Saturday Inspiration Morning

9:00am-12:30pm

$90.00 per person

SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER

Don Rowlands Centre, Karapiro

Jean Rockel and Anita Homewood

Who is Froebel and why do his ideas resonate within an infant curriculum? Presented by Jean Rockel, Honorary Academic at the Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland

Many educators are unaware of Froebel or couldn’t possibly anticipate the relevance such a revolutionary thinker from long ago would have for 21st century early education in Aotearoa. There is an essence at the heart of our pedagogy that we draw upon: holistic practice, valuing play, engaging with an ecological view of the natural world, seeing children as active, curious, creative learners, to be in “close and living relationship with people’s lives” – all examples of Froebelian ideas. This lecture portrays the significance of Froebel’s ideas within the cultural perspectives of infant pedagogy through examples of infant settings in England, USA, Hong Kong and New Zealand. The view of pedagogies of care as embodiments of culture emerged from participation in a 2-year international research study guided by Froebel’s philosophy of education. This presentation invites an exploration of infant curriculum through Froebel’s eyes.

On my own, with your help: Laying the foundations for self regulation and resilience in infants and toddlers
Presented by Anita Homewood, Educational Leadership Project

We are blessed to have a curriculum dedicated to the learning and development of infants and toddlers, focused on care and respect, and that embraces and nurtures the whole child. Within this curriculum, kaiako support infants and toddlers to discover how to ‘be’ in this ever-changing world, and recognise, in particular, the importance of providing opportunities to grow resilience and self regulation.

We will take a look at what self regulation and resilience are, and how we can support infants and toddlers in in this part of their journey towards autonomy. We will will also look at how to capture this learning through our documentation, sharing these magic moments that shape our youngest learners identities as capable and competent.