Early Years Magazine, Issue 3, 2010 - Aleesah Darlison

Issue 3 2010 

FREE 

Fun with Science 

Experiments you 

can try at home 

Boys & Communication 

Understanding boys 

Travel 

The great 

Australian 

Outback 

Experience 

What is 

a Puggle? 

We find out! 

Madame Trash’s 

Pirate Island 

Transform your 

backyard into a 

Pirate Party 

Wonderland

Welcome 

Hi Everyone, 

WOW! Since our last issue we have 

had a switch of Prime Ministers, an 

Election with the result of a hung 

Parliament and now we have our first 

ever female Prime Minister who just 

scraped in. There will be lots of changes 

coming up for families and the Early 

Childhood and Education sectors in 

2011. We will aim to keep you up to date 

with relevant information in our 

publications and also on our website. 

We have a surprising new Minister for 

Early Childhood and Youth, the Hon. Peter 

Garrett AM MP, which could in fact be a 

very good thing. He has always had an 

interest in Educational Policy and his 

passion for the Arts and Environmental 

Issues can only be a great thing for our 

schools since talk of “NAPLAN” is wearing 

thin for everyone involved. Change is 

unsettling but it is also a positive move. 

Contents 

Features 

Regular sections 

1 Editorial 

2 Bits & Pieces – the latest news 

and events 

14 Safer Water, Safer Kids – water 

safety with Siria Thomas 

24 Bush Babies – the joy of life and 

kids with Rachael Mogan 

24 Book Reviews – Sandy Fussell 

reviews the latest books for children 

Publisher: Marie Smith 

Editor: Peta Bowler 

Feature writers: Marie Smith, NCAC, 

Kim Miller, Cancer Council, Julie Murphy, 

Scott McRae, Marie Smith. 

Contributors: Sandy Fussell, Maria Mitzikis, 

Rachael Mogan, Siria Thomas, Madame 

Trash. 

I for one am looking forward to seeing 

what changes are brought about with a 

new line up of officials and Education at 

the front of the line for discussion. 

Hopefully some issues such as Childhood 

Obesity, Drugs and Bullying can really 

start to be dealt with. 

September will bring in the first South 

Coast Children’s Festival. A collaborative 

project between the Merrigong Theatre 

and Illawarra Childrens Services, the 

festival will be a fantastic 3 day long nonstop 

event of creative fun for children, 

families and professionals. The Creativity 

Conference kicks off the Festival for 

educators with a fabulous line up of 

renowned mentors. There are still places 

available with the offer of 3 paying staff 

from a service receiving a 4th enrollment 

for FREE. To register online for the 

conference go to www.ics.org.au/ 

creativityconference 

8 10 20 

The next step is ‘big school’ – preparing 

your child for the transition to school 

Boys & Communication – 

understanding the language of boys. 

25 The Food Muse – healthy food 

options for kids with Maria Mitzikis 

26 Madame Trash – creative ideas on 

how to reuse and recycle your junk. 

28 Cooking with Charlie 

Education 

7 Fun with Science – letting kids 

explore the world around them. 

Books 

23 Maisy has a Birthday – celebrate 

20 years of Maisy Mouse. 

Photography: Marie Smith, 

gs graphic design 

Early Years Magazine 

PO Box 102, Austinmer NSW 2515 

www.earlyyearscare.com.au 

Editorial enquiries: 

editor@earlyyearscare.com.au 

For the rest of the South Coast 

Children’s Festival program go to www. 

southcoastchildrensfestival.com.au 

Lets all pull together and support this 

great event. Normally we would have to 

travel some distance for an event such 

as this. The coordinators have worked 

hard to put this together, let’s help them 

make it a success. 

We have some great things 

happening on the South Coast with Viva 

La Gong coming up as well. We are 

lucky to live in such a cultural city with 

people always striving to make it better. 

We still have that community feeling that 

many people make the big ‘sea change’ 

for, yet we are still placing our city on the 

map as a vibrant and happening place to 

be. Im glad this is home for my girls and 

myself and will continue to feel grateful 

every day. 

Marie Smith 

What is a Puggle? – we uncover the 

mystery of this cute critter. 

Health 

13 Saving our Children’s Skin – a 

message from the Cancer Council. 

Travel 

16 Bringing out the YeeHaaa in You 

– Scott has a true Outbck 

Experience. 

Pets 

19 Kids & Dogs – how to have a 

lifetime of happy canine 

experiences . 

Our Cover. Lola Worsley is the artist of our cover this issue. Lola has just turned four years old. She painted this 

picture to exhibit at the Bulli Show where she received a Highly Commended Certificate. Lola loves Mermaids, 

dancing and dress ups. We loved Lola’s use of bright colours and patterns—perfect for our magazine.. 

Advertising enquiries: 

ads@earlyyearscare.com.au 

Art direction: gs graphic design 

(smiths52@bigpond.net.au) 

Published by Early Years Care. 

(ABN 33 779 348 909). No material may 

be reproduced in part or in whole without 

written consent from the copyright holders. 

©2010 Early Years Care. All rights reserved.

Theatre and Shenanigans 

An Innovative School Holidays 

Event at the IPAC Theatre 

Three talented young actor/ 

comedians, Toby Coy, Marion Brown 

and Bro Reveleigh will run a one day 

theatre and shenanigans workshop at 

the IPAC’s Gordon Theatre as part of 

the South Coast Children’s Festival on 

September 29. 

The actors will engage children 

aged between 8 and 12 years with a 

tour of the theatre with the IPAC 

technician, theatre sport warm ups, 

comedy games and intensive 

rehearsals. 

Toby, Bro and Marion will direct 

groups of kids in short 10-minute 

performances, devised by the children 

and based on ‘a mystery prop’. The 

KIDS ART AND PLAY 

Children just love to draw, paint and generally make a 

mess with art materials! They also enjoy music, dancing, 

story time and discovering new activities. 

Most creative arts programs though are aimed for 

three years and above so qualified and highly trained 

teacher Jenny Mitrevski saw a niche for an innovative 

program targeted towards younger children. 

Kids Art and Play was created after Jenny recognised 

a need for childhood development for these earlier years. 

The emphasis is on art and creativity for eight-month-old 

babies to three-year-old children. 

The stimulating classes are designed to encourage 

young children’s growth in a fun learning environment. 

Classes are all run by Jenny and have been 

professionally designed and structured for this age group 

with a focus on parent/carer interaction. 

“Kids Art and Play classes are jam-packed with lots of 

fun and stimulating activities including a combination of 

art and craft, music with songs and instruments, dancing 

and movement, story time, self exploration and discovery 

through play, parachute time and the development of fine 

and gross motor skills,” Jenny said. 

“Many different types of items, instruments and 

materials are used to make a great learning and sensory 

experience for each child. 

children will perform for their parents at 

pick up time on stage using the 

theatre’s special effects—smoke 

machines, mirror balls and exotic 

lighting. 

Jennine Primmer, who developed 

the program, said holding the day as 

part of the festival will add to the overall 

experience for the children. 

“All weekend, the children will have 

the opportunity to be involved in 

hands-on, creative activities and watch 

theatre shows directed and performed 

by exceptional theatre companies. This 

workshop is an extension of their 

experience allowing them to engage in 

acting, performance, lighting and script 

writing.” 

“This is the fourth time we have run 

the Theatre and Shenanigans 

workshop during school holidays with 

the support of IPAC. It is always a 

great, exhausting day. The children and 

parents all get a real buzz from the final 

live performance and it is always 

amazing to see what can be achieved 

in such a small time frame.” 

For more information about the 

South Coast Children’s Festival visit 

www.merrigong.com.au/whats-on/ 

south-coast-childrens-festival. 

News at Illawarra 

Children’s Services 

The new skoolzout School 

Holiday Program (for ages 5-12) 

kicks off on 27 September, at Albion 

Park, Balarang, Bulli, Fairy Meadow, 

Flinders, Thirroul, Unanderra, West 

Wollongong, Wollongong East, Aspect 

(Corrimal) and Para Meadows. 

Check it out at www.ics.org.au/ 

school-holidays 

School Holiday Program (for 

ages 5-13) 

First week of the School Holidays 

(27-29 September) at Artspace, Shop 

3, 98 Railway Street, Corrimal 

Workshops include: 

f Monday 27 September 

Stick drawing and stick: Collage 

and Drawing, 10am-12noon (ages 

5-8yrs) 

“All classes have a weekly theme. 

This theme allows children to discover 

and explore the presented topic through 

a variety of learning styles.” 

Kids Art and Play are committed to 

providing a high quality program. All 

musical instruments and art and craft items are of a high 

quality. 

All children are provided with their own musical 

instruments and art and craft tools – time is precious and 

not wasted waiting to take turns! 

“Class sizes are kept small with a maximum of 10 in each 

class to maximise the children’s experience,” Jenny said. 

“Kids Art and Play supply everything so parents don’t 

need to worry about the mess! “Art smocks as well as 

other facilities are provided to clean up after the fun.” 

Special offer! Kids Art and Play are now taking 

enrolments for Term 4 but if you enrol for Term 4 with a 

friend you both receive $10 off. 

The business also offers half price for siblings so that 

is quite a saving. 

Classes are run from Thirroul District Community 

Centre and Library. 

Please contact Jenny on 0412 218 890 or 

kidsartandplay@gmail.com or for further information visit 

www.kidsartandplay.com

Modern Monochrome Masters: 

Sculptural Painting, 1pm-3pm 

(ages 9-13yrs) 

f Tuesday 28 September 

In An Octopus’ Garden: Printing 

and Drawing,10am-12noon (ages 

5-8yrs) 

Print Techniques: Printing and 

Drawing,1pm-3pm (ages 9-13yrs) 

f Wednesday 29 September 

All Things Big: Painting and 

Drawing,10am-12noon (ages 

5-8yrs) 

Out Of This World: Sculpture,1pm- 

3pm (ages 9-13yrs) 

Cost is $20 p/class (includes all art 

supplies). Bookings essential, call 

Artspace on 4283 9967. 

Illawarra Children’s Services is a 

not-for-profit community organisation 

that has been providing services to 

children (0-12 years) and their families 

for over 26 years, and operates 26 

services in the local area. For more 

information, visit www.ics.org.au. 

Viva La Gong 

The 2010 festival will 

take place on Saturday, 

6 November. 

Viva la Gong is 

Wollongong’s premier 

celebration of creativity, 

diversity, innovation and community. 

For further details go to www. 

vivalagongfestival.org 

Early Years Learning 

Framework Workshops 

Coming to Warrawong! Book now! 

The Early Years Learning 

Framework (EYLF) describes the 

principles, practice and outcomes 

essential to support and enhance 

young children’s 

learning from birth 

to five years of age, 

as well as their 

transition to school. 

The Framework 

has a strong 

emphasis on playbased 

learning as 

play is the best 

vehicle for young 

children’s learning 

providing the 

most appropriate stimulus for brain 

development. The Framework also 

recognises the importance of 

communication and language 

(including early literacy and numeracy) 

and social and emotional development. 

