Healthy Harold the friendly giraffe is helping the children at TG's Child Care learn about wellbeing and healthy choices.
TG's children love having visits! And 25th November 2022 was a really special day because Healthy Harold the giraffe came to visit the children!
Healthy Harold is a friendly giraffe who helps children understand their feelings and how to make safe, healthy choices.
When children experience big feelings, it is not always easy for them to understand them or be able to fully articulate them. This friendly giraffe helps children to understand how they are feeling and giving them little tools and tips to manage these emotions. When children understand the hows and whys of their own feelings, it also helps them to better empathise with others, and to be able to identify with how others are feeling.
TG's has always been known for building and nurturing caring, respectful relationships and engagements with the children, Educators, families and even our local communities. Children build meaningful relationships with each other in their interactions that involve care, kindness and respect. TG's curriculum and activities planned by our amazing Educators focus on the children's wellbeing through Playing is Learning for Life.
Here are some tools TG's is providing the children:
Mindfulness area – where children go to reflect, self-regulate and centre themselves to be able to continue on with their days if they start feeling overwhelmed. In this area there are sensory resources, breathing cards, books, emotion cards that children can choose what most resonates with them.
Yoga experiences daily within TG's rooms.
Calming cultural music to support relaxation.
Guided Mediation which includes body scanning.
Group time mindfulness activities – breathing techniques, listening experiences, body awareness, stillness to be present in the now.
Give the children the skills to be able to communicate their feelings to others and themselves in a positive way.
Storytime includes mindfulness books being read to the children. Children are allowed and encouraged to recognise their emotions, feel them and validate them. "I feel frustrated!", "I feel happy!" etc. and the children learn how to respond to their emotions in a positive way.
Fortnightly beach and bush kindy walks where sensory experiences, openness and curiosity to ask questions are encouraged. Fresh air, sunlight and open spaces help children to connect to nature and relax their minds.
How are you today?
Young children are only just learning to feel their feelings, and then to identify them. They may not have the tools yet to manage these emotions.
With Healthy Harold, the children learn to recognise and identify the emotions they feel, and to empathise with emotions others may be feeling. How we manage our emotions can impact our connections and relationships, that is why self-awareness is key to building relationships.
The children learn some simple tools and tips from Healthy Harold to help them regulate their emotions. TG's children are experts at Playing it Forward, and very often, they go home and share with their families what they have learnt today. Families are going to be picking up a few useful tips from Healthy Harold through the children!
What children need is a safe space with trusted adults to listen to them. It is a way to encourage them to speak about their feelings, and give them the time they need to process how they feel.
Friendship is an important part of the children's learning journey, and managing it well contributes to a child's wellbeing. Lots of different feelings come up as the children navigate through friendships. Healthy Harold guides the children to explore how they can build friendships, how to listen to another person's ideas, what to do when facing conflict and learn strategies to support empathy and respect.
Shall we take a walk?
Children are like little plants - they need fresh air, sunlight, water and open spaces to grow well!
That is why TG's playspaces extend beyond TG's rooms. The children go on fortnightly beach and bush kindy walks which they absolutely love! There is so much to discover on every walk, and so many stories to hear. Sometimes they notice little items of interest and they are encouraged to observe them, ask questions and even make drawings of them. The children understand the importance of responsibility, respect and care for the natural environment around them, so they know what can be collected and what should remain where they are.
The children also spend time outdoors in our award-winning gardens, caring for the plants, watching the vegetables grow, playing peek-a-boo with lizards and rescuing lost bugs. Being outdoors allow the children to explore, discover, get curious and build healthy bodies and healthy minds!
Being outdoors also creates sensory experiences for the children. Engaging one's senses builds mindfulness and encourages children to focus and be fully present in the moment.
Ask any TG's child, and they'll tell you how it feels to squelch mud under their rainboots, how cool and smooth some leaves feel and others are strangely furry. They've spent months observing how a fruit ripens, and they've seen baby caterpillars grow up to be beautiful butterflies. When was the last time you noticed these things in nature?
Tips from Healthy Harold
Wellbeing can start right here, right now. Here are some tips from Healthy Harold for you to try at home!
Guess the Feeling!
Play a game of charades. Guess what feeling the player is expressing. It's a great way to notice and observe little facial expressions and body language to help us understand how someone may be feeling. Even your little eyebrows can show a world of difference if you lift them up or if you furrow them!
Thankful or Wish Stone
When you are feeling a little frazzled or just 'off', hold a little pebble in your hand and think of something you are grateful for, or make a little wish for someone you care about. A lovely little handy tool you can easily take with you wherever you go, to activate a quiet, calm moment to ground yourself. TG's children created an Appreciation Tree for their Educators where they could leave notes to thank their amazing Educators for all they have done!
Belly Breath
We often hold our breath when we are tensed and worried. This is a nice little activity you can do anywhere, anytime. Inhale and let your belly and lungs gently open up and fill with air, and slowly let it out. We know TG's children will be asking for a Belly Breath moment whenever they feel they need it. Belly Breath, anyone?
Which Healthy Harold tip will you be using today?
TG's Child Care locations and contact details:
Urangan QLD
+61 (07) 4184 2282 | urangan@tgschildcare.com.au
61 Miller St, Urangan, QLD 4655
Armidale NSW
+61 (02) 6772 7810 | armidale@tgschildcare.com.au
11 Samuelson Crescent, Armidale NSW 2350
Uralla NSW
+61 (02) 6778 3369 | uralla@tgschildcare.com.au
23B John St, Uralla NSW 2358
Wauchope - Hastings St NSW
+61 (02) 6585 1033 | HastingsStreet@tgschildcare.com.au
33B Hastings St, Wauchope NSW 2446
Wauchope - High St NSW
+61 (02) 6585 3331 | HighStreet@tgschildcare.com.au
223A High St, Wauchope NSW 2446
Wauchope - Riverbreeze NSW
+61 (02) 6585 2981 | riverbreeze@tgschildcare.com.au
3 Riverbreeze Drive, Wauchope NSW 2446
About TG's Child Care
As one of Australia's leading early learning Preschool and Long Day Care providers, TG's Child Care is dedicated to its philosophy of “Quality Lifelong Learning, where Playing is Learning for Life.” Children attending TG's Child Care are encouraged to experience a love and joy of learning throughout their time there and are equipped with skills and tools to continue their personal growth long after they’ve left.
At TG's, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where we work and live. We pay my/our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.