Ginnie & Pinney ‘Learn & Grow’ has been selected by the Victorian Department of Education and Training as one of its recommended resources for Early Learning for 2020.  As a consequence we have seen an uptake in the use of the materials across Victoria.  https://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/providers/funding/Pages/program.aspx?queryid=125. 

The books have recently been published by Australian publisher, Big Sky Publishing which has a strong focus on children's education and development. The books are being distributed by Simon & Schuster and will be distributed into schools and trade across Australia and worldwide over the next year. 

New exciting Ginnie & Pinney materials will be published by Big Sky Publishing in 2020/2021 including the A to Z of Emotions Flash Cards which explain emotional words such as 'anxiety' and ask one question per card such as 'What do you feel anxious about?' and also give synonyms for each word on each card. 

A new book series for toddlers based on language acquisition is in development and will also be  published by Big Sky Publishers. 

Due to Covid-19 we have increased our social media focus with online reading and introductions to the materials and also have engaged with Talkabook in the U.S. for online author interviews. We are also offering this service to schools and parents across Australia. 

The Ginnie & Pinney program is aimed for children, up to 8 years, to stimulate and enhance emotional intelligence, empathy and ethical decision-making. It includes an eight book set, eight animatic videos, a teacher’s resource and a set of finger puppets. 

The content of the program is based on the emotional themes from established Australian Government frameworks for values education for early childhood and fits the Victorian Curriculum’s Ethical Capabilities and Personal and Social Capabilities, Foundation to Level 2. 

The program also addresses SEL (social and emotional learning), ‘the process through which students acquire the knowledge and skills to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, empathise with others, cultivate positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. It provides a foundation for safe and positive learning, and teaches students resilience and life skills. In today’s world they are more relevant than ever. 

Each 36-page full colour paperback has a QR code portal for access to the animated videos of each story.  

Open ended questions, created in consultation with high level Australian academics, (see below for contributors) found at the back of each book, aim to encourage lively discussion between adult and child and deep thinking about social and emotional issues.

In this series we focus on the emotional themes and learning outcomes of persistence, sharing, saying sorry, taking responsibility, accepting differences, selflessness, inclusiveness and fairness. 

For more information about Ginnie & Pinney please contact info@ginnieandpinney.com.au or access www.ginnieandpinney.com.au