Those all important Diary Dates:

End of year closure dates 6.00pm Friday 20th December to

8.00am Monday 6th January. There will be no charge for this

period.

Closure Day: November On November 28th the Centre will be

having a closure day for the educator and staff team to engage

in professional development, learning the art of key word

signing. There will be no charge for this day.

The Parent Advisory Group (PAG) meets on

Mondays for this semester, from 1pm to 2pm at

the Lirra Lirra Café on campus. Our November

meeting finalised the program review for 2019.

To see the educators report to PAG please scroll

to the last pages!

The Adelaide University Childcare Services Inc.

Board (AUCS) meeting was Monday 25th

November.

Waite Campus Childrens Centre

Family News November 2019

Some wise words…. From past Director Kaarin Wilkinson, on her Kind Mind Consulting blog Friends are important for our quality of life and our mental health. Friends provide us with the opportunity to experience philial love, the care and warmth of mutual friendship. Through friends we learn about ourselves as we share our life and enjoy common experiences. The people we make lasting friendships with are the ones we put effort into knowing, we learn to trust and respect them. We enjoy their company and they enjoy ours. They usually share some of the same interests as us and we do things we both love together. It takes time to make true friends and both people need to apply some effort towards getting to know the other person and to be open to letting them get to know you. Friends can lean on one another when life is tough and share the joy and happiness of special events and achievements. A true friendship requires both giving and receiving. Some of us are happy we have a few close friends and other more sociable people may have a very large group of friends they share different interests with. Some friends we have for life and some are good friends for a shorter time at different stages of our life or as we mature, change homes or move into a new career.

“Friendship, knowledge and food are the three most valuable things in the world.”

Old Burmese saying

We form social bonds with many people, work colleagues, neighbours, service providers and people in the local community. We may develop friendships with some of these people but mostly we will interact with them in a friendly way without developing the closeness of true friendship. This is what we teach young children. They do not need to be friends with all their peers, however, they should always be friendly. One of the biggest difficulties I see in the world today is the lack of friendly behaviour to those we don’t know and/or don’t understand. Being friendly means being polite and courteous, showing good manners in your interactions. It is unfortunate that many of our community leaders, especially those at high levels of responsibility and accountability frequently use language that is not friendly. We hear too much anger and hate and negativity and it seems the social bonds we build within our communities are not as strong as in the past.

“If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations. When there is order in the nations, there will peace in the world.”

A smile when passing someone on the street or walking the dog, a thank you for service given, a helping hand for someone who seems to be struggling, generally being friendly to all builds a stronger community.

“Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.” Thich Nhat Hanh

From Megan Daly who brought you the 100 best books for sustainability comes a list of what to read next. This

list has suggested books to read from birth all the way through to 50 and beyond! Read some or read them all.

Happy reading!

https://childrensbooksdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Children%E2%80%99s-books-daily-ebook-design-2.pdf

Parent Night with Dino Mennillo

For those of you who were not able to make it to our parent night with Dino Mennillo, here is a summary of what he spoke about.

Dino (from Occupational Therapy for Children) spoke at WCCC on Tuesday 5/11/19 and provided us all with an information packed

session, so much information that it is difficult to get it into a cohesive summary. He provided a good mix of real life stories from his own

family experiences, as well as information backed by research and theory. He spoke of the detrimental effect of screen time for young

children, the importance of sensory play, the significance of daytime sleeps, and positive sleep routines, a parent’s role in play, and the

importance of consistency in a child’s life.

Dino says children are not academic beings, they are physical beings, social beings and emotional beings. Children need to engage in

play that supports efficient brain development. The brain is a muscle and needs to be worked and stimulated to develop. The best way

of stimulating your brain is through sensory integration – using all the senses to help the brain organise information. Stimulating the

brain through touch, both inside and outside your body, sight, sound, smell and taste, as well as the lesser known senses, needing

movement and the pull of gravity. That is the vestibular sense; how movement affects your body; how force impacts your head position,

and proprioception; where you are in space; if you close your eyes you still know where you are.

The other impact on successful growth and development is sufficient sleep, supported by a consistent daytime and night time sleep

routine. Sleep is the time that pathways in your brain are ‘laid and cemented’, all the learning from the experiences of the day are

organised and filed ready for future use. Dino emphasised that night time routines should consist of television off to reduce stimulation,

and lowering the lights to let the body know it is time to slow down, preceded by some rough and tumble play. Rough and tumble is the

perfect way of letting off some steam before bed, as well as developing the close connections that are critical between you and your

child. Reading your child’s signs will let you know how much rough and tumble to do. They will tell you when they have had enough, and

this is the time to stop. If you stop before they are finished you will only succeed in revving them up, not settling them down.

