Goodstart Early Learning Shepparton - Bourchier Street

🔥 Fire Safety Drill Practice 🔥

Today we practiced an important fire safety drill with the children. We evacuated the building, discussed all things safety, and talked through the procedures we follow during an emergency evacuation.

The children engaged really well throughout the experience and showed great understanding of why it is so important to stay calm, listen carefully, and follow instructions to help keep everyone safe.

We spoke about the importance of making sure everyone is accounted for by completing a roll call and we definitely couldn’t forget our very special member of our community, Tiddles our turtle! 🐢 Tiddles joined us for the practice to make sure he knew what to do in an emergency too.

The children especially enjoyed learning about how these safety routines help ensure everyone’s wellbeing. We are so proud of how thoughtfully they participated and how seriously they took this important learning experience. ❤️

This week, the children explored feelings and ways to be kind to each other. We also connected our learning to an important moment in Australia's history, the National Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples, which was about saying sorry for past unfairness and showing care for everyone.

We started by talking about feelings. We looked at pictures of happy, sad, angry, scared, and loved faces. The children shared times when they feel happy or safe, like playing with friends or spending time with family. They also talked about what helps them feel better when they are sad.

Next, we explored families and belonging. Children drew pictures of their families or the people who care for them and shared stories about who helps them when they feel sad and what makes them feel loved. This helped them understand that, just like families and communities, need care and kindness too.

We then discussed what sorry means. We talked about times we might need to say sorry, such as when we accidentally hurt someone or their feelings.

Children drew pictures of saying sorry or helping a friend. We connected this to the National Apology, explaining that sometimes saying sorry is important not only for our friends or family, but also to show fairness and care for groups of people who have been hurt in the past.

After that, we created our Kindness Tree. Each child drew one kind thing they could do, such as Sharing, helping a friend, or giving a smile. Adding our ideas to the tree reminded us that small acts of kindness can help people feel included and cared for.

The children were thoughtful, engaged, and excited to share their ideas. They are beginning to understand how feelings, saying sorry, and kindness help everyone feel safe, loved, and included.

This expereice helped children build empathy, understanding, and strong friendships, and also introduced them to the idea that saying sorry and showing kindness can make a difference not just in our classroom, but in the world around us.