The Early Childhood Training And 

Resource Centre (ECTARC) is bringing 

Joy Lubawy to Wollongong in 

November to present a series of 

exciting new workshops that focus on 

EYLF topics. Joy Lubawy is a vibrant, 

passionate lady that entertains while 

she educates those that attend her 

workshops. These EYLF workshops 

are an essential professional 

development activity for anyone in the 

early childhood industry. Interested 

parents and those on parent 

committees are also welcome to 

attend. The following workshops will be 

held at the ECTARC Training Centre at 

Warrawong (located behind Harvey 

Norman). For more information visit the 

website www.ectarc.com.au or call 

4223 1111. 

f A bucket full of good ideas for 

successful group time – 2 

November 2010 (6.30 pm – 9.30 

pm) 

f EYLF: Painting a Picture. What 

Does it Look Like?- 3 November 

2010 (9.30 am - 12.30 pm) 

f EYLF: The Outdoor Learning 

Program - 3 November 2010 (1.30 

pm - 4.00 pm) 

Funding for early 

childhood staff training 

There are many people working in 

early childhood centres with many 

years experience but they do not hold 

formal qualifications. ECTARC has 

been allocated funding to provide 

training to existing workers for the 

Certificate III in Children’s Services, 

Diploma of Children’s Services (Early 

childhood education and care) and the 

Certificate IV in Children’s Services 

(Outside school hours care). These 

training opportunities are offered as a 

distance training program and students 

receive ongoing support from a 

committed team of ECTARC Training 

Officers. For more information on 

these training opportunities visit www. 

ectarc.com.au

The South Coast Illawarra 

Branch of the Children’s 

Book Council What’s on? 

CHRISTMAS DINNER 

Bookings are now being taken for 

the South Coast Illawarra Branch of the 

CBCA annual Christmas Dinner at Villa 

D’Oro, Wollongong, on Wednesday 10 

November at 7pm. The incredibly 

talented Glenda Millard who has 

two Honor books on this 

year’s CBCA Book of the Year Awards 

will be the special guest speaker. The 

3-course dinner plus tea/coffee costs 

$45 ph. An auction of signed children’s 

books and a raffle will be held on the 

night. 

Bookings are essential and close 

on Friday 29 October. For enquiries, 

ring Di Bates 4284 3020 or dibates@ 

enterprisingwords.com 

HSC ENGLISH EXTENSION 2 DAY 

– 1 December 2010 

Last December, the CBCA local 

branch ran a full day of lectures for 

students of English Extension 2 in 

the broader Illawarra area. Over 100 

students, teachers and interested 

parents attended. Response was so 

Congratulations! 

Short Street Occasional Care 

Centre received the Australian 

College of Educators 2010 Award for 

Outstanding Achievement in 

Education for their commitment to 

providing high quality education to 

pre-school age children and their 

families, sustainable and earth 

friendly practices, support for children 

with special needs and their special 

contribution as a mentor centre in the 

University of Wollongong Faculty of 

Education’s Professional Partners 

Program. 

Short Street Occasional Care 

Centre provides unique and flexible 

education and care for children aged 

0-5 years. The service has been 

operating in the local community for 

14 years open Monday to Friday 

8.30am to 4.30pm, located at 18 

Short Street Corrimal. Short Street 

OCC is a community owned, not for 

profit service managed by IACC. 

IACC manages 10 early childhood 

EY4 

positive that it was decided to offer the 

day again this year. 

The event will be held on 

Wednesday, 1 December at Edmund 

Rice College and will commence with 

registration at 8:45am, and finish at 

3:00pm. The local CBCA branch has 

enlisted the services of Don Carter, 

BOS Head Inspector of English, and 

Tony Britten, Coordinator of English at 

SCEGGS Darlinghurst. Tony is well 

known throughout the Sydney 

Metropolitan Area for his knowledge 

and expertise. 

Cost is $30 per student for the day, 

1 accompanying teacher free, and 

additional teachers $30. 

Payment can be made either by 

cheque, made out to CBCA 

ILLAWARRA/SOUTH COAST SUB- 

BRANCH and sent to : 

CBCA ILLAWARRA/SOUTH COAST 

SUB-BRANCH 

PO Box U289 

University of Wollongong 

NSW 2500 

Alternatively, electronic banking can 

be used. Please contact the Treasurer, 

Sandi Wooton on sandi_wooton@ 

uow.edu.au for details on using this 

service. 

services across the Illawarra and 

Shoalhaven. The centre has been 

featured in the Burkes Backyard 

magazine for it’s innovative gardening 

projects and parents are thrilled with 

the creative environment. The 

children harvest their own foods for 

parts of their lunches. Staff 

qualifications and experience exceed 

industry standards and the centre is a 

leader in the field when it comes to 

fostering diversity and curiosity.The 

centre has strong links to the family 

and the community and has access 

to early intervention specialists. 

All of these traits were 

contributing factors to winning such a 

prestigious award. 

The IACC Board and Management 

is very proud of this achievement by 

Short Street OCC and recognises this 

as an acknowledgement of the 

dedication by all of the staff in 

enriching children’s lives and the 

continual provision of high quality 

early childhood education. 

For any enquiries about the 

workshop day, please contact Aileen 

HARLAND by email, aileenharland@ 

optusnet.com.au OR phone 4229 

3549 

CBCA MEMBERSHIP/ 

INVOLVEMENT 

The current Illawarra-South Coast 

CBCA committee is made up of 10 

amazing women who volunteer their 

services to bring local children and 

books together. Sadly, there are no 

public librarians on the committee, and 

only one school teacher-librarian. 

If you would like to support their 

good work, please send an email to Di 

Bates on dibates@ 

enterprisingwords.com to be put 

on their mailing list. 

You can also join the CBCA—go to 

the Children’s Book Council NSW 

website nsw.cbca.org.au for details. 

Alternatively, if you’d like to attend 

CBCA meetings, Please email Di. They 

are always looking for good people. 

For more info visit www. 

illawarracbca.com.au 

IACC also manages 9 other 

quality early childhood services in 

the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. More 

information for those services can 

be found on their website www.iacc. 

com.au

Half High Circus! 

Would you like to tumble, roll, 

trapeze, climb, juggle or learn how to 

unicycle or walk on stilts? 

The Half High Circus is now taking 

enrollments for children. Term 4 will 

begin on the 18th October and runs for 

8 weeks until the 12th December. If 

you haven’t booked your place 

for circus classes do so as soon as 

possible as classes are filling up fast! 

Please contact Stacey at 

4285 0066 or send an email to 

stacey@circusmonoxide.com.au 

to book or obtain more information. 

Wollongong City 

Gallery – School Holiday 

Workshops 

Wollongong City Gallery is running 

workshops and activities for children 

aged 5 to 12 years during the 

September & October School Holidays. 

Workshops are led by tutors who 

are assisted by gallery volunteers. 

Artist-run activities include 

experimentation and investigation of 

various media in a casual and fun 

environment. 

These workshops include: 

f Terrific Tiles – use an array of 

ceramic colours to decorate and 

glaze a tile. 

f Clay Play – learn basic clay 

modeling techniques to make a 

functional and a decorative 

sculpture. 

f Pastel Drawing – learn simple 

techniques to draw the still life 

arrangement in front of you. 

f Sgraffito – discover sgraffito, 

the art of scratching back into 

a surface after applying an oil 

pastel layer. 

f Impressive Prints – explore relief 

printmaking using SCRATCH- 

FOAM plates by drawing, inking 

and hand printing 

For further information 

please contact Wollongong City 

Gallery on 4228 7500 or visit 

www.wollongongcitygallery.com 

Discover the World of Music 

It’s on for young and old, but 

particularly for the young when the 

Illawarra folk festival again holds its 

spectacular four day festival from 

January 13th-16th 2011. Now in its 26th 

year the festival has always had a family 

orientation with a strong program for 

kids running through the event. 

Children who took part in the earlier 

festivals at Jamberoo are now parents 

themselves and are bringing their kids 

back so that they too can experience 

the fun of the festival. 

There will be no video games, no 

electronic devices and no TV. Kids will 

be interacting with each other, with the 

performers, they’ll be introduced to how 

much fun a live performance can be and 

how to use their imaginations as a form 

of entertainment. Again this year they 

can delight in story telling with the 

renowned Lilli Pang, enjoy the zaniness 

of the madcap, Gobsmacked, get right 

into the action with the dancing, songs 

and dressing up of the pudding eaters. 

There will be drumming and percussion, 

instrument making, singing and poetry 

from a great range of childrens 

performers. 

As well there will be craft activities, 

Circus and the amazing King and Queen 

of Green. There will be activities leading 

up to the great Sunday Arvo Parade that 

the kids can be involved with and youth 

concerts that young people will be 

taking part in. 

Then for two days before the Festival 

the Folk School will take place. It’s a 

real learning experience in many aspects 

of performing, musicianship, 

songwriting, singing and stagecraft. It’s 

also great fun. 

And of course Kids under 12 

accompanied by a responsible adult get 

free entrance to the festival and can take 

part in all these activities. 

The festival is run by the Illawarra 

Folk Club and is the largest festival in 

NSW—the largest in Australia to be run 

entirely by volunteers. There are over 

600 performers, eleven venues, 300 

concerts, camping and free parking. 

A season ticket costs just $80 if 

purchased before Dec 3rd which makes 

it probably the cheapest festival of its 

size in Australia. Day and evening 

tickets can also be purchased. Purchase 

tickets by going to the website 

illawarrafolkfestival.com.au or 

phone 1300 887 034. 

EY5

fun with 

science 

Forget the experiments from your 

own school days involving dissection 

and Bunsen burners! As adults and 

parents many of us need to let go of 

our negative feelings towards maths 

and science for our children. 

Science is an important way for 

children to learn about their world and 

to be introduced to concepts that will 

see them through life. 

Places such as the Science Centre 

in Wollongong or Questacon in 

Canberra have helped children to see 

science as fun. The more enjoyable 

and ‘fun’ an activity appears the more 

likely children are to explore concepts 

further and enjoy learning. Science 

concepts are the building blocks of life 

and learning. 

Children learn through sensory 

experiences and exploration. We can 

offer everyday activities that develop 

skills such as classifying, sorting, 

environmental learning, problem 

solving, observing and evaluating. 

Simple experiences that we offer 

children everyday are most often 

science related. Feeding animals, 

cooking, cleaning, block play, water 

and sand play, outings, transport and 

dramatic play are all opportunities to 

talk casually about science. The 

concepts are endless and chances are 

we discuss them casually with children 

everyday. Help children to see learning 

as fun and create interesting 

experiences that foster their curiosity 

and you will set them up for future 

learning success. 

Here a few fun experiences you can 

try at home. 

Static Balloon Fun 

On a dry day, blow up a balloon 

and rub it on your hair or your child’s 

hair. Explore in front of the mirror how 

this can make your child’s hair stand on 

end. Try using a ruler to measure your 

child’s hair. Rub the balloon into your 

hair again and explore what other 

objects the balloon sticks to, for 

example, the wall or clothing. 

Children experience first hand the 

effects of static electricity and how it can 

be generated. Through exploring what 

other things the balloon sticks to they are 

engaging in a science experiment. 

Always try to ask open-ended 

questions. Rather than ‘does this look 

funny?’ or ‘does this feel weird?’ which 

only require yes or no answers, try to ask 

questions that require children to think 

What else can we stick the 

balloon to? How high will your hair 

go? Why do you think it does this? 

Shadows 

f dark room 

f bed lamp or torch 

f wall 

f paper/cardboard or hands 

In a dark room, use a bed lamp or 

torch to make shadows on the wall. 

Cut out different shapes from paper or 

cardboard or try making a few of these 

shapes with your hands. 

Make the shadows bigger or smaller 

by bringing your hand closer or further 

from the light source. Let your child 

explore other shadow patterns their 

hands can make. Ask if they would like 

to make a story or make shadows for 

characters in a book/story they know. 

