What's been happening at Little Bee ..... Howrah The children have been working collaboratively to put together their community worm wee stand that is located near the driveway to Howrah Little Bee. By feeding the worms the scraps from our morning tea, it has given the children opportunity to embed sustainability into their daily routines and practices. This is also supported by collecting water from the tank in the yard and using this to make our nutrient-rich worm wee. Having placed several bottles for our community to exchange for plants on the stand, we were visited by Diana and her grandchildren, a lovely lady who gifted us some beautiful plants. Diana invited us to walk to her garden and have a look at her plants, from which she had struck some of our gifted plants from. Upon our visit to her garden, we discovered a fairy garden, a bird feeder, and an echidna. Looking around Diana’s Garden, the children were excited to see a variety of plants, flowers, and grasses that were growing healthy and strong. Following our visit to Diana’s Garden, the children selected several plants that we had kindly donated and planted these in our garden bed. Helping the educators dig in the soil, the children placed the plants in their chosen spots, covering their roots with dirt and watering them. We were also kindly gifted some seeds from Bertie and his family, excitedly we added these to the front of the garden bed, and we eagerly await to see what they grow into. |
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Airport Baby Bees: In April our children were offered the opportunity to explore loose parts. Our “treasure baskets” were filled with natural and non-natural resources and they evolved throughout the month, reflecting children’s interest. These play spaces have seen open-ended interactions, spontaneity, risk-taking, exploration, discovery and connection with nature. Last month we celebrated Nature play week. We are so very grateful that here at Little Bee we have many opportunities for nature play every day and we feel blessed for exploring our natural surroundings in so many ways. While in the playground we love watching the birds coming for a quick visit or to come and eat from the bird feeder. We also have so much fun seeing the chickens from our garden come to the fence, as we try and make ‘chicken noises’. We have also strived to bring a bit of nature inside our room, as well offering the children opportunities to engage with natural resources, such as rocks, wood, leaves, etc. Playing with the river rocks the children discovered they could make sounds by tapping one rock on another. They also found the feeling of the pinecones and the crunchy dry Autumn leaves interesting. Nature play encourages children to see the natural environment as a place to enjoy, play, imagine, relax and explore. Playing with natural resources can foster an appreciation of the natural environment, develop environmental awareness and provide a platform for ongoing environmental education. A special display in our room shows ‘how big our children were in April’, with the stems of sunflowers exhibiting their heights and their 'face photos' being the flowers. The children have loved coming to the wall to see their friends and their own faces. It's a space that creates connection among the children, they recognise themselves and their peers, knowing where and with whom they belong. This also fosters a sense of belonging which is the foundation for children’s wellbeing and learning. To acknowledge Anzac Day, the children created beautiful paintings. Using red and black paints they made their own poppy flower portrait. We were also delighted to eat the Anzac biscuits we made in our room. Honey Bees During April we followed on from our investigation into music by finding out what songs the children enjoy and setting up interactive displays to go with the song. Some favourites have been “Row Row’, “Old McDonald had a farm” and “Big Mack Truck”. The children really enjoyed singing the songs while playing at the same time. As we explored the song ‘Row Row your boat’ we made a boat and the children had fun sitting inside it, actioning the back and forth motion of rowing a boat. Some children even climbed into doll cradles and did the same motion, showing how repetitive play can give them ideas to experiment with as they engage with different objects. This month saw us set out our environments to further support and extend physical development. The Honeys Bees enjoyed using their gross motor skills to climb on the obstacle ramp. The children jumped, walked and even danced on the obstacle ramp. With an interest of music within the room, the Honey Bee’s investigated what happens when taking the musical instruments to the obstacle ramp. They used the rhythm from playing the musical instrument to create different movements over the obstacle ramp.
