On Sunday 27 October, the Wyndham Children’s Week Picnic held at Werribee Mansion attracted a crowd of almost 10,000 people. VU Polytechnic’s marquee was popular, with crowds drawn to Zora the humanoid robot dancing to music. There were queues for both the nail bar and seated massages throughout the day. Opportunities like these give students real experience with a range of customers, as well as incorporating placement hours as part of Victoria University Polytechnic’s hands-on learning.
Early childhood education students supported the Council with an array of services for the event, including assistance with the ‘Chill Out Zone’ and ‘Fun at Kinder’ activations. The interactions allowed our students to demonstrate their practices by creating engaging and interactive activities for children and families throughout the day. Our student Winnie describes her experience:
"I really liked looking through the children’s perspective, particularly when they were engaged in the nature experience, and how parents recognised ideas to take home, for example, water painting on concrete. It was also a good to see how children led their own play."
Early childhood education students also participated in the Brimbank, Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong Council throughout the week as part of the children’s week events. The students set up activities for families and children at Aeroplane Park in Maribyrnong, offering animal petting farms, dancing activities and community gardens. The students were delighted with the programs.
"It was a great day - we loved it. We hope this happens every year. It was so much fun. We could practice things we have learnt at school which is great with placement coming up."
These free events give kids and families the opportunity to connect with their local communities through enjoyable performances, music, entertainment, food trucks and interactive arts and activities. Victoria University Polytechnic is proud to offer free, interactive, fun engagements to showcase our diverse range of courses offered in the west. This includes Free TAFE courses in 2020 such as the two early childhood education courses.
The Certificate III in Early Childhood Education (CHC30113) and Diploma of Early Childhood Education (CHC50113) will be offered as Free TAFE courses from 2020.