Children have a great chance to use 

their imagination and interact with others 

with this fun activity. They will also 

observe how shadows can appear big or 

small depending on the distance they 

hold the puppet from the light source. 

How can we make the shadow 

bigger/smaller? 

Flower Fun!! 

f flower or celery sticks 

f water 

f food dye 

f jar or empty drink bottle 

Place fresh cut flowers or a stalk of 

celery, with leaves, in a jar of coloured 

water. Leave for a few hours. 

Your child should observe that the 

colour has moved up the celery or 

flower stalk through channels (called 

xylem). They learn that plants need 

water and they take up water from their 

roots to their leaves. 

Can you see where the coloured 

water has gone? Why? 

The celery can be cut in half to show 

the coloured channels. Use a magnifier 

glass to look closer at the channels. 

Ask your child to help you find 

other objects around the house or in 

nature that enable liquids to climb by 

capillary action. Look for paper towels, 

sponges, old socks and brown paper 

bags. What other items can you find? 

Make a chromatography bookmark. 

Get some absorbent paper or filter paper 

and a non-permanent black texta. Draw 

a big dot at the bottom of the paper. Put 

the paper (the dot end) in 1 cm of water. 

Wait and observe what happens. Your 

child should see the water climbing 

(through capillary action) up the paper 

and all the colours separate. 

Goop! 

Something popular with 

preschoolers is Goop often used as a 

form of sensory messy play. 

Mix 1.5 cups of cornflour with a 

cup of water and slowly experiment 

with the texture by dipping your hands 

into it. When you slap the surface of 

the goop quickly the molecules 

become hard and tangled like a solid. If 

you let the mixture flow it behaves like 

a liquid. Children are fascinated by this, 

and it can be quite relaxing to play 

with. It’s a bit tricky to explain the 

molecular science behind this, but 

basically the molecules in starch are 

larger than that of water and bind 

together. Experiment with pouring, 

scooping and mixing colours! 

EY7

The next step is 

A message from the National Childcare Accreditation Council 

There are many significant 

milestones that happen throughout your 

child’s life. Some of those you’ll look 

back on fondly and think about, such as 

when your child took her first step or 

said his first word. Starting ‘big school’ is 

one of those 

milestones 

and 

something you’ll remember for many 

years – who hasn’t been reminded of 

their own school experience when 

looking at photographs of children 

dressed in their uniforms on their first day 

of school. 

While the transition to primary 

school is exciting, it can also be an 

emotional experience as parents realise 

their children are growing up and 

becoming more independent. Research 

tells us that this is an important time in a 

child’s life; and when children are well 

prepared they can experience a positive 

transition to school, resulting in 

improved learning opportunities. 

For many families, preparing their 

children for school often begins with 

thinking about preschool options.1 This 

can also be a challenging experience 

as there are different ways early 

education settings are structured and 

funded in Australia. Whatever choice 

your family makes, many preschools 

will focus on ‘school readiness’ 

programs to prepare children for their 

formal school years. 

School readiness 

programs in long day 

care 

It’s important to question if your 

child is ready for school. Not all 

children born in the same year, or 

even in the same month of the 

same year, are ready for 

school at the same time. 

Parents know their children 

best and they should 

consider their child’s: 

f Emotional 

maturity, physical 

wellbeing and 

personality 

traits 

f Social skills 

including 

their 

ability to undertake simple self-help 

tasks independently 

f Ability to cope with the larger 

school environment. 

Families may enrol their children in a 

long day care centre that offers a school 

readiness program as part of its 

preschool program for children aged 

between four and six years. Before 

considering a preschool program in a 

long day care centre, families should 

ask questions about the centre’s 

Accreditation status, the qualifications 

of educators and the centre’s beliefs 

and values relating to children’s learning 

and development. This is always a good 

start when considering the quality of 

care being provided to children. 

A school readiness program should 

also highlight what will be new or 

different about school for the child 

compared to their long day care 

experience. This will often guide how 

centres plan for experiences to prepare 

children for school. There are a range 

of transition to school experiences that 

can be implemented including: 

f Talking to children about school, 

and encouraging them to ask 

questions or talk about their 

concerns about school 

f Arranging visits to local schools 

f Inviting school students to visit the 

service to talk about school 

f Reading stories about school 

f Watching videos about school 

f Including school props, such as 

uniforms, bags, lunch boxes and 

chalk boards in dramatic play areas 

f Participating in local school activities 

such as fetes, open days, end of 

year concerts or special events 

f Providing lots of reading and 

writing materials as part of the daily 

play-based program 

f Supporting children to develop 

their self-help and social skills 

f Incorporating school based activities 

as part of the early childhood 

program. For example, practice 

using lunch boxes and drink bottles. 

For further information about 

preparing children for school, families 

can telephone a NCAC Child Care 

Adviser on 1300 136 554 or email 

(qualitycare@ncac.gov.au). We also

‘big school’ 

encourage families to visit NCAC’s 

website (www.ncac.gov.au), and go 

to the ‘Families and Children’ section 

to download Family Factsheets or 

order a Family Information Kit. 

Sources and further 

reading: 

Owens, A. (2008). Transition to 

school. NCAC Family Factsheet. 

Retrieved 8 September, 2010, from 

www.ncac.gov.au/factsheets/ 

transition.pdf 

Stonehouse, A. (2008). Quality child 

care for preschool age children. NCAC 

Family Factsheet. Retrieved 8 

September, 2010, from www.ncac. 

gov.au/factsheets/preschoolers.pdf 

1 The term ‘preschool’ is used in this article to refer to 

children aged between three and five years. This age 

range is preferred instead of a specific age because 

there is variation in children’s learning, development 

and behaviour. 

2 In NSW the first year of formal school is called 

Kindergarten. 

In January last year when Patrick was 

four and a half, I had to make a decision 

whether to send him to Kindergarten. I 

knew he wasn’t emotionally ready to start 

school so we decided to keep him in the 

preschool program in a long day care 

centre for another year – plus he was 

quite shy and another year at day care 

would help develop his initiative and 

confidence. 

Within six months Patrick was 

involved in some amazing preschool 

projects and I knew I’d made the right 

decision. For example, when the 

bushfires happened in Victoria, all the 

kids saw it on the news and talked 

about it at day care. The teacher asked 

“What can we do?”, and Patrick and 

two other children said, “Well we have to 

raise money for them to rebuild their 

houses” and from that they thought 

about what they could do. They helped 

the teacher to make signs – so they’re 

using their literacy and language skills – 

they collected money from the mums 

and dads for about two weeks, wrote 

letters to the families affected by the fires 

and downloaded photos from the 

internet about the bushfires and the 

animals that were hurt. Then they rang 

the local supermarket and made an 

In New South Wales (NSW), there are 

different types of preschool settings 

which families can choose from: 

f Stand-alone preschools which are 

registered with NSW Community 

Services (formally known as DoCS) 

and those that are located in 

schools and operated by the NSW 

Department of Education and 

Training. Both these types of 

preschools are licensed under 

legislation (Children’s Services 

Regulation 2004) and are not 

required to meet NCAC’s Quality 

Improvement and Accreditation 

System (QIAS) standards 

f Long day care centres which provide 

preschool programs. These are also 

licensed with NSW Community 

Services under the Children’s 

Services Regulation 2004 and offer 

Mum knows best – Lisa’s story about her son Patrick* 

appointment with the manager who took 

the money the children had raised and 

donated it to the Bushfire Appeal on 

their behalf. That whole experience was 

just fantastic as Patrick led a lot of the 

decision making, which he never would 

have done the year before. His 

confidence and his social skills had 

improved. 

From July rest periods were 

replaced with quiet activities and 

around September the teacher placed 

old school uniforms in the dress-ups, 

displayed books about going to school 

and in the last few months of the year 

the children brought their morning tea 

in lunchboxes. They also went on 

excursions to local primary schools and 

walked around the school yards. I 

wanted Patrick to be confident and to 

have the skills to ask for help and go up 

to a teacher – he was going from a 20 

children and two staff day care setting 

to a 30 children and one teacher 

classroom. I wanted him to be able to 

cope in a playground with 100 or more 

children, yet also cope with being alone 

and having the independence to do 

things for himself. I did worry whether 

he would go to the toilet on his own 

and if he would be responsible for his 

families Child Care Benefit through 

the Commonwealth Department 

of Education, Employment and 

Workplace Relations (DEEWR). As a 

result of families receiving this benefit, 

these centres must be registered 

with NCAC and are required to meet 

the QIAS standards. 

NCAC administers the QIAS 

standards in Australia and this article 

refers to the standards of quality 

practice which should be occurring in 

long day care centres registered with 

NCAC. For more information about 

other types of preschools in NSW and 

their practices, please visit the following 

NSW Government websites: 

f Community Services www. 

community.nsw.gov.au 

f Education and Training www. 

schools.nsw.edu.au. 

own belongings. I wanted him to have 

the skills to make friends and to have 

the confidence to go up to another 

child and say, “Hi my name is Patrick, 

what’s your name?” 

On the first day of Kindy the 

following year, I was at the classroom 

door saying, “Are you sure you’re 

alright?” and he replied, “Yeah mum, 

bye”, and he waved. I waited five 

minutes but he was off playing and it 

confirmed that I had made the right 

choice and that the preschool program 

really helped him to be ready for school. 

Lisa’s top tips for choosing a school 

readiness program 

Make sure that the educators are: 

f Working on skills that encourage 

children’s independence, self-help 

and build confidence 

f Helping the children to be selfaware 

of going to school and 

understanding the ‘big’ school 

community 

f Developing children’s emotional 

maturity and ability to make friends 

f Recognising numeracy and literacy 

are important but are not as crucial 

as social and language skills 

* Names have been changed to 

protect identities. 

EY9

EY10 

I can still see in my memory a book 

on a shelf from my childhood. It’s 

called, ‘Where Did You Go? Out. What 

Did You Do? Nothing’. It’s 1968 and 

I’m nearly ten. Why do I remember that 

book from so far away? 

Because it captivated and 

empowered me. If a book could have 

that title, then it was OK for me to say 

it. However, have that same 

conversation with your son and you 

might not think it’s OK at all. 

‘Why can’t my son just 

communicate?’ the parent cries. ‘Why 

can’t he speak like a normal human?’ 

The answer is that he’s not a normal 

human. That’s only an image in your 

imagination. He’s a boy, but a very 

normal boy. 

The truth is that your son 

communicates very well, it’s just a 

matter of understanding his language. 

Boys’ communication is often more 

Boys & 

words: Kim Miller 

physical than verbal. It’s not that he 

doesn’t know the words, he just 

bypasses them. 

Watch boys on the school bus. 

One walks down the aisle and another 

puts out his foot to trip him up. The 

boys behind him laugh and high-five 

each other. The target boy aims his fall 

into the first available chest, whereupon 

the owner of the chest gets him in a 

headlock and rubs a knuckle into his 

scalp, the boy overbalances into the 

aisle. He picks himself up and throws 

himself into an empty seat. Within 

seconds they’re talking about fast cars 

and girls. 

But imagine a parent or two sitting 

with those boys. What then? In that 

case they will be reduced to silence 

and inactivity. 

Boys know there is a conspiracy. 

There’s a conspiracy by adults to make 

boys behave like adults. Every boy 

knows that. He’s known it since he fell 

over and was told not to cry. He’s known 

it since he learnt to control his flatulence 

and gave a loud and rather musical 

‘performance’ when Nana was visiting 

for dinner. He’s known it since he wore a

pair of y-fronts on his head underneath 

his beanie and whipped off the beanie as 

he came into the classroom. 

