Australia, here we come!

Australia has always been on my bucket list. I am proposing our whole class plan to study abroad next fall there. Australia seems to be a progressive country, leading the way with some very intentional goals in mind. The research area's in focus for the country are

1. School readiness and children's transitions
2. Child health and childhood obesity
3. Belonging, being, and becoming
4. Sustainability, global warming, and climate change

I learned some humility on the website. I guess I assumed that the United States, though politically confused about the issue, was a front runner in sustainability. Australia left us in the dust on the issue, possibly a decade ago. Australians see climate change impacting their young children most dramatically. They begin teaching sustainability in early childhood programs. The early childhood practitioners take a play approach to sustainability. They teach children to empty the water they didn't drink at snack time in a bucket to water the garden. Along with the typical appliances and tools in an early childhood kitchen center, the also have toy compost bins so children see composting as a way of life. I wonder how long it will take our country to look at climate change through the lens of science rather than through a lens of political partisanship. We could learn much from the approach to climate change (they even call it that in Australia!) from our friends down under.

In July of 2009, Australia adopted a national framework endorsed by early childhood educators. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is an interesting document, worth your time. I consider myself a "tree hugging greenie" and appreciate that in the framework, outcome two "Children are connected with and contribute to their world". There is a real movement in Australia to connect children to nature. From the EYLF; "The term 'nature learning' is used in this paper to encompass both spontaneous and intentional learning experiences that occur when young children interact with the natural environment-sometimes on their own and sometimes with the assistance of adults" (Early Childhood Australia, 2013).

Reference

Early Childhood Australia  http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/