Being able to work with children brings new and exciting challenges. While just like any job, there are certainly challenging days, the good ones add so much more meaning and can bring reward to your life, that it outweighs the tough ones in a heartbeat.
For Integreat Queensland Rockhampton Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup Facilitator and Support Worker, Mirjam Kleine, it’s about watching children develop with their discovery and exploration skills.
“I find being around children to be uplifting and energising, especially when invited to view the world through their lens and explore their curiosity with them,” Mirjam said with a smile. “Their abundant creativity, playfulness and innocence can almost feel therapeutic to me.”
Originally from the Netherlands, Mirjam is a qualified Trainer and Assessor in Early Childhood and a Childhood Educator. She has worked with children over the past decade in Australia and lives by the philosophy that “children are more fun than adults.”
“Children are just more open to experiences than adults which is basically the fundamentals of Integreat Queensland’s Litte Steps Multicultural Playgroup,” Mirjam said.
“At the playgroup it’s great to watch the children interact with each other and develop their social skills. Our playgroup specifically doesn’t have too many children which allows us to help the children develop their social skills in relation to each other in preparation for their time in daycare or kindy.
“The playgroup is also good for the mothers because even though they still interact with their children, they also get to interact with each other and not just the children.
“A lot of mothers want to be seen not just as ‘the mother of….’, but also as a woman, somebody’s friend. Someone with needs and wants, and interaction with other mothers makes us all feel like a person, and this is an important aspect of the playgroup as well.”
Integreat Queensland’s Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup are held every Tuesday from 9:30am to 11:30am (during school term) at the Berserker Street Community Hub, 28 – 140 Berserker Street, North Rockhampton. It’s free to attend and for children from 0 to 5 years old.
See the children play: Our Rockhampton Multicultural Playgroup. Inset: Integreat Queensland Rockhampton Playgroup Facilitator and Support Worker, Mirjam Kleine.
