Recently our service was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to host the “Let’s count” Professional Development sessions offered by The Smith Family.

Let’s Count is an early mathematics program, designed by The Smith Family, to develop appropriate mathematics knowledge, skills and positive dispositions, as they prepare to start school.

The development of mathematical skills begins in infancy and is strengthened during early childhood through day-to-day activities, including play

“Families are children’s first and most influential teachers.”

The program assists educators in early childhood services to work in partnership with parents and other family members, to:

Promote positive mathematical experiences for young children aged three to five.

Fosters opportunities for children to engage with the mathematics they encounter as part of their everyday lives, and in turn, talk about it, document it, and explore it, in ways that are fun and relevant to them.

Fostering Maths

Over the course of the program our educators incorporated activities and experiences with a focus on Math's concepts within their Family Day Care settings.

Families had the opportunities to borrow some of the resources given by the Smith Family Let’s Count Program as well as other resources educators created or sourced to share in games and play at home with their family.

Below are some photos of the Let’s Count Program in action here at Five Star Family Day Care.

Today we welcomed the East Maitland Fire fighting crew to playgroup.

They discussed the differences between a good and bad fire. They showed the children what a smoke detector looks and sounds like.

The children then watched Trish (one of our educators) dress up in some fire fighting protective gear. The children learnt to protect themselves with the STOP DROP AND ROLL procedure. They rolled around on the ground covering their face and pretending to put the fire out.The highlight of the visit was the children exploring the fire truck and using the water hose.The whole experience allowed the children to gain a hands on opportunity to learning and better understanding of fire safety message.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Children feel safe, secure, and supported

Explore aspects of identity through role play

Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation

broaden their understanding of the world in which they live

Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity

are curious and enthusiastic participants in their learningparticipate in a variety of rich and meaningful inquiry-based experiences

Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes

engage in enjoyable interactions using verbal and non-verbal language

On 2nd June 2018 Five Star Inspirations hosted “A day at Noah’s on the Beach” early childhood professional development day.

The event was held at Noah’s on the Beach in Newcastle and provide a spectacular backdrop for our event. Christopher Phoenix from Phoenix Support for Educators and Rebecca Thompson from Stone & Sprocket Professional Learning and Playgroups presented their keynote and workshops during the day.

Our day commenced with a welcome to country delivery by 6 year old Kailen Dixon.

Christopher presented his LIFE NEEDS BALANCE IS THE NEW BLACK workshop and delivered a dynamic and very engaging presentation for the attendees. We discovered what our personal profiles look like and reflected and learnt how to recognise unhelpful thoughts and explored more helpful thinking styles to improve our wellbeing.

Christopher captured the audience through his various mind reading games, hypnosis demonstrations which provides everyone with the WOW moment in a fun and enlightening manner

“You can’t pour from an empty cup. How do you fill yours?”

Rebecca Thompson from Stone & Sprocket presented her “Loose Parts“ workshop after lunch. We learnt about the theory behind loose parts, how to keep them organised as well as engaging children in the play.

The attendee were given the opportunity to play with small and large loose parts, while discovering the many benefits of including loose parts play into your educational program.

Thank you to our stall holders, the staff at Noah’s, our guest speakers and highly motivated and passionate educators who attended our event.

National Family Day Care Week was celebrated this year during the week of the 7th May – 13th May,

The purpose of National Family Day Care Week is to recognise and promote the important role family day care educators and services play in the development and wellbeing of more than 206,000 children across Australia.

National Family Day Care Week is integral in raising the image and profile of family day care. The celebrations highlight the many unique benefits of family day care as well as promoting high quality, flexible early childhood education and care option for Australian families.

To celebrate FDC week in our service we held a playgroup in the park.

Thank you to everyone who attended our celebration. Here are some photos of our day.

Five star family day care has recently formed a partnership with Mt Carmel Calvary Retirement Community. The partnership allows children and residents to participate in shared activities such as drawing, puzzles, block play and play-dough, as well as enjoying a morning tea together. These activities help to create a common ground for children, residents, educators and their families to engage in conversations, interactions, share stories and build reciprocal and genuine friendships.

The visits promote inclusiveness, self-awareness and a sense of community for all involved. Many residents may not have any grandchildren in their lives and would otherwise miss out on interactions and the joy of being entertained by young children. Similarly, some children may have limited or no contact with grandparents in their lives.

Leonie and the children have enjoyed reading the book called Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean.

The story is about Pete the Cat who is super cool and his four groovy buttons. The story makes counting fun as it allows us to Count down with Pete in this “totally rocking” story. Pete the Cat is wearing his favourite shirt—the one with the four totally groovy buttons. But when one falls off, does Pete cry? Goodness, no! He just keeps on singing his song—after all, what could be groovier than three groovy buttons?

The children loved the story but who wouldn’t love a book as groovy as this…..

As an extension of this story time, Leonie, creates a provocation drawing area for the children which encouraged them to draw their own interpretations of Pete the Cat. Each child drew Pete the Cat. They were able to express their thoughts and ideas individually and then share them with the a group. During the activity they discussed their drawings with each other and recalling the story as they went. Their drawings are now on display in their play area for them to revisit and share with their family members showcasing their learning and new favourite story.

The learning taking place within this experience is evident throughout the entire process.

The children demonstrated a strong sense of identity

They felt safe, secure, and supported to express their ideas.They developed knowledgeable and confident self-identities.They learnt to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect throughout the experience.

The children were confident and involved learners.

They developed dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination throughout the experience.They transferred and adapt what they have learnt throughout the story into their drawings.

Below is a short trailer of the book.