Newsletter- April 2019

Letter from Lucy

Hello and Welcome to the April Edition of Happy Kids Newsletter.

First, I would like thank all the wonderful parents and families who participated at our
Easter Party. It was lovely to see you all there; and we hope you had a great time. Please
do not hesitate to email me if you have any suggestions of comments to improve our
future events.

Our Next event at Happy Kids will be “Mother’s Day High Tea” to celebrate motherhood
and show appreciation for mothers’ endless love and support. The High Tea will be held on
Monday, 13th of May at 10 am.

Mrs Gassia is going on Maternity Leave on Wednesday, 15th of May. On behalf of Happy
Kids Staff and families, I would like to wish her the best for the remaining days
of pregnancy and hope she has a safe and healthy delivery.

Her Focus Children’s Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Monday, 13th of May
between 8am to 3pm. Please see the timetable on the Sign in desk for available times to
book you self in. This is a great opportunity to speak with your child's teacher and to see
the progress your child has made during the year and what to work on in the coming weeks
and months.

In our constant effort to offer a High Quality experience to our families and children, we
ask that you fill in the attached survey and return it to our Suggestion Box in the sign in
area. Please return it by Friday 17th of May 2019. After assessing the returned Surveys,
we will look at our policies, procedures and daily practices. All responses are considered
and will help us evaluate not only our procedures but also our programming and
relationships with each family.

Happy reading and looking forward to see all the mothers on Monday, 13th of May at 10 am
.
 Management of Illness

To minimise and control the spread of illnesses and to keep our children healthy at Happy Kids, our
Exclusion Periods for the following are:-

 Vomiting – one case of vomit, parent contacted to collect child from Centre and is only able to
return 24 hours from the last vomit symptom

 Yellow or green discharge from nose – parent contacted to collect child from Centre and can
only return once nose discharge is clear

 Temperature over 37.5 Degrees – parent contacted to collect child from Centre and can only
return 24 hours since last high temperature

 Diarrhoea or loose stools – 2 loose stools, parent contacted to collect child from Centre and
he/she is only able to return 24 hours from the last loose stool

 Unusual spots or rash – parent contacted to collect child from Centre and seek medical
advice. Please provide medical clearance upon returning to the Centre

 Discharge from eyes - parent contacted to collect child from Centre and seek medical advice.
Please provide medical clearance upon returning to the Centre

Please note if the child has a contagious illness, he/she must return with medical clearance
from the doctor.

Earn and Learn Program

We are glad to announce that Happy Kids is taking part in the Woolworths Earn & Learn
program this year (from Wednesday 1st May till Tuesday 25th June). Could you kindly help
us collect stickers each time you shop at Woolworths and place them in our collection box
next to the sign in table. For every $10 you spend at Woolworths, you will receive a sticker.
The more points we earn, the more we can redeem for educational resources.

Fees

Just a quick reminder, all families will be billed on a fortnightly basis instead of Monthly. Fees are
expected to be paid 2 weeks in advance, at all times. The fees will be debited on the following dates in
May; 3/5, 17/5 and 31/5.

-As a Part of our Compliance Requirements, Statements of Entitlement will be released every
fortnight, which include actual amounts of CCS paid and your child's physical attendance times for
each session of care.
Wholemeal Apple Muffin
PREP 15 min | COOK 12-15 min | MAKES 12

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (250 ml) yoghurt
3/4 cup (180 ml) vegetable oil (lightly flavoured olive oil or cold pressed macadamia nut oil are great
choices)
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (125 grams) plain wholemeal flour
1 cup (110 grams) almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
2 medium apples, skin on and diced plus an extra apple, thinly sliced

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin papers. Place the
yoghurt, oil, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the flour, almond meal, baking powder and cinnamon and mix until just combined. Do not over
mix. Gently fold through the diced apple. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to ladle the batter into the
prepared tin and top each muffin with a slice of apple. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and
cooked. A skewer inserted should remove cleanly. Allow to cool slightly before removing the muffins
from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy x
FOCUS ARTICLE: Empathy and why we need to teach it to our children

Read more: http://www.essentialkids.com.au/development-advice/advice/the-risk-

Why does empathy matter?
of-not-letting-our-children-take-risks-20170515-gw50nv#ixzz4tJimRh6K
Empathy involves the ability to understand someone else’s
perspective and understand how they feel about it. Empathy
is essential in interpersonal relations, has been linked to
Follow us: @essentialbaby on Twitter | EssentialBabyAU on Facebookmoral behaviour and in general, humans are kinder when they
can understand one another’s perspectives and emotions.
Positive strengths in this skill have also been linked to
emotional intelligence. In a child, the skill of empathy
advances as their cognitive structures develop. Between the
ages of two and four years children start to become aware of
their own emotions and feelings. Between five and seven
years children start developing compassion and reading emotional cues from others. These stages of development are the
foundations that help develop empathy in children. For some, the ability to feel empathy comes naturally. Interestingly, it
is not an innate deposition that unfolds equally in all children.

