Atlas Childcare Blog in Bella Vista

With the chill of winter settling in , it is timely to discuss the importance of of outdoor play. During the cooler months it’s common for children to restricted to indoor play at home and only permitted to play outdoors when its warm and sunny.

Many parents fear that their children will not “ like” being outside in the cold , or that they will get sick from being outside in the cold air. For this reason , it is particularly important that young children enjoy outdoor activities in their early childhood educational services.

Playing outside in autumn, winter and early spring , each present their own unique opportunities for explorations a learning. Therefore , outdoor pay should be embraced in all types of weather , as it is crucial for children’s ongoing development.

Most adults associate winter with getting colds and illnesses such as the flu. However , it is not exposure to the cold that causes these viruses. In fact , it’s likely to be increased exposure to poorly ventailated indoor environments, where bacteria and viruses live. By encouraging outdoor play in winter , children gain much needed exposure to fresh air and vitamin D , while avoiding bacteria.

During the spring and summer , children become familiar with bright green foliage , flowers and a warm climate. As the change in seasons occur , they come to see different characteristics in their environment including things like brown grass , fallen leaves etc.
These developments provide children with new experiences and opportunities to make sense of the world around them such as seasons and the life cycle of plants. Through outdoor play in the winter the children begin to see their environment through a different lens and progress from being unconscious to conscious observes within the outdoor environment.

Outdoor activities also promote health benefits such as self confidence and the ability to assess risks. By encouraging outdoor play in the winter , children learn to hazards such as slippery surfaces and adjust their behaviour to ensure safety.

Finally outdoor , play outdoors with others encourages social development and collaboration. This is because play teaches children to work together in groups , which includes learning to share , negotiate and solve conflicts. Social outdoor play also provides children the opportunity to exercise and stretch their imaginations. Children who are encourage to explore through play are more likely to learn new skills and over come challenges which promote self confidence, resilience and self advocacy. The development of these social skills are highly important to the development of healthy social relationships, communication skills and a strong sense of self.

As educators of early childhood, we play an integral role of exposing children to the relationships between ourselves, other living and nonliving things. As we share our own knowledge, acknowledge teachable moments and provide access to a range of raw materials, we endeavor to embed sustainability into our daily routines and practice. (EYLF 2d.1 & 2d.2)

In the Blue room at G3, we have utilized every day routines such as: caring for our garden, saving water where possible, using natural light etc. to promote simple habits in caring for our environment. We also utilize the ‘Green Days’ on the calendar and incursions to encourage parents, children and educators to think about waste management and this provides us with a wide range of appropriate donations from our family’s. We now have other educators and our Director bringing in things from their homes questioning us: ‘What can you do with this?’

It is also evident that children feel a strong sense of self-esteem as they proudly carry the items into the room, have their photo taken and brainstorming begins on what we can do / make with their items! It’s incredible to see children sharing their contributions and feeling recognized and respected amongst their peers and educators! (1c.8)

This involvement also provides many interesting experiences for the children in non-structured ways, where they can immediately recourse their own learning and choose these materials from the shelf in the creative centre to use as they wish on a daily basis. One example is Children use tubes to draw circles and other small boxes to draw other shapes, these shapes may then evolve into further imaginative ideas through their writing and drawings. (EYLF 4a)

One of the ways the Blue room educators collaborate with children during is during the yarning circle, where educators express where their strengths lie and how they can bring the children’s ideas to life by assisting them with a variety of projects! Some of these experiences are purely to be enjoyed in the moment, yet children continually explore a side of their imaginations and creativity for the first

time… So much excitement and happiness to just ‘Play with the stuff!’                                                             Theorist Froebel believes in the importance of free play for children and this was an excellent example of children using the materials and environment in their own way to create their own learning opportunities so in turn the children were learning through play (EYLF Principles and practices).

Of course other projects are given more thought and can sometimes stretch the minds of us all to create a recourse that children and educators can use over and over again such as books, instruments, sensory bottles, dolls house, puppets and science experiments! I feel both educators and children are constantly amazed at the endless benefits of re using everyday household products that would otherwise be considered as rubbish but now the idea of throwing it into the bin seems more like ‘rubbish.’

Sustainability practice and teachings in early childhood encourage further understandings and many learning opportunities for the children. Educators that role model respect and a sense of responsibility in caring for our planet, help shape positive little minds in relation to the experiences we provide. Such experiences as reusing and recycling materials has been effective in supporting the children’s learning about the importance of reducing waste and further extended a wide variety of skills and learning opportunities for the children in our care.