One of Dino’s strongest messages is to be present in your child’s life and to take a consistent and active role in their play. He

acknowledges that being a parent is one of the hardest roles you will have to play in your life, but says you don ’t have to be child

minded to be a good parent. He says play is important across the lifespan. If you can say ‘yes’ to your child then always say ‘yes’, and

ignore the ‘do I want to?’. Dino emphasised the importance of letting your child fail, so they develop the resilience to recover from

failure, and to have them win at games naturally, not letting them win. Providing consistency in your child’s lives gives them a stable

base from which to grow.

Dino can be found at https://occupationaltherapychildren.com.au/.

Our iconic butterflies are

finally back. They may

look a bit different as

their colouring had to

change. But the shapes

are still the same. Here are some

photos for those of you who do not

often make it to the centre.

Connecting to Place Week

For a few years now WCCC has been celebrating Connecting to Place, a time to come together in Pilyabilyangga

and celebrate connections to each other and connections to the land we are on. As part of our education in

sustainability, and in teaching the understandings of the First Nations people, the importance of the land and our

influence on the land is highlighted to children. Starting our day in Pilyabilyangga and spending extended time in

the garden enables children the opportunity to understand and know their place, and to understand their effect on

land.

Land is of significance to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and their knowledge and understanding

of the living environment is a reciprocal relationship, based on respect. “Land sustains and provides for people,

and people manage and sustain the land through culture and ceremony” (Common Ground First Nations).

Aboriginal peoples understanding of land and water is passed down from generation to generation, and the living

environment is fundamental to identity. Children at WCCC are taught and expected to respect the land they are

given to play and learn on, and are taught the impact their actions have on land. As evidence suggests that there

are positive physical health benefits from living and working and learning on the land, this is an important teaching

for children.

Connecting to Place 2019 ended with a whole centre walk together. This is the first time the whole centre has

come together for a walk around the grounds of the Waite Campus, and a shared lunch on the grass of Urrbrae

House. Sandwiches made by Grace provided a delicious lunch to share. Connections were fostered as children sat

together on rugs in the shade of the trees and building and enjoyed their lunch, with much discussion of the

different sandwich fillings. Please look to the next page for some photos of the week.

https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/connection-to-country

https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+Cultures/Land#.Xdo6AdV9g2w

End of Year Celebration

Keep the evening of Tuesday 17th December free for our

end of year celebration at the Gum oval (Waite Campus).

Entertainment will be from My Oopy (you may remember

him from last year). There will also be a face painter

available for small pieces. We will provide sausages and

bread for all and ask that you bring a plate of salad or

fruit to share. The event will be from 6.15pm to 8.00pm.

Program and Service Review 2019

Each year we ask families for feedback on the year we have had and the education and care service provided here

at WCCC. This is done in the form of an online survey. You can follow the link here https://

www.surveymonkey.com/r/F3YZQY5 or scan the QR code to complete the survey. It will take less than 10 minutes

to complete.

The responses we collect from the survey will help with goal setting and educator reflections for the

coming year. Please complete this survey once for each child. Thank you. We value your input and

reflections. QR Code

Staff matters

Stefi has resigned from her position in Room 1 to

continue her studies and has successfully gained

employment in her field of study. She will not be

returning to Waite. We are all sorry to see her go but

wish her all the best for her future endeavours.

Tamala will be continuing in Room 1 until the end of

the year, and the position will be advertised next year

after consideration to utilisation.

Emilie R3 and Karen R1 will be taking extended leave

over the break for some time with family.

All Things Green National Recycling Week

Our Fresh Produce and Seed Swap table was a hit! All week delicious produce, seeds and bulbs were shared and taken home by families. So popular that a sharing table is becoming a permanent fixture in reception so all year round we can share the spoils from our garden. Think about herbs, vegetables, seeds, eggs, fruits, seedlings, preserves, jams…. The list goes on….

National Bird Week

National Bird Week was recognised from Monday 21st October to Sunday 27th

October. As part of National Bird Week children participated in the Aussie Backyard

Bird Count with Birdlife Australia. This involved acting as citizen scientists and

noticing and counting the birds seen in your environment in a 20 minute period each

day. Birdlife Australia was interested in both the types of birds seen as well as how

many. We downloaded an app to one of the Room 3 tablets to manage the recording

of information. Dani also produced a paper copy so children could engage more

closely with the survey. Some children even took the survey home and completed it

at home too, involving siblings, and becoming more aware of the life around them.

Over the week, we identified 11 different types of birds including the Yellow-tailed

Black Cockatoo and counted over 500 birds.

There are some very keen bird watchers developing from this!

Rye straws

Looking for an alternative to the plastic drinking straw? An entrepreneur in South Australia, “Mister Rye”, has

come up with the idea of making drinking straws from the hollow stalks of rye left over during harvesting. They are

re-useable, biodegradable and can even be put in the dishwasher. Mister Rye is aiming to produce one million rye

straws from the first harvest, which will take place in December in South Australia’s Riverland. Apparently rye

straws were the original straws, used long before plastic.

