Kindermusik with Natasha

Music in early learning Amy Rothe shares practical ways in which educators can facilitate teaching of music in early learning settings.

Welcome to September!

This month, the Home Literacy Calendar features activities that will encourage the early literacy skill of Narrative Skills,

A child with Narrative Skills has the ability to understand and tell stories, as well as being able to describe things and events.

Reading and telling stories will help a young child to understand how stories are put together. Describing the narrative of your day will introduce your baby or toddler to lots of new words as well as teaching them the sequence of everyday routines.

Eventually, these skills will help your child to recount their days spent at school, understand what they read and be a storyteller and writer themselves.

Download your copy of the September Home Literacy Calendar from the Better Beginnings website:
https://www.better-beginnings.com.au/read-watch-and-play/home-literacy-calendar

Talk with your children about all the foods you eat that are made from miilk.

This week is National Science Week. This week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology and the theme is "Food: Different by Design".

Visit the National Science Week website for activities and events: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/

The August edition of the Better Beginnings Home Literacy Calendar is now available!

August is a month to celebrate National Science Week and Children's Book Week.

The calendar has tips for parents to read, talk, sing, write and play through the whole month.

Download your copy from here: https://www.better-beginnings.com.au/read-watch-and-play/home-literacy-calendar

State Library of Western Australia Rio Tinto Telethon Kids Institute Bright Tomorrows Playgroup WA Paint the Cape REaD Paint the Swan Read Paint Kwinana REaD Perth Kidz kids-around-perth.com

Worrying about things that are not in our control drains our energy and makes us feel powerless. Focusing on the things we can control helps us manage our energy and develop a strong mindset. What can you let go of today in order to help yourself?
WholeHearted School Counseling

Download your copy of the July edition of the Better Beginnings calendar from our website now: https://www.better-beginnings.com.au/read-watch-and-play/home-literacy-calendar

Each month the calendar includes tips and ideas to help parents make reading, talking, singing, writing and playing a part of their every day life.

Those five simple things, done every day, will help children be ready to learn to read by the time they start school.

State Library of Western Australia Rio Tinto Telethon Kids Institute Bright Tomorrows Playgroup WA Paint the Town REaD Paint the Cape REaD Paint the Swan REaD Paint Kwinana REaD Perth Kidz kids-around-perth.com

A Mighty Girl Pick of the Day: "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman. Maria Merian loved to observe the natural world, and she loved to draw the things she saw. But, in the 17th century, everyone thought it was a bit strange that she had any interest in bugs: after all, everyone knew that bugs were "beasts of the devil," spontaneously generated out of dirt and mud. What could there possibly be to learn? Merian, however, thought there might be interesting scientific discoveries to be found in these strange, ugly creatures... and as she studied and drew, she became the first person to document a miraculous transformation: the metamorphosis of a butterfly!

In this stunning book, Newbery Honor-winning author Joyce Sidman creates an intriguing portrait of a woman who defied both scientific authorities and social convention in pursuit of knowledge. Accompanying her detailed text are vibrant full-color illustrations drawn from Merian's own work, as well as archival images and photographs of some of the plants, insects, and animals that Merian studied. Together, they create an exceptional visual biography of one of the 17th century's most daring women scientists. Highly recommended for ages 10 and up.

"The Girl Who Drew Butterflies" is available at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-girl-who-drew-butterflies

Young readers can learn about Merian in the two inspiring picture books, "The Bug Girl" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-bug-girl) and "Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian" for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/summer-birds)

Her story is also told along with two other pioneering female scientists in the free verse novel "Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science" for ages 9 to 14 at https://www.amightygirl.com/finding-wonders

For two fantastic books for adults about Maria Merian, we recommend "Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis" (https://www.amightygirl.com/chrysalis) and "A Butterfly Journey: Maria Sibylla Merian, Artist and Scientist" (https://www.amightygirl.com/a-butterfly-journey)

For young bug lovers, there is also a fun Entomologist Doll and Playset for ages 3 to 7 at https://www.amightygirl.com/entomologist-doll

The June edition of the Better Beginnings Home Literacy Calendar is available now from the Better Beginnings website: https://www.better-beginnings.com.au/read-watch-and-play/home-literacy-calendar

The focus early literacy component for June is Background Knowledge. Our posts on the @ Better Beginnings page and the Better Beginnings Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/betterbeginnings_slwa/ will expand on the calendar content.

You are welcome to share the calendar on your social media or print off copies from the Better Beginnings website to distribute in your library

Try the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method to focus your mind. This technique can help adults and children learn to be present in the moment and pull away from negative or challenging emotions.
WholeHearted School Counseling

Finding ways to extend the experience of a loved book into play experiences is a great way to promote a love of books.

Collect toys, pictures or other objects that are in stories your child has particularly enjoyed. For example, find toy animals or animal pictures that represent as many of the animals from "Dear Zoo" by Rod Campbell.

Help your child retell the story or talk about what happened in the story together. You could talk about the sizes and shapes of boxes you would need to send each animal. Which would need the biggest box? Or the tallest? The smallest?

Ask your child to put the items in the same order as they appear in the story. Which animal did the zoo send first? Next? Last?

"Dear Zoo" is published by Macmillan Children's Books

Pan Macmillan Australia

The Best STEM Books and STEAM Books for Kids

https://leftbraincraftbrain.com/the-best-stem-books-steam-books-for-kids/

The kids are gonna love these books! They make perfect gifts that keep on giving all year long.

Each time you cuddle with your baby while you are reading to them, you are building an association with warmth and comfort and reading.

From the earliest weeks of life, you can start to grow your child's life-long love of reading by making reading time warm, loving and fun.

Chose times where you and your baby are calm and settled to share books and don't worry if you have to stop before the end of a book because your baby has had enough! Just try again later!

Sit together so that your baby can see your face as well as the book. They learn lots from your facial expressions as well as the expression in your voice.

Today we would love to invite you to PLAY with your child!

Have you ever made a rhyming basket? Can you find things that rhyme and put them all in a basket? You could use the laundry basket, a box, anything really, just something to collect everything. Have some fun pulling it all back out and saying it and listening to the rhyming sounds.

What's in your rhyming basket?