Catholic Early EdCare
 
 
 
 
 

Respect for our children, and teaching them respect for themselves and the people and things around them helps them grow in all kinds of ways. We show respect for children by recognising their individuality and giving them a ‘voice’ in their day to day programs.

We challenge stereotypes, celebrate diversity and provide opportunities for your child to understand and show respect for different cultural, religious and family traditions. By encouraging children to make their own decisions, take responsibility for their actions and stand in other people’s shoes we help them understand how what they do can impact on themselves and others.

Hear how you can watch your child grow respectfully at Catholic Early EdCare.

Giving children a voice

We show respect for our children by recognising their individuality and giving them a ‘voice’ in their day to day programs.

Noticing that one of the kindergarten children had a keen interest in the Super Moon, our educators at Good Shepherd Child Care Services set a class project on solar space providing an opportunity for the child to share their knowledge and interest with the class. In the same way, at St Anthony’s Kindergarten many of the children showed a keen interest in dinosaurs. Their educator asked them to identify what they liked about dinosaurs and to draw their own. One of the children didn’t like dinosaurs and with her educators’ support she chose to draw a beautiful unicorn instead.

Standing in other people's shoes

Our educators model respect for others by providing opportunities for children to stand in other people’s shoes. Our teachers used local flooding as an opportunity for the children to reflect on the challenges faced by affected families. The class talked about what they would do if their house was flooded and imagined what it would be like to wear someone else’s clothes because their own clothes were suddenly gone.

Many of the children had struggled to understand why people were treating the floods as a tragedy. By talking about the practical challenges faced by families, the children were better able to understand the gravity of the situation and developed empathy for the affected families.

One with nature

Our children learn to respect their natural environment and physical surroundings through play and exploration. 

With the support of educators, children often engage in hands-on projects such as building ‘bug hotels’ from recycled and natural materials. These experiences help them discover the life cycles of insects, the environments they need to thrive, and the important role they play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. 

Children also learn to care for the environment through practices like recycling, reducing waste, and caring for natural spaces during outdoor adventures. Many groups take active responsibility for their surroundings, such as collecting litter during nature walks and ensuring these areas are looked after. 

At many of our centres the children have built worm farms, which they feed with recycled green waste from their own meals. Over time they are able to use the worm juice and castings on their veggie gardens to help them grow.

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Watch them Grow...

  • Creatively

    Children use creativity and curiosity as tools to explore their world. We encourage your child to share their interests with us so our programs and play spaces ignite their curiosity and help them grow creatively.

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  • Respectfully

    Respect for our children and teaching them respect, is essential to helping them grow. We encourage children to take responsibility for their actions so they begin to understand how their actions impact others.

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  • Spiritually

    Children are innately spiritual and spirituality plays an important role in self-discovery and learning. As a faith-based organisation we will respect and nurture the spirituality and faith of your family.

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  • Confidently

    Confidence comes when the things that are important to us are respected. What’s important to your child is important to us, which is why we adapt our learning environment to suit the needs and interests of each child.

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  • Individually

    Children have a lot in common, but it’s the sparks of individuality that often shine a light on how they learn. We look for those sparks so we can help each child express their individuality and learn through it.

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  • Socially

    How children form relationships outside their family is important. Our educators will pay careful attention to how your child socialises and will help them develop important social skills.

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