Fortunately, parents can have a considerable influence to help develop empathy in children. If you encourage empathy,
children can become more empathic to others. This is particularly important for children on the spectrum, children
who lack ‘theory of the mind’ and for children who just naturally have a lower empathetic capacity than others.

• What does empathy look like? Decety and Cowell (2014) believe the word empathy has become a broad term for
three distinct processes;

• Emotional sharing: which occurs when people experience unpleasant feelings because they saw or heard distress in
another person.

• Empathic concern: which is a person’s motive or desire to care for others who are vulnerable or experiencing distress.

Perspective-taking: which is the ability to consciously put yourself in another person’s situation and imagine what they could be
thinking or feeling. All of which can be explored and encouraged through a child’s early years. 10 Ways to Teach Your Child to
Be More Empathetic

1. Empathise with your child and show empathy towards others.

This is all about role modelling empathy and being mindful of your own responses to your child’s emotions. The easiest way
to do this is to be reflective of the emotions your child displays and validate how they are feeling.
2. Teach children to effectively manage their emotions and self-regulate. Expressing empathy is not always easy for
children, particularly if they themselves are experiencing negative emotions or feelings that are overwhelming. One of the
initial steps to developing empathy towards others is to be able to manage your own emotions effectively.
3. Use every day opportunities to address perspective taking.
Use moments from everyday life to encourage caring and compassionate thoughts through ‘perspective taking.’ Talk openly
about how another may feel when you identify situations that elicit an empathetic response in books, movies, at the park or
in your home.
4. Help children discover what they have in common with others.
Encourage inclusion, diversity and warmth by helping your child discover what they share in common with people of all
different perspectives.
5. Encourage kindness, thoughtfulness and compassion for all living creatures. Prioritise these traits across all situations
and to all living things.
6. Help children develop the ability to read emotional cues.
Empathy requires children to identify how others feel, not only based on their own emotional insight but also on the other
person’s emotional cues – not every person reacts and feels the same in every situation.
7. Develop cognitive awareness of empathy using literature.
While you are reading you can engage in empathy building by: discussing the character’s feelings and emotions, pointing out
the facial expressions or body language of characters, asking your child how they would feel if it were them.
8. Engage in emotional awareness games and play.
9. Encourage younger children to develop empathic concern during imaginary play. By engaging in play with your child you
can role model and encourage empathetic concern.
10. Encourage and praise emotional sharing. Your child needs to be reassured that it is okay for them to experience both
negative and positive emotions. They should also feel safe to express all emotions to you. You can encourage this by asking
your child how they felt when they experienced a situation or event that might have produced a particularly strong
empathetic response. When they do exhibit empathy, reinforce the behaviour by praising them for showing compassion. If
your child shares an emotion with you, even an unpleasant one, make sure to tell them it is wonderful that they are sharing
their emotions, and that it demonstrates how kind and caring they are.
 Joeys News
Joeys had an enjoyable month with lots
of fun, learnings and celebrations. Firstly
I would like to welcome Aden to the
Joeys group, Aden is in process of
setting into his new environment. We
can't wait to learn more about him.

One of the highlights of this month was

our special visitors (Henny Penny
Hatching Chicks), the children enjoyed
observing the life cycle of the chickens
through witnessing the hatching/cracking
egg process. They engaged in different
craft activities related to chicks, they
also learnt to name some of the chicks
body parts (head, tail, wings, beak and
legs).

The most enjoyable moments were when

they had the chance to hold and pat little
chicks with their finger.

In the past two weeks the children have

been intentionally educated about Easter.
Through celebrations, discussion about
the significance of Easter during group
times and they were engaged in various
art and craft, cooking and dying eggs
activities.

We had a fantastic time on our Easter

party. The children enjoyed participating
in various activities planned by the
educators: Hat parade, Easter egg hunt,
jumping castle and disco.

Thank you to all the families who

participated in our Easter celebration.
 Possums News

Hello dear possum families,

What a busy month we have had at Happy Kids

kindergarten this month! Most of the time you
can see your child is playing at Happy kids, yes,
they are choosing what to do and enjoying it,
but there is much more to just playing. They
are observing, interacting, absorbing, exploring,
experimenting and most importantly, they are
learning how children are supposed to learn: by
playing according to their own individual
development stage.

This month the possums loved learning about

the chickens and watching the hatching
process. They were able to participate in many
activities around this topic. It was special
hands on experience as they held, pated and
cared for the chicks.

We have continued to work on concepts such as

number recognition and counting, shape
recognition and making shapes in various ways
to help the possums learn about the sides and
how to create each shape.

Recently the possums have been participating in

Easter activities which included making some
beautiful crafts to take home to their families
and decorated their classroom. Our Easter
celebrations ended in an exciting Easter hunt
and party where everyone enjoyed participating
in the hat parade and collected some chocolate
eggs to take home.

