Address
Petersham, NSW
We are a small business specialising in designing and creating early childhood resources along with a beautifully stocked range that compliments our handmade Play Discover Learn designs. We also carefully source a variety of second-hand early childhood picture books, games, and puzzles.
All resources are created and stocked with a focus on engaging children in their learning in a purposeful and meaningful way. Play Discover Learn is owned and operated by a qualified early childhood teacher and is based in Sydney, NSW.
Paperback Title
Our shack had a dirt floor, and before I swept it I would sprinkle water on it so the dust didn’t fly everywhere. Then Mum would put an old piece of lino down. I thought it looked lovely! When Elaine Russell was five, her dad built the family a shack just outside the Aboriginal mission at La Perouse in Sydney.
In The Shack that Dad Built, Elaine illustrates what life was like for an indigenous kid on the urban fringes. Her recollections range from the happy memories of hide-and-seek in the sand dunes and hunting for bush tucker to more bittersweet memories, such as her “Saddest Christmas Ever” (when the charity responsible for distributing presents to the local Aboriginal kids ran out of toys just as Elaine reached the head of the queue). Elaine’s colourful, painterly illustrations vividly recreate these childhood experiences.
Elaine Russell was born in Tingha, northern New South Wales, in 1941. She spent most of her childhood on the Aboriginal mission at Lake Cargelligo, where her father was a handyman. In 1993, Elaine enrolled in a visual arts course and was finally able to realise her lifelong ambition to be a painter. Her work has been displayed - and is held by - museums and galleries around the world. Elaine′s first book, A is for Aunty (ABC Books, 2000), was shortlisted for the Picture Book Award in the 2001 Children′s Book Council of Australia Awards, and was an Eve Pownall Information Book Honour Book.
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We are a small business that makes handmade early childhood resources along with stocking a range of beautiful resources to compliment the handmade range.
All resources are created and stocked with a focus on engaging children in their learning in a purposeful and meaningful way.
'Your parcel arrived yesterday and I am pleased with my new purchases thankyou. I also want to thankyou for the extra efforts you take to package not only this parcel (which is amazing) but every parcel you send to me. You do great business thanks’.
Janelle Gray
Proprietor
My career in the early childhood profession commenced in August 1993. My work has included the positions of teacher, teaching director, non-teaching director, child studies facilitator for the tertiary sector and Early Learning Consultant. Across 2009 – 2011 I was the National Project Officer for KidsMatter Early Childhood. A pilot project for young children’s mental health and wellbeing.
My Education Qualifications -
Diploma of Teaching, Early Childhood Education, Macquarie University
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training, TAFE – NSW
Graduate Certificate in Adult Education in Training, UTS
My Early Childhood Philosophy -
Childhood is a unique time of life, to be enjoyed and valued. It is a time where the foundations for lifelong learning and wellbeing are laid. As a professional early childhood educator first and foremost in all that I do, is the rights of the child.
I acknowledge the traditional people of the land on which I live and work. I pay my respects to elders, past and present as they hold the traditions and hopes for the future of this land.