Category: Early Learning
Articles on early childhood education
Documenting the EYLF planning cycle
When planning, documentation is essential and all the elements of the Early Years Learning Framework’s ongoing planning cycle need to be considered. In this blog we unpack the planning cycle’s five separate sections: observe, assess, plan, implement and evaluate. Under each section we will share insights on how rich pedagogical documentation can serve as evidence of planning and support...
Part two: What are the steps to data-based decision making in ECE?
Welcome back to the series on data-based decision making in ECE! We’re looking at how data and analysis coupled with our own professional intuition and insight can inform better decision making in early childhood education. (Missed part one? Check it out here). In utilising data-driven decision-making to tackle childcare problems, Ernst and Young, highlight its importance, “comparable to finding that...
Reggio Emilia – Documenting my inspiration and learning (from a New Zealand perspective)
My learning about the Reggio Emilia educational project began as I listened to a presentation by Leila Gandini, editor of The Hundred Languages of Children. Leila Gandini’s session challenged my (limited, then) view of how capable preschool children could be as thirsty knowledge seekers. She showed pedagogical contexts in Reggio Emilia preschools that expanded children’s explorations across different ‘languages’, fed their...
Attachment Theory For Early Childhood Educators
Introduction The significance of attachment between an infant and a primary caregiver has long been recognised (Ainsworth et al., 1978, cited in Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2015; Bowlby, 1958); in fact, John Bowlby began investigating this idea in the 1950s. Developing a healthy attachment relationship with an educator is also essential for infants and toddlers in Early Childhood Education and Care...
Children’s Outdoor Play – 3 Key Ingredients
Children’s Outdoor Play – 3 key ingredients There are 3 key ingredients to supporting children’s outdoor play and they are a lot simpler than you might think! Have you been thinking about simple ways you can support children’s outdoor play? Think back to memories of your childhood play. What were you doing? Who were you with? Where were some of...
Learning in Nature – 5 Tips to Get You Started
Learning in Nature For young children, learning in nature can take place without an extensive collection of specific outdoor equipment and resources. In order for children to play and learn through nature play, they just need space, time and adults who are able to support them to take risks. When children have the opportunity to explore nature, they are able...
Our Most Popular Articles in 2020
To end this year on a positive note, we have dug deep into our blog, to find the top 5 articles read by educators from all over the world. Due to the pandemic, we made a quick pivot to create content that would help educators to teach children remotely, and to support children’s learning at home. This list is in...
Why Songs, Rhymes, and Verbal Repetition Appeal to Small Children
As every parent knows, any song, rhyme, or book their child enjoys is going to get repeated at least 1,000 times. Finding out that your child adores a particular book or that one song calms them down, no matter what is a major win. The promise of this repetition also acts as the perfect distraction when you’re trying to get...
Fun activities to help young children improve their communication skills from home
Developing and promoting strong communication skills is vital for young children. Your child’s nonverbal communication (such as pointing, gesturing, and facial expressions), their capacity to comprehend language, and their use of different sounds, are all precursors for speech production. They also set the stage for school readiness, helping your child with the speech and language skills needed for reading, writing,...
How can we better understand and support young children’s digital experience through play?
For two decades I’ve talked, explored and tried to better understanding the role of digital technology in children’s lives and how that relates to early childhood education. And, over that time the presence of digital technology in all of our lives has increased exponentially. I think about what that must be like for a young child coming to grips with...