Authentic partnerships with families are essential. This is recognised in the National Quality Standard (NQS) Quality Area 6, which describes the importance of building ‘collaborative partnerships with families and communities’. Focusing on partnerships with families helps educators develop a holistic understanding of each child, informs high quality outcomes for each child, and fosters a strong sense of community

Every April the world celebrates World Austim Month,  it begins with the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on April 2. Throughout the month we focus on sharing stories and providing opportunities to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism, fostering worldwide support. 

A Buddy Bench is a secure place where children can go to when they are feeling low or lonely and other children are encouraged to come and make friends and brighten some ones day.  This timber sign is suitable for outdoor use, but we do recommend you apply a coat of clear varnish to prevent mould from growing on the timber. Helping to reduce and hopefully stop bullying and feeling of social isolation. The position of the seat should be chosen so if a child can sitting there for any length of time they like and it should be visible by other children and an adult supervisor.  Making it visible to the play area also will encourage a child to join in play. It is important to discuss with all children the role they can play in being a buddy and leadership. The concept can be introduced to students in younger grades...

Using mirrors with infant and toddlers in a early education setting is a developmental tool used to teach self recognition. Young children can also develop pre-reading skills from the use of mirrors by learning pronunciation, vocabulary, and the skill of identification. Practice Motor Skills- Have infants or toddlers try to “catch” bubbles as you slowly blow the bubbles against the mirror. This is a great way for infants to learn to follow with their eyes and is a great opportunity to increase hand-eye coordination. Have older toddlers practice getting dressed in the mirror. At first, this should be a simple task, such as putting on a jacket or socks. Praise every attempt the children make. All of the PDF Education Supplies mirrors are safe to use around children as they will not shatter and have rounded corners for added safety 

A mirror is great for exploring small, interesting loose parts. Try painting clouds on the sky it is a terrific mix of sensory play and art.  The blue sky reflecting in the mirror provides the perfect surface for painting big, fluffy clouds.  A mirror is a wonderful place for children to explore seasonal materials.  Try a  mix of natural and artificial items for the nature table.  The colours and textures are made even more interesting by the mirrored surface beneath them. A paintbrush glides so smoothly over the mirror is lovely too.  This activity always keeps the kids busy and entertained for ages.  And when we’re finished, simply wash the mirror in soapy water and soft cloth and it  is ready for another fun day in the future

How long will corflute signs last? Generally they will last 2-3 year outdoors. Is corflute waterproof? Yes corflute is waterproof our images are directly printed to the corflute so this means that they appear perfectly no matter the weather condition. What is the benefit of UV ink? UV ink is able to withstand the harsh UV rays, wind and rain. Is corflute heat resistant? Most definitely, they will warm up under direct sunlight but not very much, this makes them the smart and safe choice for signs to use around children. How easy is it to install a corflute sign? Corflute is lightweight so it is easy to attached to various surfaces using cable ties makes the process very easy. What is corflute made of? Corflute is a industry name  given for corrugated polyprpylene, a fluted plastic which is light weight while strong. Can corflute be recycled? Printed corflute signs can...

Why we need to encourage recycling in a child's early years. The skills children learn from recycling will create a sustainable world for them and future generations to live in. They will develop a greater appreciation for the way things work, and a better understanding of our precious ecosystem. How to start Start this learning in the early years of a child's life.  If a child is old enough to clear away their own mess and put something in the bin, they're old enough to learn about recycling. Buy the right bin, and label it so it is a visual reminder of what items go in it. Encourage children to donate cloths and toys to charity stores

Steps for social distancing in the workplace include: stop shaking hands to greet others consider cancelling non-essential meetings. If needed, hold meetings via video conferencing or phone call put off large meetings to a later date hold essential meetings outside in the open air if possible promote good hand, sneeze and cough hygiene provide alcohol-based hand rub for all staff eat lunch at your desk or outside rather than in the lunch room regularly clean and disinfect surfaces that many people touch open windows or adjust air conditioning for more ventilation limit food handling and sharing of food in the workplace avoid non-essential travel promote strict hygiene among food preparation (canteen) staff and their close contacts Businesses must do everything they can for Social Distancing

We are all aware of the current Coronavirus and with this in mind it is more important than ever that we follow correct hygiene procedures.  Clean hands has always and will always be one of our best forms of defence against all germs.  PDF Education Supplies is committed to the healthy and safety of all, hence why we have added this vinyl sticker to our range it will act as a reminder to all that you require them to sanitise their hands prior to entry.  Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another person's hands.  

Who's That in the Mirror? Autism and the Developing Sense of Self EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A small, exploratory British study of preschoolers with either autism or Down syndrome and typically developing toddlers looked at how each group of children acted toward their reflections in a mirror. They looked for trends, both group trends (i.e., how do autistic children differ from their non-autistic developmental peers, represented in different ways by the Down syndrome group and the younger typically developing group, whose chronological age matched the developmental ages found for both developmentally-disabled groups), and within-group trends relating mirror behavior to performance on a test of mirror self-recognition (i.e., do they know that the person in the mirror is their own reflection). They found that although the autistic children did not differ from the younger, typically developing children in the amount of time spent looking at their own faces, but that they did spend...