Harmony Newsletter Dear Parents It’s been longer than usual between
newsletters, but we hope the items we’ve included now will make up for the
delay. Some new faces have been added to our
Harmony team. Do have a look at the profiles in the front entry (photos should
be developed soon). Sandy is our full-time Assistant Manager
helping Janet (our full-time Administrator) and Robin in the office, and has
substantial experience operating four of her own businesses over many years.
She is also working “on the floor” with the children when she covers our
Trainees during their study leave each week and also while our
Diploma-qualified Educators take non-contact time for writing up reports and
programs. To help her better understand what is required of, and by, Harmony
educators, Sandy is undertaking a 12-month Certificate III in Children’s
Services traineeship. In our Babies group is Rachelle, who has
moved from Donnybrook to take up her Certificate III in Children’s Services
traineeship in Harmony. She is already contributing 100 percent to the babies
which is particularly crucial since the departure of Carissa (she moved to a
child care centre closer to her new home). Taking over from Carissa is Ginette
who has transferred from the 2 year olds as a special “E” Worker and settled in
well with the able assistance of Alisha and Rachelle. Teresa has begun her Certificate III
traineeship in the 2 year olds group, with Simmone and Erin helping her along
the way. Teresa is one of our valuable mature age staff members and is the
mother of two and grandmother of one. While on the subject of staffing, we are
looking for enthusiastic and reliable casuals to relieve our permanents when
they are on sick or annual leave. If parents know of a great worker who may be
interested in joining the Harmony team, please talk with one of us in the
office as soon as possible (especially now that winter seems to have finally
arrived, along with colds and flu). Many staff are currently undertaking
tertiary education or have recently completed short workshops. Simmone is
studying a Bachelor of Social Science (Family & Children’s Services) at
ECU, and Alisha and Brooke are studying their Diploma in Children’s Services at
TAFE. Toni and Sandy attended a Healthy Food for Healthy Children workshop.
Janet, Yvonne, Sandy, and Robin have attended several management workshops
recently. Rachelle, Teresa, Sandy, and Erin are all
signed up for a 12-month traineeship to gain a Certificate III in Children’s
Services, just as Brooke and Alisha did last year. By the way, Brooke was presented with an award at
Observation City ballroom by State Education Minister, Alan Carpenter, for
being the top Certificate III student in the Perth TAFE system—congratulations
to Brooke for a well-deserved honor. Brooke also continues to attend workshops
as they occur, to extend her knowledge of children with special and additional
needs and management of their behavior and learning potential. We really appreciate everything given to
Harmony, because we are great “pack rats” in that we use all types of bits and
pieces that are no longer required by families. We don’t mean to inadvertently
miss anyone in our notes of gratitude, so please accept our sincere thanks for
your donation if your name is not specifically mentioned. Thanks to: Luke’s & Matthew’s parents
for A3 semi-gloss paper; Aaron’s father for making a strong ply top for the
children cubby house table, and also for pins for adjustable shelving; Imogen’s
mother for baby monitor (in our babies’ cot room); Kali’s & Jamie’s mother
for many toys; Joel’s mum for a huge bag of boxes for construction activities; Zoe’s
mum for loan of nurse’s uniform and stethoscope for Occupations; and our
TAFE student Peta for drafting paper for drawings and loan of chef’s uniform
(for Occupations). We really also appreciate the visits by Pritpal and
her daughter on India Day and by Mia’s dad who bathed his baby for the
preschoolers. In all groups the program of activities for
the week is displayed on a noticeboard. Please ask carers to explain what is
happening on the day/s your child attends, because you can then talk about the
day at dinnertime and also try similar activities at home to further enhance your
child’s development. The babies are growing so big and so
clever. For intellectual development they have been learning cause & effect
through sorting items into categories, hide-and-seek, and many other problem
solving activities. Their language is being developed through flash cards
(asking babies to name the item), songs (their current favourites are Row,
Row, Row the Boat, I Wonder What Your Name is, and of course Twinkle
Twinkle Little Star with actions), and lots of stories (books, feltboard,
and puppets). Ginette, who has just recently moved to the
Babies group is amazed at how quickly the babies learn and how independent they
are becoming. For instance, they are encouraged to dress themselves (with dress-up
clothes), to use a spoon and mug, and to cook (mayonnaise, cup cakes, pikelets,
and fairy bread for afternoon snack). Soon they will be able to leave home!!
