Weekend of Early Childhood Excellence

Weekend of Early Childhood Excellence
Australia - (Linked to NQF + EYLF)
Saturday 22nd, and Sunday 23rd November 2025
Saturday: 9:00am – 5:00pm (1 hr lunch) (New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania)
8:00am - 4:00pm (Queensland)
​8:30am - 4:30pm (South Australia Northern Territory)
6:00am - 2:00pm (Western Australia)
Evening: 6:00pm – 7:30pm Wine & Wellness
Sunday: 9:00am – 4:00pm (1 hr lunch)
​Each 1.5hr session includes:
  • Focus (linked to QA/EYLF)
  • Educator Toolkit (strategies, goals, learning resources, experiences, 30+ ready-to-implement strategies for the session focus)
  • Director Toolkit
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals
  • Practical Strategies & Examples
  • Experiences
  • Toys & Resources Needed
  • Conversations with Children
  • Conversations with Families
  • Resources for Families
  • Documentation (examples: floor books, learning stories, running records, anecdotal records, interview questions)
  • Critical Reflection

Individual - $499
​Team - $1999

Learning Outcomes
  • Understand and link practice to NQF Quality Areas and EYLF Principles & Practices
  • Support children’s voices, agency, and secure relationships
  • Create and maintain curiosity-driven, inclusive learning environments
  • Implement play-based and intentional teaching strategies
  • Enhance children’s health, safety, and wellbeing
  • Promote mindfulness, resilience, and wellbeing for both children and educators
  • Develop documentation skills: floor books, learning stories, running records, anecdotal records, interviews
  • Communicate effectively with children, families, and colleagues
  • Lead and guide staff using director-level strategies
  • Reflect critically on their own professional practice and personal biases

What Early Childhood Educators Will Learn
  • How to scaffold decision-making and support autonomy for children
  • Practical strategies for intentional teaching and play-based learning
  • Ways to implement secure attachment practices (Circle of Security, Erikson’s stages)
  • Approaches to active supervision and respectful relationships
  • Strategies to create learning environments that spark curiosity
  • Techniques for nature-based and wellbeing-focused experiences
  • Methods to model self-care and resilience for children and colleagues
  • How to document learning meaningfully using floor books, stories, and records
  • Example questions and prompts to interview children and reflect on learning
  • Ideas to engage families and provide resources to support learning at home
  • 30+ immediately implementable session-specific strategies and experiences

Tax Deductible, Individual/Team Members will receive a Certificate for their Learning
​
Early Childhood Educators can participate from the comfort of their own home.

About your Facilitator - Kelly Hallas

Session Overview:
​Saturday
  1. Children’s Voices & Agency
    • Supporting decision-making and autonomy
    • Embedding child choice in routines and projects
    • Strategies for listening and scaffolding children’s ideas
  2. Environments that Spark Curiosity
    • Designing inquiry-based, play-rich environments
    • Using loose parts and natural resources
    • Rotating materials to sustain engagement
  3. Attachment Theory, Erik Erikson & Circle of Security
    • Understanding attachment and development stages
    • Promoting secure, respectful relationships
    • Strategies to support transitions and emotional wellbeing
  4. Play-Based Pedagogy in Action
    • Scaffolding child-led play
    • Integrating literacy, numeracy, and STEM into play
    • Balancing structure and choice in learning experiences
  5. Wine & Wellness Evening
    • Self-care and mental health for educators
    • Boundaries and resilience strategies
    • Fun reflective activities: gratitude, vision boards, journaling

Sunday
  1. Active Supervision & Respectful Relationships
    • Positioning, scanning, and engaging respectfully
    • Risk assessment and supervision strategies
    • Embedding respect and trust in daily practice
  2. Intentional Teaching
    • Using open-ended questions to extend curiosity
    • Planning experiences aligned to learning outcomes
    • Project-based, science, and storytelling strategies
  3. Nature & Wellbeing for Children and Educators
    • Mindfulness, yoga, and outdoor learning
    • Bush kindy and reflective nature walks
    • Strategies to promote resilience and calm in children
  4. Documentation that Matters
    • Meaningful floor books, learning stories, running and anecdotal records
    • Interview questions and reflective documentation
    • Engaging children and families in documenting learning

