We have collected 10 fun activities to inspire educators and to include in their programming leading up to Halloween on the 31st of October.  Each activity can be selected and modified to develop learning specific to the age group of the children involved.  We have plenty more clever ideas pinned on our Pinterest page if you are searching for something specific.

1 Paper Strips Halloween Pumpkin

Develop cutting skills with scissors for preschool age children by making this paper pumpkin.

Source: www.nurturestore.co.uk

2. Hand and foot painting

Make spooky Halloween inspired works of art with hand and foot prints.

Source: Unknown.

3. Cardboard tube spiders for Halloween

Cute easy to make spiders from cardboard rolls and pipe cleaners.

Source: www.creativefamilyfun.net

4. Fluffy Pumpkin Slime

Everyone loves slime and here is a pretty easy recipe to make some pumpkin inspired goop.

Source: www.iheartartsncrafts.com

5. Mummy Kids

A cut and paste activity for preschoolers.

Source:Instagram

6. Straw Skeletons

Make a skeleton from straws or cotton buds (q-tips).

Source: www.education.com

Source: www.busybeekidscraft.com

7. Pumpkin apple stamps

Use a cut apple to make a stamp and paint in the details.

Source: www.frugalmomeh.com

8. Puffy Ghosts

Glue and cotton balls, what could be more fun than that to create a super soft friendly ghost.

Source: www.thrivinghomeblog.com

9. Articulated Hand

Something for the older kids at OSHC by making a movable hand with straws and string. This requires a little bit of persistence and finger dexterity.

Source: https://gosciencekids.com/articulated-hand-movable-fingers-joints-tendons/

10. Zombie Leaf Art

Any kind of leaf will do to create scary leaf monsters.

Source: www.mothernatured.com

For more inspiring ideas on fun Halloween activities, take a look at our Pinterest page.

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Here are a couple of ideas of what makes a great early childhood educator.  While there are other attributes we thought that these were quite poetic and represented some of the great qualities that many educators collectively possess.

Please share this short video with other educators who inspire and guide learning every day of the week.

This is a planning example for an OSHC centre which has a homework group.

The educator responsible for the homework group has completed a support plan for a child (Josh) who is expected to attend homework group but is not very productive as he is easily distracted by others.

The educator has recognised there is an opportunity to provide support to Josh. A support plan for Josh is created to assist him to achieve specific NQF outcomes and his homework.

Observations can be completed to show progress in attaining achievements for the selected NQF and provide evidence for the success of the plan.

Plan Type

Support Plan

Intentionality

• To develop autonomy when in the library while completing set homework tasks.
• To develop commitment to attend the library on specified days at a set time.
• To develop the persistence to complete set tasks to the best of his ability.

NQF Outcomes

1.2 Children develop their autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency.

4.1 Children develop dispositions such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity.

Activity Description

I have noticed that Josh is distracted easily in homework group by other children and he is not completing his homework.

He is sometimes reluctant to attend and thus arrives late.

I will provide more consistent supervision and support to Josh to keep him on task.

I will find him a quite area where he can focus on the task of completing his homework.

Josh will be able to leave as soon as he has completed his homework, to play, to encourage him to be responsible for his time.

I will record progress through observation and change strategies if required.

Anzac day is a National day of remembrance to reflect on the sacrifices that were made by Australian and New Zealand men and women who served and died in all wars.

Each year on April 25th Anzac day commemorates the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces, landing on the shores of Gallipoli.

We have sourced 5 Anzac day related stories especially for children to try and help convey the importance of the day and provide information about Anzac day and the Gallipoli campaign.

My Grandad Marches on ANZAC Day

Anzac Ted

What is Anzac day?

Anzac Special: The Gallipoli Story

Simpson and his Donkey – The Donkey of Gallipoli

For many children Easter is a time of excitement and anticipation of chocolaty surprises delivered by the Easter Bunny. Traditional Easter activities usually include egg painting and Easter bonnets but we have embraced the new digital era of Easter activities. We have sourced 3 educational Easter themed apps for Apple (iOS) and Android devices for you to use, in your Easter activity programs, at your centre.

Paint on 3d Easter Eggs (iOS)

A no mess solution to Easter egg painting (not that we don’t like mess). This app is available on the app store and encourages creativity using digital finger painting to make egg-ceptional works of art. This app has a small price tag of only $0.99 and allows for finished egg master pieces to be sent to parents via email. It also does not have ads, collect or share personal information and no in app purchases!