Water bottles, lids, yoghurt tubs, paper towel rolls and boxes are just some of the things that you might think it’s just a pile of rubbish, but children love these bits and pieces. At Giggles we aim to promote the use of loose parts through many areas. For example, we have setup a loose parts provocation where children can use those items to build and take apart their own creations. The National Quality Standard (NQS) emphasises in element 3.2.2 that materials, resources and equipment can be used in multiple ways, are flexible and can be adjusted! Loose parts certainly fit this element!

It has been amazing to see the children’s imagination come to life as they create amazing masterpieces and use the materials in ways we would not usually expect them to be used. Over the past months in our Preschool Room children have used their creative thinking to turn the loose parts into many things, such as, music instruments and an emergency vehicle. Furthermore, to combine this emerging knowledge of environmental sustainability with the children, educators have been incorporating loose parts into the Munch and Move program. The Preschool Room children used empty bottles and scrunched up paper ball to practice the fundamental movement skills of rolling.

Loose parts are an important element here at Giggles. But what are the benefits that are offered to your child with these loose parts? Research and developmental theories have emphasised the importance of allowing young children to manipulate their environment, and loose parts encourage them to do exactly that as well as creating opportunities for creativity, problem solving, story telling, just to name a few. Therefore, at Giggles we provide an opportunity for children to work with loose parts daily to allow their creativity to flourish and create endless learning outcomes.

Returning to work after being on maternity leave is a challenge for many mums. There are many things that are important when looking for a suitable early learning centre for your children. Here are a few that the mums at Giggles have said are important when they decided to put their child into care:

• That the centre is clean and organised.
  



• That their curriculum is a play-based curriculum that meets your child’s needs, and that it also works to extend their development, knowledge and skills.
  



• Educators that take time to talk and listen to what’s important to you, your children and your family so that the environment feels warm and welcoming.
  



• Educators that have a sound knowledge of children’s development and behaviour and can offer practical or even tried-and-tested suggestions (changing the amount of day sleeps for babies, how to start toilet training, etc.)
  



• Seeing if the children in care are engaged in the educational program and that it is a safe environment for them to play, learn and develop.
  



• Ensuring that the children are supervised at all times and supervised in a way that suits their age and development.
  



• That the educational program is run both inside and outside and that there a balance of indoor and outdoor play.
  



• That there are opportunities for children to play in groups and as well as alone, and that there are spaces for children to be involved in active, noisy play as well as space for quiet play.
  

As an early childcare educator, I see each day as an opportunity to not only teach but to learn. As my alarm goes off in the morning I begin by going through my mental checklist for that day making sure I am prepared for what’s to come. I often start my mornings with a walk as I find this gives me time to think and gets my body moving. A bowl of oats with almond milk, frozen berries, honey and chia seeds with a glass of warm lemon water is the perfect meal to give me the energy I need to keep me going until lunch. Dressed in my Giggles gear I begin my small commute to work. Signed in and ready to go I am on the floor and my 10-hour shift begins.

My favourite part of the day is walking into my room and greeting the children. As they race towards me with their happy smiling faces they embrace me with warm cuddles and giggles. From here, the amazing educators I work alongside and I both begin to implement the daily routine in conjunction with the exciting experiences that have been planned for that day. It’s morning teatime the children have sat down and are having their yummy yoghurt and granola. This is a perfect opportunity for the children to develop their selfhelp skills as myself and the other educators encourage them to try and feed themselves using their spoons. Its running smoothly until one of the children discover that yoghurt in fact also doubles as a moisturizer and has rubbed into their hands, face and arms. Learning from the morning tea incident I decide to set up a spontaneous sensory experience where the children can get their hands messy with something other than their food.

In a mixing bowl, I place the ingredients to make the perfect squishy play dough getting the children involved they take turns stirring using the wooden spoon. Laid out on the table the children huddled around eyes bright with excitement, as it is now their turn to investigate the dough. As I engage in play with the children showing them how to make shapes with the cookie cutters, rolling it into balls or helping a 6 month old baby squeeze his little fits around the dough to feel the gooey texture for the first time. I remind myself how lucky I am to have the opportunity to help them develop new skills and use their sensory capabilities to investigate new things.

Lunch has passed and the children are now resting I use this opportunity to clean and have the room set up for the children when they awake. This includes cleaning the floors, furniture and toys. We also complete our programming during this time documenting all the exciting things the children got involved in today and their development. Waking up from their rest the children have refueled and are ready for an action packed afternoon outdoors where a water trough and water painting has been set up for them to explore. As the afternoon draws to a close I begin to greet parents and fill them in on their child’s day. During these discussions with parents I am often faced with questions about their development or for advice. Most of the time I am able to confidently assist them sometimes however I need to do my research asking a more experienced staff member or management, but I take these situations as an opportunity to further my development as an educator.

