Flame Tree: our 2027 Educational Leader Diary cover, and 3 ways to explore it with children
Meet Brachychiton acerifolius, the Illawarra flame tree behind the cover colour of our 2027 Educational Leader Diary, plus three easy EYLF-linked nature-play ideas and a team provocation.
Each of our 2027 cover colours is named after an Australian native plant. The Educational Leader Diary wears Flame Tree, and here is a little about it, plus three easy ways to explore it with your children.
Meet the Flame Tree
Brachychiton acerifolius, the Illawarra flame tree, grows in the rainforests of Australia's east coast. In early summer it does something theatrical: it drops its leaves, then covers its bare branches in thousands of scarlet bell flowers you can spot from suburbs away.
We chose it for the Educational Leader Diary because that is what a good leader does, creates the bold, unmissable moment that lifts everyone's eyes. This diary is where those sparks get planned.
Bring it into your program
Three simple experiences, each with a link to the EYLF, plus a thought for your team.
1. Red day
Declare a red hunt. Find every red in your outdoor space, then build a giant collaborative flame tree collage, bare branches painted first, red bells added by every child.
EYLF: Outcome 5 (children collaborate and express ideas through shared art-making).
2. Bells that ring, bells that bloom
Gather real bells of different sizes and let the children compare their shapes to flame tree flowers. What makes a bell a bell? Do flower bells make a sound? Cue some very careful listening.
EYLF: Outcome 4 (children hypothesise, test and refine ideas).
3. Brave changes
The flame tree lets go of every leaf before it flowers. Use that story to talk about change: starting school, a new room, a new baby. What might we let go of, and what beautiful thing might come next?
EYLF: Outcome 1 (children develop resilience and a strong sense of identity) and Outcome 3 (social and emotional wellbeing).
A provocation for your team
At your next room meeting, ask: where is the flame tree moment in our program this term, the one experience families will still be talking about in December? Capture the answers in your Educational Leader Diary and build backwards from there.
Notice and document
As the children explore, jot down their questions, theories and discoveries. That is the Butler Method in action, planning from real interest and making the learning visible.
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