On each occasion he’s been told to 

stifle his emotions, to stifle his 

exploration of his body, to stifle his 

sense of humour. We might as well say 

he’s been told to stop acting like a 

child. That’s pretty tough on a child. 

When a boy is emotionally hurt or 

challenged he steps into the ‘silent 

zone.’ He will withdraw and want to be 

alone and silent. He’s thinking things 

through and his brain is very active. But 

when he is ready to talk you’d better not 

miss it because that readiness will not 

last forever. There is a ‘talk zone’ that he 

steps into and if nobody joins him there 

he steps out and gets on with life. 

If we try to discuss an issue and the 

boy is not in the talk zone then we 

might label him ‘switched off’ or 

‘lacking emotional intelligence.’ The 

truth is that he is as emotionally 

sensitive as anybody, but the language 

of that emotion is often missed by 

adults around him. 

Australian author, Bill Condon, in 

his book, Confessions of a Liar, Thief, 

and Failed Sex God, has a boy say to 

himself, ‘I’m not going to explain 

another thing for as long as I live.’ 

(p.199) It’s the cry of desperation as 

the boy gives up trying to communicate 

with adults on their terms. 

In my own book, They Told Me I 

Had To Write This, a boy is talking with 

a teacher as they lean on a school 

fence. The boy says, ‘We stayed like 

that for a bit. A couple of farmers 

looking out over the paddock. Waiting 

for better weather.’ (p.133)There is a 

sense of something else here. A sense 

of silence, of waiting, of boy and man 

looking in the same direction, of agreed 

silence before the words can happen. 

Here’s a tip. Boys communicate 

better when looking in the same 

direction as the other person. Whether 

it’s boy and teacher at a fence, boy 

and Mum washing up, or boy and Dad 

driving in the car. Boys communicate 

better when looking in the same 

direction. Go face to face and you get 

a chess match. 

Here’s another tip. You ask your 

boy about something that happened, 

let’s say a broken window. His eyes 

wander around and he begins to 

answer and you say, ‘Look at me when 

I’m talking with you.’ Wrong move! 

Imagine a set of shelves in front of 

your boy’s head, from just above eye 

level to just below. They extend a bit 

wider than his ears but there is no shelf 

directly in front of his eyes. Some of the 

shelves contain the memories of the 

day, things he has seen, things heard, 

things experienced. And other shelves 

store the tools to make up new things, 

the ability to invent and construct a 

new story. 

When you ask about the broken 

window his eyes will peruse the shelves 

until he finds the memory. It’s happening 

in his brain but his eyes are part of it. If 

you tell him to look you in the eye he 

can’t search the shelves and he looks 

through that empty space. He gets 

flustered because something that 

should be easy to do isn’t easy after all. 

He can’t find the truth without looking to 

the memory shelf, nor can he construct 

a decent fib. 

When you take the physical 

experience of searching the shelves from 

him, he loses his ability to communicate 

well. If a boy can’t get physical in his 

communication, it is unlikely that the 

message will get through. 

When my son was little he would 

jump on me as soon as I walked in the 

door. It’s a communication style. Both 

man and boy understand it. He is now 

30 and we still ambush each other. 

If you really want to communicate 

with your boy be prepared for silence 

and be prepared to get physical. 

Communication 

About Kim Miller 

Newcastle author, Kim Miller, called 

Wollongong home for twelve years of 

his life. He started as an engineering 

trainee at Wollongong University, living 

in Weerona Hostel. 

He was not a good student and 

dipped out. Kim preferred racing 

motorbikes around Mt Kembla, canoeing 

on the Shoalhaven river, skydiving at 

Camden, caving at Colong, and other 

outdoor activities. He was Assistant 

Scout Leader at 1st Gwynneville Scouts, 

which is sadly no more. 

His employers are also mere 

memories. His engineering employer, 

AIS, is no more. He sold equipment at 

Camera & Tape Recorder Industries 

and took photos for Reginald Warlow, 

Photographer, both now gone. He 

packed boxes in the DHA 

Pharmaceuticals warehouse, now 

gone. He was delivery supervisor at 

Gold Star Bakery in Woonona, now 

gone. (So too is home bread delivery.) 

He managed the Fairy Meadow Pizza 

Hut, also gone. He got married in St 

Paul’s Church on the corner of 

Towradgi Rd. Guess what, it’s gone! 

He’s beginning to wonder if 

Wollongong was a figment of his 

imagination. 

These days Kim lives in Newcastle 

and works as a post release prison 

chaplain. One of his hobbies is writing 

- books, workplace resources and 

magazine articles. He is the author of 

teen fiction novel They Told Me I Had 

To Write This, Ford Street Publishing. 

Web - www.kimmiller.id.au/clem 

Blog - http://scribblygum. 

wordpress.com/ 

EY11

At GymbaROO learning is a continuing experience 

which parents and children can share and enjoy 

together. 

• Research based programs 

• Movement, music and specially designed 

equipment 

• Encourage critical skills for early learning 

and literacy 

• Professionally qualified instructors 

• Parent information and home activities 

NOW OPEN TUESDAYS ALSO!! 

TERM 4 ENROLLING NOW. 

12Th OcT – 18 DEc 2010 

Tuesday 

10.05 2 Years 

10.55 1 Years 

11.45 Creepers/Crawlers 

12.30 Closed for lunch 

1.00 Non-Mobile Babies 

1.50 3 Years + 4 Years 

Thursdays 

10.05 2 years 

10.55 1 years 

11.45 Creepers/crawlers 


1.00 Cruisers – 

nearly walking 

1.50 Non-mobile babies 

Fridays 

9.15 Walkers – 

18 months 

10.05 18 months – 2 years 

10.55 2 years 

11.45 4 years school 

readiness 


1.15 Non-mobile babies 

2.05 Creepers/crawlers 

Saturdays 

9.15 1 years 

10.05 2 years 

10.55 3–4 years 

Illawarra 

PO Box 188, Corrimal NSW 2518 

0404 730 776 

info@gymbarooillawarra.com.au 

www.gymbarooillawarra.com.au 

Classes held at Towradgi Community Hall

Saving our children’s skin 

Everybody loves the long, hot days 

of summer. We are very lucky in 

Australia to have a wonderful sunny 

climate that allows children so much 

opportunity to play outdoors, but 

before heading outside this summer 

remember, there is a hidden danger in 

the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. 

Skin cancer is Australia’s most 

common cancer. As many as two in 

three people who grow up here 

develop some form of skin cancer and 

more than 1700 people die from this 

disease every year. And although skin 

cancer most commonly develops in 

people aged over 50 years, the 

damage to the skin that greatly 

increases the risk for all types of skin 

cancer usually begins in childhood. 

Almost all skin cancers are caused 

by exposure to UV radiation from the 

sun. And too much exposure to UV 

radiation doesn’t just increase a child’s 

lifetime risk of melanoma and other 

skin cancers; it can also cause painful 

sunburn, early aging of the skin and 

damage to children’s eyes. 

Of course some sunlight is 

important for children’s good health and 

well being. For example, vitamin D 

which children need for strong, healthy 

bones is made in the body when the 

skin is exposed to UV radiation. 

However, UV levels are moderate to 

high in NSW most of the year round and 

most children get enough vitamin D 

even when well protected from sunlight. 

Cancer Council NSW understands 

it can be challenging keeping active, 

young children well protected from the 

sun. Taking the time to make sun 

protection part of every day can help 

make actions like wearing a hat, 

applying sunscreen and heading for a 

shady spot to play part of the routine 

that children come to expect. 

Cancer Council NSW recommends 

the following steps for safe outdoor play. 

1. Plan your outside play 

time 

UV radiation is highest in the middle 

part of the day. Plan outdoor activities 

outside of peak UV times – before 

11am, and after 3pm from October to 

March. If you are outside make sure 

there make sure there is ample shade 

for children to play safely. 

2. Hats 

A broad-brimmed, bucket or 

legionnaire style hat protects the face, 

ears and neck as well as shading 

children’s eyes from UV radiation. A soft 

legionnaire style hat with a flap at the 

back and that crumples easily when they 

put their head down is ideal for babies. 

Baseball caps do not protect the 

cheeks and neck and are not 

recommended by Cancer Council NSW. 

3. Clothing 

Clothing should cover as much skin 

as possible including children’s 

shoulders and stomach. T-shirts with a 

sleeve and longer style skirts and 

shorts reduce the amount of skin being 

exposed to UV radiation. 

A wide variety of protective, 

hardwearing children’s swimwear such 

as rash vests and longer board shorts 

are readily available and help make 

beach and poolside fun safer. 

4. Shade 

Organise play and other activities to 

take place in the shade. Shade can be 

natural from trees or built such as 

shade sails over children’s play 

equipment in many public parks. You 

can also take your own portable shade 

such as a beach cabana. 

5. Sunscreen 

Apply SPF30+, broad-spectrum, 

water-resistant sunscreen to any 

exposed skin before going outside and 

reapply at least every 2 hours and after 

swimming. Never rely on sunscreen 

alone and always use a combination of 

sun protection measures. 

6. The SunSmart UV Alert 

You can’t tell how high UV radiation 

levels are just by stepping outside. 

However, you can check the UV 

SunSmart Alert and see what UV 

radiation levels will be in your local 

area. The UV SunSmart Alert identifies 

the hours of the day when the UV 

Index will be 3 or above – strong 

enough to cause lasting damage to the 

skin. The following link lets you check 

UV levels in your local area: 

www.bom.gov.au/weather/nsw/ 

nsw-uv-index-map.shtml 

7. Be a good role model 

Children watch and learn from the 

adults around them. Research shows 

that children are up to nine times more 

likely to practice specific SunSmart 

behaviours if their own parents had 

modelled the behaviour. 

8. Take extra supplies 

Sunburn often happens when we 

don’t expect to be outside for very 

long. In Australia, sunburn can occur in 

as little as 15 minutes on a fine January 

day. Keep extra baby wraps, t-shirts 

and hats in the car and a spare tube of 

sunscreen in the beach or pool bag. 

9. Let children be part of 

the SunSmart process. 

Parents often report that it can be 

difficult to convince young children to 

keep a hat on or stand still long enough 

to have sunscreen applied. Tips from 

parents to make being SunSmart 

easier include: 

f Allowing children to choose the hat 

they will wear 

f Allowing each child to ‘own’ their 

bottle of sunscreen 

f Having a variety of products so that 

the child can choose which one to 

use today 

f Finishing up with a stripe of coloured 

zinc for beach, picnics, etc 

10. SunSmart program 

Cancer Council NSW has 

SunSmart programs for Early 

Childhood Services, Family Day Care 

and primary schools. The SunSmart 

Programs are free programs that 

support early childhood services, family 

day care schemes and schools to 

provide the best possible sun 

protection for the children in their care. 

A quick way to find out if your 

service or school is SunSmart is to see 

if a large metal SunSmart sign is visible. 

Parents can encourage staff to join the 

program by expressing interest or 

telling them the website address – 

maybe you could download and print 

some of the information and pass it on 

to a staff member. For more information 

contact the SunSmart Information Line 

on 9334 1761 or see Cancer Council 

website: www.cancercouncil.com.au/ 

sunsmart. 

EY13

Safer 

Water 

Safer 

Kids 

with Siria Thomas 

Learning to Swim – A Gift 

for Life 

Have you ever watched a toddler 

delighting over a puddle they’ve found? 

Have you seen the sheer joy of 6 year 

olds playing in a pool with friends? 