Happy Easter Jigsaw puzzles (Android)

An Easter themed jigsaw puzzles game which can be set to a child’s skill level by choosing different puzzle sizes and difficulty. Use puzzles to help develop concentration, focus and thinking skills such as recognising, matching and sorting.

Easter Egg Matching Game (Android)

The Easter egg matching game uses colours and patterns for players to match. Match a pair or more to remove the eggs from play. A simple and fun way for children to develop skills in pattern recognition.

More Resources

If you are looking for more traditional arts and craft ideas for Easter we have pinned a number of articles to our pinterest page. You can find the inspiration at Early Childhood Educator (Pinterest)

Note: We have chosen the above apps for what we consider as meeting our criteria of being Easter themed. We are not affiliated with any of the makers of these programs and we receive no remuneration for their inclusion on our list. We cannot guarantee their suitability for your use and have no control of content within the apps or links to external sites from the apps.

Harmony day is a celebration of cultural diversity and is held on the 21st of March every year. The message for harmony day is ‘everybody belongs’ and aims to promote respect for cultural and religious diversity throughout Australia.

Orange is the representative colour of harmony day and signifies support for cultural diversity on the day.

We have sourced 5 different activities you can use to explore the concepts of harmony day at your centre.

Relevant National Quality Framework Outcomes for Harmony Day

• 2.1 Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation.
• 2.2 Children respond to diversity with respect.
• 1.4 Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect.

Intentionality for Harmony Day Activities

• Recognise and articulate differences between people.
• Explore cultural stereo types.
• Reinforce inclusion, respect and care towards others regardless of differences.

Harmony Day App

If you have an iPad you can download the Harmony Day App from the app store and watch Harmony Day Stories come to life.

1. Go to the app store and search ‘Harmony day’.
2. Download the Harmony Day Stories App.
3. Make sure you download and print a copy of the Harmony Day poster from the Harmony Day website:
   http://www.harmony.gov.au/get-involved/app-downloads.
4. Select the ‘Activate Stories’ button from the app’s home page, follow the instructions and when ready select ‘Scan’. Point the camera towards the Harmony Day poster and watch it come to life!
5. Touch the screen character tabs to activate, listen and explore the stories of Renata, Kofi and Anh.

Harmony Day Hand Art

A field of hand flowers which can be resourced for most age groups.

Activity sourced from A field of tulips.

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

This story is a story about differences and overcoming preconceptions based on stereotypes. Watch the video below.

There are multiple resources which accompany this book to further explore the main concepts. Here is one such resource NED – Never Give Up, Encourage Others, Do Your Best.

Learning to say Hello

Language can be a barrier to communication and understanding yet there are so many ways to say the same thing in different languages. Learning a different way to say hello can help break down the language barrier and assist in developing acceptance.

Credit to: Eton Institute

Harmony Day Fish

A different take on Harmony day looking at diversity through fish.

Resource can be found at Harmony Day Fish

Disclaimer: This is a paid resource which is available for purchase. We are not associated nor do we receive any remuneration for including this resource.

More Resources

We have pinned a number of other related activities to our pinterest page. You can find it at Early Childhood Educator (Pinterest)

The Australian government has a website specifically for Harmony Day. See this link: Harmony Day

St Patrick’s day is on March 17 so we have pulled together 10 easy programming ideas to help celebrate the day. While this is a religious celebration of the death of St Patrick there are a number of non religious icons which are associated with the day and can be used to extend learning while being fun.

The colour green and the shamrock are synonymous with St Patrick’s day. With a little bit of liberty, a dash of Irish folk lore, including rainbows leading to pots of gold and leprechauns are also acceptable to be used as part of the days festivities.

Here are 10 activities which could be used to theme your day.

St Patrick’s Day Sensory Soup

A very simple idea incorporating common house hold utensils some plastic coins, water and food dye.

For more details on this activity visit www.andnextcomesl.com

Leprechaun Hats

Mini Leprechaun hats are easy to make and do not require too many resources. Green paint, green, black and yellow card with some glue is all that is needed.

Further details can be obtained from www.theresourcefulmama.com

Shamrock Lacing Card

A great activity to help develop fine motor skills for children. Create a Shamrock template and use it to create any number of lacing cards. Use a hole punch to make holes around the perimeter of the card. Use wool or ribbon to thread.