Talking of home, we do hope that families enjoyed the Easter and Mother’s Day
gifts that were so lovingly made. For table activities they enjoy cotton
reel, hand, & potato printing, painting (with whole hands, as well as
toothbrushes, popsicle sticks, shaving brushes, and just water), collage with
lots of glue, glitter, and all types of things to stick onto paper plates and
boxes, and of course play dough. For body awareness and self-esteem the
babies move around in front of the wall mirror, and they love to see themselves
after face painting. Simple balloons and bubble blowing are always popular and
so is dancing with or without scarves (especially to the Hi-5 video). Other
movement and coordination games are Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie, the Hokey
Pokey, playing with musical instruments, and throwing bean bags into a
bucket. Now that winter has arrived, carers bring
climbing equipment inside so that the babies still get their big muscle
development, even when it is raining. Always the main criteria are to make
activities fun, use the senses, and encourage exploration. 2 year olds
(news from Simmone, Teresa, & Erin) During our exploration of Farm Animals,
Insects, The Ocean, and Jungle Animals our 2 year olds
learned where we would see particular animals. The children made crepe paper
collage chickens, listened to Old Macdonald as a feltboard story, collected
insects outdoors, talked about the beach, and played with Harmony’s hermit
crabs (some children were afraid but none so much as Erin and Ginette!!). For Dinosaurs the children loved
dinosaur stencils and trying to learn the long names of some of them. Transport
interested the children (especially trucks and buses) but, quite
appropriately they insisted on “cars are for driving” and “bikes for riding”
rather than “cars and bikes are transport”!! Nursery Rhymes are a vital
part of childhood because, even though most do not make much sense in our
modern world, they are traditional in all cultures, have value for sing-song
rhyming and listening skills (e.g. audio tapes), and children enjoy them. love of books and songs. One of the best
recent examples was the 2 year olds acting out the story of Goldilocks &
the Three Bears. Favorite songs currently include Dingle Dangle Scarecrow,
Wheels on the Bus, Down in the Meadow, Humpty Dumpty, Little Peter Rabbit, 5
Currant Buns, Incy Wincy Spider, 3 Jellyfish, Bob the Builder theme song, and
Miss Polly had a Dolly (substituting the rhyme names for our children’s names). This age child loves percussion music (some
may call it noise!). In any case, the 2 year olds are developing good awareness
of the rules for games such as musical bobs and guessing (through attentive
listening) who is shaking the bell in the circle of children with their eyes
shut. Big muscle skills have been developed
through peddling bikes, jazz aerobics, yoga (including stretching, bending, and
relaxation), somersaults on mats (at which the 2 year olds were surprisingly
skilled), throwing balls into hoops either over arm or under arm (also good for
eye-hand coordination), obstacle courses and chaseys around the yard, skittles,
totem tennis, and action dancing. Fine manipulative skills are developed
through threading, puzzles (also good for intellectual development), lego
construction, pushing pegs in and out of boards, and even making presents for
parents such as Easter cards and baskets and Mother’s Day cards and bookmarks.
Cutting is an excellent skill to encourage at home under close supervision,
especially as some 2 year olds are better at it than others. Intellectual activities have included
matching picture cards in a dominoes type game, matching colors with blocks,
matching shapes to everyday pictures (e.g. circles on the wheels of a bus), and
stacking/sorting toys from large to small. Some of the children are grasping
the concept of numbers and are extending their concentration span up to 10
minutes. Like most children 2 year olds love sensory
play, such as slime, shaving cream, water play, finger painting, playdough
(complete with candles in playdough cupcakes and the happy birthday song), and
feeling the glue before it goes into the gluing activity. Their self-help and
self-confidence skills are improving, with most children putting away toys
after play, taking off shoes and socks (some attempt to put them on too). Kindy/Preschool (news from Caroline, Yvonne, & Brooke) We continue to have busy days in the
Preschool group, and especially welcome new children and children moving up
from the 2 year olds group. Usually we plan activities around a focus that runs
for two weeks, thus providing plenty of time and practice for children to learn
new concepts, new vocabulary, and more about the world around them. The Transport theme was quite
exciting, particularly when Shakira’s dad visited in his police car and all
children got a ride up and down our parking lot, with siren blaring (we don’t
know what our neighbours thought!). Handcuffs were a hit too! We looked at Food and set up a
supermarket with lots of empty food packets adding to the realism, to discuss
familiar and unusual foods. It’s amazing the differences that children already
know about good and bad food, and they even got to prepare pizzas for their
lunch. During our Families fortnight one of
our wonderful dads, who is the main child carer in his home, brought his
youngest daughter (a 5 month old) into the Harmony Centre. He set up a bath and
drying mat, so that all children could see the whole process, which to most was
absolutely fascinating including the cuddles afterwards (see photos on front
entry bulletin board). We spoke about members in our families and how people
live in other countries. Pritpal, one of our casual employees, visited with her
daughter in traditional Indian dress and spoke about her culture. She showed us
photos, dolls, and jewellery, and then taught the preschoolers how to cook
Butter Chicken & Rice for lunch. Colors and Shapes produced some very bright rainbows and a striped caterpillar.