Children are fascinated by water and 

appear to be drawn to the rippling, 

swirling movements. They seem to 

have an overwhelming need to touch 

and play in any water that they come 

across, and sadly, this attraction can 

have deadly consequences. 

Learning to swim is one of the 

biggest advantages a child can get in the 

protection against drowning, and 

because it can be very difficult to teach 

swimming skills to your own child, the 

best thing you can do is to enrol them in 

swimming lessons. Gaining water 

confidence and learning to submerge 

and swim independently is an exciting, 

often harrowing journey for a child, and 

can be a source of much frustration for 

parents trying to persuade a frightened 

beginner to participate. Perseverance, 

however, brings great satisfaction, and 

as you watch your child swimming 

happily, learning new skills and getting 

themselves back to the wall, the benefits 

will far outweigh that early discomfort. 

What is the best age to start 

lessons? It is generally recognised that 

the most suitable age to start babies in 

swimming lessons is between six and 

twelve months old. Babies at this age 

are naturally comfortable in the water, 

and have not had time to develop any 

fear. Many infant swimming instructors 

will agree that it is easier to teach 

breath control and water confidence to 

babies before they reach 18 months; 

before they move into the “challenging 

twos” phase. It is never too late, 

however, as a good swimming 

instructor will have a big bag of tricks 

and follow an interactive and fun 

program. Even if your baby is scared 

EY14 

at first, once they get used to the 

group class structure, and trust that 

you are not going to ‘dunk’ them or let 

them go, they will relax and want to join 

in and participate with the other babies. 

What should you look for in a good 

swim school? Swim Australia is a 

division of Australian Coaches and 

Swim Teachers Association (ASCTA) 

and registers swim schools that meet 

set industry standards. Swim Australia 

recommend parents take into 

consideration the following when 

looking for a good swim school: 

f A reputation to be proud of. A 

good swim school will be pleased 

for you to see their program before 

enrolling. They will also have lots of 

happy customers prepared to tell 

you about their experiences and 

children’s success. 

f Friendliness and helpfulness. As 

a provider of early childhood and 

educational services, the school will 

have a warm and welcoming 

atmosphere. Staff will strive to meet 

your family’s needs, answer your 

questions and address your 

concerns. 

f Well maintained, clean pool and 

facilities, and comfortable water 

and air temperature. Pool water 

will be clear and well sanitised. 

Babies, young children and 

beginners need very warm water 

and warm air. The warm 

atmosphere may be uncomfortable 

for spectators, however this is only 

for a short time and they usually 

appreciate that learners need to be 

comfortable and relaxed. 

f Well qualified staff. All teachers 

should have a nationally recognised 

swimming teaching and/or 

coaching qualification, and a 

current resuscitation certificate. 

Qualifications should be appropriate 

to the level being taught. A good 

school will also have a core of 

experienced teachers with 

specialist qualifications, and will 

have consistency of philosophy and 

methods throughout the school. 

f A child-centred teaching 

philosophy. Skills will be 

appropriate for the child’s age, 

development and ability. Children 

should never be placed under 

stress during a swim lesson. 

Nervous beginners will be 

reassured and gently introduced to 

new skills as they gain in 

confidence. 

f A progressive approach. Classes 

should be based on a sound 

progression of swimming and water 

safety skills. A good school will 

provide parents with written 

information explaining the schools 

philosophy, levels and skill 

progression. 

f Water safety skills. A good 

school will teach children 

appropriate safety and survival skills 

whilst acknowledging that no child 

is ever water safe. Children must 

not be placed in stressful situations 

in order to teach survival skills. 

Parents will be taught that constant 

supervision is the only way to 

ensure a child’s safety. 

f Small class numbers for young 

children and beginners. Water 

depth will affect the number of 

children that can be safely and 

effectively catered for in a group. 

ASCTA recommends maximum 

group numbers for each level. A 

good school will adhere to the 

guidelines and be pleased to make 

them available. 

f Safety at all times. The good 

swim school will always use 

equipment wisely and ensure 

children are vigilantly supervised 

when under their care.

f A motivating system of rewards/ 

awards. Children in a good swim 

school will be confident and happy 

to participate. Most schools will 

have a system in place marking 

progression between levels, eg. 

certificates. Smiles and laughter will 

be the norm and praise will be 

given in large doses. 

The best thing you can do is to go 

and visit all of the swim schools closest 

to you, watch the lessons in action, talk 

to the staff about all the points above, 

and go with your own instinct. The learnto-swim 

process should not be traumatic 

– distressed children being forced 

underwater should be a red flag straight 

away. Children who are crying and upset 

are not in a state to learn anything, and 

most children will voluntarily submerge 

with the correct progressions and 

guidance from an experienced teacher. 

Do not feel obligated to enrol in a 

program that does not feel right to you. 

If you make a selection and then 

discover later that it is not in tune with 

your child, do not hesitate to switch to a 

more suitable program. 

How can I make the 

most out of my child’s 

swimming lessons? 

Swim Australia recommend the 

following tips to help parents and 

children enjoy their swimming lessons 

f Try to arrive relaxed and positive, 

especially if the experience 

of swimming lessons is new. Your 

child will feel calm and secure and 

lessons will be more successful. 

f Have a dress rehearsal at home so 

your child is used to swimwear and 

goggles. 

f Arrive early so you and your child 

can become acquainted with the 

surroundings and will not be 

flustered or rushed. 

f Toilet your child just prior to their 

lesson to avoid accidents and 

disruption during swimming lessons. 

f Goggles are a vital teaching aid at 

various stages of the learning 

process. They allow the child good 

vision and comfort underwater. It is 

great for children to have their own 

and arrive ready for class (nose 

piece and strap adjusted to their 

individual needs). Goggles can also 

be used for practice in between 

swimming lessons. 

f The wearing of bathing caps is 

strongly recommended to keep hair 

out of the eyes and mouth and 

allow goggles to slip on more easily. 

They also help enormously with 

filtration and therefore pool 

cleanliness. In some instances, they 

are compulsory to wear. 

f For their own safety, it is essential 

that children do not enter the pool 

before or after their scheduled 

swimming lesson times. This also 

reduces distractions to children in 

other classes. 

f Bring a suitable ‘hanky’ for wiping 

the inevitable runny nose. Please 

use the bins provided for disposal. 

f Please stay back from the pool 

edge, while swimming lessons are 

in progress. It’s great to encourage 

your child, but try to leave the 

teaching and discipline to the 

swimming teacher. 

It is important for parents, and 

swimming instructors alike, to 

remember that a child’s fear is their 

built-in life preserver. The child who is 

at greatest risk of drowning, is the child 

who has no fear, but also, no ability. 

So as we strive to remove their fear of 

the water, we must also ensure we 

increase their ability at the same rate. 

Also be mindful of things that give 

them a false sense of security that they 

can swim, when they cannot. Flotation 

aides can be one of these things. 

Have you ever seen a child who has 

their bubble or floaties removed, only 

to jump back in the water and sink 

straight to the bottom? If you want to 

use flotation, please give them some 

‘floatie-free’ time to teach them their 

true limits and give them practice with 

their own buoyancy. 

Another danger is the ‘magic’ hand 

that always catches them when they 

jump in or puts them back on the step 

when they swim out of their depth, and 

even helping them keep balance in a 

wading pool. Children who find 

themselves alone around water, may try 

to mimic these positive experiences, 

only to find that magic hand is not there, 

and in seconds they are in real trouble. 

With drowning as the greatest 

cause of accidental death for young 

children in Australia, learning to swim is 

a necessity. Being able to swim well is 

one of the greatest gifts that you can 

give your child – especially in Australia, 

where we are surrounded by water, 

and fun, healthy, water-based 

opportunities abound. While swimming 

lessons do not substitute for proper 

supervision and barriers, learning to 

swim can make a huge difference if 

your child accidentally falls in. In the 

words of the great Laurie Lawrence, 

“teach your kids to swim, it’s great!” 

Siria Thomas lives in Bulli with her 

two girls, Shalani and Kasahni, and 

husband, Mal. They own and operate 

Northern Stars Swim School – the 

northern suburbs newest indoor swim 

centre – www.northernstars.com. 

au, ph 42858700. More information 

on SwimSAFER can be obtained from 

your nearest Swim Australia registered 

swim school, or visit www. 

swimaustralia.org.au. 

EY15

So what would you say if I could 

send you on a family holiday that would 

not only provide you with the time of 

your life, but would also give you and 

your kids a genuine Australian outback 

experience? 

Yep, I would say giddy up as well! 

Kroombit Park is nestled in five 

acres of eucalypt forest on Lochenbar 

Cattle Station, 35 kilometers from 

Biloela in Central Queensland. This 

unique family run nature experience is 

the product of Alan and Carol 

Sandilands dream of sharing with you, 

their lifestyle and the natural beauty of 

their 4000 hectare property, which 

once included the spectacular country 

now protected by the Kroombit Tops 

National Park. This is the type of 

experience that will have you taking on 

a lot of the general day to day activities 

that Alan and Carol have been 

performing for years. This is a hands 

on holiday, mud in your eye, dust in 

your teeth type holiday, one that may 

even leave you a touch saddle sore if 

you’re not accustomed to riding a 

EY16 

horse, type holiday. But it is one that I 

would encourage every family to do! 

It is so good that, dare I say it, it is 

the type of holiday that I would gladly 

take my kids out of school for a week 

for. 

The education that they will get on 

a Kroombit Park experience is one that 

they cannot ever receive in the 

classroom. It’s just not possible. 

In the two days I was there filming 

for Postcards Australia, I got an honest 

taste of what it might be like working 

on a station. Of course this is the city 

folk friendly taste, it’s not like farmers 

boot camp or anything! Mustering 

goats on horseback over undulating 

terra firma. Hoopin and a hollering at 

the rabble of goats as you guide them 

around the paddock. Trying as best 

you can to ring in the rogue of the pack 

who thinks he can escape from the 

preceding. Get on board an all terrain 

vehicle and ride through the wide open 

landscape, checking on the cattle while 

getting to see wild horses and emus 

running free. Try your hand at trap 

shooting. Enjoy the thrill of abseiling 

down a humungous gum tree. 

Play a bit of bush volleyball, go for 

a nature walk, lasso a goat and learn 

how to crack a whip. 

When you’ve worked up a sweat, 

it’s all good as you can cool off in the 

pool that sits like an oasis amongst the 

gums. 

Now as far as accommodation 

goes you have a few choices. Firstly 

there is the camping ground area, with 

plenty of space to pitch your tent. 

There are dorm rooms for those that 

like a solid roof over their head. There 

are also comfortable cabins that sit on 

the rise and overlook the main station 

area. 

When it comes to meals, that is 

taken care of as well as your stay at 

Lochenbar Cattle Station is all inclusive, 

except for your drinks. These meals are 

all home style country delights cooked 

in the camp kitchen or in the camp 

oven, which I must admit is a real treat. 

It must also be made clear that an 

adventure at Lochenbar is for those

who like to get hands on. Those who 

want to experience the bush in the 

safest and most hospitable way 

possible. 

At the end of a great day exploring 

there is not much better than a 

campfire feed. A few drinks at the 

licensed camp bar, while exchanging 

tales of the days adventure with your 

fellow cockies and jillaroos, and maybe 

even trying your luck at outlasting the 

bell on the back of the mechanical 

bucking bull!! 

Kroombit Park is an experience 

that is calling you. No matter what walk 

of life you follow it is one that can only 

enrich your love for this absolutely 

awesome country that we are lucky 

enough to live in! Get out there and get 

amongst it. Below are some packages 

that may interest you. 