As the children have all gone home for the day I lock up the center and change for the gym. I train 3-4 times a week after work as health and fitness is another one of my passions and I treat this time as “me time”. I head home to a healthy dinner that usually consists of lots and lots of sweet potato and green veggies. To then spend the rest of the evening with the ones I love most. As challenging as the day may have been a new child may have started and they have become unsettled and your heart breaks because you know they just want their mum or dad. A child may trip and fall grazing their knee another may fall ill and need to go home. I always feel so blessed that I have been given the opportunity to nurture and assist in the development of the children within my care. The special bonds I form with the children are cherished and are not taken for granted. I am often asked by many people “How do you work in child care” My response is almost always “I believe it takes a special kind of person to work with children I love my job”

The educators know that when children use their imaginations they are building their confidence and forming ideas on how to cooperate with others and negotiate roles. Through events that the children have participated in this year, the children have had the opportunity to engage in interactions that promote respect for diversity and value uniqueness while they explore their own culture, heritage, backgrounds and traditions, as well as those of their peers.

As part of learning about the events, the educators and families have the opportunity to share in the special fun through a range of activities. One of them is dressing up. The educators collaborate with each other and the children to look at ideas of what they can do to further their learning. For book week this year, the children and educators were encouraged to dress up as princesses or pirates. When discussing with the children what they might dress up as, the educators explained to the children about the special day and together they came up with ideas on what they could be. The children then took turns to communicate who they would like to be. The educators also love to join in and discuss what they can do to participate. Another event that the educators participated in was a dress-up week where the educators had a theme each day — princesses, superheroes, fairies and book characters. We have seen that some of the most creative outfits are not bought from a shop, but rather they are handmade.

One child was Cat in the Hat where his mum had made a hat out of painted stripped paper plates! Another was Olaf where they wore a white T-shirt with black paper dots taped onto it. We have loved seeing the creative ideas our children, families and educators have come up with and can’t wait to see what they create in the future.

At Atlas and Giggles we value the importance of children’s play. Three Key practices that guide us are; responsiveness to children, learning through play and intentional teaching.

The EYLF suggests that the educator’s role in play experiences for children is more than just providing experiences and resources that children enjoy. Atlas and Giggles value the important role our educator’s interactions and involvement play on creating a rich play-based learning environment. It is the shared experiences and involvement of the educator that really maximises the potential for all children’s learning through play.

Recent Australian studies about pedagogies that support learning through play (e.g. Edwards and Cutter Mackenzie, (2011) suggest that play-based learning needs to:

• recognise children’s existing and cultural competencies 
  
• include active involvement of adult educators to link to particular learning ideas 
  
• promote teacher planning based on intentions for learning 
  

As Educators we are very selective as to what we document as we know it is not possible to capture all of the rich experiences and learning that occurs throughout the day. We aim to include at least one photo of every child in the Daily Curriculum. At times, it can seem as though capturing the photo is more important than noticing the learning that is happening! Constant photographing can be very unsettling and interrupt the flow of play and learning experiences.

Here at Giggles and Atlas we aim to ensure that we take meaningful photos of the children engaging in experiences to capture the child’s involvement as well as learning that is taking place. We would hate for our families focus to be on the educators taking lots and lots of photos which stops those meaningful intentional teaching moments and the children’s learning and play. (Early Childhood Australia)

Physical activity is vital for a child’s development and lays the foundation for a healthy and active life.
Our Munch and Move program supports a physical activity environment which includes both indoor and outdoor play. We have equipment that can be used both indoors and outdoors. This equipment includes large pieces like balance beams or small equipment such as bean bags. Whatever encourages movement indoors and outdoors!

 

Benefits of physical activity:

• Promoting healthy growth and development
  
• Building strong bones and muscles
  
• Improving balance, coordination and strength
  
• Maintaining and developing flexibility
  
• Improving posture
  
• Assisting with the development of gross motor and fine motor skills
  
• Providing the opportunity to develop fundamental movement skills
  
• Helping to establish connections between different parts of the brain
  
• Improving concentration and thinking skills
  
• Improving confidence and self-esteem
  
• Relieving stress and promoting relaxation
  
• Providing opportunities to develop social skills and make friends
  
• Improving sleep.
  

 

Recommendations:

• Infants (Birth to 1 Year) – Supervised floor based play in a safe environment.
  
• Toddlers & Pre-School aged children (1 to 3 years & 3-5 years) – Should be physically active for at least 3 hours each day.
  
• Infants, toddlers and preschool aged children should not be sedentary, restrained or kept inactive for more than one hour at a time (with the exemption of sleeping).
  

 1. Get active each day
 2. Choose water as a drink
 3. Eat more fruits and vegetables.  4. Switch off the screen!
 5. Eat fewer snack and select healthy alternatives