Early Learning

Echidnas - A Multi Generational Approach

We are always thankful for Kinder volunteers and this week I would like to recognise the great-grandparents, grandparents, and young adult children that join us for exciting experiences in the Echidna room!

We started the term with a call out for sewing help regarding the ‘Feel Friends’ made from leftover donated wool from the parents. These soft emotional support Friends needed their heads sewn on after the children had stuffed the heads (making their heads ‘really fat’ was the child terminology used).

Because I only have two hands, it was going to be quite the herculean task. Praise the Lord for great grandparents – Charlotte’s ‘Fishy Nan’ said she would come in and assist and even took the leftovers home to finish for us! It was a beautiful sight as the children gathered around Fishy Nan and I as we sewed together and told children about learning to sew when we were little, and the things we used to make.

That same week, Perry’s Grandmother, Nanny Sue, taught us all Children’s Zoo Pilates in the gym. The children stretched and twisted and rotated their flexible bodies into such animals as giraffes, lions, monkeys and owls. Nanny Sue joined us for two sessions and totally put Mrs Ezzy and I to shame as we laid dead on the gym floor after trying to be giraffes.

Because of the wild winds forecast this week, Bush Kinder was cancelled so we had Bush Kinder in the centre! Mrs Kosh and her son, Edwin, taught us some Garawa songs which is where Edwin is from – waaaaaay up the top of Australia! The children then made some amazing soap using different leaves, including gum, to make the most aromatic soap in all shapes and sizes!

Nanny Chris (Benji’s Nana) joined us to assist. This help was invaluable as we were able to have a helping hand in the kitchen without the teachers having to leave the room! In the meantime, David’s dad played schools with the children, and Kingsley’s mum was a cleaning up machine!

In conclusion, we had support from a great grandparent, grandparents, a teacher’s son, and parents. We are so thankful for each and every volunteer that steps foot into the great unknown that is the Echidna room, and we hope that they know how valued they are by us all!

“Funds of Knowledge” refers to the valuable skills, experiences, and cultural knowledge that children and their families bring from home to the classroom. In early childhood, it means recognizing and building on what each child already knows and does in their everyday life to support learning and belonging.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” - 1 Thessalonians

Just as each family shares its own wisdom, we build a stronger community when we learn from and lift one another.

Judi Missen

Early Learning Educator