Lastly I would love to hear your thoughts about

our possums program and would like to
encourage possum parents to help us
strengthen our partnership by letting us know
your child's interests so that we can
incorporate these into our possums program.

Thank you all very much for taking the time and
reading our possums group newsletter.
 Wombats News

This month we have had lots of fun and exciting

times at Happy Kids. Most recently we had our
Easter hat parade and party which I think everyone
who attended would agree was a huge success. The
children looked fabulous in their hats, thank you to
all the parents who spent time making the Easter
hats with their children.

In the lead up to Easter we had lots of exciting

Easter craft, the wombats were able to use a range
of skills and techniques to create some beautiful
craft which you can see around the classroom.

This month we have been focusing a lot on fine

motor skills and language. One of the main skills we
realised the children needed assistance with was
cutting. We have catered for this by planning lots
of ability based activities and group times that
involve cutting. We spoke about how to hold the
scissors correctly when cutting and are working
towards cutting with direction and control. All of
the children have made pleasing progress in this
area.

We have been encouraging talking and listening

skills through news times and group times. Thank
you to the parents who have been remembering to
help their child bring in something to talk about. As
we have suggested before we would prefer that
your child brings in a photo or something that
assists them to talk about a recent activity, for
example a movie ticket, photo of them at the park,
a birthday or the Easter show... We understand
that for some children it’s easier to talk about a
new toy but please remind them that if they bring a
toy that it is to be placed in the news basket and
collected at the end of the day. This ensures that
the toy does not become lost or broken, Thank you.

If you have a specific goal that you would like your

child to work on, please see your child’s focus
teacher and speak with them about your child’s
progress and learning/developmental goals.
 Armenian News

A big hello to our Armenian parents,

I hope you all had a fantastic month. It was
great to see all of you who came to our Easter
party. Thank you all for making it a successful
and fun experience for all of us. Hope you
enjoyed yourselves. The children have had the
opportunity to explore various topics through
open ended active learning environments during
our everyday Armenian group times this month.

The topics that we have investigated on this

month were : the lifecycle of the chicken, Palm
Sunday, Easter, explored and discussed
Armenian traditions during this festive season.

The vocabulary that we have learnt this month

were: Hav, joudig, havgit, pedour, havnots,
dzaghgazart, sourp zadig, vodenleva,
mom,kouyner ( gabouyd, garmir, teghin,ganatch,
vartakouyn, manishagakouyn.)

Each topic that is discussed or lesson learned is

followed by story books, songs and poems. The
songs that we have learnt this month were :
Inch aghvor eh Zadig donel, Mamig meh yev
babig meh, Vaze vaze nabasdag, Ay nabasdag
toon siroun. The poems that we have learnt
were: Aha aysor sourp Zadig eh, Nabasdag
nabasdag inch Es get ser dzarin drag. Armenian
children are always encouraged to communicate
in their home language during Armenian group
time and throughout the day to further develop
their vocabulary and communication in Armenian
language.

A fun tradition in Armenia culture is dying eggs,

decorating Easter tree and the egg fight ( tak a
toke) where the children at happy kids enjoyed
engaging in on the last Thursday . The one egg
who wins cracking the others wins a prize.

Please feel free to contribute to our Armenian

program and we are always open to new ideas or
suggestions as well as your feedback.
Thank you all for taking your time and reading
our Armenian newsletter.

Until next time Bye...

Reminders:

- Things we MUST be updated on:

Every time your child updates their IMMUNISATION.

Every time you or your emergency contacts move house or change phone numbers.

Whenever your child’s allergy or medical status changes.

- A quick reminder, please check the daily charts for Meals/Sleep/Nappies every day.
The chart is usually kept next to the sign in/out tablet.

BE A PART OF THE PLASTIC FIGHT

With an annual production of more than 300 million tons, plastic is one of the most widely used
materials in the world. What often escapes one’s attention is that the plastic is used for its
main purpose for only a moment compared with its lifecycle of 20 to 500 years. Lightweight
and designed to last, the discarded pieces are easily transported to ecosystems through the
forces of nature causing serious threats to migratory species around the world. Have you ever
found a bird’s nest where a part of it was made up of plastic? If you could make one change
this month in a move towards more sustainable living we encourage you to stop using single use
plastic. If everyone made this one small change, we could protect species for the future.
Without change habitats will continue to deteriorate and become inhabitable.

Learn more at www.worldmigratorybirdday.org

Upcoming Events in May 2019:

12th Mother’s Day Sunday.

13th Mother’s Day High Tea at 10 am.
15th Kids on Congas (High energy drumming for kids) will be visiting Happy Kids at
10:30 am.
27th Reconciliation Day
28th Armenian Republic Day.
29th Nursing Home Visit (Possums and Wombats). We are leaving the centre at 9:30
and we are planning to arrive at the nursing home by 10:30 am.

How can we make our Happy Kids Early Learning

newsletter even better? Email: [email protected]