The Beach Early Learning Centre Wyong in Wyong, New South Wales | Childcare service

The Beach Early Learning Centre Wyong

Locality: Wyong, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 4353 0857

Address: 17 Alison Road 2259 Wyong, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.thebeachearlylearningcentre.com.au/

Likes: 204

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Childcare service
• Nursery

25.01.2022 BREADTAGS FOR WHEELCHAIRS! We have had so many breadtag donations from the beautiful families and community here at The Beach Early Learning Centre Wyong. These donations go towards making wheelchairs for the less fortunate all the way over in South Africa! That’s pretty cool!! If you would like to donate, you can either pop down to our centre or send them to 17 Alison Road Wyong. #breadtagsforwherlchairs #donations #collectionpoint #wheelchairs #Africa #earlychildcareeducation #learning #caring

09.01.2022 SCHOOL READINESS SERIES - ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION..... how hard can it be? We use our attention and concentration skills everyday, often with little effort... and without realising we are even filtering out information. These skills help us to select and focus on what is important (eg. what the teacher is saying), ignore irrelevant or distracting things that we don't need to pay attention to (eg. what is happening outside the classroom window), and maintain or sustain our effort or attention over time (eg. concentrate for all of group time). Sometimes we need to pay attention to two or more important things at the one time, and may need to switch back and forth between activities quickly (eg. copying work from the board whilst the teacher goes through the information and explains it). Wowsers that can be tricky. Check out the pictures I found on the internet as to what is typical or normal- no one can agree for sure and certain- all children are different so don’t get bogged down into how many minutes your child can sit and attend for. So how can we help kids who find it hard to engage in structured activities done at a table or to attend to a task directed by someone else for more than a few minutes. There are few tricks and tips we use that we thought we might share with you to help your little one that may be starting school next year. ** Kids want to succeed- so if you want your child to learn to sit, attend and engage for longer periods then make the task achievable. Have them complete the puzzle for example (don’t scoop in and finish it for them - do most of it and have them do the last few pieces), they will then get the sense that THEY completed it and achieved the task - and are more likely to re- engage next time. . ** Using visual timers can assist with activity completion and sustaining attention and concentration. As the concept of time is difficult for children to grasp, having a visual timer attached to those activities where sustained attention is required is seen to have benefits in maintaining attention. These timers show kids how long they need to focus for and when the activity/ task will end. Kids are more likely to engage even in things they don’t really like - if they know it’s going to end. Combine this with a visual schedule as to what activity is coming up next for best results. ** Encourage activity completion. Have the child complete an activity before moving onto the next task..using prompts like when we finish_________ then we can ________. Make the second activity something they enjoy (and be consistent), if they blow up.... again do almost all the task and have them complete the last bit- they get success and are more likely to re- engage next time.... if you swoop in and finish it- they will soon learn if they blow up enough you will do it for them. They are clever little tuckers. ** Instructions should be clear, concise and use pictures! Take photos on your phone - get them printed at Kmart (very cheaply) OR use an app like Choiceworks to develop a schedule of activities so the child understands what the expectations are and what is coming up next or what routines look like. This will be super important in creating predictability when routines change next year as school starts. ** Movement breaks- Intersperse thinking/ structured learning activities in between sensory activities (which are generally more fun). Kids need to learn to sit but we also know they learn best when they get to move. ** Try and have a quiet room for tasks that NEED to be focussed on. It’s not always easy to block out unimportant information even when doing something that seems relatively easy to us big people so let’s help them by modifying the environment. ** Reinforce good behaviour. Develop a reward system that has achievable goals and short term rewards. If the child gets up and leaves the task, praise them for the small things like coming back to task thanks for coming back when we finish _________ next we will ___________. ** Encourage good posture with breaks. 90, 90, 90 seated posture at a desk is so important. You try and concentrate when your legs are dangling on a chair that is too big for you (like as an adult when you are on a bar stool).. I bet you constantly try and get comfortable, reposition yourself etc. this is just what kids do when their feet are not touching the ground. There is no way they can concentrate or learn like this. ** Consider the use of a move and sit cushion or vibrating cushion in class/ during meal times to assist with posture, (fidgeting) and maintaining attention and concentration. These cushions offer the movement some kids need just to be able to sit for long enough to focus without the need to get up and down constantly. ** Consider the use of weighted products (eg a weighted lap bag to be used in class and assemblies/ dinner and combine with a move n sit cushion or vibrating cushion). ** For the teachers next year - Have children who are easily distracted sit at the front for morning circle, facing forward so they a greater opportunity to focus on the teacher. When a child who is easily distracted by visual and auditory stimulation sits at the back of a group they find it extremely difficult to block out the unimportant information in the classroom and focus on the person giving the instructions. Starting school is a big deal and there are lots of skills we can work on before February 2021 which I will outline in the coming weeks. If we can’t get kids to engage and focus then learning new skills becomes super hard, hence why we starting your focus here is important.

07.01.2022 Christmas sensory! Exploring sensory as part of our ongoing advent calendar project educators created - each day exploring a Christmas related activity! What fun