Emma

Is there anything Justine Clarke can’t do? We just love her and so do the kids! We threw 5 fast questions at the performer, actor and songwriter. BEST ADVICE YOU WERE GIVEN BEFORE YOU HAD CHILDREN? Best advice I was given was never give advice! WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DANCE MOVE? I’ve always been partial to some popping and locking. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY 5 THINGS ON A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? They’d all be food related. A sharp knife, an endless bowl of salad, olive oil, bread and a never ending supply of tea bags. (With a splash of milk!) IF YOUR JOB GAVE YOU A SURPRISE THREE DAY PAID BREAK TO REST AND RECUPERATE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THOSE THREE DAYS? I’d go somewhere quiet and still. I’d eat good food, listen to the trees and sleep. Maybe that desert island…. FAVOURITE THING ABOUT A LIVE AUDIENCE? The sound of a room full of people of all ages singing together is one of the loveliest sounds in the world. justineclarke.com.au

The 2018 OzAsia Festival program is busting with family friendly activities, visit the Lucky Dumpling Market, Moon Lantern Parade or see one of the many performances! With over 190,000 people expected this years festival is celebrating its largest program yet. Held over 18 days, the festival program presents the very best in contemporary dance, theatre, music, visual art, film, literature, food, family events, workshops, talks and more from across Asia today. Cerita Anak (Child’s Story) is a must-see on your OzAsia family hit list. Cerita Anak takes children and their adults on a sea journey never to be forgotten. Climb aboard the specially made boat and be rocked and rolled across a strange ocean. Dive to the bottom of the sea, hear stories on the wind and in the currents of the water and face great danger before coming to safe harbour. This immersive theatre experience draws its inspiration from the seafaring history in Java and the true tale of arrival in Australia told by a small boy. Combining puppetry, song, shadow imagery and sound, the show bustles with all the life of the ocean. Audience members, both young and old are passengers and storytellers on this exquisite adventure. ‘An emotional overflow thanks to the sheer beauty and interactive fun of this simple yet superbly executed production.’The West Australian Recommended seating in the boat is for children 2-7 years of age. Children must also be accompanied by an adult when in the boat. It is best for children 8-12 years of age to be in seating, not in the boat. Children under 2 years of age are FREE on knee. Tickets available here  OzAsia 

Simple Steps to Boost your Pre-School Child’s Reading Readiness Raising pre-school aged kiddos can be equal parts challenging and rewarding. As parents we’re bombarded with information and expectations of what our children should be doing and how we should be aiding their development. Should we be reading more bedtime stories? Should we minimise the iPad time? What is the magical recipe for success? Importantly, where are we getting our information? Does that mummy blog really have credibility? There’s good news: the best ways to support your child’s reading readiness are quite simple. Evidence based research tells us that one of the best things you can do to prepare your child for school is to help develop their phonological awareness. Strong literacy skills will set students on a successful path. Why wouldn’t you want your child to have a head start to making sense of how sounds and letters operate in print? It can be hard to find the time in our fast paced world to read stories, sing songs and nursery rhymes and engage in the art of conversation. But, these are critical activities that our children need to be exposed to and engaged in. Learning support teacher Jo Hirst from St Peters Woodlands tells us more about Phonological Awareness and supporting children to be ready to read: What is Phonological awareness and why is it important? Phonological awareness is the conscious awareness of the sound structure in our language. Children need to become attuned to speech sounds in order to lay the foundations for phonics instruction when they start school. How do I know if my child has phonological awareness? The skills involved in phonological awareness include children’s ability to rhyme, segment or break sentences into words, words into syllables, and recognise onset and rimes. Children develop these skills sequentially throughout their pre-school years. Your child may or may not be able to do these things. What should I expect when my child is just getting started? In the early years children will begin with general sound discrimination in the areas of environmental sounds, instrumental sounds and body percussion. Environmental AwarenessWith environmental sounds, children’s awareness of the sounds around them is focused on developing their listening skills. There are simple ways to focus on developing environment sound discrimination like going on a listening walk, drumming on di erent items outside and comparing the sounds, and making shakers.Instrumental AwarenessInstrumental sounds develop children’s awareness of sounds made by various instruments and noise makers. You could compare and match sound makers, play instruments alongside a story and make loud and quiet sounds.Body PercussionBody percussion enables children to develop an awareness of sounds and rhythms. Make time to include singing songs and action rhymes and listen to your favourite music together. These activities develop both skills and opportunities to create precious memories with your child. Are there other areas we can help to develop? Rhythm and rhyme in speech are other areas to be explored and developed. Reading rhyming stories, singing nursery rhymes, playing rhyming bingo, clapping out the syllables in words and playing odd one out are great ways to reinforce this awareness. Reading nursery rhymes seems too easy? Is this really going to help? There’s strong evidence to support the link between nursery rhyme knowledge in pre- school children and their future success in reading and spelling. It’s nice to know that the simple things are also helpful. What can I expect as my child gets older? As students continue to develop the focus turns to phonemic awareness, which is an important sub-skill of phonological awareness. Before children learn how to read and write they need to understand how the sounds in words work. It is critical that they understand that words are made up of speech sounds. Parts of phonemic awareness include sound isolation, identification, categorisation, blending, segmentation, deletion, addition and substitution. Working on your child’s phonemic awareness is all sounds based and can be done anywhere…..in a car, on a train or on a plane! Children find the art of rhyming, playing around and manipulating the sounds in words fun. Playing a simple game of I-Spy is a great way of helping your child identify initial sounds in words. You can also practise oral blending by saying sounds, such as ‘c – a – p’ and then see whether your child can pick out a ‘cap’ from a group of objects. For segmenting practise, you can hold up an object, such as a cup, and ask your child which sounds they can hear in the word ‘cup’ (c – u – p). Doing these things together adds to the relationship you are building with your child, which is what is it all about! Reading at SPW St Peter’s Woodlands has a sequential and systematic approach to reading from ELC to Year 7. Phonological awareness is one part of a comprehensive reading program that also includes phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. SPW follows Phase One of the Letters and Sounds Program when teaching phonological awareness. To enquire about St Peter’s Woodlands Early Learning to Year 7 contact: Joanna Gray08 8295 4317spw.sa.edu.auSt Peter’s Woodlands Grammar School 39 Partridge Street, Glenelg Meaghan Coles Photography 

