Building Community Connections at Oberon Kindergarten

Penny, who lives close to Gowrie Oberon Kindergarten, lives with cerebral palsy. She uses a motorised wheelchair and communicates through a digital communication device. But when Penny heard that we were opening a kindergarten next door to her home, she and her carer Rachael sent an email to Kindergarten Manager Sam to arrange fortnightly visits where she gets to read to the children.

Penny comes to visit the Sheoak Group on a Monday once a fortnight, and Thursday the following week to the Wattle Group. Each visit, she spends about an hour with the children. She chooses a book that she wants to read to the children, and Rachael loads it onto her AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) device ahead of the visit. The children have grown used to the different pace of listening this way, and they ask Penny questions about why she picked that particular story. More recently, Penny has started asking her own questions to the children, wanting to know things like “What did you do on the weekend?” and “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The visits have grown beyond books, too. Penny has brought in her violin to play music with the children, turning story time into something closer to a shared occasion. “We just love it when Penny joins us, her smile lights up the room,” says Sam.

Educators have been proud to see how the children have adapted to include Penny when she’s visiting. They move things higher so she can reach them and bring objects over so she’s included in construction, playdough or painting. Parents have noticed it as well, commenting on how much they value their children being introduced to people who move or communicate differently from them.

The children have come to expect Penny’s visits, and are often asking “When is Penny coming?” They’ve grown in confidence in their communication with Penny, asking her their own questions.

Sam hopes to keep the relationship with Penny going. “There’s been so much value come from her visits,” Sam says, “the children genuinely care for Penny, and she cares for them too.” For Oberon Kindergarten, the learning that comes from authentic community connections is exciting and is something they hope to build upon for years to come.