AS a nation, from July 4-11 we observed and celebrated NAIDOC Week to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
For the children at Beerwah Family Day Care, the opportunity to be enriched with culture and learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is woven into the curriculum throughout the year.
Beerwah Family Day Care’s Mary Cullen said that by embedding this education into the centre’s curriculum, children and their families were enriched by the program.
“Each morning we gather for our yarn time, where we do our acknowledgement to Country and sing our Wunya song for inclusion for all children,” Mary said.
“We are fortunate enough to have Christine Stuart from the Gubbi Gubbi people come to our centre regularly where she teaches the children symbols, music, Gubbi Gubbi language and how to paint with ochre.”
Mary said that delivering this implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures enhanced children’s educational outcomes bringing an understating and awareness from an early age about Australia’s First People.
Educators at Beerwah Family Day Care have devised their own reconciliation action plan, which has been approved by Reconciliation Australia. Their ongoing curriculum is linked to the National Quality Framework, which sets standards for education and care across long day care, family day care, preschool/kindergarten and outside school hours care services.
