child development, knowledge to schemas provide our team of educators an opportunity to identify and encourage independence in children as they explore patterns of movement, often related to schemas,” Susan says. “Supporting assessing through a schematic lens, provides our educators with a framework which can be used to analyse children’s learning, supporting the planning process within our curriculum.”
You may be wondering if you have a baby or a small toddler in one of our campuses, how we use schemas to help their development. We talked to one of the educators at our Deception Bay campus about using schemas for educational programming. Deception Bay Little Scholars was recently rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS) after it was assessed by the Department of Education. The NQS sets a high national benchmark for early childhood education and care in Australia. Jodie, lead educator in the nursery studio, says learning about schemas was a game-changer.
Both our younger babies and older babies really enjoy dropping objects or putting things in and out of containers (vertical trajectory). Using old formula tins and cutting an opening in the top with lids from jar foods a milk bottle lids, is a big favourite.
Our older babies are seen continuing with trajectory and begin to start exploring other forms of schematic play like, transporting, rotation, connecting and this can lead to a disconnecting schema where the child builds something that they can demolish or through [activities like] untying knots, as well as enclosing, positioning, enveloping and orientation, such as looking at things from different viewpoints like hanging upside down, looking through their legs, looking at things upside down. No wonder our little people are so busy and on the go all the time!
Thanks, Jodie!
Related:
Pedagogical Practices: Bringing new learning techniques to Little Scholars
When a baby or toddler is ready to reduce the number of naps they have each day, or even drop naps altogether, this can be an equally challenging transition for parents!
Daytime naps naturally lessen in length and frequency as a child gets older because they can tolerate more awake time, from both a physiological and neurological perspective as they grow. Circadian rhythms – your 24-hour body clock that helps control your daily schedule for sleep and wakefulness – also mature as sleep begins to consolidate, particularly at night.
Especially for new parents, you may be wondering what some of the signs are that your child is ready to drop a nap. Dropping a nap is a transition that happens over time. Babies need to decrease their number of naps incrementally, but that won’t happen on its own, babies and toddlers still need your guidance to help ease these changes. And our educators are here to help.
Since our educators spend a few days a week with your little one, they have the knowledge of what to look for in signs of tiredness, or readiness to stay awake just a little longer! It’s important to remember that each child is different. What works for one, won’t work for another exactly the same age or way, and this is not a process to rush, small people need their rest!
Here are some signs that may show your little one is ready to drop a nap:
“For some children, cutting down their bottles or altering their times they have bottles (obviously age-appropriate) may help with stretching wake windows,” says Hayley, an educator with our Deception Bay campus.
“We aim to wake the child through gentle means, such as hustle and bustle around them to help them wake more naturally, which can help too.”
Hayley says looking at wake windows as a guide for your child can help and you can find free resources and blogs by sleep experts online. But she says keep in mind small children going through leaps and teething may have more difficulty with their sleep, but these adjustments are usually temporary.
Keeara, an educator in the nursery at our Yatala campus says they’ve had some parents request help in stretching their child’s nap to one sleep to transition in the toddler room.
They find play in an outdoor environment during the morning keeps little ones occupied enough to stay awake – but says if their children did fall asleep, it was obviously needed, and educators will try for a short afternoon nap to make up for it.
Fresh air and active fun like sensory activities are a great way to stretch that wake time out a little longer for little ones. Maybe for your child, it’s making music or playing with different textures that will keep him or her engaged and interested just a little longer.
Our Facebook and Instagram channels offer ideas on creative activities our educators do across our campuses to entertain little ones, which can really help stretch out those wake windows.
Like Hayley, Keeara and her fellow educators have also found works is having lunch around 11:30 and putting bottles on the warmer at the same time so they’re ready to go when lunch is finished.
“We’ve found most of the children would have their bottle then self-settle in their cots as they were so exhausted at this point,” Keeara says. “Surprisingly, it worked really well and made the transition smoother, they even slept for a longer period of time having just the one sleep.”