SPOT Paediatrics is a Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy Clinic that works with children and their families on developmental areas such as language, speech, fine motor, literacy, sensory processing and social skills. They use a fresh and fun approach to child therapy and are continuously looking to collaborate with schools and other professionals in the allied health community. We asked SPOT for some advice on ‘School Readiness’: ‘School Readiness’ is a term that is o en used to describe the set of skills necessary for transitioning to school, but it may be hard to determine if your child is “school ready” if you are not sure what to look for! As well as reading there are a range of skills crucial to giving your child a comfortable start at school. While knowing numbers, colours and shapes are helpful, school readiness is also about whether a child is ready from a fine motor, communication, social/emotional and behavioural perspective. If you are wondering “is my child ready?” there are a number of skills and behaviours that need to develop in the pre-school years to ensure a child is “school ready”. For School Readiness we Consider the Following Skills LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING • Follow instructions of up to 3 parts to allow children to independently complete tasks• Understand many types of questions to help at story time and group discussion times SPEAKING • Speak with appropriate use of speech sounds so that almost 100% of listeners can interpret what a child is saying• Express thoughts and ideas clearly to help children form friendships and successfully engage in conversation with their peers• Understand and use a wide vocabulary to support early literacy skills and accessing the curriculum SOCIAL INTERACTION • Understand and participate in turn-taking and waiting• Use social greetings and engage in back and forth conversations FINE MOTOR SKILLS • Hold a pencil with appropriate grasp to allow a child to participate in drawing and colouring activities without fatigue• Write their name. Children put their names on everything! Being able to mark which work is yours is important• Using scissors for simple cutting to support participation in learning activities ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION • Attention and concentration are important so that children can attend to spoken and visual information, concentrate, follow instructions, listen to a speaker, learn and access the curriculum• Regulation supports attention and concentration and children need to be well regulated in order to learn, and sit in a group The SPOT Paediatrics team of Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) and Occupational Therapists (OTs) are able to help and support children and families with the transition to school by developing school readiness skills. SLPs may typically focus on: Following instructions Building vocabulary Teaching age appropriate grammar Correcting speech sound errors Developing social skills OTs may typically focus on:  Writing name Scissor skills and pencil grip Making sure self-care skills are age appropriate (toileting, dressing, feeding) Regulation These are just some of the many skills that SLPs and OTs work on to support children’s development, participation, and ability to access their community. If you have any concerns about your child’s development or school readiness don’t hesitate to contact SPOT! They are more than happy to answer any questions or chat about concerns. info@spotpaediatrics.com.auspotpaediatrics.com.au@spotpaediatrics