Koori Curriculum’s Family Day Care Competition


Family Day Care Competition Winner

The relationship between First Nations people and their ancestral lands and seas is something that has always been so beautiful to me. Colonisation and their loss of land rights has hurt this relationship and their right to sustain and care for country. This is one reason why Under the Rainbow Family Day Care do our best to care and respect country by embedding Indigenous perspectives.

Our Family Daycare is right next to a beautiful nature reserve on Nugnnawal Country and we go on adventures every week. The children splash in puddles, climb trees and rocky waterways and confidently explore unbeaten tracks. The children enjoy moments of mindfulness by sitting and listening to the beauty around us. When we are there, I can’t help but think of all the children that played there before them.

Naturally, the children are curious about the changes they see on the land. They notice fallen trees, new baby birds, flowers blooming, ice on the hills, the sound of frogs and the steam from their breath. The Indigenous practice of reading the land to know what is coming next is something the children observe in their own way and speak about during our explorations.

To give back to the land that gives us so much, we signed up to be volunteers for Land Care. Before we started this journey together, I volunteered with conservation groups and joined learning circles with Ngunnawal Elders. This helped me get a better understanding of the right and respectful way to care for country and what I could teach the children.

In the reserve we pick up lots of rubbish and pull-out invasive plants. This helps the native plants and the animals thrive. We forage for berries to eat, leaves for tea and flowers for craft with help from the Ngunnawal plant use book. This book shows us how the plants were and still are used by First Nations people. We always remember to take what we need and nothing more, which is something we learnt from the Ngunnawal people. Through the years I have seen the children develop a respectful appreciation for all animals and plants.

At the end of our adventures, we thank the land for all it has taught us. We promise to look after it the best we can. We thank and pay our respects to the Nugnnawal people, past, present and emerging. Our group is only small, but our hearts are big and so is our commitment to learning, listening and embedding Indigenous perspectives.


To celebrate our community of Family Day Care Educators Koori Curriculum is holding a competition just for you.

We want to see how you are embedding an Aboriginal perspective in your service.

 

What you need to do to win:

  1. Take a picture that shows how you are embedding Aboriginal perspectives at your service
  2. Write a 300-word (or more) blurb supporting your submission image on how you are embedding Aboriginal perspectives.
  3. Include your Family Day Care Service name in the submission

Entries will open on the 7th of November 2022 and will have to be submitted by no later than the 28th of November 2022.

Voting will close on the 4th of December 2022.

The 10 entries with the highest number of votes will be shortlisted and reviewed by the Director of the Koori Curriculum, Jessica Staines who will select the winner.

The chosen winner will be announced on the 5th of December 2022. All submissions will be displayed in a virtual gallery.

 

The winner will receive a $200 store voucher to the Koori Curriculum.

 

Please note: submissions must be by an Educator working in a Family Day Care Service.

Submission Format: We can only accept image submissions as either JPEG or PNG. Any alternative file format/s will not be accepted and therefore considered ineligible for the competition.

Voting: to vote enter your name and email address, you will be able to vote for one entry once per day and will be added to our weekly newsletter.

Any issues with submission or votes please contact us at info@kooricurriculum.com

 

How to vote in the competition:

  1. Click on “open gallery” below
  2. Click on the picture of the Educator you wish to vote for
  3. Scroll down to the “Vote Now” button
  4. Enter your name and email address and click the “I am not a robot” button
  5. Click on the “Vote Now” button