Monthly Musings – May

By Kirsty Fantini, Early Years Training & Consultancy

Welcome to my May Edition of “Monthly Musings”! I hope you enjoy these monthly blog posts! Feel free to share with your team and even request topics to be explored!

Educator Well-Being

So fo those of you who are taking up the “Educator Well-Being Challenge” how did you go? Were you able to walk in the dark- maybe at dawn or dusk? What did you notice, how did you feel? I admit I do love walking and watching the sunrise!

So what is our educator challenge this month? For the month of May (and forever!) buy yourself flowers! I love fresh flowers and while it’s wonderful to receive these from others.. why not buy or pick them for yourself! I always have fresh flowers at home and in the workplace. By surrounding yourself in beauty that is just for you, in this case flowers, brings appreciation of the simple things, a personal luxury and appreciation of oneself.

I would love to see how you have surrounded yourself in beauty. Feel free to post on the Facebook post!

Provocations, NQF and Theoretical Perspectives

This month’s provocation is Sustainability and Environmental Appreciation. We often explore recycling, gardening and worm farms with children when it comes to sustainaility, however as part of this concept we can also look deeper and start to really consider what does it mean to foster environmental awareness & appreciation?

I often start this journey by asking educators… how do you appreciate the environment? What are you passionate about? What is important to you in terms of our environment both at a centre level and on a larger scale?

There are many ways we can embed this message of “environmental appreciation” into our everyday practices… starting with the message that we connect with and respect, rather than take from our environment.

Other ideas may include (and this is by no means an exhaustive list); have discussions with children about what you can & hear whilst outdoors, create bird feeders, plant gardens that encourage pollinators, purchase an Australian native stingless bee hive (or make a Bee Hotel), plant gardens and observe and discuss growth of plants, consider a centre pet (chickens are great!), connect with nature through materials and resources, observe, appreciate and engage with all types of weather, spend long periods of time outside, appreciate by having discussions and observing all creatures great & small, celebrate changes of seasons and what this means, explore with children how we can reduce our impact on the environment, discuss environmental issues such as ocean & waterway care, endangered species, recycling issues….. and the list continues…..

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Upcoming Educator PD and Special Offers… just for you!

For the month of May we have the following online PD webinars. These are live and you can join from work or home.. even in your PJs! All you need is internet connection and sound on your device. Sessions run for 1 hour and participants receive a Certificate of Participation. For “Monthly Musing” readers you can receive 15% off any of the below sessions. Just quote “MONTHLY MUSING DISCOUNT” in your email to kirsty@earlyyearstraining.com.au

Meaningful Transition to School – Monday 6th May @ 6.00pm

The Indoor / Outdoor Approach– what’s the hype? – Wednesday 8th May @ 6.30pm

Supervision – are we actively engaged? Monday 20th May @ 6.00pm

For more information please go to https://earlyyearstraining.com.au/workshops/staff/

Something Yummy – Just for YOU!

Are you someone who needs or prefers the gluten free option? I have this delicious muslie receipe that is super easy to make and lasts 2 weeks! Obviously this is for “at home” consumption due to the nut content 🙂

Breakfast Muslie that will keep you going all morning!

Ingredients:

• 2 C roasted almonds (i roasted these in a bit of raw honey)
• 2 C macadamia nuts
• 1-2 C coconut flakes
• 1-2 C mixed dried fruit- I use dates & raisens
• 1-2 TB cinnamon
• 2 C puffed rice or buckwheat
• 1 C pepita (pumpkin) seeds
• 1 C sunflower seeds (or any other seed you love)

Method:

I love this recipe as it’s super easy, versatile and keeps me full for hours! You can add more / less of each ingredient… it depends on what your preference is! You can adapt this as you like… maybe you prefer walnuts to macadamia nuts? Just make sure the nuts are activated or roasted (raw nuts are not good for your belly)!

1. Add all ingredients into your container and shake!
2. I top mine with almond milk, coconut yoghurt and mixed berries- soooo good!!!

Reflection Questions for your team

What messages do we send to children about our environment? Do we role model and nurture respect and appreciation at all times?

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Thank you for reading Monthly Musings. I hope you have enjoyed the May 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 – http://earlyyearstraining.com.au