When children move into early childhood settings, they broaden their experiences as participants in different relationships and communities.
One of the strengths of family day care is that it provides ongoing opportunities for children to connect and contribute to their world and local community.
Community connections give children a strong sense of belonging and help them to develop their social and other skills like communication and problem-solving.
Children’s community connections might include extended family and friends, neighbours, and people in local organisations you may be involved in. These connections help children to build resilience, broaden their understandings of the world and allow them to be present and engaged.
When educators create environments in which children experience mutually enjoyable, caring, and respectful relationships with people and the environment, children respond accordingly.
When children participate collaboratively in everyday routines, events and experiences and have opportunities to contribute to decisions, they learn to live independently.
Family day care provides regular opportunities where children can experience regular outings and excursions embedded into their usual child care day. Offering regular outings and excursions as part of their family day care program, to local playgrounds, reserves, sanctuary’s, animal farms, community gardens and local community services such as post office and supermarket, the children have opportunities to make sense of the wider world around them and where they fit into this.
We encourage all our educators to include these very meaningful and educational community outings into their program.
Bambini’s educational leader works closely with our area coordinators to plan and facilitate extra opportunities for educators to take the children to pop up playgroups, intergenerational playgroups, and cultural immersion playgroups. In addition, Bambini provide educators with community memberships, such as to The Big Goose and Twisted Science and community gardens. These provide further opportunity for engagement, not only in the community but also with each other.