An Dinh · Early Childhood Teacher · Sydney, NSW

Little World & our neighbourhood

The Little World idea started on our first Forest Kindy excursions, when the children kept trying to work out which direction we were heading. When I took out the iPad and showed them our route on a map, their interest in maps took off. It fitted perfectly with that term’s topic, “Our people, our places”, so we decided to make a map of our own community, and that’s how Little World got rolling.

Mapping our neighbourhood

Using a printed street map on a clipboard as our guide, we drew a giant map together: first the outline of the river, then the streets, parks and the places the children know, labelled so they could find them again.

The children coloured the river with long, careful strokes and added the green of the parks, comparing their map with the real one as they went. It built early mapping and spatial language (bends, next to, across the river), a strong sense of belonging to their community, and lots of conversation about where each child lives, as they recognised places they had visited with their families.

Little World, our class mascot

Little World went home with a different child for a few days at a time. Together with their family, the child photographed the anchor points of their everyday life: the tree they always walk past on the way to care, the First Nations artwork on the ground they cross before going into the supermarket, the friendly owners of the açaí café they say hello to every Saturday.

Back at the service, children shared Little World’s journal with the group. Seeing each other’s places through pictures helped children connect with where they live, notice the people and places that make up their community, and build a real sense of belonging. It was also a wonderful way to include our families in the program, and a joyful way for them to take part in their child’s learning.

Cooking as science

This year I noticed we had a lot of picky eaters, and children who struggled to eat the food provided. To help them understand what food is for, we learned about our bodies, how food travels through them, and why we need it, such as for nutrition. I introduced child-friendly language: imagine there is a fire in our tummy, and to keep it going we need to fuel it with food. Too much or too little puts the fire out. We also talked about “always” foods and “sometimes” foods.

Then we made food fun. This year I had one child who struggled with food and mostly ate only bread. When I sat with him at meal times to give him comfort, he often asked me bread questions: why does bread sometimes have big holes, why is there white dust on the crust, why is there a crust at all? So I asked whether he’d like to make our own bread. He agreed, and became my leading friend in the project. We measured, read the scales and learned how yeast makes the gas that fills bread with air bubbles.

From there, food projects became a regular part of our week. On a hot day we blended banana smoothies. One of our educators, who is Thai, helped us cook Thai fried rice served in a pineapple. A guacamole taste test, one batch with coriander and a little garlic and one without, led us into learning about oxidation as the avocado turned brown.

Along the way we also learned about food allergies and intolerances, and why some friends eat differently. Children prepare fruit with child-safe knives and real chopping boards, too.

These experiments were wonderful opportunities to learn about science and chemistry, and about our senses of taste and smell. They were also about being brave: watching our friends try new foods, and knowing it’s okay not to like something and put it away.

Out-of-the-box art

Big, fun, explorative art is one of my favourite ways to include children who aren’t drawn to traditional sit-down drawing. I want children to learn that art is about the journey: having fun, discovering things along the way, and seeing that things can be beautiful in very different ways. Tastes and opinions in art can differ, and we practise sharing them respectfully and kindly.

I draw inspiration from famous artists, both modern and traditional, and colour theory is a great way to make art fun. Children dropped coloured vinegar onto trays of bicarb soda and watched it fizz, spread and mix, made rainbow brushes by bundling cotton buds, painted big with their feet, and built collages from cut circles inspired by modern artists.

Of course, art is also one of the most exciting ways to practise fine motor skills, so I introduce lots of different tools and materials, from clay to playdough.

One of my favourite projects is mixing skin tones from primary colours. Children discover just how many different shades and pigmentations there are, and that we are all different, but the same.