Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the Koori Curriculum Educator Community. My name is Jessica Staines, I’m a Wiradjuri Woman, Early Childhood Teacher and Director of the Koori Curriculum and The Aboriginal Early Childhood Collective.

This group was created to ensure educators had a safe online space where they could unlearn, re-learn and investigate ways to authentically embed Aboriginal perspectives in their early learning service. Everyone is at different stages of their journey so its important to be respectful and remember that we are all here for the same purpose and goal.

This community allows us to collaborate, investigate, mentor and inspire one another whilst reflecting on how we can respectfully embed Aboriginal perspective in our programs. It is important to be aware that there is no blanket approach to doing this work and all experiences are usually relative to the services community context and the educator’s rationale. Therefore, occasionally there may be conflicting advice and perspectives and its important that when this occurs we are all mindful of one another.

A few things you need to know about this group:

  • We try to encourage that educators adopt a # system when making posts. By using a # it allows other members to search for past themes and threads in the groups search tab.

    Common # used include #mascot #acknowledgement #reconciliation #8ways #dreamtime #dreaming
  • Our group has mascots. These are furry and scaley plush toys that travel amongst members of our group. When a mascot is available for a visit a post will go up in the groups feed and educators interested are welcome to post their expression of interest.

> Apply for our Travelling Mascot program here

Our mascots visit centres for two weeks at a time before being returned to me. Whilst on their visit educators document ways they are embedding Aboriginal perspectives in the travelling scrap book and post pics/daily diaries in our group. This is one of the strategies we are using to celebrate the many diverse ways Aboriginal perspectives are being included in early learning services.

Rules:

As you would have seen when entering the group our rules are as follow:

      • Be Respectful of other members. If a post or comment is made that is inappropriate or concerning please report this comment to admins and do no engage directly.
      • No advertising. Whilst this is an online community it is also the Koori Curriculums business group. No advertising posts will be accepted. However, for members who are active participants they may email us directly to seek permission and this will be considered at jess@kooricurriculum.com

Free Resources:

  • The Koori Curriculum has a podcast called “Educator Yarns” this series consists of several interviews with educators, thought leaders and knowledge holders. It covers a range of topics including; starting a bush tucker garden, tips on connecting with community, ways to embed Aboriginal perspectives in your program and the benefits of a RAP.
  • For members of this group they can sign up to our short thirty day course comprising of our top 30 tips that support educators to delve into Aboriginal programs. You can sign up here.
  • We also have a Youtube channel where you can view our free Show n Tell and Story Time segments which embrace and celebrate culture.
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Contact:

Koori Curriculum:

For information on our in-services, workshops, webinars and resources visit www.kooricurriculum.com and email jess@koorircurriculum.com

 

The Aboriginal Early Childhood Collective:

For information regarding our courses, webinars and resources visit www.aboriginalecc.com and email info@aboriginalecc.com

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