Did you miss last week's Being Informed newsletter?  Click here to read it. 

Next week's newsletter will have a special focus on funding in the ECE sector - and we will bring you new information, research, and insights into funding and related issues. 

Contents of this week's newsletter:

1. School Holiday Idea - Take a Trip to the Public Library
2. Winter Activities for Children's Enjoyment and Learning
3. Profile of Laine Barker - Her Huge Contribution to Playcentre and Life Story
4. Reserve Your Place Now for the Early Childhood Management National Forum 
5. Discounted Entry to Auckland's NZ-Ed Show - Make Use of this for Your ECE Service Staff P.D.
6. When the Behaviour of a Child Makes it Difficult to Provide a Safe and Educational Environment for All Children
7. Early Reading Together Programme - Top Literacy Resource for ECE Services 
8. Engaging in Collaborative Research with Teachers: Issues and Tensions and Lessons Learned by Researchers
9. Children's Learning Game of the Week - "Children of the World Memory Game"
10. Childcare Costs in the First 5 Years Can Leave Parents Cash Poor
11. More International News Headlines

1. School Holiday Idea - Take a Trip to the Public Library

Going to the library is a great activity to do either on your own with a child or small group of children, or as a group visit with your early childhood service.

* READ MORE:  Visiting the Library

2. Winter Activities Indoors and Outdoors for Children's Enjoyment and Learning

The temperature has dropped, the weather may be bad outside, noise levels inside are too high, and the children are bored.  It is time to bring in some new ideas and fresh activities.  So here to help you are ideas for activities children love to do on winter weather days.  

In every activity there is potential for you as an adult to use it for educational benefit, supporting children's learning of related concepts, language, and skills (e.g. maths, science, drama, visual art, music, gross-motor and fine-motor).

* READ MORE:  Winter Activities Kids Love and Can Be Educational Too!

3.  Profile of Laine Barker - Her Huge Contribution to Playcentre and Life Story

Laine is a parent who spearheaded a hugely successful campaign in Canterbury in 2011 to get the then Education Minister (and Prime Minister!) to promise not to cut funding to Playcentres.

She is the Chairperson of the Canterbury Playcentre Association and has been a member of the organisation since the mid 1980s.

* READ MORE: Biography of Laine Barker

4.  Book Your Place Now at the National Forum on Early Childhood Service Management

This unique annual one-day national forum is for all ECE services.  It is to be held in the capital city, Wellington, on Thursday 6th September this year.

Come and hear the Minister of Education, experts and speakers from the sector.  

This is your opportunity to ask questions, gain new information, and share ideas for how best to meet current and future challenges and build on the success of your ECE service.  

Only a small number of places are still available. For details of the programme and to quickly register online click here. Or to print a copy of the registration form click here.  Or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and put in a quick request for places to be reserved while you organise your registration. 

5.  $20.00 Entry to Auckland's NZ-Edn Show (Discounted tickets available) 

Are you going or sending staff to the NZ-Ed Show at the Telstra Pacific Events Centre in Auckland? ChildForum members are eligible for a discount and gate entry is reduced to $20.00 for members - but tickets must be pre-purchased and you need to put in the ChildForum member discount code. The Show is open on Saturday 15th Sept 10am - 4pm making it an accessible (and very affordable) P.D. day for teachers.   

* READ MORE:  ChildForum discount code for NZ-Ed Show

6.  When the Behaviour of a Child Makes it Difficult to Provide a Safe and Educational Environment for All Children

A member has asked whether her centre can terminate the enrolment of a child whose behaviour has left other children crying, disrupts the programme, and requires constant individual supervision.  

She's worried about what will happen to her centre's reputation if the parent goes to the local newspaper and she's worried also about how this might reflect on the skills of herself and staff in admitting that they cannot cope with the child's behaviour anymore. 

In a new article on the ChildForum website we have compiled top advice from early childhood teachers and service providers on this issue.

* READ MORE:  Terminating Enrolment and Alternatives

7.  Early Reading Together® Programme -  Top Literacy Resource

Have you heard about Early Reading Together?  It is a fabulous resource, strongly grounded in research, which has proven to be highly effective in helping educators to make a difference to children's literacy outcomes. Teachers know that helping parents and whānau to support children at home from a very early age is highly beneficial for children, parents and also for the teachers themselves.

The school-age version of the programme is currently being rolled out nationally to low-decile schools as well as to a selection of high-decile schools with a large number of Maori students. The Ministry of Education has shown interest in the early childhood version - Early Reading Together - for early childhood educators and parents with children under 6 years of age.

"There are other programmes out there but the thing about this one is that the families are involved" - Assoc Education Minister Dr Pita Sharples told the Manukau Courier

It is "the closest thing to a silver bullet we've ever seen" - Manurewa Central principal [Dr] Laurie Thew told the Manukau Courier

"The home environment is where the rewards of what teachers are teaching are reaped" - Palmerston North City Librarian, Mr Meads told the Manawatu Standard why he is passionate about the programme.

Your ECE service can order the resources and get a head start on other ECE services in implementing the Early Reading Together programme. 

*  READ MORE:  Click here for Details about the Early Reading Together Resources and Order Forms

8.  Engaging in Collaborative Research with Teachers: Issues and Tensions and Lessons Learned by Researchers 

A collaborative research initiative was established between early childhood centre staff and teacher educators from a tertiary institution. The aim of the research was to investigate a problem related to the achievement of boys from the centre when they started school. This paper reports on issues and tensions that arose when the centre staff realised that, although the focus of the collaborative venture was the boys’ learning competencies, their professional practice would also come under scrutiny. Resolving the issues was a delicate and sensitive process for all concerned. The lessons derived from this experience may be of relevance to others who engage in similar research collaborations.  

* READ MORE:  Engaging in Collaborative Research: Lessons Learned. A paper by Margaret Turnbull and Helen Dixon,  published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education journal and available by clicking here.

10. Childcare Costs in the First 5 Years Can Leave Parents Cash Poor

Today's modern parent is left with little to save when childcare is paid for.  When they add up the costs of childcare over the months and years they see why it's been hard to come out of the first five years with a balanced budget.  

This article asks you to imagine all the things you could buy with what you have spent on early childhood education/childcare - "then imagine the realisation that you've spent that much". 

* READ MORE: Parents Spend More On Childcare When Both Parents Work Than Anything Else and are Cash Poor with Higher Debt