Congratulations and thank you to…
John and Sharon Edwards who reached their one year anniversary of caring for Allambi Care on 16/02/2024.
2023 Christmas Party was a splashing success!
Thanks to all who attended the Christmas party and had fun, even though it was on the hottest day ever! The pool party and slide were enjoyed by all who attended and a big shout out to the staff who organised and cooked the delicious BBQ. If your child or young person had a photo with Santa and you would like a copy, please contact your case worker.
Rainy Day Fun
Have you been to the Questacon exhibition at the Newcastle Museum yet? The exhibition, Australia in Space, is open for exploration until 10 March 2024. The museum hours are 10am to 5pm.
The exhibition was developed by Questacon to showcase Australia’s vision for a ‘vibrant and diverse’ space sector. It has three zones: Lift off, In Orbit and Earth & Beyond. If your child or young person gets overwhelmed by crowds or noise, you can attend the Low-Sensory Sessions. The next Low-Sensory session is Saturday 2 March, 9-10am. Tickets can be purchased on arrival at the Museum.
Click here for more information: Australia in Space - Newcastle Museum
Have a budding artist in your home? Find A FREE Kids Art Workshop in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter
Get out on the weekend and enjoy some fun art workshops with your kids. There are free art sessions available at different venues across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter for kids and their parents, grandparents or carers scheduled on weekends.
These are fantastic sessions which enable kids and their families to learn about current art exhibitions and be inspired to get creative.
ARTS IN THE YARD
Location: The Lock-Up, Newcastle East
Days: Saturday
Time: 10am – 10:45am or 11am – 11:45am
Bookings Required: Yes
ARTS IN THE YARD, is a free arts workshop which is aimed at introducing children of all ages to contemporary arts practices in an accessible way. It’s located at the unique historical venue, The Lock-Up, which was formerly an 1800s police station and now a contemporary art space. Each session begins with a mini tour of The Lock-Up’s historical spaces and a viewing of the current exhibition, followed by a free, kid-friendly workshop presented in the historical men’s exercise yard.
ARTSPACE
Location: Museum of Art and Culture (MAC) Lake Macquarie, Booragul
Day: Sunday
Time: 10am – 11am or 11am – 12pm
Bookings Required: Yes
MAC Lake Macquarie offer Art Space, where young children and their families are invited to enjoy free, simple art activities guided by friendly art museum educators every Sunday in Studio MAC. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times and art activities take approximately half an hour to complete. Bookings are essential.
FREE ART SUNDAY
Location: Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland
Day: Sunday
Time: 10am – 12pm every Sunday (not Christmas Eve or NYE)
Bookings Required: No
Drop into Maitland Regional Art Gallery for free art fun every Sunday. Free Art Sunday activities are designed for kids of all ages, and as a family you can all join in and get creative. Each activity takes around half an hour to complete.
Free Art Sunday is staffed by artist educators who encourage parents and children to add to their experience of the gallery by accessing hands-on art making activities in a family friendly environment. Free for children of all ages and their families. Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer and cannot be left unattended during Art Sundays.
ART PLAY
Location: SEEN@Swansea, Swansea
Day: Last Saturday of each month
Time: 10am – 10:45am or 11am – 11:45am
Bookings Required: Yes
SEEN Swansea run free Art Play session on the last Saturday of each month. Young children and their families can enjoy simple art activities guided by friendly art educators. Art projects will be inspired by the exhibit on display at SEEN. Bookings are required at this time for all members in your group.
Whole Brain Strategy #8
The first strategy in Chapter 5 of The Whole-Brain Child addresses feelings. While we are striving to get our children to understand their feelings, we also need them to understand that their feelings change: “… feelings need to be recognised for what they are: temporary, changing conditions.” Siegel and Bryson explain why this is an important distinction:
“When children experience a particular state of mind, such as feeling frustrated or lonely, they may be tempted to define themselves based on that temporary experience, as opposed to understanding that that’s simply how they feel at the moment. Instead of saying, ‘I feel lonely’ or ‘I feel sad right now,’ they say, ‘I am lonely’ or ‘I am sad.’ The danger is that the temporary state of mind can be perceived as a permanent part of their self. The state comes to be seen as a trait that defines who they are.”
My oldest child is four, and she is not defining herself by her emotions – yet. But she can definitely get stuck in an unpleasant cycle of her emotions. So, what do you do? In the book there is an illustration to demonstrate how to teach that feelings come and go. There’s a little girl who is mad at her dog for ripping her picture, and she hates her dog. The adult acknowledges her feelings, points out that’s how she feels in the present moment, describes a scenario when she felt love for her dog, and then uses those two moments to point out how her feelings change.