Then comes the (often dreaded by parents) time when children are ready to drop naps completely.
“We have a fair few two-three-year-olds in our room who have dropped sleep,” says Skye, an educator at our Yatala campus. “The most common sign for them was becoming upset at rest time, moving around a lot and getting up for drinks, toilet and to just tell us something.”
She says even if educators suspect a child is ready to drop naps, they start off with still giving the child a bed, but giving them a quiet activity like books, puzzles, or drawing supplies.
“That way they still have the option to fall asleep if they want to, if they haven’t slept the whole week, we then move them to an activity mat that we keep clear of beds, again for quiet activities while their peers sleep,” Skye says.
Independent play is also important for your child’s development, and it’s central to effective quiet time, so it’s worthwhile implementing it into your older toddler’s daily routine. Quiet time is a time during the day where your child has an opportunity to rest their busy little bodies and minds. The length of quiet time can range anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending upon the child, but consistency in this new quiet time will work wonders for the whole family.
Skye says dropping naps is something they talk to parents about, and from those discussions, they work together on a plan to help the child adjust.
Teaching children emotional awareness, in themselves and recognising emotions in others, is an important part of children’s growth and wellbeing. Understanding emotions is also not something ingrained, and not necessarily an easy thing to teach or grasp, especially as these small humans’ brains are rapidly developing in all areas.
In children, all kinds of changes are happening at the same time, and some areas, such as children’s language skills, develop before their self-regulation skills. This means that while your child may have a broad vocabulary, they still may not be able to put into words how they’re feeling. A toddler’s capacity to regulate their emotional state and emotional reactions can affect everyone around them, and can carry on to academic performance, long-term mental health, and their ability to thrive in a complex world.
Helping children to identify and label emotions is an important first step and something Little Scholars focuses on in our educational programming. Small children do not yet have the vocabulary to identify feeling words like angry or frustrated, or have the skills to “read” facial cues or to interpret body language.
Even the littlest Scholars are learning emotional intelligence by communicating how they feel, according to Jodie, a lead educator in the nursery studio at Deception Bay.
“If a child is expressing an emotion or a behaviour, [we question] is it because they need something from us? ‘I can see you’re feeling sad, how come you’re feeling sad?'” Jodie says. “If we begin to speak to the babies about what they’re feeling, information I’ve learned from [child psychologist] Justin Coulson, it will relate to five things, either them being hungry, angry, lonely, tired or stressed. It’s often one of those things that will cause big emotions.
“They’re obviously not able to completely communicate with us on what their needs are. I’ve learned not to ask the children what they want, but what do they need?” she says. “Maybe they’re feeling hungry and frustrated, so offering them an apple could work, where they can get some of that anger out through crunching. Maybe they’re feeling tired, but they need a little more comfort first. What other feelings are they feeling?”
At our Burleigh campus, children and educators have feelings chats as part of their morning routine. In the Toddler studio, children ask their educators questions such as ‘why is she angry?’ providing a great opportunity for further conversation. Educators support the children in understanding their emotions through discussions as part of their morning routine.
“During the morning, we will sit down for our morning meeting [with children] so when we come inside, we’ll ask how they’re feeling, they’ll express how they’re feeling – happy, sad, ‘good’, and throughout the day we’ll do activities and they’ve gotten really good at recognising and showing those emotions,” says Sasha, lead educator in the Toddler 2 studio. “It’s crazy to see how much they can take in and understand.
“It’s harder for some of the younger ones [to grasp], but we still try to get them involved by asking ‘how do you think that person looks in the photo?’ or ‘how could we make that person feel better?’ and get them to try to understand how others may be feeling,” Sasha continues. “They’re getting really good at being able to understand their own emotions, and we try to support them in how they can support themselves if they are feeling sad, or feeling overwhelmed and need space. Next year they’ll be learning more about how others feel and how we can help them.”
Raylene, an educator in the senior kindy studio at our Yatala campus, says the benefits of exploring emotions, all emotions including the hard ones, allows children to not only identify them but develop the skills to go through them.
“One child mentioned that she would cry all day if she couldn’t see her mummy again. Mr J mentioned that he gets angry when he can’t find his treasures. Mr T doesn’t like when Mummy drops him off etc which led to a discussion about developing strategies to cope with these emotions when they occur. [It’s] so powerful. Mr J said that he could take a big breath and then think about where he put his treasures. Miss K said that she would give her sister a big hug if she couldn’t hug Mummy. Mr T said he could come with Miss Ray,” says Raylene. “Ensuring educators create opportunities for children to communicate their feelings and then giving children the tools to not only identify them, but develop strategies to manage them, rather than saying ‘you’re OK’ is the power moment.”
Tori, an educator at the same campus agrees.
Jodie is right. Research shows that children who learn how to understand emotions in themselves and others are better able to regulate their own responses to strong emotions. Helping children to identify and label emotions is an important first step, and this is supported by the Early Years Framework in helping children develop a strong sense of identity.
Further information
We adore the endless stream of questions that little ones bring to us every day! From an early education standpoint, we want children to learn at every opportunity. Children are inquisitive beings, and they have lots to learn! At Little Scholars, we cherish this innate curiosity in children and strive to foster a lifelong passion for learning.
As parents and educators, we understand that some questions from our little ones can catch us off guard, leaving us searching for the right words to provide age-appropriate answers. We’re here to lend a helping hand, so let’s tackle a few of these tough questions together!
How are babies made/how did a baby get in a mummy’s belly?
Children at this age are curious about the beginning of life. You can answer simply, “A tiny seed, called sperm, from the daddy joins with a special egg from the mummy, and that’s how a baby starts to grow inside the mummy’s belly.” They may understand it like a fruit grows from a seed. For young children, this should satisfy the question. You may want to explain it’s not the same kind of egg we eat for breakfast!
What does dying mean?
The concept of death can be challenging for young children to grasp. We think it’s important to be honest here. You can say, “Dying means that a person’s body stops working, and they don’t feel pain anymore. They don’t breathe, eat, feel hungry or cold. It’s a natural part of life’s cycle, like when leaves fall from a tree in the autumn.” This is a topic that may be followed up with further questions, such as ‘will I die or will you die?’ and be honest. “Yes, we all die. But I hope to be around for a really long time. I have no serious illnesses that could change that.”
What happens to us when we die?
For toddlers and preschoolers, you can offer a comforting response like, “When someone dies, they become like a beautiful memory in our hearts. We remember all the happy times we shared with them, and they will always be a part of us.” If your family has cultural or religious beliefs around death, this may be the place to share, “in our family and our culture/religion, we believe when the body dies ______.” Your child may work through this further through their play, but just be there for them and prepared to revisit this topic.
How come Louis has two dads?
Children may notice different family structures. You can say, “Families come in all shapes and sizes. Louis is very lucky to have two dads who love and care for him just like your mummy and daddy love you.”
Why does Ashley’s mum live in a different house from her dad?
When answering a small child’s question about why a couple has divorced, we think a simple, honest, and age-appropriate response that takes their emotional well-being into consideration works best. Here’s one way to address the question: “Sometimes, mummies and daddies decide to live separately because they have found they feel happier when they have some space. It’s like when friends need some time apart.
If it’s your separation, your child will need a lot of reassurance from you. “Even though mummy and daddy won’t be living in the same house, we both still love you very much, and we will always be there for you. You will have special time with both of them, and we will continue to love and care for you in different homes.”
Young children may have a limited understanding of complex situations like divorce, so keeping the explanation simple and reassuring them of their parents’ love is crucial. Encourage them to share their feelings and questions, and assure them that it’s okay to talk about their emotions. Creating a supportive and open environment helps children navigate through changes and emotions in a healthy way.
What happened in the news that’s making everyone so sad?
Addressing sad news can be tricky. Open the discussion by asking your child what they know about what’s happened in the news. This is a good opportunity to correct false information and provide context. Remember to use age-appropriate language. Check your child’s understanding throughout the conversation and allow them to ask questions. You can say, “Sometimes, sad things happen in the world, and it can make people feel upset. It’s okay to feel sad or worried, and we can always talk about our feelings with someone we trust. You can always talk to me about anything.”
I’m scared, why is the weather so bad?
Living in Queensland, while wonderful most of the time, also means we face all kinds of weather events, such as flooding, bush fires and extreme heat, and cyclones. Unusual weather can be scary for young children, so it’s important to stay calm and make sure the information you give them is age-appropriate and simple to understand.
It’s natural for children to feel scared, so reassure them with calm and simple words. Acknowledge their feelings and let them know they are safe. You might say:
“I can see that you’re worried, and that makes sense. These weather events can be scary, but we are safe. People are working hard to protect us, and we keep learning how to stay even safer in the future.”
Thunderstorms
Thunderstorms occur when warm, moist air rises rapidly into cooler parts of the atmosphere. As the air cools, clouds and rain form. Inside the clouds, lightning, a form of electricity, builds up. When lightning strikes, it heats the surrounding air, causing it to expand quickly and create the sound of thunder – BOOM! At the same time, cooler air sinks toward the ground, leading to strong winds.
Cyclones
A cyclone happens when warm air over the ocean rises up, creating a low-pressure area that pulls in cooler air, making it spin around like a whirlpool, and as the air gets higher, it cools down and forms clouds, bringing heavy rain and strong winds; basically, it’s like a big spinning dance of hot and cold air over the sea! These winds and rain can cause damage, but this is why we have emergency services to help keep us safe, and life will eventually go back to normal.
Flooding
Floods happen when it rains heavily for a long time, causing rivers, canals, creeks and oceans to overflow and water to spread onto land that is normally dry. It’s a natural event, and not anyone’s fault, and that while sometimes scary, there are ways to stay safe and prepared!
Bush fires
Bushfires happen when dry conditions, high temperatures, and strong winds cause trees and grass to catch fire. Sometimes, they start naturally, like from lightning, and other times, they are caused by people. Firefighters and experts work hard to prevent and control them to keep people and animals safe.
Why is the sky blue?
The secret behind the blue sky lies in something called “Rayleigh scattering”. It’s a fancy scientific term, but it’s a super interesting phenomenon that helps us understand why the sky is blue. When sunlight enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it interacts with tiny particles like dust, water vapour, and pollen. This mixing causes the sunlight to scatter, or spread out, in all directions. When light waves hit these particles, they bounce off and scatter in different directions, just like water droplets scatter after you throw a rock into a pond.
Now you might ask, “Why is the sky blue and not another colour?” That’s because blue light has a shorter wavelength than other colours of light, like red or yellow. Shorter wavelengths scatter more easily when they interact with the tiny particles in the atmosphere. So, when we look up at the sky, we see more blue light than other colours.
But guess what? The sky isn’t always blue! Sunrises and sunsets are not only beautiful but also full of science. The colours we see during these times depend on the angle of the sun and the distance its light travels through the atmosphere. The lower the sun is in the sky, the more atmosphere the light has to pass through. This causes shorter wavelengths, like blue and green, to scatter more, leaving the longer wavelengths, like red and orange, to dominate the sky. That’s why we see those breathtaking colours during sunrises and sunsets!
Clouds, pollution, and weather can also change the sky’s colour, making it look grey, white, hazy, or yellow.
Where do birds go at night?
Children might wonder where birds go when it gets dark. You can say, “Birds have special nests or cozy spots where they rest at night, just like we have our beds to sleep in.
How do plants grow?
Children might be fascinated by the growth of plants and flowers. You can say, “The plants have roots at the bottom that absorb water and minerals in the ground, and then the stem starts growing. With the help of the sunlight, the stem grows in branches. Green leaves start growing out of the branches. The five things plants need to grow are sunlight, water, minerals, and food..
Why do we have seasons?
Seasons happen because the Earth goes around the sun. The Earth travels around the sun, called an orbit, once a year or every 365 days. As the Earth orbits the sun, the amount of sunlight each location on the planet gets every day changes slightly. This change causes the seasons. When it’s closer to the sun, it’s warmer, and when it’s farther away, it’s cooler.
Where does rain come from?
Children may be curious about rain and weather. Sunlight heats up water on Earth’s surface. The heat causes the water to evaporate/dry up into the sky, or to turn into water vapor. This water vapor rises into the air and makes up clouds. As the water vapor cools, it turns back into water, in the form of droplets or rain drops.
How do airplanes fly?
Little ones might be fascinated by airplanes in the sky. “Airplanes have special wings that help lift them into the air. When they move forward, the air goes over and under the wings, which creates lift and allows the airplane to fly.”
If they have follow-up questions, we liked the answers from Britannica Kids.
Why do I have to go to bed early?
Children may question bedtime rules. You can say, “Going to bed early helps our bodies and minds rest and get ready for a new day of fun and learning.”
Why do I have to eat vegetables?
Answer with something like, “Vegetables have special nutrients that help our bodies grow strong and healthy. They are like superhero foods for our bodies! We need a variety of food that have different types of nutrients so our bodies can get everything they need to be the best they can be.
How come your body doesn’t look like mine?
We bet you thought the puberty question would come later! But nope, your child has noticed there’s a slight difference between their bodies and their parents’ bodies. We know this can feel awkward to answer, but your child doesn’t understand why it could be hard for their parents to explain, so use proper words and keep it simple.
It’s okay not to have all the answers, and it’s perfectly fine to keep explanations simple and age-appropriate. If you don’t have the answers, you can look it up together. By embracing your child’s questions and engaging in open conversations, you’re nurturing their curiosity and building a strong foundation for their learning journey. Be sure to let your lead educator know you’re having these conversations at home. Your child is likely not the only one wondering some of these questions, and your educators can find ways to help them understand life’s curiosities!
What an incredible asset online media has become when it comes to raising or educating children. From YouTube to Instagram, there’s a wealth of expert information at your fingertips that previous generations simply didn’t have. Thanks to online media, parents and educators can now access an array of information, tips, and tricks on child development, parenting, and education.
And of course, podcasts are an excellent way to learn while on the go. You can listen to them while commuting, during your daily walk, or even before bed. Here we have compiled a list of our favorite parenting and child development podcasts, divided into categories for parents and educators. Check them out!
A podcast about parenting, alternative education and stepping into the wilderness with children. Each week, Nicki Farrell and Vicci Oliver interview experts who inspire them to answer questions about parenting and education. They also share stories from families who took the leap, and are taking the road less travelled.
Maggie Dent, one of Australia’s favourite parenting authors and educators gives you practical tips and answers to your real-world parenting dilemmas.
Each episode of Unruffled addresses a reader’s parenting issue through the lens of Janet’s respectful parenting philosophy, consistently offering a perspective shift that ultimately frees parents of the need for scripts, strategies, tricks, and tactics.
Listen to conversations with experts on a variety of topics related to children’s mental health. Episodes offer practice wisdom from experts in the field and will give you an insight into the work and values of the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health.
Based on the popular RCH Kids Health Info fact sheets, the Kids Health Info podcast explores common topics and concerns with experts in children’s health. Hosts Margie Danchin, Lexi Frydenberg and Anthea Rhodes are all paediatricians and mums, so they know first-hand what keeps parents up at night. Every episode features guest experts in a range of child and adolescent health specialties, and lots of practical tips and advice.
Hamish Blake chats with other dads he really admires about their approach to ‘dadding’, and in the process hopefully learn a little, steal some of their hard earned wisdom and help dads dad a tiny bit better.