Course Structure
SATURDAY
Session 1
(9:00 – 10:30)
​ Children’s Voices & Agency
Focus: QA1 – Educational program & practice, Element 1.1.3; EYLF Principle: Children have a voice
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies to scaffold decision-making, support autonomy, set learning goals; includes 30+ immediately implementable activities to promote children’s voices and agency
  • Director Toolkit: policy development, embedding voice in curriculum cycles
  • Learning Outcomes/Goals: Children feel valued, build autonomy, develop identity
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: daily group meetings, child-led routines, voice-focused projects
  • Experiences: project voting, role-play, peer mentoring
  • Toys & Resources Needed: puppets, photos, clipboards, digital voice recorders
  • Conversations with Children: “What do you think we should try?” “How can we solve this?”
  • Conversations with Families: sharing how their child makes choices, encouraging home decision-making
  • Resources for Families: child-friendly goal charts, discussion prompts
  • Documentation: floor books, child interviews, learning stories, sample interview questions
  • Critical Reflection: Do we truly listen, or just record children’s voices?

Session 2
(10:45 – 12:15)
Environments that Spark Curiosity
Focus: QA3 – Physical environment; EYLF Practice: Learning environments
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies to set up inquiry-based learning, rotate materials, and extend exploration; includes 30+ immediately implementable strategies for creating curiosity-driven environments
  • Director Toolkit: resourcing sustainably, staff PD on environments
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals: Children explore, problem-solve, inquire
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: rotating materials, nature integration, inquiry-based stations
  • Experiences: treasure baskets, science stations, art corners
  • Toys & Resources Needed: shells, blocks, magnifying glasses, recycled materials
  • Conversations with Children: “What do you notice? What could we try?”
  • Conversations with Families: importance of play-rich environments, ideas to use at home
  • Resources for Families: DIY curiosity boxes, loose parts starter list
  • Documentation: annotated photos, inquiry journals, sample learning story
  • Critical Reflection: How intentional is our environment?

Session 3 (1:15 – 2:45) 
Attachment Theory, Erik Erikson & Circle of Security
Focus: QA5 – Relationships with children; EYLF Principle: Secure, respectful relationships
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies for responsive caregiving, promoting secure attachments, and modelling empathy; includes 30+ immediately implementable experiences for building secure relationships
  • Director Toolkit: embedding attachment-focused practice, reflective supervision
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals: Children feel secure, resilient, and supported
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: using Erikson’s stages to guide support, transition rituals, emotional check-ins
  • Experiences: family photos in spaces, nurturing routines
  • Toys & Resources Needed: comfort toys, CoS visuals, picture books about feelings
  • Conversations with Children: “I’m here if you need me.” “How are you feeling?”
  • Conversations with Families: explaining CoS, sharing attachment strategies for home
  • Resources for Families: CoS parent handouts, Erikson’s stage guides
  • Documentation: behaviour journals, reflection notes, example anecdotal records
  • Critical Reflection: How do my own attachment experiences influence my practice?

Session 4 (3:00 – 4:30)
Play-Based Pedagogy in Action
Focus: EYLF Practice: Learning through play
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies to scaffold and extend child-led play, integrate learning goals; includes 30+ immediately implementable play-based experiences
  • Director Toolkit: play-based pedagogy policy, coaching staff
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals: Holistic development, joy in learning
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: balancing structure and play, integrating literacy/numeracy
  • Experiences: dramatic play, construction zones, art exploration
  • Toys & Resources Needed: dress-ups, blocks, open-ended art materials
  • Conversations with Children: “Tell me about your story/game.”
  • Conversations with Families: explaining benefits of play-based learning
  • Resources for Families: “Play at Home” activity cards
  • Documentation: photos with learning outcomes, play reflections, sample floor book entries
  • Critical Reflection: Do we value play equally to academic readiness?