Right before the teaching example is the example of when we dismiss and deny. The adult says, “I’m sorry, honey, that Moby ripped your picture. Don’t worry though, you’ll get to paint another one at school.” I do that. I dismiss and deny my daughter’s feelings. Since reading this, I have caught myself several times. My intent is not to dismiss and deny; I think I’m helping my child get past their feelings. But what I’m really doing is shoving their feelings out of the way, so I don’t have to deal with them. And then everyone “looks” happier.
I began making an effort to teach my four-year-old that feelings come and go — especially since I just needed to replace a little sister for the dog in the above scenario. Well, I’m hoping I get better with practice. So far I’ve felt clumsy with my words. I am really good at saying, “I’m sorry that you are angry that your sister has a toy. Remember when you were happy to play with her when she woke up this morning?” But I couldn’t ever remember how the cartoon demonstration ended: “See how sometimes you feel love and sometimes you feel anger. Your feelings change all the time, don’t they?” That makes sense, but whatever I said probably didn’t. Plus, my four-year-old daughter usually corrected me on what emotion she was feeling, so I probably need practice there, too.
For now, this strategy of teaching that emotions come and go is helping me be present through the emotions (usually I want to run far away from the screaming and crying). But I also think it would be helpful to revisit this idea of emotions coming and going during a calm, happy time. I found my daughter and I were using the strategy mostly during an angry or sad time referring back to a happy time. I wonder what connections my daughter could make when we referred back to a sad time when she is happy?
Or maybe I could just comment on her beautiful smile and ask how she feels, so that I can point out that her emotions changed. I figure it’s worth the try, and I need the practice.
My Forever Family
MARCH 5 – 10am to 11am | Online | Supporting Restoration
This session discusses the process of restoration, the challenges and expectations plus some helpful and practical tips on helping you through the process.
MARCH 6 – 10am to 2pm | Online | Practical applications of cultural plans
Deepen your knowledge and understanding in the development and implementation of Aboriginal Cultural Support Planning for Aboriginal children and young people.
MARCH 12 – 10am to 11am | Online | Understanding Autism
What is autism? What causes autism? This session looks at strategies that work and don’t work and give some top tips for parenting children and young people with autism.
MARCH 14 – 10am to 11am | In-person | Catch up for a cuppa with Kylie Anderson
This in-person session will be a guided open platform by a MFF staff member who will be there to answer your questions and provide resources to support you on your carer journey. Limited to 20 places.
MARCH 14 – 6.30pm to 9.30pm | Online | Carers Code of Conduct - It’s not just a piece of paper
The Code of Conduct is designed to promote good relationships between carers, the child, the child's family and the agency. It promotes the highest standards of conduct by authorised carers, the standards of behaviour that apply to carers and the support and assistance that carers can expect to receive from their designated agency.
MARCH 15 – 8.30pm to 10.30pm | Online | Managing Siblings
This course will help develop strategies for managing sibling groups (large or small, full siblings or mixed, birth or adopted/fostered/SGO). We will discuss and develop strategies for these subjects: lying, stealing, fighting, staying sane (self-care) and dealing with professionals.
MARCH 20 – 9.30am to 10.30am | In-person | Building Carer Connections | Gosford RSL - West Gosford
This in-person session will be an open platform guided by Kylie Anderson, who will be there to answer your questions and provide resources to support you on your carer journey.
MARCH 20 – 10.30am to 2.30pm | Understanding Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome | Gosford RSL - West Gosford
NAS is the abbreviation for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and is a term for the issues a child experiences when they have had to withdraw from narcotics as a baby. As we know, alcohol and drugs affect a developing foetus if consumed heavily by the pregnant parent.
MARCH 21 – 10.30am to 2.30pm | Exploring impacts of Foster Care on Carers and their families | Mingara Recreation Club - Tumbi Umbi
Exploring the Impact of Fostering on Carers and their Families focuses on helping carers remember why they chose to care in the first place and how to sustain that commitment. It will equip you with tools to navigate the challenges that come with fostering, providing a platform for open discussion and shared experiences. By stepping back and remembering your initial motivations, this training can assist in supporting you to continue to provide loving therapeutic care, which is the pathway to healing.
MARCH 21 – 7.30pm to 9.30pm | Managing family time after adoption/guardianship | Mercure Maitland Monte Pio
Family time can be different for every child and at times a stressful time for children and the home environment. This training is to help out of home care adoptive parents and guardians make family time a positive experience for children post order. Family time changes in purpose after permanent orders and this can be a difficult transition to navigate. There are some helpful strategies in planning and facilitating family time that can help make life easier for everyone involved. Come along and join in some discussion with some case study presentations that may be just what you need to hear!
MARCH 26 – 10am to 11am | Online | Ask an Expert! Gail McCabe-Johnston
Join into this session where we can talk through the issues we are experiencing with our kids in a safe, supportive environment. Gail Johnston is a psychologist who works with children, families and adults who have experienced trauma. She has worked extensively in the areas of child protection, childhood trauma and attachment issues.
For more information or to register for these training sessions go to:
