Emily Millward Early Childhood Teachers Page in Elwood, Victoria, Australia | Educational consultant

Emily Millward Early Childhood Teachers Page

Locality: Elwood, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 414 955 537

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24.01.2022 Every morning my 4 and 5 year olds say our Acknowledgement of country and we have brief and sometimes longer discussions about what it means to be on Wurundjeri land. We talk about why it’s important that we respect the land and everything that lives on it, and how we can live on the land in ways that respect the traditional owners of this land. We are told to bring Indigenous perspectives into our classroom, but I don’t do it because I’m told, I do it because I have heart, ...because I can’t pretend to understand what it must be like to have your land taken and changed in such significant ways, to have your people hurt and taken, and to have significant sites that held so much meaning to your community destroyed so that another group of people could build things that they want. So I teach the children to please not take from another without fist asking because you don’t know what significance the item might hold in another’s eyes. Talking about trees in our local area a five year old said the other day ‘we can’t chop the trees down, the animals live there’. The world cried when the Norte Dame burned down last year, something of great cultural significance. These trees are of similar significance to our Indigenous community and unlike the Notre Dame which can be rebuilt the trees cannot be replaced. I will continue to educate the next generation on this, and we can only hope that future generations will make better decisions than ours. I would like to believe in the words of a friend who recently passed that ‘Love is the Answer’ and that with love and compassion for our traditional land owners these sacred trees will be protected. People are going out to the site today. Whatever your beliefs or opinions, think about those who cried for the Notre Dame, think about any significant item in your life that has been lost and how it made you feel. I will post a video below that gives more information for those who are interested.

20.01.2022 This year has been a big year of art for my class. One of our parents is an artist from New York and early in the year he stayed for a day and painted a picture for the children. We followed on from this by catching a tram into the city and visiting the art gallery. We saw the 'Whistlers Mother' exhibition which inspired many 'mother' paintings back at kinder. Some of the children then attended an art exhibition at a local primary school and said they wanted to have their own exhibition at kinder. Our exhibition will be held on Monday. The children created a variety of unique pieces over many weeks including sculptures, drawings, paintings and origami.

18.01.2022 As adults we need to develop a deep respect for our children as human beings, who are growing and learning and just trying their darn best to get by just like the rest of us. As children begin to explore their world, so to do they begin to explore their emotions, peoples reactions to their emotions and a variety of behaviors that go along with these emotions. As they get older, we think the ball game changes and that they should learn to follow certain rules, and yes of cours...e they are learning to follow rules all the time, but whilst the ball game does change, so to, do new challenges present themselves in your child’s life. Children like adults will have their good days, and their harder days, they learn through experimentation and yes sometimes it takes some action and then reflection for them to realize perhaps they didn’t make the best choice in a particular moment. But to respect our children at the deepest level is to provide time and space for them to explore what are often natural experimental behaviors and natural consequences of these behaviors. As soon as we say things like ‘Santa won’t come if you misbehave’ we move away from exploring the natural consequences and an important opportunity for learning is lost. True learning and self awareness can only occur when children learn that they do things, not so they can get presents on Christmas day, but so they are contributing to the greater good of society, even be it the mini society in your house. If your child hits you for example I am always your Mum and always your friend but right now I don’t feel like being friendly because my arm hurts where it was hit gives a child great reference for reflection, mummy isn’t feeling friendly because she was hit rather than I’m not getting presents, I want presents which has nothing to do with what happened. A natural consequence in that if you hit people they won’t necessarily feel very friendly toward you and perhaps you need to do something to make things better, something else to explore with your child after you have told them how you are feeling. Christmas like any festive time can be very busy, and we all from time to time find it easier to throw out a threat (often a false one that we know we can’t follow through with). But we need to remember, one day your child will be big enough and old enough to buy their own Christmas presents, and no amount of threats will matter any more. But will your child understand the importance of making positive contributions to our society?

17.01.2022 In Early Childhood settings we have such a strong focus on fostering each child's unique sense of identity. Providing an environment where the children can develop an understanding of their identity and connect to this, is one of our highest priorities and links to how we build relationships with children and their families. In our settings the children are able to express their own identities in all that they do particularly as our programs are open ended with a big focus o...n creative arts and following children's interests. They also explore other identities through role play. As my class begin their transition to school I was rather disheartened when a girl returned from her first orientation day and announced sadly "they only have dresses at school". A girl who has never worn a dress to kinder. How is it that we spend so much time nurturing their individual identities and then in the blink of an eye they are in school and they are suddenly lumped into a box, a gender based category that says a girl will wear a dress and a boy will wear shorts. I'm hoping this school stands alone and that this is no longer the norm. For all the work that we do in the Early Years I can only hope it is carried on through their education.