All humans learn through play. Join Kristen RB Peterson of Learning Wild as she chats all things early childhood education, preschool, nature and forest school, homeschool and parenting.
Hosted by international keynote speaker, educator and founder of Wearthy; Lukas Ritson, Play it Forward is an educational podcast about the importance of play. With the increase of technological advancement, it has never been harder to get kids playing outside
Early Childhood perspectives is a fortnightly podcast devoted to exploring the often overlooked concepts and issues of the Australian Early Years Sector.
This podcast covers meaningful topics in early childhood education with some of the sector’s most experienced educators and subject matter experts. With each short episode, its aim is to provoke minds and inspire excellence in early childhood education.
Barbi Clendining from Firefly HR and Saurubh Malviya from We Belong Education have teamed up to bring to you a fun and informative conversation and talk about every aspect of the Out of School Hours profession.
OK, we fibbed. It’s not JUST Australian podcasts. Here’s a few international podcasts that are quite popular with the kids these days. (and by kids, we don’t mean baby goats, or children really, but we’re just trying to sound cool)
Building creativity one leaf and bolt at a time. Join Dr. Carla Gull, American educator and mother of four boys, as she talks about getting outside and exploring loose parts.
A funny take on parenting with UK hosts Rob & Josh as they share their tales of parenting woe and chat to celebrity parents about how they’re coping, or not coping.
Join American clinical psychologist and mother of three Dr. Becky Kennedy on her weekly podcast, as she takes on tough parenting questions and delivers actionable guidance—all in short episodes, because we know time is hard to find as a parent. Her breakthrough approach has enabled thousands of people to get more comfortable in discomfort, make repairs after mistakes, and always see the good inside.
Each episode discusses issues today’s fathers face navigating work, parenthood, relationships and play. We share stories of dads who are active and engaged in the decisions, the drudgery, and the pains and the joys of parenthood. Our parenting podcast not only brings modern dads into the conversation, but also – regardless of gender – our spouses and partners, friends and colleagues, and leaders in business, entertainment and media.
Do you have a little one who is eager to learn and likes technology? Apps can improve skills in fine motor skills, reading, phonics, maths, problem-solving and more. Research suggests that after age two, children may benefit from some types of screen time, such as programming with music, movement and stories. We’ve compiled a list of what we think are some of the best educational apps for children aged three to five years.
Pre-school aged children can learn about morning and bedtime routines with PBS KIDS’ Daniel Tiger. Help Daniel Tiger get ready for school in the morning and for bed at night through imaginative play and songs.
We like it because there are sing-along songs that make routines fun and a musical timer to keep routines such as teeth-brushing on track.
Pros: Simple, age-appropriate for toddlers.
Cons: There’s no order required for following the routines, and it’s limited to morning and evening routines only.
Available on the App store and Google Play
Pre-coding logic game for kids
Why? We think introducing children to coding early is gives children a head start in learning how to code with Hopster Coding Safari. This animal themed pre-coding logic game to help little ones learn the fundamentals of coding. Children are presented with a series of logic problems to solve, getting different animals to where they need to be.
Children learn: The fundamentals of computational thinking
This game will engage young children in computational thinking – the fundamental techniques needed to understand coding – without them realising they are learning!
Pros: Wide range of activities, links to early years learning objectives.
Cons: Paid subscription based and not a lot offered without paying.
Available on the App store
Shape-sorting puzzles great for fine motor skill development
What makes Busy Shapes so clever is the way the puzzles gently gets more challenging, motivating little ones to find solutions to each puzzle through experimentation. From shape-changing to colour-mixing to hidden holes, we’re impressed with how the game spurs out-of-the-box thinking, stimulating curious young minds. The app’s designers say it’s inspired by the pioneering works of child theorist Jean Piaget (1896-1980), who believed that “children are little scientists” and that a child’s thoughts are built through experiences that encourage him or her to engage in the reasoning process.
