Writen by Kirsty Fantini, Early Years Training & Consultancy
Welcome to August’s Monthly Musing! I hope you enjoyed July’s edition and maybe you tried the recipe or the Educator Challenge? So what does August have in store?
Educator Well-Being Challenge!
Well I hope you took on July’s Educator Challenge and felt the benefits of breathing & stretching!
What do we have in store for August? Well this month lets PUT OUR PHONES DOWN! What tha??? Yep, that’s right…. let’s try to limit the use of our phones before bed!
Stats show that the average person spends OVER 4 hours per day on their phone engaging in social media … and touches their phone up to 2,000 times per day! WOAH!!! Many of these hours are usually during our breaks at work and prior to bed. So why should you take on this “put our phones down” challenge with me?
Here’s why….
- You will talk more! Turn your phone off by 7pm (or earlier) and engage in conversations with your family, partner, children. Be present, listen, share…. the more we connect as humans the more you feel a sense of belonging which is great for your well-being!
- You will feel less frustrated! Let’s be honest… social media often makes us mad, sad or frustrated! With the lack of quality of content, the shaming and negativity – this does not support our mental and emotional well-being.
- You will sleep better! Use of devices prior to bed will affect the brain’s melatonin levels and trick it into thinking it’s not ready to sleep… hence falling asleep will be harder and less sleep is usually the outcome!
- You will be more productive! Think about how many hours you spend on your phone scrolling through social media…. now think about what you could achieve if you used those hours doing something else such as exercise, studying, reading, relaxation, time with the family, walking the dog, sleeping!
- You will feel more in control! Set yourself a limit / a boundary. Turn your phone off / silent every night at the same time! There are great apps that will let you know when it’s time. I use QANTAS Wellbeing app and even earn QANTAS points! BONUS!!!
So join me in August for the PHONE DOWN Challenge and let’s see how we go!!
Provocation- Supporting Protective Behaviours & Resilience
According to Australian Government (FAHCSIA) “Protective behaviours’ refers to a proactive and empowering set of preventative and adaptable living skills that enable people to develop workable strategies to better help them preserve their physical and emotional safety in unsafe, or potentially unsafe situations”
Consider this statement in the context of children’s lives…. Teaching children protective behaviours will provide children with the skills to assert themselves, build confidence and their self-esteem and know how to respond to certain situations. It is about EMPOWERING children!
Consider your curriculum, environment and interactions with young children.
Do you promote protective and resilient behaviours? Is it embedded into your every day practices?
Are children able to share their ideas and feelings?
Can they assert themselves and have control over their own bodies and behaviours?
Do you use and encourage resilient language?
All of these things are important in enabling a child to cope with changes and challenges. This then helps a child’s sense of well-being, hence mental health and enables them to experience positive personal development, develop and maintain relationships, regulate their emotions and behaviours, develop empathy and make informed decisions.
So talking about and exploring emotions, discussions around “safety of our bodies” and the concept of feeling safe and unsafe as part of your protective behaviour curriculum will in turn foster and help support resilience and children’s sense of emotional and mental well-being. These are conversations we should be regularly having not only with educators but more so children and families.
Upcoming PD- Specials for you!
Book into the following PD session and state “Monthly Musing” on your webinar booking form or email and receive 20% OFF the price!
Creating Natural Play Spaces – Thursday 22nd August @ 6pm AEST
Something Yummy- Just for YOU! This is what we call the Veggie Pasta Cake!
This is so easy, delicious and healthy! My family loves this!
Ingredients:
All the below vegetables are sliced and roasted;
- pumpkin (half)
- zucchini x4
- red capsicum x2
- baby spinach (1-2 Cups)
- egg plant x1
- brown onion or leek x1
- 3 Cups cooked pasta
- 1 tin whole cherry tomatoes
- Pasata
- grated cheese for topping
- Herbs: fennel seeds, oregano
Method:
- Cut and roast all the veggies
- Boil pasta until cooked
- Line / oil a round cake spring tin and start layering
- Start with pasta, then layer each veggie, tomatoes, cover with pasata & herbs and repeat and pack down
- Cover with cheese
- Cover with baking paper and alfoil and inter oven for 30-40min
- Uncover and grill for 4min or until cheese melted / golden
- Unclip cake tin, revome and slice your Veggie Pasta Cake
Enjoy!!! Also great the next day!
Thank you for reading Monthly Musings. I hope you have enjoyed the August edition! I wish you an amazing month and love to hear about your Educator well-being challenge, if you tried the recipe or provocation. For ideas and feedback please feel free to email me – kirsty@earlyyearstraining.com.au or comment on the Facebook post
Kind regards, Kirsty
Early Years Training & Consultancy – RTO 91839 https://earlyyearstraining.com.au
