GEKA Bentleigh

A simple Connection and a sense of Belonging

Janet Millwood, Early Childhood Educator

We all understand the importance of children being able to make connections and maintain the feeling of belonging; this is especially true at this time of lock-downs and constant change. During Stage 4, I was able to find that connection and feeling of belonging, for myself, my family and my community, through a very simple activity.

As many anxious thoughts emerged about the changes to our lives, I knew for me, one thing that would help with this, would be if I could maintain a constant connection with my grandchildren. To do this, I decided to dress up our teddy bear in the window (he has been standing there since our our first lock-down in March, but now, with the recent addition of  mask).

Every night after curfew, I organise the bear by dressing him in a different outfit (only week days as ideas & resources would be a challenge for 6 weeks!!).  Each morning I take a picture and send it to my family with my “Good morning”  text. This message usually initiates a smiley face, heart emoji or even a video call  - a beautiful way to start my day.

Not only has this been a fun way to stay connected to my family, but I realised I was also indirectly connecting with my neighbourhood community as well.  I don’t have big links with my neighbours, other than the friendly wave, but I feel this activity has been a perfect way for me to connect and care for my community in a way that is comfortable for me. 

Living in an area filled with young families, I know this has been a treat for them as they are out and about for their hour exercise and I delight in occasionally hearing their comments about what bear is doing on a particular day. 

A simple task during a challenging time, for me, has now become a gorgeous memory of how we connected and felt we belonged.