Preparing socially and emotionally for preschool with Little J and Big Cuz: Case study 2: One Tree Community Centre Yera Children's service

The Yera Children’s Service in the Northern Territory is located within the campus of Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE) in the township of Batchelor, 98 kilometres south of Darwin. Yera Children’s Service at Batchelor has 34 places for children from birth to three years of age and a ‘kindy’ room that caters for children aged three to six years of age. The early childhood educators prepare development programs for the children, including programs to develop children’s social and emotional wellbeing and prepare them for their transition to junior primary school. Keiryn Christodoulou has been an educator at the Yera Children’s Service at Batchelor since 2010. With the support of the Director, Jessica Madison, Keiryn incorporated all the episodes of Little J & Big Cuz into her learning program for the children in her early childhood group. The children in this group were aged between and two and four years, and comprised nearly equal numbers of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. While Keiryn used Little J & Big Cuz in her programs for children up to the age of four, she discovered informally that children up to the age of 10 enjoyed watching the episodes. This case study discusses how Keiryn incorporated Little J and Big Cuz into the children’s learning and how the children responded.