“Awesome” 

Package - 2 

night / 2 days 

This package is fully 

inclusive and includes 

two night air 

conditioned 

accommodation in 

dorm room with all 

meals - home cooked 

Aussie style with ‘Billy 

tea’. 

This is a fun filled 

package with lots of 

laughs and 

atmosphere. 

Learn to crack a 

whip, Lasso - a 

unique cattle station 

art! Try your hand at clay-trap shooting 

(no live animals). Get involved with 

Horse riding and mustering or try to 

outlast the bell on the “mechanical 

bucking bull”! 

Lochenbar Overnight Horse Trail 

Camp-out 

The Sandilands Family offer 

you their : 

2 day/ 1 night “Campout 

Package” on 

Lochenbar Cattle Station 

Groups only 6 -10 by arrangement. 

Experience life on a real live working 

cattle station with the Sandilands family 

whose links with the land can be 

traced back to early settlement. 

Learn about Meat Goat farming 

(Boer Goats) and the Maremma dogs 

that protect them from predators. 

Horse trail through the cattle 

station with an overnight campout 

under the stars and the next day a 

short horse trail back to Kroombit. 

Magnificent views of the 

countryside will be experienced as you 

trail through the cattle station. 

For two days and one night you 

experience all this plus the Kroombit 

renowned traditional country style 

camp-oven meals and their unique 

style bush cabin accommodation. 

All inclusive rate includes one night 

campout under the stars. Call or email. 

07 4992 2186 lochenbar@kroombit. 

com.au 

Watch Postcards Australia on Win 

TV. Saturdays at 5.30 pm 

www.postcardsaustralia.tv 

www.radicalaustralia.com.au 

EY17

Wouldn’t you want only the best for your child? 

IACC offers quality education and care for children 0-5 

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Albion Park Rail 

02 4256 5711 

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Children’s 

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& Occasional 

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02 4285 9146 

Looking for quality, 

affordable childcare in 

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Choose Early Years Care 

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We have trained, educated 

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ENROL 

TODAY

Kids & Dogs 

Words: Julie Murphy 

Six steps to enable your 

toddler to pat a strange 

dog safely 

Children love dogs. They love to pat 

dogs—any dogs! It doesn’t matter 

whose dog it is - big or small, yappy or 

timid. Toddlers in the playground take off 

like heat-seeking missiles towards any 

furry creature with four feet that happens 

to walk past. For a young child, a positive 

patting experience can set the scene for 

a lifetime of rewarding interactions with 

animals. A bad experience, however, 

could result in injury and a long-lasting 

fear of dogs. Following these six simple 

steps will help to ensure that your toddler 

stays safe and happy when patting 

strange dogs: 

1. Before you even get close, note 

whether the dog is on a leash. Dogs 

that are not on a leash cannot be 

reliably controlled in unpredictable 

situations (e.g. if an aggressive dog 

approaches) and are best left alone. 

2. Check whether the dog is walking 

calmly. Only approach dogs that 

already seem comfortable and 

content. 

3. Calmly and quietly approach the 

dog and its handler, and ask if it’s 

okay to pat the dog. Although most 

dog owners are only too happy to 

share their dog with you, don’t be 

offended if they say no - their 

answer is likely to be in your own 

best interests. Some dogs are not 

familiar with children and should be 

avoided. For the same reason, it’s 

best not to pat unattended dogs 

tied up outside shops – you can’t 

know if a dog is okay with kids 

before asking its owner. 

4. Next, your child should stand next 

to the dog and hold out a relaxed 

hand to be sniffed. Note that 

standing in front of a dog can 

appear aggressive or dominant to 

the dog; and standing behind it 

could startle it, especially for old 

dogs that can’t hear or see well. 

5. With an open hand, your child 

should gently stroke the dog on its 

back or neck, in a head-to-tail 

direction. Be ready for your child to 

receive a ‘sneak lick’ from a friendly 

dog, in which case you just smile 

and say something along the lines 

of “He likes you!” to show that there 

is no reason to be frightened. 

6. When finishing up, be sure to 

remember to thank the dog’s handler 

for kindly sharing their pet with you. 

Both children and animals can be 

unpredictable, but you can gradually 

work towards the controlled procedure 

outlined above through discussion and 

practice. It helps to talk with your 

toddler about how to pat dogs at times 

when there are no dogs around. Your 

toddler will be far too preoccupied to 

listen to you once they have a real dog 

in their sights! You can incorporate a talk 

into reading time. “Can I Pat That Dog?” 

by Susan McLaine and Karen Damiani 

is an excellent non-fiction picture book 

for 4-8 years olds. After reading this 

book together, children could practice 

their patting technique on a soft toy. 

Preparing your pet dog for 

the arrival of your new baby 

A new baby inevitably brings 

changes to a household. It can be 

quite a demanding time, with aroundthe-clock 

care taking priority over most 

other things – including your pet dog’s 

routine. Amidst all the excitement, your 

dog may suddenly find itself receiving 

less time and attention than usual. Its 

place in the ‘pack’ (your family) 

changes. It is effectively demoted. This 

can cause some dogs so much stress 

that behavioural problems surface. 

New parents are sometimes shocked 

to see their trusted pet developing 

naughty or even aggressive behaviour 

almost overnight. This attentionseeking 

behaviour can be seen as the 

equivalent of sibling rivalry. 

The trick to keeping your baby safe 

and your dog happy is to gradually get 

your pet used to changes before the 

baby arrives. Prospective parents may 

consider adding some of the following 

items to their ‘baby preparations’ list: 

f Train your dog to stay away from 

the ‘baby’ room, or block access to 

it if necessary. Pets should never be 

left unsupervised near babies. 

f If you change your dog’s sleeping 

place, make the new area 

comfortable and clearly recognisable 

—use the same familiar basket and 

blankets, etc. Spending quality time 

there together will help your dog to 

settle in. 

f Gradually introduce the new 

walking routine (start making walks 

shorter or less frequent). 

f If you haven’t already done so, train 

your dog not to jump up on you 

uninvited. This is very important 

because you will soon be carrying 

your baby around with you. 

f If your dog is very closely bonded 

with the mum-to-be, encourage 

others in the family to spend more 

time with your pet. 

f Set up new baby furniture early 

(prams, high chairs, cots, etc.) so 

that your dog can get used to them. 

f Arrange your dog’s annual vet-check 

before the baby arrives so that there 

is one less job to do after the big day. 

Julie Murphy is a children’s writer 

and trained zoologist. members. 

optusnet.com.au/~julieamurphy 

EY19

Puggle pictures courtesy of Perth Zoo. 

What is a 

puggle? 

A puggle is a baby echidna! 

f Echidnas are an Australian mammal. 

f The sides and tail of the Echidna are 

covered with strong pointed spines 

and in between these spines is 

coarse hair. 

f The Echidna has very soft hair on 

its stomach. 

f The long pointy spines are its only 

form of protection and when the 

Echidna feels that it is in danger it 

pulls its head in and curls up into a 

small ball to protect its tummy. 

f The echidna has a very long snout 

that is very sensitive to touch and it 

can feel vibrations. They have a 

very good sense of smell, which 

helps them to smell out food such 

as ants or termites. It then uses its 

big claws to dig out foods from 

beneath the ground. If an Echidna 

finds a nest it sends its long sticky 

EY20 

tongue into the nest and flicks it 

around. The insects stick to the 

tongue and are then drawn into its 

tiny little mouth. Echidnas don’t 

have any teeth! 

f Echidnas are quite shy and tend to 

hide away especially when they 

hear loud noises. 

f Echidnas need bush land to live in 

which makes Australia their perfect 

home. They exist in all areas of 

Australia and have the widest 

distribution of any native mammal. 

f Echidnas are good swimmers so 

they like to live in coastal bushland 

near ponds or water. They also like 

to burrow and keep cool in dirt, as 

they don’t like the heat. 

f Echidnas are very unusual mammals 

because they lay eggs. Mammals 

that lay eggs are called monotremes. 

f The female will curl herself up, lay 

an egg and keep it warm in her 

pouch located on her stomach. 

After around 10 days a tiny baby 

hatches from the egg. It is smaller 

than a jellybean with no hair or 

spikes. The baby is called a puggle. 

f Echidna mothers don’t have 

nipples so the puggle prods a small 

patch of skin inside the pouch, the 

milk can then ooze out and the 

small puggle licks it up. 

f When the puggle is too big for the 

pouch and starts to get spines, the 

mother will dig a burrow and leave 

it there while she looks for food. 

f When the puggle is around seven 

months old it will take care of itself. 

They can live up to 50 years and 

live mainly on their own.

Aleesah Darlison & 

Puggles Problem 

The South Coast Branch of the 

Children’s Book Council recently held 

its Annual literary lunch for Primary and 

High School Students at the Fraternity 

Club at Fairy Meadow. It was a 

fabulous morning of learning, laughs, 

books and more books! 

One of the authors who graciously 

gave up her time to be present at the 

lunch, is one of the puggles biggest 

fans! She even has a published book 

titled Puggles Problem. You can read 

Sandy Fussell’s review about this great 

book on page 24. 

Aleesah Darlison writes picture 

books and novels for children. She also 

reviews books for The Sun Herald. 

Aleesah has won many awards for her 

writing and her stories have appeared 

in the black dog books Short and 

Scary Anthology, The School Magazine 

and Little Ears. Her first picture book, 

Puggle’s Problem, was released in July. 

Her junior series for girls aged 9 plus, 

Totally Twins: Musical Mayhem, was 

released this month. The series follows 

the adventures of identical twins, 

Persephone (she’s the sensible one) 

and Portia (she’s the messy one) 

Pinchgut and is written in diary format 

by Persephone. 

Early Years Magazine caught up 

with Aleesah and asked her a few 

questions. 

EY: Have you always been a writer? 

AD: I think I have been because I’ve 

always been working on some story or 

another. Though I hoped for a long 

time that I could become a published 

author, I never thought I would 

succeed. But guess what? Dreams do 

come true. 

EY: What made you 

want to be a writer? 

AD: There’s always been 

something inside me 

telling me to write, telling 

me I need to write. I think 

a lot of this stems from my 

passion for books and 

stories and self-expression. When I 

write, my main aim is to entertain and 

inspire young readers and I would love 

to be remembered for my stories. 

EY: What are the hardest things 

about being a writer? 

AD: Juggling writing and family 

commitments (I have three very young 

children). Knowing when to stop and 

relax. Finding enough time to write all 

the stories I have in my head that are 

vying for the telling. 

EY: What are the best things? 

AD: Making kids laugh, seeing my 

family so proud of me, having my work 

brought to life by the talented 

illustrators who have worked on my 

books, like Sandra Temple (Puggle’s 

Problem), Serena Geddes (Totally 

Twins) and Andrew Plant (Warambi - a 

picture book due for release in 2011). 

EY: Why a puggle? 

AD: When I first saw a puggle a few 

years ago, I fell in love. They were so 

cute and weird and different to the 

spiky adult echidna they grow into and 

which most people are familiar with. 

They completely bamboozled and 

fascinated me. I just had to share them 

with others because I knew not many 

people knew about them. 

EY: Have you met a real puggle? 

AD: I wish! Echidnas don’t breed well 

in captivity and in the wild they are 

notoriously shy so you don’t see many 

puggles about. Maybe one day. If 

anyone reading this works at a zoo or 

Sharni from 

Sue’s Kindy 

at Figtree with 

her playdough 

echidna. 

wildlife park and has any puggles, 

please, please let me know. I’d love to 

drop in to visit them. I’m actually going 

to be holding a puggle picnic at 

Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney in 

November. They have loads of 

echidnas there, but no puggles yet. 

