Learning through Play
Learning through Play
At Cygnets, we have developed an enriched, secure, exciting provision to inspire our children and this enables them to learn outdoors as part of their everyday learning and development. We ensure learning and play experiences are deeply rooted in the world around us.
We believe in encouraging our children to notice small details in the world around them that will turn the ordinary into extraordinary, taking the time to ‘stand and stare’ and appreciate the beauty in their world. As practitioners we firmly believe children should be immersed in real and meaningful play opportunities and strive to enhance our provision with real and tangible objects. We recognise objects can spark curiosity and a desire to investigate. We take a holistic approach developing natural curiosity whilst taking every opportunity to further our children’s breadth of vocabulary.
Experiences
We value the importance of ensuring that all children have rich first-hand experiences fostering an eagerness to explore, discover and imagine. As practitioners we understand the significance of our reactions and interactions, matching the excitement and curiosity displayed by our children, igniting a thirst for knowledge. With ever changing seasons and weather, the outdoor environment offers us a unique play and learning space which is always evolving and is an empowering space to play. Children are valued as individuals, are allowed to be active learners, in charge of their own learning while developing key skills that allow them to flourish as life long learners.
Our Early Years Practitioners are positive role models, facilitating an environment where children are challenged, enabled to take risks, supporting learners through our interactions and changes often in response to our observations and knowledge of their needs and interests. All children are able to access all areas and their interests and characteristics are represented within our provision. Some children relish in burning off energy, running, shouting, being boisterous and others will seek a different type of play, something quieter and more reserved. Children that need the opportunity to use number names within their play can do this through the seasonal treasures and numicon available outside, working with the shells in the clay or when playing a target game with the bean bags!
Reflection
We review our environment regularly and adapt when possible to make sure it fits in with our children's current needs. We create challenge through our use of scaffolding and interactions with the children and teach their next steps through our provision instead of taking children away to a table.
For our young ones e.g. 2 years, we have a large sand tray with opportunities for pattern making, digging, pouring but when our children visit outdoors there is more of a focus on sand play with the opportunity for language development and we add some small world resources like desert animals, small world people, and/or small blocks to construct with.
The sandpit is also large enough to use spades, large trugs and a pulley system that allows children to develop their upper body strength as well as working on more precision skills.
Continuous Provision
When it comes to having displays we do use wall displays but sometimes we have moveable displays e.g. a lattice trellis with string and pegs on or flip books to look at.
At Cygnets we try not enhance our environment every week as we take away some of the opportunity for children to be independent and creative. Children will begin to only 'do' whats been set up by an adult in that area. For example if there is always a challenge for children to make an adult led craft in the junk modelling space they will stop thinking for themselves and never decide to make 'a lanyard with their name on it' because they want to play 'teachers!'.
We aim to looks for children’s interest or fascination and think of how we can enhance it with a provocation that deepens and extends the children’s learning.
Play helps young children to learn and develop their physical, social, emotional and intellectual skills through doing and talking, which research has shown to be the means by which young children learn to think. It is also how they learn to socialise, as children engage in learning through play experiences with other children and adults.
Children will explore their own developing levels of curiosity through the awe and wonder of their environments. We embed the three prime areas of learning by immersing children in joyful experiences, reflecting and deepening their diverse and multi-cultural lives. We provide a broad range of real-life experiences in order to build the foundation level of skills to take children to their next steps and beyond. Through an engaging, vibrant environment, strong relationships are fostered in a safe space.
In the moment planning allows us to follow the children, still hit the objectives we want to cover by initially mapping out our objectives and then working ‘in the moment’! A small percentage of activities are adult directed as this helps to develop key skills such as Phonics/Maths. Adult-led also supports interventions assisting more specific individual/group targets (helping to fill gaps) but also helping to consolidate and develop children’s knowledge further. Adult directed activities relate to the educational outcomes reflected in the Early Years Learning Framework. These learning experiences are followed up with practical hands-on experience both indoors and outdoors.
All other learning is through child-led play giving children opportunities to progress their next milestone. We provide opportunities for children to explore their passions and interests both inside and outside through real-life experiences, to learn and rehearse knowledge to be able to apply this through taught skills. Developing a love of reading is key and often our adult led plans incorporate themes such as ‘Lifecycles’ and a quality well-loved story will be at the heart of it e.g. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’.
We encourage all children to participate at their own level and that they have time and space to experience activities/resources. Children are encouraged to further develop their roles within play, with teachers/key persons extending their learning at every opportunity as learning can take place anywhere.