Child development theories support planning for learning and play in child care settings. Tina Bruce’s child development theories “favour a holistic approach to teaching young children which focuses on creativity, play and first-hand experiences.” (Pound. L, 2009, pg.13) She believes that free-flow play is important for children as it promotes their independence and allows them to make choices and also make mistakes. This allows them to learn from these mistakes and enhance their learning. Bruce states that “The importance of opportunities to act as independent learner, making choices and mistakes with an emphasis on self-motivation.” (Pound.
They begin to understand concepts such as sharing, not to hit other kids, not to snatch and to use manners. These understandings cannot be taught nor can a child learn these on their own, therefore being exposed to other children and playing with them is essential in a child’s social development. Playing with toys can stimulate children’s brain in term of identifying colours and shapes and naming them. It allows them to think for themselves and make judgements on where they choose to play, with whom and with what toys. These decision making processes allow room for their personality to grow and for them to figure out, which colours they like, whether they like playing in big groups or with just a few kids, whether they are more independent or like to follow others.
He refers to a term called scaffolding which means when support of some kind is given from a teacher or caregiver to do things they cannot otherwise do alone. I really like Lev’s way of thinking about experience and development. He believed that children grow from experiences so we as the care giver should provide them a great and full learning environment. I myself think young children learn from the experiences they have and interaction with others helps them grow and develop. I think that children learn the best through hands on and how we as teachers teach them.
Reliablility, openness, honesty, fairness, by listening without interruption, these are all ways to build trust and respect with a child / children. This enables a child / children to feel comfortable within your company, which in turn will allow you to provide a supportive and caring learning environment for a child /children to develop. 1.2 Describe with examples how to behave appropriately for a child or young person’s stage of development. Foundation Years Within these year groups our responses are more animated through our body movements and voices. Children at this stage learn more through playing games, role play, building, messy play and using there senses touch, sight, hearing and smell, to explore objects and their surrounding environment.
“All practice with children needs to be centred upon the needs and interests of each child” (2) As every child is a unique having the child centered approach in early year’s settings is important because it will help children reach their full potential. It also reflects around the children’s needs, for example, if a child has a disability, having the child centred approach in place will make the child feel more welcome and will be able to do activities that he/she wants to do. Having the child centered approach in place will help children access the curriculum at their own level; children will be able to learn at their own level and ability. For example, children who have special needs or are gifted and talented will need different help/work. Gifted and talented children will find the work that they do too easy and for special needs children they will find the work hard, so having the child centered approach in place is important so every child gets the opportunity they need to reach their full potential.
To successfully fur fill the requirements I as the adult will have to provide and make resources accessible so that I can interact with the children and observe and reflect on each of the child’s learning experiences. By doing this I will be able to see what the children enjoy doing and how I can keep the child’s attention and concentration. To use the child centred approach you will have to look at every child as an individual with different strengths learning styles and interests as well as adapting to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities, to achieve this I will have to research their
1.2 Most theories of child development view young children as being very creative with an very wide imagination and also to experiment and explore their physical and conceptual environment. Understanding of creative learning differs from those who see creativity as freedom to express ourselves to those who link it to self-discipline, practise and crafts. Creativity is more about the process rather than the end product and this creative process is useful for many reasons, developing confidence, developing good relationships, finding out what talents and strengths we have and teaches us about who we are and what we love and what we can give to others. Creative learning is seen to help social skills, team work and shared problem solving through working with others. collaborative working has these key characteristics: • Motivation for learning • Bringing the curriculum to life • Greater involvement in decision making • New ways for learners to engage in a subject.
How do children learn through play? How does teacher intervention support or limit the learning through play? Give examples of practice to support your answer. Learning through play is a term that is used frequently in both education and developmental psychology. It is a way to describe how children use play to make sense of the world around them and can be an important tool for the development of language to communicate, the mind to imagine, to plan strategies and to solve problems.
What makes a good Early Years Practitioner? The strength and success of any early years practice relies on the expertise and experience of the practitioners who work there. A good early year’s practitioner should be a good role model to the children and remain so at all times. They should enjoy working with children, love being around them and be totally passionate about their work. They need to have the drive and ambition to always do better and self improve.
By watching children closely, child care providers will be able to see opportunities for supporting and building on children’s play experiences. Child care providers will also notice when children wish to play independently of adult involvement. Determining the required level of direct versus indirect supervision is a decision that only the child care provider can make. Effective supervision will only be achieved if care providers are aware of the children and their environment. Child care providers need to assess the needs of every child and supervise according to the development of each child.