17.01.2022 Children are far more capable than we will ever know, we just need to provide the space for them to show us... Two weeks ago a parent came to kinder and read the very old and simple children’s book ‘In a Dark, Dark Wood’ that takes the children to a house, behind a door, into a cupboard and into a box. The dark dark box can contain anything ‘spooky’ and the children love guessing what might be inside. I loosely suggested the children could make their own Dark Dark books but d...idn’t set up an area for them to do this, and as it turns out I’m glad I never do such things because it would have had the potential to limit the children’s creativity to the resources I set out. Two weeks on, and a little boy sat at the painting table for about an hour, working on several paintings which he then proceeded to stick together to make a book. He asked me to write the words, and as he began to tell me the story I realized he had made his own version of the ‘Dark Dark’ book. He had painted the forest, the house, the door, the dark dark cupboard, the dark dark box...and in the dark dark box, there was a dark dark... BEAR!!!!! He had even pasted a pocket onto the page to represent the box, and a drawing of a bear could be pulled out of the pocket! As children start their transition to school and bring back to kinder the almost ‘obligatory’ piece of structured art I have to reflect.... There are so many ways to extend upon the ‘Elmer the Elephant Book’. As adults we can think of many examples we could show the children, but equally we know that if we let the children show us themselves they will achieve far more than any pre-planned, pre-drawn, pre-cut out activity where everyone is expected to do the same. The first child to produce a ‘Dark Dark Book’ set an example to the other children of how a variety of resources can be accessed around the room (drawing, painting, cutting, and pasting) to create a book and now many other children have started making their own books, following his example but adding their own creative flare, and with every new book we see, another level of creativity has been added. This photo is not of the dark, dark book, but it’s another example of children using multiple mediums to express their ideas and practice a wide range of skills.

17.01.2022 It's that time of year where in the lead up to Christmas there is lots of Christmas craft going on in kindergartens and I thought it a good time to share this little story and reflection on my practice. Over the years I have become a very strong advocate of the children always using their own creativity to do their own work. Anyone who steps into my classroom, new staff, student teachers etc are given the drill, "hands in your pockets at the pasting table, we never do for th...Continue reading

16.01.2022 Today a Miss 5 in my class made this beautiful story book. I’m not sure why it touched my heart so much, but I have to say it touched me in quite a profound way. Beautiful illustrations and an uncomplicated story about a girl and her bird. We can get so caught up in the complexities of life, and this story reminded me that so much happiness can be found in the simple things. Take a few deep breaths before you read it, slip into the moment, and enjoy the illustrations, some serious modern art coming through here....

15.01.2022 I love this post so much. It’s the simple things, young children can do most things for themselves if we are patient and give them time to practice. The more we do for children the less opportunities we give them to learn to do for themselves...

13.01.2022 When learning is overly structured we only allow the children to express a small part of themselves that fits within that structure. However when learning is completely open ended the children use and show all of their capabilities Emily Millward You can’t plan for this stuff and neither should you... This year some of the children have been working in the woodwork area on a project to build a house. One of the boys was looking through a book about tools, and he made this ...poster to show all the tools he was using in this building. Look at his planning and organization skills, visual representation skills, use of literacy, thinking skills. Education is about providing the right tools and resources, in an environment that promotes the children’s agency. The children themselves will do the rest. Let them show you how truly capable they are! Oh and yes the children use real saws and hammers at kinder!