We also celebrated Nature week, connecting to nature and creating a sense of wonder within our own play ground and garden. We enjoyed exploring our garden on multiple days with the Honey Bees collecting natural objects and materials for our many art experiences. The children created their own paintings using the natural materials collected from the garden. They engaged with rock, pinecones, sticks and shells as they drew with chalk, pencils and painted with water colours. |
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Bumble Bees During the Month of April the Bumble Bee children have engaged in a variety of experiences. Some of these are an extension on our programing. We have continued to look at extending their imagination through role play and ocean play. Revisiting our Tea Party has been a huge hit and we have added playdough with glitter to see where the children take the experience. We have also added the element of water to make "tea" or other foods. The children have thoroughly enjoyed stretching their hand eye co-ordination with the art of pouring and making “cuppa’s" and even a "beer" for their friends. We introduced a tub of seed with a variety of receptacles to scoop, pour and do whatever it is the children chooses to do with them. We enjoyed some Easter art experiences, engaging in a wrapper collage and glitter painting, which are displayed in our room and looking beautiful! Our favourite experience has been dancing as a whole group to a variety of action songs. One of the popular ones is ‘slippery fish’. |
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Busy Bees Throughout April, the next step in our journey through STEAM has evolved through our recent exploration of clay. Over the past month the children have fully delved into every aspect of clay and all it’s properties. One result of this deep emersion into the medium of clay has been the discovery of it’s ability to be used to create art. We also took this opportunity to learn more about how Indigenous Australians utilised Ochre in their art and cultural practices. The natural pigments (colours) in Ochre were originally used to depict Dreamtime stories and maps (http://japingkaaboriginal art. Com/artwork/). Together, we learn about the significance of Ochre from the short film “Making ochre at Luyni Mungalina (Raining Rock)" with Rosetta Thomas. We watch and learn that the Indigenous Language Teacher supports Community in their understanding of this precious commodity. This enables us to build on the conversation with the children. With the inclusion of our morning 'Acknowledgement of Country' and particularly the phrase we sing; “we give thanks to the land” we make this connection... Culturally we should give back to the land as much as we take from it. With the addition of art to STEAM subjects, creative problem-solving and design thinking can take root. Fostering arts practice encourages individual learning across subjects towards meaningful and enduring solutions. (Rolling, 2016) tandfonline.com Queen Bees In the month of April, the Queen Bee children engaged in several new experiences through our programming. A learning experience was set up to offer children to sort loose parts into objects that float and objects that sink. A few could explain why this happened, with comments like; ‘this lid floats’, ‘rocks are heavy, they sink’, ‘my boat filled with water and sank’. This month we will further highlight these concepts through retelling ‘Who sank the boat?’ using role play and research of children who have been on a boat and what happens on a boat. From these inquiry questions, we are learning that most children have been on a boat. They are eager to investigate different floating vessels and begin to gain ideas on how we might construct and make a boat or vessel that floats. The children are also designing an Airport and will build it together over time! Nixon was the first child to have an idea. “We could use sticky tape?” Walter adds, “and we could use the sticky tape to stick it to the paper". Josh shares his idea “we could use pencils and then draw and trace around them?” . Moving forward with the children’s ideas we will incorporate more natural materials, collected by themselves by going on a walk of Little Bee’s surroundings. The items found in the natural environment invite open-ended interactions, spontaneity, exploration, discovery, and connection with nature. We are also continuing our interest in food and how foods benefit us, the children engage in role play in the new home corner area. With a variety of foods and measuring tools on offer, the children mix, match and measure foods to create new recipes and old favourite's from home. The children will also be exploring a scaffolded version of the matching game played last month. This involves a full-sized human wall display, where the children can place the correct human parts on the body and then match the corresponding beneficial foods on those body parts. |
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Please help us to create Finley's special memorial garden and fundraiser |
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Please support Little Bee to create ‘Finley’s Garden’ at our Airport early learning centre. This is following the devastating and heart breaking passing of Finley due to a heart condition, on Saturday 23rd of April. Finley attended Little Bee since he was a baby and only left the Centre last year. Hayden, his younger brother, currently attends our Airport centre in our Queen Bee room. In support of Hayden, Josh and Taylor and in remembrance of gorgeous Finley, plants will be procured by Little Bee for our fundraiser. This fundraiser encourages community members to purchase (for any price they choose) a potted plant and plant it for Finley in our special garden, located at Little Bee Airport. All funds raised will be donated to the family to support them at this incredibly difficult time. If people can’t make it into the centre to plant their pot, they may still like to purchase one and our educators and children will plant it on their behalf. Anything you might be able to offer, would be an enormous help and we would be extremely grateful. Please click on the link below. If you would prefer to donate cash we have collection points at both centres, please ask us - thank you! |