Shapes were recognised all around our environment, which helped children see
everyday objects as shapes, such as tables as rectangles, plates as circles,
etc. Another busy theme was Occupations which
was really exciting when we visited the shops across the road from Harmony.
Small groups walked through the supermarket, had gel and clips in their hair at
the hairdresser, and were fascinated by the engine under the bonnet at the Caltex
mechanical workshop. Preschoolers wrote a “letter”, posted it to themselves via
the Sackville Terrace mailbox, and had an unexpected visit from the local
postie on her motorbike. We also made our home corner into a hospital where we
role played in our doctors and nurses uniforms. The Virtues Project teaches young children
how and why we have universal values. So far this year the following virtues
have been discussed and practised with Harmony preschoolers: confidence, respect, peacefulness, caring,
gentleness, honesty, helpfulness, kindness, assertiveness. It is interesting
that following September 11 and the Bali bombing, concerned organisations that
exist to support and enhance quality of life for young children came out with
ways to deal with trauma and generally “bad news” that impact on youngsters
through TV etc. One organisation (see attachment) is attempting to encourage
behaviours that lead to “peace” in young children’s lives and, not surprisingly,
most of the virtues are common to The Virtues Project book that Harmony
follows (e.g. respect, kindness, friendliness, helping others, caring,
cooperation, love, sharing, appreciation). Other peace-friendly activities
include protecting and enjoying our natural environment, growing plants, and
encouraging acceptance of all people including those who are different (e.g.
disabled, different color skin, disfigured). Peaceful parenting = peaceful
environments + peaceful play = peaceful children = peaceful people = peaceful
parenting = peaceful environments etc. The Kindy/Preschool group is really where
self-help skills shine. Children are beginning to put on their own shoes and
socks, look after their property in their cubicle, pack away toys after
playing, and scrape their lunch plates ready for washing. Our Letterland
phonetic alphabet program is a lot of fun. Many children recognise the letters,
and some are writing their name—well done! Number recognition and counting what
we see around us are coming along well. Other intellectual activities involve
logical thinking, sequencing cards (beginning, middle, end or first, second,
third, fourth etc.), and classifying objects according to size and color.
Eye/hand coordination and finger manipulation skills (required for writing and
general fine work throughout life) are enhanced by using scissors, thin
brushes, threading, etc. and can easily be practised at home as well. Being outdoors has been great this year
(although not so good for water in our dams!). The children have enjoyed totem
tennis (hitting a tennis ball on elastic attached to a pole), obstacle courses,
jumping and hopping, balancing on the beams, and kicking and throwing balls in
correct directions. French Ginette generally follows the theme and
concepts covered in the weekly Kindy/Preschool program, as the new vocabulary
makes more sense when linked with hands-on activities. She runs a half hour
session every day and makes sure it is a fun time so that the children are
willing and receptive. If you wish to know what your child is singing in the
bath, just ask! Kitchen Toni continues to try new recipes, some
very successful such as Lentil, Vegetable & Bacon Bone Soup, Chicken
Stroganoff, Sausage Chasseur (without the red wine!), Zucchini Slice, and
Spaghetti Carbonara. Sandwiches once a week are usually a hit, but we are
always looking for new favorites such as Lasagne as suggested by a Kindy
parent, and especially finger foods for afternoon snacks. If every parent
jotted down just one snack recipe, we would have enough to try for months
ahead! Parent & Staff Night Unfortunately we had to postpone our Parent
& Staff Night because we couldn’t get either speaker we wanted, and during
July some of our staff are taking annual leave. However, would the parents of
full-timers who have recently received Developmental Records of their child’s
skills please keep the record handy so that you can discuss it with your
child’s Early Childhood Educator, as soon as we can reschedule an evening. As some of you may know already, Harmony is
converting the caretaker flat at the back of the Harmony building and its
attached carport and courtyard for a new group of children, i.e. 1 ˝ to 2 ˝
year olds. This is an exciting stage in our development (and the third increase
in licensed numbers due to increased demand over the past 13 ˝ years of
Harmony’s history). The two advantages are that we can accommodate some of the
50+ families on our waiting list, and also the three youngest age groupings
will cover a range of 12 months of age rather than the present 18 months range.