13.01.2022 One of my little Miss Preppies came back to visit kinder tonight. She had a very stern look on her face when I asked her how school was going and spoke in a very serious voice... They make us sit on the carpet and listen, they tell us what we have to do, and what we are not allowed to do, even if we were not going to do that, they tell us anyway, then we have to do the thing they told us to do. It’s not like kinder at all, did I mention they are always telling us what we ar...e not supposed to do? A bit taken aback I asked this avid story teller if she has continued to write story books... We don’t get to write story books, we just have to do what ever they tell us to do I take her concerns very seriously. The children in my class at the moment are drawing pictures of Tawny Frogmouths after one landed on our fence, they are also drawing Owls, they are exploring crystals and gemstones, planting and growing, thinking about how clouds are formed, they are making story books, books about jungle animals, they are learning about pets such as cats and dogs, and discovering how to care for the environment whilst considering how the traditional land owners would have done so, the list could go on but I will stop there. Oh and that is just what we are learning about this week. What is the purpose of an education system that stunts the children’s own questions, curiosities, creativity, initiative, problem solving skills, and higher order thinking skills, in favor of every child doing not just the same activity, but being told precisely what to do and what not to do in that activity to complete it in a way that is pleasing for the teacher? If you put boundaries on children’s learning they will conform to those boundaries and you will never see how truly capable they are.

13.01.2022 HOLY MOLY! Music truly is bringing us together in a beautiful way isn't it?! Australian Film producer Diana Fisk has put together this epic compilation of our v...oices, faces, and loving well wishes, and has created a seriously heartwarming lil piece of magic! Plus, she's going to keep working on this as more of you join the #EveryLittleCell movement. Want to be featured on her film? Just sing this little ditty either on your facebook account, with the tag #EveryLittleCell (maybe email [email protected] if you have a private account) OR on your insta feed with the tag #EveryLIttleCell and either @allisondavies.comlau or @Dianafisk so we can find you! Every voice is important - Every voice is uplifting - Every voice is uniting us. And I'm just feeling SO freakin' humbled that this is all unfolding on my sacred little space here. What a wonderful community we are! Challenge your selves to sing, challenge your friends to sing, be brave. Your voice is beautiful!! xxx

12.01.2022 Pasting Area, Collage Area, Box Construction Area, I never know what to call this area and yet so much amazing stuff happens here! In this area it’s always completely open ended. All of our craft is open ended including craft for special events. We never do for the children we only ever demonstrate how, how they can do it for themselves. Because when adults do for children, the only thing they teach them is that they can’t do it themselves. Even for the child who hits up th...e unsuspecting adult to draw the outline for a car, when the adult draws that car it only reaffirms what the child had already told themselves, ‘I don’t know how to do it’. Then let me tell you they won’t know how to draw a car like an adult so we have also just demonstrated something they won’t be able to recreate, further affirming that they can’t do it. Allowing the child to draw the car themselves, however that drawing comes out shows them they could achieve it and did! So I beg you to question when your child brings home ‘perfect’ art and craft, carefully cut with all items well placed, who did this craft (probably an adult) and what did your child actually learn from it? Because children’s own art is far from an adults perception of perfect, yet it’s perfectly imperfect in all the right ways because it’s a great demonstration of your child’s creativity and thought processes. A colleague of mine said put your hands in your pockets when you go near the craft table and it’s so true, our hands are not required around children’s art, and replacing our hands with questions posed to the child, they are usually able to problem solve themselves as they come across obstacles with how to create a particular shape, or how to attach a particular item. We see the most amazing creations every day in this area, which are often shared with the class via the ‘sharing box’ where children put work they want to show the class at mat time. The sharing box creates an opportunity for me to demonstrate particular skills to all of the children as we look at how a child made the legs for their dog or attached the wings for their plane. This sharing time has so many other benefits too, allowing for a show and tell experience, speaking in front of the class, it creates a situation where children see what others are doing and so get ideas of things they can do, and most importantly ideas of how they can do. In an open ended environment with so many tools and resources available the demonstrating of how these areas can be used is so important, particularly for children who may feel anxious or overwhelmed. So please meet Billy and please excuse his perfectly cut hands they were donated with our box donations this week and fitted perfectly to this creation.

09.01.2022 Just yesterday I was talking to my partner about the impact of advertising on young minds and the subliminal messages they receive about the world around them. We commented that even while limiting screen time children are still subjected to masses of advertising each day. Then today out of the blue Mr 5 writes this. I asked Mr 5, what have you written? He sounded it out and said "sixpo" I asked him why he chose to write that.... Mr 5 "I saw it on a sign on the way to kinder" Advertising... I wonder what the image on the Sexpo billboard was and what underlying message this is sending our children even if they are too young to read the word. I finished the conversation with Mr 5 by saying "make sure you remember to tell Mum and Dad that's where you learnt to write that word"

09.01.2022 Wedding Bells When Mr 5 came to kinder with a new hair cut Miss 5 said "he looks so good someone should marry him, in fact, I'm going to marry him" Mr 5 accepted the proposal saying "I will marry her because she is funny and she is always kind to the other children"... The children created these wonderful outfits for the Bride and Groom and a wonderful celebration was had.