Evening 6:00 – 7:30 | Wine & Wellness
  • Focus: Self-worth, boundaries, mental health for educators
  • Experiences: gratitude journaling, group reflection, vision boards
  • Resources for Families (optional takeaway): family wellbeing journal prompts, resilience tips

SUNDAY
Session 5 (9:00 – 10:30) 
Active Supervision & Respectful Relationships
Focus: QA2 – Children’s health & safety; QA5 – Relationships
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies for safe, respectful supervision; includes 30+ immediately implementable approaches to embed safety and respect in practice
  • Director Toolkit: supervision rosters, training, risk assessments
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals: Children feel safe, respected, supported in autonomy
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: zoning, buddy systems, monitoring strategies for indoor/outdoor play
  • Experiences: safe risky play, group games with trust
  • Toys & Resources Needed: outdoor play markers, visual cues
  • Conversations with Children: “I’m here to keep you safe.”
  • Conversations with Families: reassuring parents about safety & respect
  • Resources for Families: home safety checklists, respectful language tips
  • Documentation: supervision plans, incident logs, reflective notes, example running records
  • Critical Reflection: Am I supervising to protect, or to empower?

Session 6 (10:45 – 12:15)
Intentional Teaching
Focus: EYLF Practice: Intentional teaching
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies to plan and extend learning goals; includes 30+ immediately implementable intentional teaching experiences
  • Director Toolkit: mentoring on pedagogy, embedding intentionality in planning
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals: Children’s curiosity extended, learning outcomes targeted
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: science experiments, guided storytelling, project-based learning
  • Experiences: prediction games, collaborative projects
  • Toys & Resources Needed: science kits, inquiry cards
  • Conversations with Children: “What do you think will happen if…?”
  • Conversations with Families: how to extend curiosity at home
  • Resources for Families: “Curiosity Cards” for play at home
  • Documentation: intentional planning notes, evidence portfolios, example learning stories
  • Critical Reflection: How do I balance intentionality and child-led play?

Session 7 (1:15 – 2:45)
Nature & Wellbeing for Children and Educators
Focus: QA2 – Health & Safety; QA3 – Environment
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies for mindfulness, outdoor learning, wellbeing; includes 30+ immediately implementable nature & wellbeing activities
  • Director Toolkit: staff wellbeing programs, nature-based learning policy
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals: Children & educators develop resilience, calm, mindfulness
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: bush kindy, nature journaling, reflective walks
  • Experiences: yoga, breathing, scavenger hunts
  • Toys & Resources Needed: sensory bottles, yoga mats, nature baskets
  • Conversations with Children: “What do you notice outside?”
  • Conversations with Families: sharing benefits of outdoor play
  • Resources for Families: outdoor play challenge, mindful walks guide
  • Documentation: wellbeing check-ins, mood charts, journals, sample anecdotal records
  • Critical Reflection: How do we model self-care for children?

Session 8 (3:00 – 4:00)
Documentation that Matters
Focus: QA1 – Educational program & practice
  • Educator Toolkit: strategies for meaningful documentation; includes 30+ immediately implementable documentation examples for floor books, learning stories, running records, and interviews
  • Director Toolkit: ensuring balance between compliance and authenticity
  • Learning Outcomes & Goals: Authentic, holistic documentation
  • Practical Strategies & Examples: floorbooks, co-created displays, child-led documentation activities
  • Experiences: group journals, child photo captions
  • Toys & Resources Needed: apps, scrapbooks, displays
  • Conversations with Children: involving them in the process
  • Conversations with Families: sharing records as two-way communication
  • Resources for Families: milestone templates, “what learning looks like” handout
  • Documentation: child portfolios, whole-group reflections, example learning stories & running records
  • Critical Reflection: Does our documentation serve children, families, and educators equally?