Pictured: Aunty Fay Stewart-Muir, author of Birds in the Bush
Aimed at celebrating the value of learning through play, Kinder Kits are activity boxes filled with books, educational toys and activities made especially for 3-year-olds to enjoy at home.
And now, a video series featuring the makers of educational toys and books included in the popular Kinder Kits is available to watch online. We encourage you to share these stories on your own social media channels.
And through our Meet the Makers videos, we learn more about the people behind the collection of resources that is having such a big impact kindergartens across the state.
Learning resilience
Among the creators featured in the videos are James and Ryan from Cherub Baby, who developed the balancing gems.
‘The idea behind it is to promote open-ended play, because there are almost limitless ways in which you can balance the stones and then coordinate the colours,’ James said.
‘Children are using their fine motor skills, they're learning about colours, they're learning about shapes, they're learning about concentration, and they're experiencing emotions, and experiencing how to handle those emotions.’
Tri-lingual reading
The video series also features the author of Birds in the Bush, Boonwurrung, Wemba Wemba and Wergaia woman, Aunty Fay Stewart-Muir.
The book is written in Boonwurrung with the English translations underneath. There’s also a dotted line at the bottom of each page where kids can add their own language.
‘It's just something that I want to really focus on is getting my language spoken again. So that all kids, not just Aboriginal children, all children, can speak a First Nations language,’ Aunty Fay said.
Stimulating imagination
Everything inside the Kinder Kits encourages creativity and open-ended play.
These kits come with various educational items, including Tinta Crayons — also featured in the video series.
Tinta Crayons is a Melbourne-based company established in 2015 that produces handmade, natural and safe beeswax crayons. The crayons included in the Kinder Kits have a clever petal design that helps children develop finger grip, which prepares them for writing while they play.
Help using the kits
For help guiding their child's early learning and development at home, parents and caregivers can access resources including:
- a Guide for Families with tips and suggestions, available as a:
- printed guide available in each kit
- translated guide available in 29 languages online
- video guide for families.
- video readings of the books, with Auslan translations:
- Birds in the Bush by Aunty Fay-Stewart and Jeanette Rowe
- Where Is Galah? By Sally Morgan
- I Just Ate My Friend by Heidi McKinnon
- Heads and Tails by John Canty.
Find out more
For further enquiries, contact the department by email: kinder.kits@education.vic.gov.au
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