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2022 Flu Shots It's that time of year again - time for flu shots! Little Bee strongly encourages family and children to have their flu shot. Many pharmacies offer times for adults to have their injection, but children under 10 years do need to visit their GP. We are aware that Chemist Warehouse and Terry White pharmacies currently have times available in the next two weeks, we are unsure about other paharmacies. We hope this information helps families, thank you. |
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We would like to say a massive thank-you to Steve, Harrison's Dad, who ever so kindly donated face masks to Little Bee. This is so helpful as all persons (12 years and older) entering Little Bee (unless they have a mask exemption) are required to wear masks while on centre premises. We ask that families entering the service please provide their own face mask as it is increasingly difficult for us to continue our supply, between both centre's we are supplying over 100 masks a day! |
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Little Bee Move Well, Eat Well update... Our aim for every newsletter is to offer families a little piece of the Move Well, Eat Well program, while we continue to implement all strategies outlined in the guidelines here at Little Bee. Over time we will cover all all of the 7 areas, today we are encouraging families to 'think before they drink' - see below for information on sugar content of drinks. |
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If any families would like to be part of our Facebook page (and you are not already) please let us know, if you were missed, our biggest apologies. |
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Many of our families will already be aware that we have special 'Gratitude Mascots' and journals at Little Bee. Our ‘Mascots’ (cuddly toys) visit a different family’s home each week and they are ever so ‘grateful’ to spend time with a family from their room. Introducing our mascots (for those of you who have not met them yet).… Kevin the Koala - Howrah Rosie the Rosela – Baby Bees Kenny Tarner, the Kangaroo – Honey Bees Charlie the Crocodile – Bumble Bees Tina the Womabat – Busy Bees Dazza the Devil - Queen Bees Our mascots are very important for supporting those wonderful and crucial connections between home and Little Bee. To ensure we are keeping COVID safe, each mascot is washed every time they are returned to Little Bee! |
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National Reconciliation Week (Friday 27th May – Friday 3rd June) Each year National Reconciliation Week (NRW) celebrates and builds on the respectful relationships shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians. The dates that bookend the week are significant milestones in the reconciliation journey. May 27—Marks the anniversary of Australia’s most successful referendum and a defining event in our nation’s history. The 1967 referendum saw over 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census. 3 June—Commemorates the High Court of Australia’s landmark Mabo decision in 1992, which legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a special relationship to the land—a relationship that existed prior to colonisation and still exists today. This recognition paved the way for land rights or Native Title. In 2022, the National Reconciliation Week theme: “Be Brave. Make Change.” is a challenge to all Australians— individuals, families, communities, organisations and government—to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians. As you will be aware, Little Bee is continuing to celebrate our dedication to building stronger relationships and equality for all Australians, we have finalised our Reconciliation Action plan and continue to embed Aboriginal perspective into our curriculum and daily routines. Our educators are very proud of the significant aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture we have learned about with the children! You can read about our project work to see the cultural links we have made in the curriculum news section of this newsletter! This year we have purchased two new children's books, recommended by Jessica Staines from the Koori Curriculum. "Say Yes" by Jennifer Castles and "Stories for Simon" by Miranda Sarzin. We look forward to sharing these stories with the children! |
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Little Bee hours of operation…. We would like to remind all our families, Little Bee Howrah is open from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and Little Bee Airport 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our staff do not get paid before or after these times, so we ask families not to arrive at the centre before or after the allocated opening hours. With winter and the darker days approaching the centre will usually be locked until opening time (Howrah 7.30 a.m. and Airport 7 a.m.) and after closing time (5.30 p.m. Howrah and 6 p.m. Airport). If you need to access the centre outside these times for any reason, please contact centre management. Thank you for your support in ensuring the safety of all our Little Bee employees. |
