Savannah is the Centre Manager at Choklits Croydon and has been working in Early Childhood and Care for over 7 years. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology, an Advanced Diploma in Community Sector Management, a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
Over to Savannah…
I consider Early Childhood Education and Care a profession. In the first years of a child’s life, their brain development will create the foundations for all learning and development later in life. It is truly amazing to think that I am helping to shape children and fostering their development, establishing their curiosity and wonder of life and learning. I believe that the development of a child’s imagination is crucial because as Vygotsky so rightly says it “is an important component of absolutely all aspects of cultural life, enabling artistic, scientific, and technical creation alike.” It is said that through imagination we develop new ideas and this is one of the reasons why I love working in Early Childhood Education, because new ideas do not come from nowhere; they are based on our experience, combined with our imaginative faculties. Ensuring that we support the children allows for the next generation to thrive. There is a great amount of evidence to support the fact that early investments in children’s health, education, and development have benefits that compound throughout the child’s lifetime, for their future children, and society as a whole. Successful societies invest in their children and protect their rights, as is evident from countries that have done well on health and economic measures over the past few decades.
I began my career coaching netball assisting teams to win grand-finals. Watching the children’s faces beam with pride and joy opened my eyes to the possibilities of Early Childhood Education and Care. Whilst studying, I started as an educator, progressing to a room leader, an educational leader, administrator/2IC and now to being the Centre Manager at Choklits Croydon. This has been a great achievement as every aspect has provided a completely different approach and allowed me to gain insight into the lives, ambitions and futures of children, families, the community and my fellow educators.
When I’m not at Choklits I enjoy spending time with my family, my huskies Luna, Zeus, Rocco and Loki, my cat Tiffany, playing netball and reading.
Children are truly wonderful, the mind of a child shows that despite all they have seen, they don’t exclude the thoughts and opinions of others, no matter their size or age. I believe that teachers learn from their students, we are continuously learning and extending ourselves in more ways than one. Children’s brains are like sponges, absorbing everything going on around them. Every little thing they soak in builds connections in their brain. One of the most important ways you can build your child’s brain connections is to talk and listen. Children love to learn and so I ensure that I provide them with as much information as I can. When I first started the children in my toddler room were studying the solar system, later on when they grew up and I watched these children graduate from kindergarten, the group shared a fact they learned, one child said “The solar system has 8 planets, many moons, asteroids, comets, dust and so much of gas and they all orbit the sun.” After the ceremony, the child’s parents approached me to tell me that the child continuously spoke about space and the solar system and how much he loved it. I was so thrilled to think that I had made an impact on the child’s learning and life even after a few years.
One of the most heartwarming experiences I have had was when a child I had looked after years ago asked me to go and watch them do their BMX race.
