Welcome!

In this blog I am exploring the many different contexts for learning.
I have decided to focus on:
Learning in an outdoor environment: Den Making, Forest School
Learning in an indoor environment: Montessori Education, Play, The Foundation Phase

Learning through play - Indoor environments

The Foundation phase in Wales is all about children learning through play.
After looking at Montessori education, I now understand more how play can really affect a child in the ways they develop.

Children learn about the world around them through play, by observing, experimenting and taking risks. It is this ‘research’ that helps them to gain a better understanding of the world around them
(Sheridan & al, 2004). It is also interesting how children take what they see at home such as baking, going to the doctors or shopping and use that in play, like the video shown in the previous post.

As Froebel stated ‘Play is children’s work’. It is how they learn best without even realising it.
I have already explored the importance of outdoor play, and using the outdoor environment in learning. I am going to look at indoor environments, such as classrooms and museums.

I am currently on placement at a local primary school, and in the afternoons I work with the younger pupils, usually in nursery or reception. It is always fun and interesting to observe the ways they play, especially in the ‘home corner’, where children take care of their baby dolls, cook food and spend a good ten minutes on the phone talking to a child next to them. Their imagination and development of skills is constantly expanding. The children develop their communication skills as well as developing a sense of independence, without even realising it.

 

A few weeks ago, my friend Emma and I went to Plantasia to see how children could learn from this different environment. Plantasia is basically a museum of plants with the same climate that you would find in a rainforest. They offered a range of activities for children to develop their skills.
One part of the museum which I particularly found interesting was the ‘Rainforest hut’, which is a superb chance for role play. It is a great way to explore new culture and learn through all the senses.

 

Reference

Sheridan, M., & al, e. (2004). Play in Early Childhood. London.

Learning through Play

I came across this video today which I thought really demonstrated how a child learns through play.

The video shows a little boy two years of age playing in a toy kitchen, baking toy pizzas and taking it very seriously. He adds salt and pepper, turns the oven on and puts the pizza in. It is really interesting to see how this little boy has taken what he has seen at home and is putting it into his own context for learning through role play.

Learning through Play: Montessori

I found Montessori’s adaptation to education really interesting, and so decided to look more into Montessori education, the activities in the classroom and how they benefit the child.

Brief History

Maria Montessori set up a nursery in a newly built social housing estate and called it ‘the Children’s house’. There was no money for resources; she adapted what she had to the children’s needs.
She focussed on each individual so they reached their full potential, and encouraged the children to look after each other, the classroom and environment.

After some research I recognised a few differences between Montessori education and mainstream education. Such as:

·         Mixed age classrooms

·         A ‘director’ instead of a ‘teacher’

·         The children choose the activities they wish to work on as long as they’re in their range of ability

These 'activities' that the children work on are specialised materials that were made by Montessori and have been developed since by her collaborators. Although, they have not changed much! For example, one exercise used in Math in Montessori education is counting rods.
They used to look like this:

And now look like this:

 

 

What I like most about Montessori education is the children are encouraged to explore and have that element of freedom. Also there are no tests or grading systems. This eliminates children feeling pressured in exams and maybe not doing as well as they could have because of these pressures. I also like that the children cover practical life as part of their curriculum.

Montessori education also states that the first six years are known as the ‘absorbent mind’, and these years are the most important for any child’s development (Isaac, 2012).  I completely agree with this.

After looking into Montessori education it is easy to see where ideas for the Foundation Phase in Wales came from.    

 
Reference

Isaac, B. (2012). Understanding the Montessori Approach . London.

 

 

Outdoor play continued - Forest School

Another aspect of learning in an outdoor environment is 'Forest School'.

"Forest School is a system of learning that allows the environment to do the teaching. It is direct experimnetal learning and encourages participation in motivating and achievable tasks and activities".

 The video I found is a reflection of a forest school in the woodlands of Worthing. It shows children ages 3-4 years in this stimulating environment.
Forest school is an excellent opertunity for children to explore and learn using all the senses. The video shows the children learning through touch, communication and sounds. They take risks and don't seem afraid. They also learn life skills that aren't so easy to learn in an indoor environment.
There also seems to be a constant element of excitement and freedom. The children are constantly learning without realising.

Here are some of my favourite parts of the video which really demonstrate essensial skill development that the children are learning through forest school.
1:28 - teamwork and excellent communication skills. Working together to carry that really big log!
1:38 - "I did it!" - a sense of achievement.  Development in independance and confidence.
1:46 - "I like the fairies"  - imagination development. Dunn (2008) – Pretend play allows children to try different ideas, feelings and relationships with people.
2:54 - Den making.
3:25 - in a car, once again imagination development.

The importance of Outdoor Play - Den Making

Learning through play is all about being active, interaction and most importantly for the child, self-discovery. The value of play is extremely important for a child’s development and learning (Wood e Al, 2010) .
I believe it is important that all children have access to play in an outdoor space as well as an indoor space.
Growing up as a child, I can’t remember playing anywhere else than outside, even when it was raining! Playing outdoors gives a child a chance to improve their confidence, both physically and mentally (Johnson e Williams, 2008). It also enhances motor skills, builds relationships, has endless opportunities for team work, improves communication skills and enhances spatial awareness.

Outdoor play also gives a child much more opportunity for independence with the feeling of freedom in exploration of wide open spaces, rather than controlled space in indoor learning (Garrick, 2009). There is also a positive improvement in language development, when a child is involved more in outdoor play. This could be because the child may be more confident of their use of language outdoors rather than indoors in front of adults (Garrick, 2009).
"Provision needs to be made for children to develop control of different parts of their bodies and this can be achieved by carefully organising the outdoor space" (Edgington and Titchmarsh, 2002: 19).

One aspect of outdoor play I particulary find interesting is den making.

My younger sister is seven years of age, and loves making dens in the back garden during the summer, just using a blanket and the washing line.  Last summer she literally spent hours in our garden pretending to be a cave woman, which was interesting because at the time she was actually studying 'The Stone age' at school. This shows her cognitive development, as she is using what she has learnt in school, taking it home and then building on it through imagnitative play.
It's really interesting to watch her play, and then to listen to her stories after the adventures she has been on. It is also interesting to see her imagination and her independance develop.
When used in the correct way, making dens can be a great way for children to develop commincation skills, team work skills, spacial awareness, and as mentioned independance and cognitive development.
In our module of 21st century learning, we looked at an article called 'Den Making in Different Contexts'. It was interesting to see how sustained shared thinking could be brought into something so simple and have a big effect. The practitioner helped the children to solve their own problems without telling them the answer, they were just led to the right conclusion.
In one of the studies the children were given the materials in a secure environment but had a lot of space. This element of freedom I think is very important for a child as it helps them develop in many ways.
I think by using the outdoor environment along with a child's imagination used when making a den, it creates such a great element of excitement and is a great environment to build on exsisting knowlege and learn new things.

Reference

Garrick, R. (2009). Playing Outdoors in the Early Years. Continuum.

Johnson, J., & Williams, L. N. (2008). Early Childhood Studies . London: Pearson Education .

Wood, E., & Al, E. (2010). Play and Learning in the Early Years: From Research to Practise . London: Sage .