GEKA McKinnon
Values in Practice
Wen Shen, Early Childhood Educator
Celebration and Respect are two GEKA values that I see everyday in practice since I joined GEKA McKinnon Kindergarten this February. Talking about Celebration and Respect makes me also think about Belonging, and I love Brene Brown’s quote regarding Belonging:
‘Belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to BE who we are.’
My interpretation of the quote is that having a sense of belonging to a place, a community, means people can celebrate their true selves and be respected by the others. Over the last few months I worked in the centre, I would say that all the staff, children and families have a great sense of belonging to the GEKA McKinnon community. It is evident that while we are proudly celebrating our own uniqueness and cultural heritage, we are also recognising, respecting and celebrating those of others around us.
Located in a multicultural neighbourhood, we have families and staff coming from different cultural backgrounds. With respect to the diversity, everyone is invited to contribute to the community in their own way. For instance, one child’s mum who is from India, joined us to celebrate Holi this year. Wearing the amazing traditional Indian dress, she introduced the festival to the children and participated in the colour experience with the group, making the children’s learning so meaningful and fun! For another instance, during the morning drop-off time, one child’s dad stayed in kindergarten for a short while and joined his child’s play in Chinese calligraphy. While he was writing in Chinese with his child, many other children approached and observed him with curiosity. After the child’s dad talked to the small group about his understanding of the Chinese writing, the children demonstrated great interest and wanted to give calligraphy a go!
Since I started working in GEKA McKinnon Kindergarten, I have been constantly amazed by how much we can learn from the physical learning environments. The building itself is a celebration of history. You can see the record of honorary members of GEKA McKinnon Kindergarten Association, and beautiful art works created by children who attended the service many years ago. The learning materials such as board games, books, and furniture, have their own history and stories too. They have been used by many children and educators for various learning experiences in the past, and they are being kept with great love and care so that many more people can use them!
Being in an environment where objects are being mindfully used and stored can greatly promote children’s awareness of taking responsibility for the constructed environment.
Like all the children attending the Kindergarten, I absolutely love the extended outdoor space. It offers wonderful opportunities for children to connect with, the natural world through varied experiences. While the children are engaged in experiences such as playing in the mud pit, climbing trees, running on and off the hills, rolling in the grass, observing plants and insects in the bush and garden, they are building strong bonds with nature and learning to respect our land.
For an example, one child once told me ‘we need to be very gentle with snails’,and another child said to a snail who paid a visit to our kindergarten room ‘Goodbye snail, thank you for spending time with us. We will come to visit you soon!’ In connecting with the natural world, we are not only developing appreciation and care for the environment but also developing awareness of protecting our environment by action. For example, we learn to use water efficiently when washing our hands, as one child said‘we should not waste water!’
I love working in GEKA McKinnon Kindergarten. With the support and love from the wonderful people around me, I am learning to accept and celebrate my own uniqueness while growing as an early childhood professional. I am excited for more learning in this beautiful community!
