Learning in the Early Years
Learning in the Early Years
P6
The learning opportunities for children across the curriculum:-
Birth to Three Matters 0-3 years
Foundation Stage 3-5 years
National Curriculum 6-11 years
* BIRTH TO THREE MATTERS
The curriculum framework is to provide support, information, guidance for the practioners who have the responsibility for the care and education of babies and children birth to 3 years.
The framework values and celebrates babies and children. It recognises their individuality, efforts and achievements and recognises that all children from birth need to develop, learn through interaction with people and to explore the world around them .
The framework focuses on THE CHILD, rather than the subjects, specific areas of experience and distinct curriculum headings. i.e. Geography, History, RE etc.
The framework is sectioned in 4 ASPECTS and bases this on the skill, competence and highlights the interrelationships between growth, learning, development and the environment, in which they are cared for and educated.
The 4 aspects are:-
A strong child
A skilful communicator
A healthy child
In each aspect it is divided into 4 COMPONENTS
The components of a strong child are:-
* Me, Myself and I - is about helping young children to know themselves and their own capabilities.
* Being acknowledged and affirmed - by important people in their lives, leading children to gain confidence and inner strength.
* Developing self-assurance - exploration with close relationships leads to the growth of self assurance, promoting a sense of thinking.
The components of a skilful communicator are:-
* Being together - leads to the wider development of social relations which include friendship, empathy, showing emotions and experiences and becoming a competent language communicator.
* Finding a voice - increases confidence and encourages children both to extend their range and increase their skills.
* Listening and responding - they start to learn about conversation, this requires listening and responding approximately, understanding the importance of paying attention, to sounds and language, interpreting, imitating, repeating and mirroring others.
* Making meaning - they learn the 'rules' of ...
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The components of a skilful communicator are:-
* Being together - leads to the wider development of social relations which include friendship, empathy, showing emotions and experiences and becoming a competent language communicator.
* Finding a voice - increases confidence and encourages children both to extend their range and increase their skills.
* Listening and responding - they start to learn about conversation, this requires listening and responding approximately, understanding the importance of paying attention, to sounds and language, interpreting, imitating, repeating and mirroring others.
* Making meaning - they learn the 'rules' of communication through making meaning with the support of the adult and other children.
The components of a competent learner:-
* Making connections - learning to discriminate and make connections between different objects and experiences. (touch, sight, sound, taste, smell and movement).
* Being imaginative - pretend play with gestures and actions, feelings and relationships, ideas and words, they become increasingly imaginative.
* Being creative - through exploration and discovery as they experiment with sound, media and movement.
* Representing - allowing children to share their thoughts, feelings, understandings and identities with others.
The components of a healthy child are:-
* The Emotional well being - includes relationships which are close, warm and supportive and being able to express feelings.
* Growing and developing - children who are healthy, benefit from the activities. Equally, children who are hungry, tired will not enjoy the activities or the provision may be inappropriate to their needs.
* Keeping safe - keeping safe, ensuring babies and children quickly become skilful in arrange of movements involving gross and fine motor skills.
* Healthy choices - in time the children will make healthy choices as they learn about their bodies and what they can do.
How the learning and development needs are met on work placement.
A strong child
* providing mirrors in a corner of the room, so the babies can go to explore what they look like and who they are.
* Letting the children decide what they want to play with, letting the children make their own decisions and choices in their play.
* reading a story to a child and using different expressions and tone of voice, getting the child to join in with me. Using puppets or soft toys to get the child to use their voices, imitating the different puppets .
* Providing activities that involve using all their senses. e.g. relaxing music, playing quietly in the background, providing soft lighting providing routine for the baby/child. e.g. time to sleep, time to eat e.t.c.
* providing role play for the children to dress up, to help children to find out what it feels like to be someone else.
A skilful communicator
* Role play and dressing up, being different characters and acting out these characters. e.g. cooking, cleaning, washing.
* Going on outings, visits to the park, into town (shops) and encouraging children to take on roles, meeting others, expressing their feelings and thoughts.
* Providing music for the children in the form of tapes of rhymes and stories. Reading nursery rhymes and letting them engage with the rhyme. i.e. pat a cake, wind a bobbin e.t.c.
* Giving the opportunity at dinnertime for the child/baby to make a choice in which spoon to choose or which bib to wear. Giving them choices, if they want to play outside or in.
A competent learner
* Providing babies to play with pots, pans, cups, tins, brushes (heuristic play), using wooden blocks, constructing a building.
* Playing with sand, water, play dough and ublick.
* Giving babies treasure baskets and letting the babies explore inside, this could be arrange of assorted resources. e.g. wooden utensils, spoons, string, cones, different textures.
A healthy child
* Providing stories, pictures and puppets, which allow children to explore and experience about their feelings. e.g. using different character puppets, a puppet feeling sad, the other one feeling happy and letting the children re-enact how they are feeling.
* Using non-specific play materials such as boxes and blankets, so they can move in different directions. e.g. hide and seek, making dens etc.
A competent learner
* Using heuristic play, e.g. using materials such as corks, tubes, tins, chains - using these materials to fill and empty, fitting things into containers letting the child bang, shake, push and pull different materials.
* THE FOUNDATION STAGE
The Foundation Stage is the Curriculum for children aged 3 - 5 years olds. It applies to children in England who are being cared for and educated in settings that receive the Nursery Education Grant. These children work towards the Early Learning Goals, these establish what stage the children are at by the end of the year. They are organised into 6 areas and provide the basis for teachers to plan throughout the Foundation Stage.
The areas of learning are:-
* Personal, social and emotional development - this is about emotional well-being, knowing who they are and where they fit in, as well as feeling good about themselves and others. It is also about developing respect for others, social skills and a positive attitude to learning.
* Communication, language and literacy - this includes communication, speaking and listening in different situations.
* Mathematical development - developed through stories, songs, games and imaginative play, so that children enjoy using and experimenting with numbers larger than 10.
* Knowledge and understanding of the world - children develop the knowledge, skills and understanding that help make sense of the world.
* Physical development - it helps them to gain confidence in what they can do and enables them to feel healthy and active.
Bibliography
Birth to Three Matters
Supporting the Framework of Effective Practice
Edited by L. Abbott and A. Langston
First Published 2005