Pros: Free version includes a lot of activities. The challenge increases, with multiple objects and holes of different shapes, moving objects, obstacles to get around or to move, and finally the need to use tools to move the objects. There’s no direction and no help. Children must explore and discover on their own how to get the objects into the holes.
Cons: Doesn’t seem to be a way to get to earlier levels.
Available on the App store and Google Play
Khan Academy Kids is a free, fun, educational program with thousands of activities and books that will inspire a lifetime of learning and discovery for children ages two+.
The app is designed by experts in early childhood education to guide young learners on a delightful journey through key skills in maths, reading, phonics, writing, social-emotional development, and more. It includes thousands of lessons, activities, books, and games that are age-appropriate for preschool through year two. With catchy songs and yoga videos, little ones will also have fun moving, dancing, and getting the wiggles out.
Pros: The variety of learning topics and the creative approach to activities offer breadth and depth without it feeling overwhelming.
Cons: Animations could use more captioning; written instruction and language options.
Available on the App store and Google Play
This app aims to strengthen children’s cognitive skills, concentration and memory with activities such as tracing letters, spelling with an A-Z of animals, counting, jigsaw puzzles, spot the difference, pet salon, feed the animals and more. Your toddler will really enjoy playing this game as every little action has been thoughtfully designed for an effortless gameplay.
Pros: Fun cheerful characters, good for young learners working on fine motor skills, problem-solving skills, spelling, and language acquisition.
Cons: Limited activities and full screen ads in free version, some complaints about price of full version.
Available on the App Store
This app for toddlers has more than 1000+ fun and educational activities and games! This delightfully interactive smart app helps children learn ABCs, numbers, colours, shapes, and more. Children can skip, sing, and dance to popular nursery rhymes with Moolingo the monkey.
Pros: The amount of activities.
Cons: Paid subscription service.
Available on the App Store and Google Play
Thoughtfully-made educational games for children aged two to eight, including early literacy skills using a comprehensive program full of interesting activities, building blocks for maths confidence, and tools for navigating social skills, empathy, and confidence.
Pros: Personalised to children’s interests across subjects, learning grows with child.
Cons: Paid subscription service.
Available on the App Store and Google Play
Features letters and word learning games to help children learn basic tracing of alphabet, letters, words and numbers one to 10.
Pros: Full app is free.
Cons: Some complaints on sound issues.
Available on the App Store and Google Play
The Toca Boca suite of apps for children is an interactive way to explore the world by cooking, cutting hair, building a neighborhood, and taking care of pets. For the youngest users, try a role-playing app like Toca Doctor or a simple app like hairstyling (children love the hairdryer!). And as they grow, children can design and build their own city with the Toca Life apps.
Pros: Dozens of games to choose, including some free, and ome games can be purchased as a bundle for discounted pricing. Variety of games for beginners, animal lovers, budding engineers, and more.
Cons: Not all apps will be of interest to all.
Available on the App Store and Google Play
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As parents and as educators, it’s our job to keep children safe. For children, it’s their job to explore, push limits, move their bodies, and happily tune out what they don’t want to hear.
So when a child is engaging in risky play – which is so important in a child’s development as it furthers their frustration tolerance, critical thinking skills, self-confidence, resilience and so much more – it can also put the watching adult into panic mode, often triggering the phrase ‘be careful!’
But, if that adult expects the child to immediately stop what they’re doing after uttering (or shouting) those two words, they probably have another reality coming. ‘Be careful’ isn’t terribly effective because it’s vague and lacks specificity for a toddler. Saying it on repeat will likely lose any small amount of effectiveness it did carry because, well, being told to be careful isn’t any fun. Or worse, hearing that phrase could create fear and dim a child’s curiosity and sense of adventure.
As adults, we also need to think about what we mean when we say ‘be careful’. Do we want the child to stop what they’re doing? Do something differently? Slow down? Do we think they will get hurt? Every situation is different, but it’s worth thinking about the intention behind the phrase. Is it possible the child could get seriously hurt? Is what the child is doing put another child at risk? Is there something valuable that you don’t want damaged?
