Play is a legitimate and essential part of teaching and the emergent curriculum reminds me that play is spontaneous and a precious learning opportunity
These are photos of my son Coopa (4 years old) at Kindy with me (Mum) as his Educator
C & K, Building Waterfalls, state that; children have a right to learn what is of importance to them
Starting my career in the child care industry at the age of 16 as a student volunteer I have noticed the progressions and changes to the way educators construct and write their programs. I recall when I first explored programming in my early 20's it was a fill in the box structured program that was created from observations, though mostly what the educator wanted to plan and very much by the clock.
I have chosen this topic as a challenge because I can tend to have the habit of doing everything for the children, especially young children. I think this is mainly because it is easier and quicker for me to do it. I need to let children explore their environment and share and participate in the learning journey. This is an entire new experience from the way in which I have been taught to care for children.
I have always had a love of photography and capturing precious learning moments of children. I have used photographs around my child care setting for years and always wondered WHY other educators had not been embracing the use of cameras in their classrooms. For years I have received many positive warm fuzzies from parents who want copies of their child hard at play! The emergent curriculum utalises photography, words and conversations from the mouths of the children, samples of children's artwork, webbing and scrapbooks.
Play as a vehicle for learning
-Thomas and Pattinson (2007)
How things have changed! With the emergent curriculum being introduced I felt desperate for instructions. I attended many of Sue Inglis's workshops addressing the emergent curriculum and walked away feeling a little more at ease, but wanting to know what all the fuss was about. It seemed too easy - there must have been a catch!
Click here to learn more about Sue Inglis and her professional development workshops.
Sue explained how the use of photographs can cut down on written work, after all, a picture tells a thousand words and that the emergent curriculum gives children the gift of exploring the world around them by encouraging them to explore it through their own interests and passions through child- directed learning. The idea of myself as a co-learner was intriguing to me and I liked the idea of learning and investigating along side the children, (Early years Curriculum Guidelines, 2006).
I ditched the photocopied program template and gave myself a large, crisp, white piece of blank paper. I stared at it until my eyes could not focus any more and felt disheartened. This is exactly what I had been longing for and envisioning for so long and now it was here I felt so many emotions. I felt like a diver standing on the edge of the diving board, high above the pool.
After procrastinating for a little while I dove right in! I have not looked back, however I find including intentional teaching into the curriculum. As the program changes every day depending on the children's interests and input from other stakeholders I struggle with the concept of ensuring all the developmental areas are being covered and how I incorporate real life situations into my daily program. (As there is no box to fill in!) The negotiated curriculum has again been a learning curve by inviting the children/students into planning the program.
Jones and Nimmo (1994), share the vision that a child-centred approach that reflects children's lives and enables them to explore and investigate their questions, curiosities and concerns in a meaningful living curriculum, essential. Nimmo (2002), believes that 'by relying on a pre-planned curriculum, teachers risk distancing themselves from the decision making process' as well as distancing children from meaningful learning. Reflecting on the changes in which educators, like myself, are now teaching I can see that much of what children gain from the curriculum is unanticipated.
Challenges of Early Childhood has progressed my own learning and understanding of programming and I have been able to work towards helping myself. As I really did not know where or how to start I visited the local Gympie library and borrowed a book called; 'How Children Learn at Home' by Thomas and Pattinson, (2007). I wanted to know what importance real life situations have on learning and how they influence each child's development. Thomas and Pattinson explored the importance of giving children the gifts of independence through daily real life situations such as; Setting the table, washing the dishes and planting vegetables. This would be an important learning experience for me as I need to be able to answer parents questions about the emergent curriculum and the importance of real life situations, which I anticipated would flow through into my personal philosophy.
Thomas and Pattinson (2007), suggest that: Most of what children learn during the early years, including the foundations for literacy and numeracy on which much of the primary curriculum is based, is acquired informally, largely through everyday interaction with their parents and carers. There is no developmental or educational logic behind the radical change in pedagogy from informal to formal when children start school and there is no reason why this cultural apprenticeship of early childhood cannot be extended through the primary school years and beyond. A good question that was posed was: 'Why interrupt something that had been going on from before the age of five?' Reflecting on this I believe I both agree and disagree with Thomas and Pattinson. I am sitting on the fence. Informal pedagogy is a time where children start to discover themselves and their world - why change this to desks, chairs and homework. The benefits of structured, formal pedagogy gives children stability. What an interesting statement form Thomas and Pattinson.
'Being outdoors has a positive impact on children's sense of well-being and helps all aspects of children's development.' - The Learning environment 3.3 EYFS
These photos of are my youngest child Edward at Kitiwah Place Early Learning Centre
Photos were taken in December 2011
I found a book called 'Child Initiated Play' at my local Gympie library. Wall, (2011), explains how the play remains under the child's control and may be viewed to the child as an activity with serious purpose or to express an idea which the child may not view as play.
'Children will be making marks for a wide range of reasons, each equally valid. Through their marks, they are communicating their ideas, expressing their feelings, developing their imagination and creativity and testing their hypotheses about the world. These opportunities for making thinking visible are fundamental to children's learning and development and should be the entitlement of every child.'
- Mark Making Matters National Strategies for Early Years
In reflection through out this blog I have been growing and developing my understanding of how the emergent curriculum can include real life situations and the value of including photography as an observation tool. I feel confident to answer questions from stakeholders and include stakeholders in the program and curriculum.
No comments:
Post a Comment