Maybe our puggle picnic will change 

that! 

EY: Where can we buy your books? 

AD: My books should be in all good 

bookstores. You can also order them 

direct from the publishers: Puggle’s 

Problem is available through Wombat 

Books, www.wombatbooks.com.au. 

Totally Twins is available through New 

Frontier: www.newfrontier.com.au. 

Both are Australian publishers. 

EY: What is next for Aleesah? 

AD: The second book in my Totally 

Twins series, Model Mania, will be 

released in November. I also have two 

picture books being released in 2011 

as well as a six book fantasy series 

with Walker Books. I’m writing the 

series for Walker right now, so there’s 

still lots of work to do. Wish me luck! 

Thanks to Wombat Books We also 

have three copies of this beautifully 

illustrated book to give away. All you 

have to do is draw a picture of a 

puggle! Send your picture to Early 

Years Loves Puggles, PO BOX 102. 

Austinmer NSW 2515 by 5 November 

and we will publish the best ones in our 

December Issue! 

EY21

Cooking Courses for Primary kids 

We offer 

• 8 week after school courses 

• ½ day Christmas Cooking Courses 

• 2hr short courses in preparing healthy and yummy 

lunchbox specials! 

for more information Phone Jenny 0423 246 491 

email jenny@cookingmonsters.com.au 

www.cookingmonsters.com.au 

Storyteller Lilli 

Lilli tells stories from around the 

world. Including many languages and 

instruments, Lilli will take you all on a 

journey of fun, adventure and daring. 

Preschool, primary school, family 

fun day shows and follow up craft 

available. Visit www.thestoryline.com.au 

or call 0417 671 442. 

Lilli also has a CD available of stories in 

English and Spanish for use in your centre, at 

home and definitely on long holiday car trips.

Lucy Cousins has sold more than 21 

million books worldwide. These range from 

picture books, cloth and pop up books, lift 

the flap, pull the tab, 3D, the list goes on. 

Everyone has a Maisy book. There is even 

the Maisy TV show! Can you believe that 

September 2010 marks the 20th birthday 

of Maisy Mouse! 

On Monday the 6 September 

Early Years Care decided to celebrate 

Maisy’s birthday with a tea party, craft, 

songs and stories. 

With the help of Walker Books we 

celebrated in style and the real Maisy came 

to visit. It was a beautiful morning filled with 

Maisy stories and furry cuddles. 

Happy Birthday Maisy! We are sure that 

Maisy will be as popular as ever for years to 

come. If you missed Maisy this time and 

you want to give her a special birthday hug, 

you can catch her at Corrimal Library for 

more Birthday celebrations on Thursday 

14 October at 11am. Call the library on (02) 

4285 6970 for more information. 

Maisy has a birthday! 

EY23

Bush 

Babies 

with Rachael Mogan 

Hormones are a 

powerful force. I know this 

because an evil bout of gastro swept through my house this 

week. Ivy only stopped her irritable whingeing long enough 

to throw up on me, and I was so busy doing loads of 

pungent spew-washing that I hardly had time to focus on 

my own explosive diarrhoea. And yet, I still kept thinking 

about having a third baby. 

Clearly, I tend towards the romantic, rather than the 

practical. Back before I had Ted, I tried to counter this 

tendency by writing myself a little preparation manual. 

Time to revisit the technique, I think. 

Welcome to your new life with three kids under five! 

We’re so glad you’ve decided to take this step but would 

like to remind you that there is no turning back from this 

point on. You can begin by farewelling all activities 

superfluous to baby-wrangling, including adult 

conversation, leg-waxing and going to the toilet alone. 

Do not increase your fitness before beginning this 

marathon. In fact, grow fatter and fatter each month until 

you resemble a beach ball on sticks, and are unable to 

move further than the toilet without assistance. Then 

undergo either a day of two of excruciating, exhausting pain 

or major surgery. 

Do not take any recovery time between the physical 

effort described above and the beginning of this new life. In 

fact, begin breastfeeding New Baby at three-hourly intervals 

as soon as the anaesthetic has worn off. 

Sleep now. After the birth of New Baby and the 

subsequent emotional response of Other Babies, sleep 

must be taken in 20 minute blocks between feeding, 

changing and settling New Baby, while feeding, changing 

and entertaining Other Babies. 

At the same time as lifting, chasing and wrestling two 

fifteen-kilo Other Babies, ensure that you don’t drop, 

squash or forget about tiny fragile four-kilo New Baby. 

Other Babies will feel rejected and confused by New 

Baby’s arrival, and may pull New Baby off your breast, pull 

your breast off, hit each other dramatically, and try to kill 

New Baby in innovative ways. You must comfort, support 

and attend to Other Babies during the twenty-minute sleep 

blocks described above. 

Maintain a level of emotional stability, despite the 

hormonal casserole that your body has now become. Fight 

all desires to cry, shout and throw objects in anger 

(especially if object is New Baby). 

Obey all urges to eat. Encourage others to cook, shop 

for and feed you as much as possible without overstepping 

the bounds of decency. Never underestimate the raging 

appetite of a breastfeeding mother. 

Look after the delicate flower of your partnership, which 

will be under siege by lack of sleep, sex or conversations 

that don’t begin ‘It’s your turn, dammit’. 

Maintain a house that has increased its load by one 

member, who has no control of their bowels or bladder. 

Standards of cleanliness must increase with the arrival of 

delicate New Baby, and you must do this increased 

housework in the twenty-minute sleep blocks described 

above. 

Have fun! 

Hormones, I’m talking to you. 

EY24 

Book 

Reviews 

Words: Sandy Fussell 

The Trouble with Dogs 

by Bob Graham, 

Walker Books 

rrp $15.95 

Softcover Age 1-5 years 

Australian author and illustrator Bob Graham is an 

undisputed master of the picture book, winning numerous 

awards internationally and locally. The Trouble with Dogs 

is a sequel to the multi-award winning Let’s Get a Pup. 

Brought home from the Rescue Centre, Dave the pup 

is full of fun - too much fun sometimes. He runs, he barks 

and he chews holes in the tights of Kate’s school friends. 

Dave was small and wild. He slipped and he slid, he 

leapt and he skittered. “Take-me-as-you-find-me, don’tcare 

Dave.” 

The family make excuses for him but when his 

behaviour doesn’t improve and he steals a cupcake from 

a guest’s plate, Pup Breakers are called. 

“David, here!” The Brigadier does not tolerate any 

puppy nonsense and after just one session, Dave has lost 

his sparkle, his crackle and his fizz. 

How will the second lesson go and who will ultimately 

teach who? 

There is nothing more endearing than a beautiful 

puppy book, one with a touching story and energetic 

illustrations. The Trouble With Dogs ticks all the boxes. 

Bob Graham’s illustrations are full of fun and frolicking. 

Dave is a dog every reader will want to hold close. 

Puggle’s Problem 

by Aleesah Darlinson, Illustrated by 

Sandra Temple 

Wombat Books 

rrp $17.95 

Age 2-6 years Picture book 

Young readers love stories about 

Australian native animals and puggles, baby echidnas, are 

one of the most unusual and fascinating. 

Pipp is a very clever puggle. He was top of his class at 

eating ants. He was top of his class at curling into a ball. 

But this little puggle has a problem. He is the only puggle 

in the whole bush without any spines. 

Pipp gets help from the other animals – koala, 

wombat, kangaroo and kookaburra. But only an echidna 

really knows how to help and Pipp’s mum tells him that if 

he believes, good things will happen. There is a gentle 

message of patience subtly woven into the story and as 

everyone knows, an echidna without spines is easier to 

hug!

I love the read-aloud rhythms and the sounds they 

make, like when Pipp digs in the ‘soft, scritchedy dirt’. 

Illustrator Sandra Temple is an award-winning wildlife 

artist. Her illustrations are cute enough to cuddle but also 

an excellent depiction of the features of our native 

animals. Readers will have no trouble describing or 

drawing a puggle after reading this book. 

Puggle’s Problem is both entertaining and educational. 

As an added treat, colouring in pictures can be found here 

www.wombatbooks.com.au/pugglesproblem.html 

Grimsdon 

by Deborah Abela 

Random House 

rrp $16.95 

Age 8+ Paperback 

The city of Grimsdon is under 

water and three years later, the 

‘sneaker waves’ continue to roll in. 

Isabella Charm, her best friend 

Griffin, Fly the girl who never speaks and twins Raffy and 

Bea, live in a palatial half-submerged old building. Every 

day is a struggle to survive - they scrounge for food, brave 

the dangerous flying fox and dare the waves in a flimsy 

dinghy – yet the children are happy living with each other. 

Their home furnishings are the stuff of fairytales as they 

play dress-up and act out stories. 

But change is on its way - through the air, across the 

harbour and from under the sea. Dashing Xavier flies in on 

his aerotrope to admire Isabella and challenge Griffin’s role 

in the family of children. The ‘harbour master’, Byron P 

Sneddon makes new and greater demands – including 

one for the aerotrope. And there just might be a sea 

monster lurking in the deep - the dreaded Skelene. 

This is a story of magnificent scope. A film waiting to 

happen. Readers will be drawn dripping wet through the 

wonderful world of Grimsdon. Fast paced, imaginative 

and with just a touch of romance, this book will equally 

appeal to boys and girls. 

Sandy Fussell is a local author. Her Samurai Kids 

series has been released in the US and UK. The third 

book, Shaolin Tiger was a Children’s Book Council of 

Australia Notable book in 2010 and 

shortlisted for the Speech Pathology 

Book of the Year. Polar Boy was 

shortlisted for the CBCA 2009 Book 

of the Year for Younger Readers. 

Sandy’s latest book, Jaguar 

Warrior, is an exciting adventure 

story set in Aztec times, and recently 

received a five-star review in Good 

Reading magazine. 

The Food Muse 

with Maria Mitzikis 

Full vs. Satisfied 

An infant stops feeding when hunger is satisfied. How does 

the baby know? The answer is similar to the fable of Goldilocks 

and the three bears. Goldilocks looked for the porridge, the chair, 

and the bed that felt just right. The same should be true with your 

stomach and feeling satisfied. The satisfied stomach isn’t a little 

bit hungry or a little bit full. It feels just right. 

Answer the following questions: 

1. Do you usually go back for seconds at dinner or lunch? 

Yes or No 

2. Do you “supersize” your meal at fast-food restaurants? 

Yes or No 

3. Do you loosen your belt or change to looser clothes at the 

end of a meal more than once a month? Yes or No 

4. Do you eat a dessert at the end of a meal even when you’re 

satisfied and have had plenty of food? Yes or No 

5. Do you regularly drink more than one beer or glass of wine 

with a meal? Yes or No 

6. Do you usually eat everything on your plate? Yes or No 

7. After dinner, do you usually sit and watch TV or do another 

sedentary activity? Yes or No 

8. Do you eat more than one piece of bread along with 

everything else on your plate at a main meal? Yes or No 

9. Do you binge eat, or eat to satisfy emotional hunger? 

Yes or No 

10. Do you continue to snack or eat throughout the evening? 

Yes or No 

If you answered “Yes” to more than one of these questions, 

you probably have a habit of eating until you’re full or stuffed. 