When not disposed of properly, plastic straws have significant negative impact on the environment. They can take

hundreds if not thousands of years to break down (if they ever do?). They are a danger to marine life and result in

toxic waste in landfill, if they make it to landfill. For more information go to….

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/environment/rye-straw-could-replace-plastic-straws/news

-story/7984c5672d7056ef8d027dfbc3dc60e8

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-10-11/recycled-rye-straws-an-option-to-help-

environment-and-farmers/11589450

Educator Reports to families

Room One

Becoming capable cooks

In recent weeks Room One children have had the opportunity to participate in several weekly cooking

experiences. Our first experience was a simple stir- fry adding chopped tomatoes with soy sauce to eggs.

The children enjoyed breaking and whisking the eggs into the mixing bowl. We all watched as the mixture

was cooked in the electric frypan on the kitchen bench by Lingling. The sounds and delicious smells of the

food cooking got everyone’s appetite primed ready for afternoon tea. We followed this by making

Indonesian Coconut pancakes (Dadar Gulung) and discovered how many of the children like the taste of

coconut. We also made an African favourite- Ugali (from maize) with Tamala and Grace’s help to

accompany a Kenyan stew for lunch. Cooking offers an engaging, multisensory experience and

contributes to a shared sense of belonging and well-being, with a good measure of fun thrown in. There

are also a range of skills to practice and develop such as physical motor skills as children coordinate

cracking eggs, whisking and stirring and pouring ingredients. Cooking involves learning good hygiene

practices for food handling, following a sequence, observing cause and effect, counting and measuring,

following directions, taking turns and offers benefits towards developing a varied taste palate, which the

children are already exposed to with Grace’s wonderful diverse menu.

Community connections and visits

Many of the Friday Room One children ventured to Room Three to see Byron, a snake handler with his

pet python talk about “snake awareness”. As we know, snakes are an important part of the local

biodiversity but there is also the need to provide children with knowledge about being safe around

snakes. It was encouraging to hear several Room One children return from the visit communicating the

message of “Don’t touch a snake”.

Our other nearby community visit was to the Netherby Kindy to share in their planned Police visit. I am

sure many of the older children found this of interest seeing the police car and hearing the sirens! Such

mini excursions are a great way for the children to explore beyond Room One to parts of the

neighbourhood with their trusted educators, with the support from Eleanor and current students Saru

and Maddie.

Singing Songs

We continue to sing songs daily with the children and often get positive feedback from families that the

children go home singing many of their favourite songs. Some of our recent faves that you may not find

on Spotify include: “One little finger”, “I had a little turtle…….”, “Jump in the middle, jump jump Josie”,

“You are my sunshine”, “Hop little bunnies” and “I can sing a rainbow” to name a few. Such experiences

provide a sense of a predictable routine for the children times of transition, supporting a sense of calm

and promoting language and communication. So keep singing with your children whenever you can.

Room Two

Friday 8th November Byron, a snake handler, came him with his pet carpet python. The children learnt

about what to do if they saw a snake in our yard. Byron told us to move away, and go tell an educator.

Now if you ask the children what to do if we see a snake in the yard, they will tell you “Run away and tell a

teacher”

On Monday 11th November, we joined Netherby Kindy in a visit from SAPOL. The children got to look at

some of the police uniform and equipment, and Police Officer Sam took us to see the back of the police

car (Paddy wagon) and we got to hear the siren.

The children have been interested in dancing with the disco lights on. They are so interested, that the

dancing gets abandoned to watch the lights.

Other interests have been animals, dolls and blankets, reading stories especially “The Bear Hunt” acting

out stories in their play, body awareness songs, watching the tortoises and fish, and yoga.

Room Three

Aussie Bird Week was a week full of bird identification and counting. The Room 3 children were extremely

interested in the bird count and were excited to create their own tallies and share them with their family.

This has continued over the next few weeks and Dani is in the process of developing a butterfly

observation sheet to further extend the children’s interest in nature and the world around them.

The addition of the Tortoises, Fluffy and Scruffy, to the centre have added lots of learning opportunities.

Children have been enjoying observing the tortoises when they have their outside time in the sun and

watching them swim in their tank.

We celebrated Outdoor Classroom Day last Thursday by sending time in the Adventure Playground and

enjoying our lunch together outside. We also discussed our favourite things we like to do outside. The

most popular things the children like to do are jumping on their trampolines, playing with friends, running

and climbing.

The scarecrow project has been well enjoyed by all of

the children and we received a 3rd place for Rainbow

Violet and a certificate of merit for Bobby Dave. The

children would like to make a whole scarecrow family

so this is something we may continue until the end of

the year and the beginning of next year.