The renovations will include the latest in softfall
outdoor surfaces, and we hope will prove the practicality of our ideas, which
can then be incorporated in our other playground areas. The staff have been
included in the extension too—they will have a new, and larger, staff room,
another toilet, and a new outdoor sitting area. As soon as the renovations are completed
(about mid-July, depending on the builder) we will have the following four age
groupings. These may necessitate a change of room and staff for some children,
but we believe the smaller age range in each group (12 months for our three
youngest age groups, and 30 months for our Kindy/Preschool) is better for
children and staff. ˝ to 1 ˝ year olds Same
playroom & 2 cot rooms as now Expanded
outdoors, to include new area when convenient 1 ˝ to 2 ˝ year olds New
playroom & Quiet Room New
toilet & nappy change room Outdoors
to include new area & current grassed playground 2 ˝ to 3 ˝ year olds Current
playroom of 2 year olds New Quiet Room
(new doorway to connect with playroom) Outdoors
to be shared with Kindy/Preschool, as currently 3 ˝ to 6 year olds Same
playroom & playground as now As from 7 July the Child Care Benefit (CCB)
will change to reflect CPI, which fortunately means a higher subsidy for
families. Harmony will advise parents what their new CCB rate will be, as soon
as we receive the rates list from the Family Assistance Office. However, at the same time Harmony needs to
raise fees slightly due to an increase in all staff wages as from 21 July and
to cover higher insurance premiums and much needed playground improvements.
Visits by Robin and Sandy over the past two weeks to 7 other child care centres
of good to high quality reveal current part-time fees are in the range of $48
to $60 a day for all age children but full-time fees are far above Harmony’s,
in the range of $204 to $250 a week for all age children (i.e. no lower fee for
older, preschool children). Thankfully Perth child care fees are still nowhere
near those in Sydney and Melbourne, where they are $300 to $350 a week. As from Monday, 7 July, fees will be as
follows: Over 3 ˝ years old $50
per day $175 per week (5 days) Under 3 ˝ years old $55
per day $198 per week (5 days) Input and suggestions from families (and
anyone else, for that matter) is much valued. It gets us thinking about
possible new ways of doing things, it helps us do what’s best for your child,
and it keeps us operating at the highest standard. We have a Suggestion Box
right next to the sign in/out files in the front entry, which is cleared
regularly. One suggestion was for roasts to be served
now and then at lunchtime. Unfortunately, we don’t have facilities to cook
roasts and for 55+ children the logistics of carving and serving hot would be
quite difficult. Another suggestion asked for lasagne, which is definitely an
easy and popular dish for Toni, our cook, to prepare. A parent queried the
serving of sandwiches once a week. Sandwiches have several valid points going
for them. Children love finger food (good for their fine manipulative skills
too, and babies love to pull them apart!), they will usually have sandwiches
for lunch when they go to school, and sandwiches are full of fibre (only
wholemeal bread in Harmony). Our Accreditation Committee of parents and
staff continues to meet bi-monthly and is proceding through the 35 principles
at a good pace, in preparation for our accreditation in May 2004. We are short
of one parent representative, so if you have 2 ˝ hours to spare one week night
every two months, we would love to welcome you to our light-hearted sessions where
we share a meal, and learn much about child development and what is involved in
high quality best practice child care and education. Parents also find out a
lot about their own child’s day and behavior in Harmony direct from the carers
themselves. Janet coordinates the fundraising
activities and does a superb job as can be judged from the current Mars
chocolate drive. Please ask for a mixed carton to sell at $4 a packet to your neighbors,
friends, and work mates (not for yourselves, because they’re bad for your
teeth! even though of course they do taste good!). Proceeds go towards purchase
of impact-absorbing softfall under the older children’s swings, to be safer and
to get rid of the messy pine bark.
Usually there is at least one book club
displaying some very good value books and other items on top of the
preschoolers’ pine cubicles just inside the front entry doors. Anyone can
purchase, as long as payment is made to Yvonne before delivery date. Please remember that all staff are here for
you and your children. Feel free to talk with us for queries, input, and
feedback, so that Harmony becomes a better place for all concerned. Robin Garbutt, Manager………………….. Sandy
Boon, Assistant Manager……………….…..
23 June 2003
Staffing
Staff education & training
Donations
Programming
Babies
(news from Ginette, Alisha, & Rachelle)
Imaginative Play was programmed for several weeks to encourage children to visualise, to
create something new using their mental processes, and to encourage interaction
with their peers and form positive relationships. They did animal movements to
music (e.g. lion, elephant), dressed up with scarves which they turned into
saris, and set up a shop to make cups of tea, milkshakes, and even McDonald’s
hamburgers. In our office set-up some children made phone calls and sent emails
on our play keyboards. Art activities focussed on creativity using different
tools such as leaves, string, cotton buds, sponges, and marbles to paint on
paper, card, and boxes. A different and effective “paint” was food coloring in
water.
Language development benefits
greatly from role playing/imaginative/pretend play, as well as
Extensions to Harmony Centre & new age groupings
CCB (subsidy) & Fees
Feedback
Accreditation
Fundraising
Book Clubs
Reminder