Kooly Aboriginal Supported Playgroup has had an increase in young babies attending the playgroup. At Cambridge Playgroup in the park, at the end of last year, we saw many of our little ones go off to preschool and school but have since had an influx on new little ones attending with their families each week. We are loving seeing some fresh faces in this group and seeing the bubs spend time having fun with others and their families.
Our last Dad’s group meeting in Cambridge Park last term had a visit from the Penrith City Council’s Mobile Playvan. Unbeknownst to us, the playgroup was on at the same time as footy training. This created a great opportunity for us to connect with children of all ages, from preschool to high school and see them engage with each other. They all had fun playing in the mud and water play together. It was fantastic seeing the older children become mentors to the smaller children. The dad’s had a blast watching their kids have so much fun and enjoyed having the opportunity to bond with their children in a friendly, safe environment with other Dad’s. We would like to continue this group however are looking at when the best time to run this group will be due to daylight savings ending and many dad’s not being able to access early in the afternoon during the week.
This year we are focusing on implementing activities within our playgroups to help prepare children for going to day-care and supporting families to understand the early childhood language in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) being careful not to overload them as this can be overwhelming. The Early Years Framework for Australia is to support early childhood providers, teachers and educators to extend and enrich children’s learning from birth to 5 years and through the transition to school. We will be doing this by explaining to parents why we do each activity at playgroup. We do activities for a purpose and will be letting parents know this such as the benefits of water play, why we have construction and so on. During term 2 we will be focusing on Identity as it is extremely important in the early years for children to develop a strong sense of identity. Children do this through their relationships with their family, other people, places and things. In early childhood settings, children develop a sense of belonging when they feel accepted, develop attachments, and build trust with their carers. They can also explore this through play.
Our current NCNS playgroups include:
Playgroup in the Park, Community Playgroup in Cambridge Park
Kooly Aboriginal Supported Playgroup
Dark Emus Aboriginal Supported Playgroup
To speak with our Early Childhood team, please contact 02 4729 0442.