We celebrate Australia Day at Gumnut Gardens by acknowledging the survival of the Aboriginal people and their customs, traditions and “bush tucker” (Australian native food). We refer to the time around Australia Day “Survival Week”. This year we devoted our entire week’s program to learning about Survival Week through books, films, cooking, discussions and […]
The Children’s Ambitious Carpentry Project
By Lucia Stacchiotti “Reality, as always happens in children’s hands, reveals once again its infinite potential for transformation.” Malaguzzi (Reggio Children Centre) A few weeks ago Rachel and I started to observe that the children really love investigating and creating in the Kitchen area and they usually explore it using the natural table, moving natural […]
Leadership in the Early Childhood sector
My experience in the Early Childhood (EC) sector has been over many decades working for small to large sized organizations. In February this year, I made the move to Gumnut Gardens a stand-alone 46 place long day program in Paddington. What follows is a discussion of my experience of moving in to a leadership role […]
Disposition to Learn – Making the Transition to School
How does a teacher with a commitment to the emergent curriculum respond to parent queries about school readiness programs? For Kurralee Children’s Centre Manager and IEU Member Jenny Green, describing what it means to be “in a disposition to learn” has started a broader dialogue.