Further details from www.carrotsareorange.com

Marshmallow Shamrock

A novel use for marshmallow, however this could be substituted with anything else including carrots, potatoes, a cap from a soft drink bottle or blocks to name a few. Paper and green paint and the activity is resourced.

Original content can be found at thepinterestparent

Leprechaun with a fork beard

Swap the paint brush to give a scraggly beard to a Leprechaun. Pain, paper and fork are all the resources needed.

More information can be found at craftymorning

Good Luck – Four leaf clover

Now everyone can have a lucky four leaf clover. Using a square green piece of paper fold it into four. Cut the outside edge into a heart shape and unfold.

Idea sourced from chicacircle.com

Torn Paper Leprechaun

This activity will take a little longer and require more resources than the other activities above. The face is a manilla folder cut into a face shape. Add a hat and eyes. Draw on a nose and mouth. Use torn pieces of paper to create a bushy beard.

Original instruction at ihearcraftythings.com

Handy Four Leaf Clover

Mums and Dads will love getting this St Patrick’s day keep sake from their child. It is simply four well positioned hand prints on a piece of paper using green paint.

Source unknown

St Patrick’s Day Slime

Kids love slime! Creating slime is easy but requires adult supervision and participation. Once a batch is made use it for sensory play.

Instruction to make slime can be found at litlebinsforlittlehands.com

Rainbow Necklace with a pot of gold pendant

Paper chain used to good effect to create a rainbow necklace which attaches to a pot of gold. Resources required include, glue, coloured paper cut into strips and pot of gold!

Tutorial can be located at craftymoringin.com

If you are searching for more St Patrick’s day activity ideas take a look at our new pinterest page for early childhood educators.

Observations are a value adding tool for programming within your centre, therefore observations should be used as an opportunity to take a snap shot of a situation or interaction which is noteworthy.  It is a task that should be undertaken with the required amount of effort to produce an observation of quality which will be useful for inclusion in a child’s portfolio, be informative if shared with parents and to enable further programming decisions to be made where required.

Developing observation skills is like learning any other skill.  It takes time and dedication to the task to produce relevant and accurate observations.  Continuing practice in recording observations, combined with self-reflection will improve observation skills.  Self-reflection on observations is the key to improvement. Having high expectations for the production of quality observations, in conjunction with feedback from peers, will also assist in the development of this skill.

What should be observed?

When documenting an observation, an initial assessment should be undertaken by the educator to determine the value of the interaction or situation which is being observed.

In other words does the situation have some relevance to a child’s development within the NQF or is there another compelling reason for which the observation should be recorded?

Example 1 is an observation completed by an educator.  This observation shows a minimal attempt at producing an observation.

Example 1

Jake demonstrated fair behaviour while playing games on the computer.

Analysis:

What is the reason for this observation?

It could be inferred that Jake is usually not fair in his play when on the computer.  Is this an accurate assumption for the observation?

Is fairness something that Jake usually has difficulty with while playing games on the computer or is it a challenge for all interactions for Jake?

Who else was involved in the activity?  Was the other child or children engaged with the play?  Was there any conflict resolution?  Was there any verbal interaction between Jake and others playing with him?  What actions were displayed which made the educator document that Jake was showing fair behaviour? And so on.

This observation illicits more questions than it answers and is more a comment than an observation.  Including the circumstances around the activity would provide more insight into why this observation has been made and may lead to planning and learning opportunities for Jake and others.

Example 2 is a detailed observation of the same event as example 1.  This observation includes  an account of the event with interpretation and analysis.

Example 2:

On Thursday Jake and Sam asked if they could set up the computer to play the racing car game.  This  game requires each player to choose a racing car and race against the clock around a track.  The player with the best time for the lap is the winner.  Jake had played this game before but Sam had not.  Jake showed Sam how to choose a car and customise it for best performance.  When both cars were ready to race Jake asked Sam “Would you like to go first?”.  Sam agreed and went first.  When Sam had finished Jake said “Good try”.  Jake then had a go and showed Sam how to skid around corners to keep his speed up and get a better time.  The two boys had several more turns each until their computer time limit was reached.  Jake showed great maturity and demonstrated his awareness of fairness (NQF outcome 2.3) in helping Sam.

Analysis:

The interaction between the two boys was described in sufficient detail so that the reader is aware of the entire scenario.  Including quotes of important parts of the conversation between the two boys reinforces the conclusion of the educator.  Finishing with an opinion and linking it to the NQF shows the relevance and the purpose of the observation.

You may also like to read 7 steps to better documentation.