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Happy Mother’s Day!!! We would like to wish all of our “Little Bee Mums” a very Happy Mother's Day on Sunday the 8th May. We hope you all get to spend some quality time with your loved ones… and get a tiny bit spoilt too! |
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Child Care Subsidy Update At this stage the Early Childhood Education and Care relief package includes families who need to, being able to access free education and care until the 26th of June 2020, inline with their booking arrangement prior to the 6th of April 2020. However, the end of the financial year is fast approaching, all families who were claiming Child Care Subsidy prior to 6th April 2020 should have received some correspondence from Centrelink (a task, letter or email) asking them to update their income for the 2021/2022 financial year. To ensure your Child Care Subsidy isn’t cancelled, it is really important families complete this ASAP (although it is still a couple of months away), even if it is just an estimate. As Centrelink often take up to 6 weeks to process and update changes, failure to do so may result in families being required to pay full fees from 29th of June 2020! If you are unsure if you have completed your estimate, please check in your Centrelink Express Plus App or your MyGov account. If you have received information from Centrelink regarding any changes to your current Child Care Subsidy arrangement please let us know. If you have any questions, please contact Emily on 62485994 or Via email at littlebee@littlebee.net.au Thank you. |
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Little Bee Airport - My Family Walls Does your child have a ‘my family’ photo collage? The children really enjoy looking at their family photos and sharing them with their peers! This assists them with social development and having a sense of belonging. We encourage all families to support their child in creating a 'photo collage' and emailing or bringing them along to Little Bee. If your child has one, you are welcome to do an updated version at any time also. Thanks in advance. |
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Food Allergies Awareness Food allergy awareness week falls in May each year; it is an initiative of Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia and is the national initiative to raise awareness and money to support Australians with food allergies—a widespread public health issue that is on the rise. Did you know around 1 in 10 children born in Australia today will develop a food allergy? An allergic reaction can quickly become life threatening; as often families are unaware their child has an allergy until there first serious reaction and tragically this can sometimes be too late. We have many children at Little Bee with food allergies to things such as; egg, cashew nuts, peanuts, almonds, gluten etc. It is because of this, that we ask families to take extra care when providing food for their children at Little Bee. If you would like more information on food allergies visit: foodallergyaware.com.au, or if you would like support for a person with an allergy, visit your GP. Does your child have an allergy?? If your child has an allergy, can you please touch base with us to ensure the allergy details are correct and up to date, as often new allergies arise or children ‘grow out of’ allergies and our information can become inaccurate, thank you. A massive thank you to all of our families who have already supported us to fill in your 'risk minimisation plan' for children with a medical conditon. |
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Information for review We are currently reviewing the following policies and/or procedures: 2.18 - Supervision 2.19 - Management of rest periods and safe sleep for infants/children 2.20 - Dental 2.21 - Laundry Routines at Little Bee 2.22 - Hand Washing Policy and Procedure 2.23 –Child safe environment 2.24 - General Cleaning and Maintenance 2.25- Workplace Health and Safety 2.26- Physical Activity If you would like to have input reviewing these documents, it would be greatly appreciated, just let us know and we will forward copies to you. Please compose any suggestions you would like to make and place them, either in the suggestions box (at reception) or via email to: littlebee@littlebee.net.au. Information for families These are the links we are promoting this month: Other readings can be found on the internet from recognised sites such as: www.kidsafe.com.au, www.rch.org.au, www.acecqa.gov.au, www.deewr.gov.au and www.kidswithasthma.com.au, www.healthinsite.gov.au Opportunities for Family Involvement Committee meetings are held on a bi-monthly basis. They are to reflect on our current practices, work on our Centre’s Quality Improvement Plan and continue to maintain the highest standard of, education and care possible. Our next professional learning session (topic to be advised) will be held in June. If you are interested in joining us, please let us know. All families are invited to join our Family and Friends Committee, your ideas and opinions are greatly valued and appreciated. Families are also welcome to participate daily in Workplace health and safety checks and/or compliance reviews. Please see Emily if you are interested. |
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We acknowledge and pay respect to the Elders past, present and future. The Traditional Custodians of Lutruwita (Tasmania) and pay homage to the traditional owners of the land our centres stand on, the Moomairemener people. |
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