Staff and children at Noah's Ark nursery in Evesham, Worcestershire, have marked the twinning project with Joondalup Day Care Centre, near Perth, for the past few weeks with didgeridoo playing, Aboriginal style painting, cooking Australian biscuits and making cardboard boomerangs. They have learned the famous Australian sun safety message 'Slip! Slop! Slap!' and practise it before they go outside.
They have also been keeping up to date by blog with the adventures of a staff member's relative who is currently travelling in Australia. The two settings regularly exchange photos, news and activities by e-mail.
Nursery manager Melanie Pilcher said, 'We were thinking about how to involve children in the wider community and make them feel like they belong. I thought of an ex-colleague of mine who now works as a childcare development officer in Western Australia, and e-mailed her my thoughts. She put me in contact with Joondalup day care centre, who were delighted to be asked.'
Ms Pilcher added, 'I was lucky enough to visit the nursery in Joondalup. It was brilliant to see how things are so similar and yet so different - the children are always barefoot and spend more time outdoors than in. It reminds us that children are fundamentally the same the world over - they enjoy the same things and have the same needs.'
