GEKA Glover Street
Re-establishing our Sense of Community
Jessica Sloane, Early Childhood Educator
As we start a new year and focus on positives it is hard to forget the past two years and the effects COVID-19 has had on our children. While we might not know the long term effects for some time, we do know that everyone has and is still going through their own struggles as we continue to navigate our way through this pandemic.
One thing that we can say confidently is that through the past two years the children have shown great resilience and strength. Whether it be adapting to parents not being allowed into the building, seeing all adults in masks (which can be frightening), understanding why they cant go to kindergarten or the playground or have play dates with friends, we noticed children adapting to the situation and showing great strength and resilience. This pandemic also highlighted how we have always viewed children and that is that they are capable individuals. Their independence and self help skills were evident throughout this time.
For children beginning kindergarten this year, they have lived half if not more of their lives in this pandemic. This means they have missed opportunities to make connections with their community, a big loss we felt here at GEKA Glover Street Kindergarten. Many children have spent most of the past two years at home and have not had many opportunities for socializing, which can impact social and emotional development, a key focus area for GEKA GSK this year. This pandemic has also had a huge effect on families as a whole. At GEKA GSK we recognize the different effects this pandemic has had on families and we are passionate about strengthening our community connections.
So as we focus on 2022 we will work towards re-establishing our GEKA GSK community for all children and families, working together to restore wellbeing in the short and long term. We have always valued each child’s individuality and our play-based curriculum stems from children’s interest. After the past two years there will need to be a focus on social and emotional development. Learning how to interact with others, regulate emotions and guide children to be leaders in their learning.
As Professor Yong Zhao and Professor Jim Watterston state “We need to re-think education: it isn’t to prepare children to be ready for the future, because they are the creators of the future. Our job is to help them develop the skills and perspectives to develop a better future for all human beings.” (The University of Melbourne Pursuit 2021. What we know about children after 2021).
At GEKA Glover Street Kindergarten we have always valued each child’s individuality and we will continue to do so. We will focus on the children’s induvial needs, while also learning how to work together as a group. We are passionate about real life learning and believe children will gain essential skills from these learning opportunities.
We learnt a lot over the past two years. All the educators like the families and children had to adapt to what was known as 'the new normal'. Now as the country is slowly returning to 'normal' we can reflect and think about what we will need to do differently. At GEKA GSK we will continue to offer children carefully planned activities and experiences to help enable them to become leaders in their learning. We will continue to view children as ‘capable’ and allow them the opportunities to display their independence and encourage them to develop those vital self-help skills.
We look forward to great year ahead and have enjoyed meeting and getting to know the families of 2022. Welcome to the GEKA Glover Street Kindergarten community.
