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Responsive language: Alternative language with real life situations

Responsive language: Alternative language with real life situations

The words we use daily with children matter. How we communicate and the words we use with children has a great effect on the relationships we build with them. UNICEF (n.d.) explains that ‘Every interaction you have with your child is a form…
A new study of Warlpiri language shows how ‘baby talk’ helps [children] learn to speak

A new study of Warlpiri language shows how ‘baby talk’ helps [children] learn to speak

Parents and other caregivers typically modify their speech when they talk to babies and young children. They use simple sentences and special words, like “nana” for banana. They also speak slowly, use a higher pitch, and exaggerate…
The forgotten power of reading aloud

The forgotten power of reading aloud

I recently read the book The Enchanted Hour (Gurdon, 2019) in which the author recalls what novelist Kate DiCamillo once said to her: ‘We let down our guard when someone we love is reading us a story … We exist together in a little patch…
Relationships matter

Relationships matter

I have worked in the early childhood profession for many years. First, as an educator in a variety of different settings and now as a university lecturer and researcher. I have always valued the importance of relationships with children and…
Play in the Home: Why it’s essential for early childhood development

Play in the Home: Why it’s essential for early childhood development

This article appeared in Every Child magazine Vol. 28, No.2, 2022  The home offers rich and authentic opportunities for play-based learning, Joanne Grimmond observes. Children’s formative experiences of play in the home lay the foundation…
Language and learning in early learning settings

Language and learning in early learning settings

English is not the first language of many families in Australia, with 21% of Australians speaking a language other than English at home (ABS, 2017). Today, Australia is one of the top 10 countries in the world where the most languages are spoken…
Agency is so much more than choice and voice

Agency is so much more than choice and voice

Agency is a concept that is familiar, but not always well understood in early childhood education and care (Burr & Degotardi, 2021). Whenever agency is made reference to in early childhood publications, the standard definition in the Glossary…
Promoting cultural competence in early childhood

Promoting cultural competence in early childhood

There is growing awareness and effort in Australian classrooms to understand, respect and support cultural differences, but are we starting early enough? If we want to create a society that values diversity, we must start instilling an appreciation…
No Jab, no p(l)ay

No Jab, no p(l)ay

No Jab, no p(l)ay: The ethics of vaccination for early childhood educators Catharine Hydon in Conversation with Trent Moy Over the past 18 months of this global pandemic, early childhood educators have navigated a myriad of ethical challenges.…
Recognising the health communication efforts of the early childhood sector

Recognising the health communication efforts of the early childhood sector

From the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, the early childhood sector was tasked with expanding their required health practices to include up-to-date, health information to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among staff, families and children.…
A different view of digital documentation

A different view of digital documentation

Hello from the dark side! With all the talk of using digital platforms in documenting our early learning programs, I feel the need to fly the flag for those with another point of view; those who can’t quite cross over; those who wrestle…
Documentation: Do you document too much, too little or too late?

Documentation: Do you document too much, too little or too late?

ECA recently launched a new series of Learning Hub modules on Digital Documentation and Technology in collaboration with Storypark. We note here that there is no requirement to use digital documentation and if settings choose to engage in digital…