I was invited recently to reflect upon the past 20 years of my career and my calling, as I see it, as a Christian working within early childhood. In 2003, my church ran a Kaleo course, which encouraged us to discover our calling and respond to God’s direction in our lives and ministry. (Kaleo course is accredited to Rev. Barry…
Community is such a rich, meaningful word that is right at the heart of God’s creation plan! The Lord said “it is not good for man to be alone” Gen 1 :27; 2:28 God created human beings in his own likeness The Bible is clear that there is community within God himself (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and that mankind…
We know that each of the children in our care is uniquely created by our loving God and Father and that He has a plan and a purpose for each of their lives. We know that their needs and interests and learning styles will be different. Psalm 139 says: “For You shaped me, inside and out. I am Your unique creation…… Every detail of my life was already written in Your book.“ (The VOICE) Our…
Early Years Prayer Zoom You are warmly invited to join us as we pray for the youngest children…
Addressing the Centre’s Emotional Climate Adapted from Attentive & Attuned: Knowing and Serving in the Early Education Program, pp. 37-49 (Baer, Maher, Leak) Attunement begins with me. I can be intentional about forging relationships with the individuals in my class. But to cultivate those attuned relation ships and to display the posture that draws children in, I must first prepare…
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in Eden, in the East; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8 The importance of the learning environment is very widely acknowledged. The influential ECERS programme is explicit: it is the Early Childhood Environmental Review which prompts our reflection on all that surrounds the young, from the…
A glimpse into the classroom of Elise Hopkins When early years educators speak of the field in a comprehensive context, it is impossible to ignore the trends and accomplishments of settings in the global south. New Zealand, a gem in Oceania, gently leads the way with their quiet insistence to connect, support and develop the family unit. New Zealand’s Ministry…
Definitions Let us start with a definition of ‘spirituality ‘ as I use it. When the 1944 Education Act was drawn up they used the word spirituality because they claimed that no one knew what it meant and therefore it could not be disputed. Many definitions have been given since. I think the simplest definition is: an experience of awe…
The reviews on this website are strictly speaking not just for book reviews but resource reviews. The theme of play might suggest all sorts of ‘toys’, but actually the best resources in all the world are natural ones: sticks, sand, insects, mud. We might well add unit blocks, but we probably shouldn’t spend much on resources for children’s play because they…
Principal stakeholders in education, after the children themselves , are the parents. The Bible makes the assumption that responsibility for the nurture of children belongs to parents, referring to fathers in particular. For example: It is to fathers that these words are addressed: …bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4, Authorised Version) or …bring them up in…
