Volunteering and Its Benefits

If Shakespeare does not mind, I would like to substitute the word Mercy in his quote ‘The virtue of Mercy falls like gentle rain from heaven’ to Volunteering. Volunteering blesses those who volunteer and those for whom one volunteers.

There are countless benefits of volunteering. Apart from your values, passions and interests finding an outlet, volunteering opens a whole new world of social and cultural experience, new friends and networks. It develops one’s confidence, self-esteem and enables one to learn new skills. It also opens doors for career opportunities. Volunteering is a wonderful cure for loneliness and encourages social connectedness.

EdConnect connects over 1000 volunteers with thousands of young people in schools throughout Australia every year who need additional support in literacy and numeracy. These trained volunteers support class activities and become a positive role model for young and fertile minds. By dedicating one or two hours per week volunteers have made a huge difference in a young child’s life academically and emotionally well beyond their formative years.

EdConnect is looking for volunteers to help out in Homework Clubs in both Caroline Springs and Melton area. For more information please call 1800 668 550.

If you have a passion for making a difference in the life of a child and rewarding yourself then show your interest by completing the application form on http://www.edconnectaustralia.org.au/volunteer/volunteer-application-form/

Creating equitable learning pathways for children and families.

The City of Melton continues to lead the way in utilising learning as a key driver for change, by ensuring all Melton citizens have equitable access to learning opportunities that enable individual empowerment, build social cohesion and drive economic development, cultural prosperity and sustainable development for our city.

We are always searching for ways to improve the lives of our residents and to engage families in the growth of our learning city.

The Global Family Research Project has a long history and an established track record in defining and advancing the fields of family, school, and community engagement. They work across boundaries—with early childhood and after-school organisations, schools, digital media, libraries, museums, and others working on behalf of children and families—to ensure that families are empowered in children’s learning, from early childhood to young adulthood.

They encourage global connections by lifting up and sharing innovative family and community engagement strategies, research, and practices.

This is a recent video from their work on learning pathways – something that Melton City Council is committed to further developing in our City.

Meet Mateo and experience his learning pathway, from birth to college.

Experience the Ecology of Learning, our vision for all children and families—especially those with the greatest needs.

An ecology of learning includes the places and interactions that offer opportunities for learning, development, and achievement throughout a person’s life.

This environment inspires exploration, creativity, connections with others, and support in mastering skills at home, and in school, the community, and digital spaces.

Watch this fun video that helps to explain learning pathways and how families can support their child to achieve their dreams.

https://youtu.be/3AES90nzxwk

What Life Skills Should Every Child Master?

Parents often stress the importance of creative, academic and sporting efforts and achievements but ‘results on paper’ are just one of many skills children need to shine in their adult lives. In the City of Melton, many parents sign their kids up for local learning activities as a way to foster important interpersonal skills they need to shine in their career and personal lives. As noted in a 2019 study by S Majid et al, “soft skills play an important role in a successful career as well as during social interactions in the society.” Although there are numerous skills parents can pass onto their children, a few stand out due to their importance in a variety of professional and personal settings. Below are just a few that may inspire you if you are thinking about upskilling yourself or your kids.

Working Together Solves the Biggest Problems

Working with others can be tough, particularly when a child feels they have what it takes to solve the problem or win the game on their own. However, being empathetic to other children and recognising that each individual has information and experience that is unique and useful to others, is key. There are many ways to teach kids to be team players, including team sports, team games (such as tug-of-war, relay racing, and escape rooms), etc. At home, kids should have their own responsibilities, so they can realise that everyone’s individual effort is needed and of value if a family, team or indeed any group, is to function to its best ability. Kids can help keep the home clean, taking charge of just one manageable area. This may be one bathroom, the yard, or the living room. Find out the chores they love the most and enable them to carry these tasks out.

Teaching Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is not dependent on achievements, unlike self-confidence, which is based on our abilities and successes. We want to teach children to be compassionate and generous with others, but it is also important to be kind to oneself. For instance, when kids achieve less than expected at school or sport, if they give themselves a hard time about it, encourage them to be as accepting of themselves, as they would to a friend. Let them know that effort and consistency matter more than a grade.

Self-Care and Pampering

Teach kids to groom and pamper themselves with lovely baths, a favourite soap or body wash, or a mini mani/pedi. Doing so will let them know from the start that it feels good to treat yourself once in a while! Pampering may seem like a superficial pursuit, but its psychological effects run deep. It stresses the importance of being kind to yourself, but also shows the inexorable link between body, mind, and spirit in a subtle, enjoyable way.

Perspective Taking

To truly understand others, we need to ‘get into their shoes’. When your kids have arguments with others at school, it can be tempting to jump on their bandwagon and immediately side with them. However, kids can benefit more from trying to understand where others are coming from and what motivates them. Encourage kids to try to think of why their friends may have behaved less than ideally on a given day. Is there any way your child can understand their perspective and therefore feel less hurt about behaviour they did not immediately understand?

Everyday Skills

Children should know how to prepare a snack, sew a button, and iron a shirt (once they are mature enough to not burn or hurt themselves, of course). If you leave it to their teen or adult years, they may have already become accustomed to having someone else take charge of these tasks. If a child is able to feed themselves it helps to build independence and confidence.

There are so many skills parents pass on every day to children. These include caring for others, working as a team, and being empathetic. As a parent, it is up to you to choose those you wish to pass on. Be creative when making your list of must-have life skills and don’t forget to include the basics!

Learning Opportunities

In the City of Melton, we offer a range of learning activities that enable you and your children to learn new skills while having fun, making new friends and leading active lives.

Browse them all here on Melton Learning

The City of Melton is the only Australian city that has been endorsed by UNESCO as learning city.

The city achieved this distinction through coming together with the Community Learning Board have chosen to align all Learning Strategies and frameworks to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Framework of Key Features of Learning Cities (2014).

UNESCO Framework of Key Features of Learning Cities

According to the framework established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, a learning city is one that has managed and continue to effectively mobilize its resources in every sector. The mobilization of these sectors is done in order to: promote inclusive learning from basic to higher education, revitalize learning in families and communities, facilitate learning for and in the workplace, extend the use of modern learning technologies, enhance quality and excellence in learning, and lastly to foster a culture of learning throughout life.

In so doing it will create and reinforce individual empowerment and social cohesion, economic and cultural prosperity, and sustainable development. Consequently, this will give rise to lifelong learning that boosts the learning city attribute of the city.

Melton City, the Learning City

Some of the major building blocks that make Melton City a learning city are:

• Inclusive learning in the educational system
• Revitalized learning in families and communities
• Effective learning for and in the workplace
• Extended use of modern learning technologies
• Enhanced quality and excellence in learning
• A vibrant culture of learning throughout life

By operating a learning city, Melton City enables individual empowerment, social cohesion, economic and cultural prosperity, and build a sustainable city.

The recent Melton Lifelong Learning Festival is one such platform that support the strategies of a learning city. The Festival was a huge success and will be back in 2019.