Perhaps rather than ‘be careful’ you say:
‘Looks fun, just watch out for your little sister!’
‘Do you hear the cars? The road is close by.’
‘Before you throw that stick, just watch for the window over there.’
‘Do you feel safe?’
‘I’m here if you need me.’
‘Maybe just slow your body down a little bit.’
‘Focus on where your feet are.’
‘Using two hands might help you hold on tighter.’
‘What’s your plan for coming back down?’
Even just asking ‘does your body feel safe?’ may give your little one a second to pause and think about what they’re doing, and perhaps change course if needed.
For adults, when they observe children participating in risky play, if they approach it with curiosity and give specific feedback that focuses on creating awareness and problem-solving skills, it helps your toddler becomes more confident in their skills, abilities, problem-solving and learning.
Risky play is something to be encouraged. Something happened between the time when many parents of small children were little ones themselves, to now. We may remember our parents letting us go play unsupervised, as long as we were back before dark. That play may be some of your best childhood memories. Society has become more risk-adverse in recent decades, from parents worries about kidnapping and injury, to the fear of judgement from others thinking they’re bad caregivers can drive many parents to intervene before their child can engage in risk during play. But those fears could actually be hurting children’s development by hovering over them constantly. Research shows that engaging in risky play can actually reduce the risk of injury, too. Something parents and educators can do is teach young children to risk-assess.
For example, rather than worrying about if your child is going to get a sharp bindi seed in his or her foot from running across grass barefoot, involve your child in the risk assessment. In this case, point out what a bindi weed looks like, and encourage your child to look for the weeds with shoes on before deciding if it’s a good idea to take shoes off. By assessing ‘risk’ situations together, your child will learn increased ability to hypothesize, predict, experiment and investigate, and your child will feel you trust their ability to make safe decisions. it’s all about balancing the risk with the benefits. Imagine if your child was running barefoot in the grass and you spotted bindis and yelled ‘Be careful!’ your child could be bewildered by your cry, ignore your yelling and keep going, or could possibly stop, landing perfectly on the sharp weed you want him or her to avoid.
At Little Scholars, risk assessment is a part of our programming, such as bush/bush kindy or loose parts play, where children have the opportunity to guide and direct their own learning tying in with activities that are child-led and learning is a process of discovery. Sites are pre-risk assessed by educators, and children are involved in the risk management process, guided to look out for themselves and have a group discussion about it before play.
“It’s all about setting boundaries with the children and asking them about what risks they think may be involved before they go ahead,” says Melanie, operations manager for Little Scholars. “We wouldn’t use ‘risk’ with little ones, so it may look like ‘how can we be safe when we play in this area?'”
“Play is a powerful behaviour that is often a missed agenda for many early childhood professionals. Extrinsic agenda will often lead to children being told what they should experience, as opposed to living the experience, says Susan, Little Scholars’ pedagogical leader and practice manager.
Susan highlights Lev Vygotsky’s theory of play as a lived experience.
“Too often, adults feel the need to apply an adult agenda, often with good intention, however this often has the potential to limit the actual multifarious nature of what we call play.
“As adults, we need to trust in the play process and accept that children will create situations in which they can act out emotions in ways they feel they can. When given the freedom to do so, children will demonstrate ability for exploration, imagination, and decision-making.”
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At Little Scholars School of Early Learning, we’re dedicated to shaping bright futures and instilling a lifelong passion for learning. With our strategically located childcare centres in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, we provide tailored educational experiences designed to foster your child’s holistic development.
Let us hold your hand and help looking for a child care centre. Leave your details with us and we’ll be in contact to arrange a time for a ‘Campus Tour’ and we will answer any questions you might have!
Let us hold your hand and help looking for a child care centre. Leave your details with us and we’ll be in contact to arrange a time for a ‘Campus Tour’ and we will answer any questions you might have!
