Presentations and orchard antics

It is coming to the end of year for the project work and a wonderful time to reflect on the journey our teaching teams have made. Through music, drama, dance and story teachers have shared their ELP journey at the recent presentation evenings. The use of metaphor has helped many centres to frame their story and share in a humorous (often hilarious way) the trials and tribulations of their year, as well as their successes. We have had a paddling pool where a centre shared their EUREKA moments through the story of ‘Archimedes’ Bath”; another centre went on a rafting trip (complete with raft at the presentation evening) and navigated rapids in order to find calm waters.

All centres have amazed us by their creativity and their ability to honestly reflect on what has changed and why. Most have agreed that participating in the ELP has been the catalyst for change. It is a bit of a poignant time of year as I say goodbye to the centres that I have worked with, I know the world of ECE is quite small and that I will see many teachers again, however I will miss working with these teachers in their centres.
As the year does come to an end I always think about what has been and what is to come - next year looks slightly uncertain but will definitely be another adventure and I have learned that working with ELP certainly appeals to my adventurous side.

Some adventures that are looming quite soon are ones closer to home. For instance; how to harvest my fruit before the possum do? Although it is not just the possum I have to contend with, my growing family of chickens are getting more adventurous (do they get this from their human ‘mother'?) and have found a plum tree with quite low branches!!! Of ours not to be left out the geese follow and can reach higher than the chickens - so the crop is diminishing as I speak. To top this off we now have a resident peacock (peahen actually) who has come to stay, having abandoned her mate for the look of 3 handsome white male geese! I am worried what she will be partial to and think she can reach higher up my trees than the geese. I wonder what you get if you cross a goose with a peacock? My husband thinks Christmas dinner could be exciting - but rest assured whatever finds its way to our Christmas table (actually we don’t have a table but that's another story) will be free range but not from our garden. Have a very happy Christmas with many wonderful adventures
Alison

Christmas is coming, the Goose is getting fat

With the end of the year rapidly approaching this is a busy time for Project Facilitators, we are well into three weeks of presentations by the teams we have been supporting over the year. This is always an exciting time for us as Facilitators as we get to hear the journeys teaching teams have taken over the year. We are often moved to tears by the shifts teachers have made in their practice and by the stories teachers share.
Tonight, I have been to the presentations from the ICT Leadership Strand I have worked alongside this year. Teachers have deepened their understandings of ICT and learnt alongside the children. Teachers have explored the use of the Digital Microscope, Online Gaming, I Can Animate, Skype, to name a few, embedding these into their programme keeping to the forefront learning and teaching.
With Christmas around the corner I have spent some time over the weekend getting the Lounge room ready for the festive season. The tree is up, the stockings are under the mantel and all is well...

Meri Kirihimete
Ngā mihi o te tau hou

Jo

Welcome to our Blog

Welcome to the ELP Blog!! Our organisation (ELP) is moving into a period of considerable change. For the past decade, we have been involved as professional development providers with the New Zealand Ministry of Education, delivering professional development not only in our key regions (Taupo north) but across the entire country.

As the National government brings PD as we have know it to a close, we too are exploring our new and changing role in the area of professional education for early childhood teachers in NZ.

As a team we are both individually and collectively passionate about the work we do and believe the work does indeed make a difference for children and families and whanau in NZ.

We are keen in these changing times to increase the activity by setting up this Blog. Over the past few years, we have established a network of teachers, researchers and academics internationally, who we hope will also contribute to this site.

We would love this blog to provide another opportunity for those of us who are so passionate about their work to:

• Reflect
• Respond
• Revisit
• Reciprocate
• Revise
• Refresh
• Renew
• Rekindle and
• Relearn

We look forward to sharing our thoughts and reflections with you all and hope this blog will develop into a vibrant community of shared experiences, deepening and enriching our knowledge and understanding of early childhood education, increasing our possibilities for advocacy and empowering teacher to provide much needed pedagogical leadership in uncertain times.

Kia kaha, kia manawanui