Leaving a familiar care setting to head off to 'big school' is a big deal and can be upsetting for children, prompting Kubby House Childcare Centre at Cobar to hold a farewell event with a difference last year.

Their 'Leaving Kubby Party' helped with the transition for children in their care who are moving on to Primary School in 2024.

 After reading a Community Early Learning Australia (CELA) article titled “Preschool Graduation – Who Are They Really For?” by Danielle Bopping, Cobar's Kubby House Childcare Centre Coordinator, Peta Rufo said staff began to reflect on previous end-of-year celebrations.

"These events traditionally involved the customary hat, gown, and presentation, which the families absolutely adored. We loved them too! However, we started to question, 'Where were the children’s voices in these celebrations?' and 'Who were we really doing this for?'" Ms Rufo said.

Further research led to staff discovering numerous reasons to rethink end-of-year celebration.

As a fun twist, Kubby House staff decided the children should lead including being responsible for naming the event, developing the menu, dress code, activities, theme, and even the guest list.

"I personally felt quite vulnerable taking this on, as it was a new concept/idea for everyone involved," Ms Rufo said. "Even though I knew from the research that it was a much more meaningful way to celebrate the children leaving, I still felt a little nervous. However, I knew I had to advocate for a more meaningful experience which included the children’s voices."

Ms Rufo said they decided to first ask the children their thinking around, what a celebration is. This brought responses including "Daddy's birthday", "Like a party" and "When I want to say goodbye".

"We explained to the children from the outset that even though everyone had such wonderful ideas, we would not be able to do everything they suggested, but we would try our best to incorporate as many ideas as possible. This included the children’s ideas for the party’s name, decorations, food, timing, attire, guest list, and activities (games and a disco)," Ms Rufo said. "It was a challenge to incorporate the plethora of ideas, but we managed to include at least one suggestion from each child, creating a truly collaborative party."

"During the two months leading up to the Leaving Kubby Party we held regular conversations with the children about their ideas and ask if anything had changed or if they had any new ideas. Thankfully, the majority of the children stuck with their original ideas!"

The celebration day included acknowledging the children for their individual strengths and their input into the celebration and handing them their learning portfolio. Popular games including Duck, Duck, Goose and the Parachute Game took place and in a popular ending to the night, a supper of food the children chose (lots of lollies and cake balanced out with some fruit and savouries of course) was followed with a disco.

"Celebrating with the families and playing games together was a delightful and connecting experience. The feedback from families was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the personalised and meaningful nature of the event," Ms Rufo said.

"Looking ahead, we aim to involve the children even more. Although we couldn’t hold the party on the last day of attendance this year due to community commitments, we plan to do so next year. This would allow the children to assist with the set up, food preparation, decorations, and invitations. This is the essence of working in ECEC – creating memorable experiences with and for the children."

"I am so proud of the team for opening themselves up to the possibility of a different kind of celebration. The Leaving Kubby Party was a success and will become a ritual at our service for each group heading to school in future years."

Community Early Learning Australia (CELA) recently highlighted the 'Leaving Kubby Party' on their website.

"We were thrilled to be acknowledged," Ms Rufo said. "The celebration was such a success and a lot more meaningful as the children had such input. We will be doing it all again at the end of 2024, with an aim for the event to get better and better."