Two Simple Rules for Eating Naturally 

Eating naturally is eating based on honouring your body’s 

hunger communications. You need to remember only two broad 

rules: 1) only eat when you feel a hunger pang; 2) only eat 

enough food to get satisfied, not enough to get full. 

Virtually any healthy eating plan or diet you choose will work if 

you honour these two key body communications. We have lost 

touch with the primitive instinct for hunger. Hunger motivates “the 

get up and go get the food” response that was necessary for the 

primitive hunter. It is vital that we feel the hunger and are not 

always full. The call for food from hunger allows our digestive 

juices to kick in as well as our metabolism. Your body will burn 

fuel from its simple functions as well as doing exercise. 

It is also vital that we allow our children to feel hungry so that 

they eat what’s put in front of them, simply because they are 

hungry. I never worry about whether my children will eat what I 

have cooked or not because I know they will be hungry enough 

to eat anything! We are too entrenched in the habit of wanting to 

see food in the hand of a child all day long. However, that child is 

learning to snack constantly, mostly on processed foods and 

when the main meal comes around, they have already been 

satisfied and can easily refuse. 

If your child is constantly asking for food, get them into the 

habit of waiting, especially if they’re over the age of six. A child 

who is continually given something to munch on learns that food 

is a comfort item and this can lead to unhealthy eating habits. If 

they simply can’t wait, then offer a fruit or small yoghurt. Never 

offer junky foods enriched with sugar or salt. 

Lighten the load of feeling full and always thinking about what 

to eat next. Good Luck! Yours in health, Maria.... 

EY25

I spotted an old wooden canoe on 

my travels. What a treat! Some days 

you can find the best items when you 

are scanning the suburbs for rubbish! 

So as I shoved the large, actually very 

large, canoe into the back of my trusty 

Tarago, I knew exactly what I was 

planning! 

The boat was in great shape. A 

quick sand and a few coats of outdoor 

black paint and I was ready to create 

my Pirate Island. I had the perfect 

position. My raised vegetable garden 

was a sorry looking patch of dirt thanks 

to my free-range chooks but it would 

make a perfect play area. Actually, a 

party area. I was already planning my 

pirate party! 

The boat needed a hole in the 

bottom and a pole. That’s me speaking 

in intellectual building terms but that is 

EY26 

Madame 

Trash! 

Madame Trash has a Pirate Party! 

exactly what I did. I put a hole in the 

bottom of the boat, dug a hole in the 

dirt and placed the boat over it, in line 

with the hole in the boat, put the pole 

in and yes, cemented it. It was extra 

fun holding the pole upright during the 

strong windstorms so the cement 

would set with the pole in the correct 

place! 

So I now had a pirate ship! I 

painted the pole black and attached 

some black material as a flag. I found 

an old crate in the shed. I looked 

around the yard for pinecones and I 

painted them gold as treasure. I found 

some sparkles and some shells to add 

to the treasure box that was filling with 

goodies that glistened in the sun. 

I managed to find another one of 

those foosball tables that was being 

thrown out. Remember I made the 

dinosaur interest table? This was now 

my pirate play table. I painted the top 

of the table and used the lid to create a 

backdrop. I draped left over black 

material on the table to set the scene. I 

found a sticker of a pirate ship that I 

stuck to the backdrop and filled the 

rest with shaved paper, shells, pebbles, 

sharks and mini pirates. The beauty of 

these tables is that they are the perfect 

height for childrens play and a few 

children can play at once. You can also 

create a new scene when pirates 

become boring! 

I needed a game for our pirate 

party. I cut out some foam fish and 

prettied them up with other bits of 

foam. I went to the $2 dollar shop and 

found cheap magnets and superglued 

them to each fish. After I unglued my 

fingers from each other (yes true) I

found some balloon sticks in the 

cupboard. Perfect fishing rods! I taped 

the string (since I was steering well 

clear of super glue) to the top of the 

stick. Unfortunately I had to use the 

super glue again and stick a magnet to 

the string. Yes I stuck my fingers 

together again but my fishing game 

was finished. 

Pirate day arrived! What a great day 

it was! Plenty of good ole Pirate play. 

The children and adults loved playing in 

the ship and my fishing game was a hit! 

A piñata, face painting and a 

treasure hunt filled the morning with 

fun. 

A great, inexpensive idea that will 

last for months. Well until I have 

Halloween ideas! 

Why do children love pirates? 

As long as I have been in the 

Early Childhood Field (and that’s a 

really long time!) there is one fad that 

never seems to fade out. Children 

just love pirate play. Just like the 

Superhero conversations I have, 

pirate play has become somewhat 

a heated topic of late. Our country 

is becoming more and more 

multicultural everyday bringing 

about more discussion about what is 

deemed inappropriate play for our 

children. Children don’t really 

understand what is considered a 

‘real ‘pirate in our adult lives. They 

do not know that people have had 

their lives ruined by international 

pirates of the seas—a very real and 

very sad fact of life. 

However pirate play is just that 

for our children—play. Play is the 

basis of all learning and development 

and imaginative play is as valuable as 

it gets. 

Ask a child what a pirate is and 

there are varied answers. “Captain 

Feather Sword”, the faithful friend of 

the Wiggles is always a firm answer, 

a “boat man” was another answer, as 

was “people who wear hats and 

parrots and look for treasure chests”! 

The concept of pirates is just that for 

children, a concept. 

As with Superhero play, pirate 

play should be monitored and you 

should intervene if it becomes 

inappropriate or violent. Always use 

observed play as opportunities to 

educate children and of course join in 

when they let you!

Cooking 

with 

Charlie 

This issue Charlie gives us some great tips and ideas for fussy breakfast eaters. 

Vegetarians are people who don’t eat 

meat and meat products. People may be 

vegetarians for ethical, environmental, 

health or cultural reasons. If parents are 

vegetarians, they may want their children 

to eat the same way they do. 

A vegetarian diet can provide 

children with a nutritious alternative to a 

meat diet. Special care must be taken 

with vegetarian diets as they can 

sometimes result in vitamin and protein 

deficiencies. Very young children and 

babies should not be on strict 

vegetarian diets without medical advice 

or first consulting a dietician or 

pediatric nutritionist. 

For carers considering a vegetarian 

diet for their child it is important to 

remember a few things. 

f Understand what foods need to be 

substituted in the diet as energy, 

protein and vitamin sources may 

need to be sourced from foods that 

you may not now eat regularly 

f Encourage your child to eat a wide 

variety of foods on a daily basis 

f Alternate wholegrain and refined 

cereal products. 

f Increase the energy value of food 

consumed by switching to nut 

butters, avocado, full fat dairy 

products and oils. 

f Give your child regular meals and 

snacks. 

f Combine foods containing vitamin 

C with foods that are high in iron. 

For example, offer an orange with 

baked beans on toast as Vitamin C 

enhances the absorption of iron. 

Here are some great ideas for 

vegetarian meals that the whole family 

can enjoy. 

EY28 

Vegie Penne with 

Pumpkin Sauce 

INGREDIENTS 

2 tbsp olive oil 

½ medium red onion, thinly sliced 

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

550 g diced Kent pumpkin, skin 

removed 

1 stock cube, to make 2 cups vegie 

stock 

300 g penne pasta 

1 red onion, thinly sliced (extra) 

200 g punnet Cup mushrooms, sliced 

75 g snow peas, ends trimmed 

cup Greek style natural yoghurt 

METHOD 

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium 

high heat. Add half the oil and cook 

onion for 2 minutes, add 2 cloves of 

chopped garlic and pumpkin and 

cook for 1 minute. Add stock to the 

pan and bring to the simmer, reduce 

heat, cover and simmer gently until 

pumpkin is soft. 

2. Remove the pan from heat, keep ½ 

cup of the cooking liquid and pureé 

pumpkin with the remaining liquid in 

a blender until smooth. Season 

with salt and pepper 

3. Cook the penne pasta. 

4. While the pasta is cooking, heat a 

large frying pan over medium heat. 

Add the remaining oil to the pan 

and cook the extra onion for 2 

minutes. Add garlic, mushrooms 

and snow peas 

5. Mix the pasta with the vegetables 

and sauce stirring over medium 

heat, add the yoghurt then season 

to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy! 

This recipe is vegetarian and gluten 

free! 

Sweet Potato , Rocket and 

Feta Quiche 

FILLING 

1 tbsp olive oil 

250 g sweet potato peeled, cut into 

2cm cubes 

1 /3 cup rocket leaves or baby spinach 

roughly chopped or 2 teaspoons fresh 

rosemary 

½ cup cream 

50 g feta crumbled or ¼ cup grated 

Parmesan cheese 

½ medium red onion finely chopped 

4 extra large eggs 

PASTRY 

1 1 /4 cups gluten free plain flour sifted, 

plus extra for rolling & dusting 

1/4 cups soy compound sifted 

100 g cold butter diced 

2 tbsp cold water 

melted butter for greasing pan 

Method 

Pastry: Process flour, soy and 

butter. Blend in water until mixture 

cobines. Knead slightly and roll 

between 2 sheets of baking paper. 

Butter and flour a 22 x 2.5cm tart pan. 

Gently line the pan with pastry. 

Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly flour 

pastry base and top with baking paper. 

Scatter over beans or rice and bake 10 

minutes. Remove paper and rice and 

bake 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 180°C. 

Filling: Heat oil and cook onion and 

sweet potato in frying pan for 2-3 

minutes. Add ¾ cup water, simmer until 

softened and water evaporated. Add to 

pastry case with rocket. Mix eggs, cream 

and feta and pour over vegetables. Cook 

25 minutes, or until set. 

Allow to cool before setting.

Advertise 

with us! 

Now accepting 

ads for Issue 5 

2010. 

To book your 

advertisment call 

02 4268 4886 

or email ads@earlyyearscare.com.au 

Children’s Creative 

Writing Course 

A self-paced online creative writing course 

for children aged 9 to 14 years is offered by 

well-known children’s author Dianne (Di) Bates. 

Feedback and certificate offered. 

For more details, go to 

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advertise here 

This could be you 

Contact ads@earlyyearscare.com.au for more information. 

OUT nOw – jagUar warriOr 

An exciting action adventure set in Aztec 

times by local author Sandy Fussell 

Recommended for kids 9 – 14 years. Rrp $14.95. 

Available in all good book stores or email 

samuraikids@people.net.au and mention this ad for free postage. 

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Email mag@earlyyearscare.com.au for more info. 

CHILD CARE PROVIDERS 

WANTED 

Early Years Care Family Day Care 

is recruiting experienced or 

trained childcare workers to 

manage their own home-based 

Early Years Care childcare business in 2010. 

To attend an information night please email your details to 

yvonne@earlyyearscare.com.au or phone 42684886. 

We are a small professional team of Early Childhood 

Professionals who are dedicated to educating children. 

We have a focus on environmental sustainability, creative 

arts and the emerging curriculum. 

Contact us if you are keen on helping to educate 

our future. 

Join Charlie’s Chef Club 

Charlie is starting his own C.L.C.C that’s Charlies 

Little Chef Club. The club is for children aged 2-13 years 

and is open to anyone anywhere! 

Send the coupon to C.L.C.C c/o PO BOX 102 

Austinmer NSW 2515. The club is free to join. You will 

receive a special joining kit, a newsletter, activities, 

competitions and more each month. You will also receive 

notice of fantastic nutrition and cooking events being 

held in all areas. Charlie can’t wait to hear from you and 

have you join his club! 

Charlie’s Little Chef Club 

Early Years Magazine 

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Early Years Magazine, Issue 3, 2010 - Aleesah Darlison

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