Published on May 25, 2020
The Early Learning Centre children and educators were eager to enter the Scarecrow Competition for this year’s Maitland Show. The theme for exhibits was The Land. Engagement with the local community is extremely valuable for young children, as they begin to demonstrate their connection with and contribution to the world around them.
Reflecting on the recent bush fires that affected so many people, we decided to make a firefighter scarecrow. This was to honour and thank all the men and women of the Rural Fire Service who had worked tirelessly to protect our land.
Early Learning Centre educators view children as confident and capable learners. They worked alongside children throughout this process to foster creativity, imagination, discussion, research and co-construct learning. Their research and discussion led to the sharing of ideas, which inspired and guided this meaningful project.
Bringing ideas to life Educators supported children to use a variety of repurposed and natural materials in our design; facilitating their understanding of sustainability and resourcefulness. As our scarecrow began to take form, it was interesting to see the children’s views and perspectives change. They demonstrated autonomy and confidence as they added their unique elements to the design through his face, clothes and embellishments. Firefighter Fred is quite the achievement. The children’s sense of pride and accomplishment was evident through the many requests for photos and family introductions.
Fred makes a beautiful addition to the Early Learning Centre’s vegetable garden.