Play is the universal language of children. It is the lifeblood of a child’s existence where their world is filled with exploration, creativity, innovation, and this play enables children to be able to investigate their world. Play underpins all facets of a child’s development. A child’s play gives them vital discoveries such as sensation, movement, expression, and language in their environments ("What is child play?", n.d.). Play is a vital part of a child’s development, it gives them a way to express themselves and communicate with people. It is the first step in learning how to self-regulate emotions and to be able to resolve their own conflicts. Children use play to mimic and re-enact what they see around them, helping them to make sense
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While the children play, disagreements happen and I am able to watch them begin to sort it out, occasionally they need assistance, where I will step in and discuss possibilities of outcomes with them but as a whole it is the children who work out how to end the disagreement. Due to also working in a one room centre that has children from 2 years old through to 5 years old it gives me a unique opportunity to see these children develop as they grow up over the years, to be able to see their negotiation skills increase and their sense of agency develop through our play based programs. My centre bases its philosophy on the Reggio Emilia approach. This approach ties in extremely well with the importance of play as it views children as competent leaders and initiators interacting with their environment (Garrett, 2017). Using this approach allows me to follow the children’s interests, follow their lead and let them make decisions in their learning. Currently I have a group of children working on a project that started out as simply playing with some wire mesh and pipe cleaners, over …show more content…
Teachers who understand a child’s ability to show their proficiencies confidently is done while involved in open ended environments and resources, are taking that first step in allowing the children to become masters of their own education (Rosback, & Coulson, 2015). As a preservice teacher, this is of highest priority in the effort to educate the adults of tomorrow with the highest knowledge possible. I have always believed children learn more when they are enjoying what they are doing and in order to facilitate this a teacher needs to know their students, what they like and don’t like, what sparks interest in them and then use this knowledge to create a learning experience that is not only educational but fun and where the children can take the lead in extending this further. Experiences need to be kept simple and adaptable so the children can take what is provided and develop it themselves and be the leader of their own learning. A child needs to feel confident to explore resources and investigate what they can do with them without being told what to do. A teacher does need to be there to guide them, but not to direct them, they need to ask the children open ended questions to spark curiosity, where needed, but not tell the children what they are supposed to be learning or have a specific one sided outcome. Educating children is an
While the children play, disagreements happen and I am able to watch them begin to sort it out, occasionally they need assistance, where I will step in and discuss possibilities of outcomes with them but as a whole it is the children who work out how to end the disagreement. Due to also working in a one room centre that has children from 2 years old through to 5 years old it gives me a unique opportunity to see these children develop as they grow up over the years, to be able to see their negotiation skills increase and their sense of agency develop through our play based programs. My centre bases its philosophy on the Reggio Emilia approach. This approach ties in extremely well with the importance of play as it views children as competent leaders and initiators interacting with their environment (Garrett, 2017). Using this approach allows me to follow the children’s interests, follow their lead and let them make decisions in their learning. Currently I have a group of children working on a project that started out as simply playing with some wire mesh and pipe cleaners, over …show more content…
Teachers who understand a child’s ability to show their proficiencies confidently is done while involved in open ended environments and resources, are taking that first step in allowing the children to become masters of their own education (Rosback, & Coulson, 2015). As a preservice teacher, this is of highest priority in the effort to educate the adults of tomorrow with the highest knowledge possible. I have always believed children learn more when they are enjoying what they are doing and in order to facilitate this a teacher needs to know their students, what they like and don’t like, what sparks interest in them and then use this knowledge to create a learning experience that is not only educational but fun and where the children can take the lead in extending this further. Experiences need to be kept simple and adaptable so the children can take what is provided and develop it themselves and be the leader of their own learning. A child needs to feel confident to explore resources and investigate what they can do with them without being told what to do. A teacher does need to be there to guide them, but not to direct them, they need to ask the children open ended questions to spark curiosity, where needed, but not tell the children what they are supposed to be learning or have a specific one sided outcome. Educating children is an