09.01.2022 My Kindergarten Program: I’m going to start sharing some of the fundamentals of my kinder program in a hope that it might inspire others. I’m not starting from the beginning, they will just be little snap shots along the way, that will hopefully eventually build a bigger picture of what I do. So what really is going on in my program? Let me tell you, that for a program that is generally very free flowing, this free flow is underpinned by equally a lot of structure that holds ...it all together. I set each area of the room up to be truly inviting. Children’s investigations of any kind are serious business, every area has pencils, clip boards, books, ways for them to engage in both literacy and numeracy, science, and social skills. The block area has tape measures, spirit levels, we attached it to the woodwork area, and it has real saws now and hammers, and a variety of loose parts for the children to work with. The tower in the picture below might look quite simple to you, but what interested me about this tower was that the boys working in this area built a library, fitted out even with its own car park. What prompted them to build a library? We go to the library sometimes to borrow books said Mr 5, so when I saw the picture of the library I thought to build one I stuck up pictures of common buildings we find in communities earlier in the term when the children were building, very nice buildings, without any identification as to what type of a building it was. Now with these prompts available the children are discussing what they are going to build before they even start, talking about the features and functions of the buildings they want to create and then on some occasions taking down clipboards and drawing pictures of what they would like to create before they begin. The children have been building libraries and churches and petrol stations. The building process involves the use of both dramatic play, numeracy, and problem solving skills together, as the children with serious faces diligently pull out tape measures and take measurements of each wall, writing the numbers they see onto clip boards. They delegate roles and responsibilities, wear hard hats and fluro vests and take photos of their finished product so they can make posters and document the features of their buildings. All of this evolves spontaneously in the children’s own play, prompted only by the resources provided and the occasional demonstration of how to use particular resources at mat time.

08.01.2022 I offer paint in pumps, the children choose their own colours and pump it onto pallets. They have access to a wide range of brushes and stampers, rollers and scrapers and can access a wide range of tools independently. The group of 4 who created this masterpiece called it a Unicorn, and in the beginning it did somewhat take the shape of a unicorn. But as their experimentation with different colours applied with a range of tools continued, the unicorn slipped into the backgro...und and this great masterpiece began to unfold. Using every piece of equipment at hand, including their hands, pumping paint on mass, often directly onto their hands, and talking about the textures they were creating, the shapes, patterns, and the feel, the 4 children worked excitedly as a team for about half an hour. An explosion of creativity, experimentation, team work, and concentration. Opportunities to truly create with the freedoms that come with being 5 years old and being trusted as capable and competent with open access to all the tools they could possibly want. I think all of life should be this free, be this fun!

08.01.2022 Some amazing teachers, educating Kindergarten children about disabilities. Have a watch and vote for them in this film festival. Kindergarten education at its finest.

07.01.2022 This child is two and a half! Children are completely capable, we just need to allow.

07.01.2022 If you are homeschooling at the moment my heart goes out to you. As a teacher I can only begin to understand how hard it must be to homeschool and work at the same time. That said I was reading some articles and I want people to think about this for a moment. If you and your partner are both working the same amount of hours per week from home are you both contributing to homeschooling in equal amounts? If one is full time and the other is part time are you averaging it out a...nd doing your share? Think about this, your partners job is important, they probably wouldn’t be working unless your family needed the money, or maybe the money isn’t needed but it helps to maintain the things you love doing. Irrelevant of what your partner earns, their job status or if they are full or part time, you both need to be contributing your fair share to at home learning, cooking and cleaning and everything in-between during these difficult times. I’m sure there are heaps of couples who are sharing the load or other situations where one partner has stepped up generously to take leave from their job or work after hours. Please consider if you are doing your bit, because equality is so important, for you, your partner and for what it will teach your children.

07.01.2022 My wife wrote a story for our 2 year old son about the coronavirus to help him understand what was going on. It was amazing to see this little man engage with t...he story and show a new level of understanding about the important issues in his life that were making him upset (lack of playgrounds and missing grandparents). It has made a big difference to our son so she decided to share this story with others in the hope that it may help others. We hope you enjoy it and get something out of this too. See more

06.01.2022 The class of 2019 warning my heart and giving me hope for the future *please note names have been removed for privacy reasons.