Tag: Child Learning & Development
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...
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...
An infant and toddler curriculum – what does it look like?
The learning curriculum for infants and toddlers Documenting infants and toddlers learning If you work with infants and toddlers, the requirement to plan for and document a learning programme can seem a little bit out of reach. This means it can feel like you are spending large portions of your day helping children with meals, changing diapers/nappies, in the sleep...
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...
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...
How to support children’s learning at home, through play
With more early childhood centres being closed around the world due to Covid-19, many parents are suddenly finding themselves in a ‘home-schooling’ situation. This sounds simple in theory, but the reality can be quite daunting. We want to help families navigate this, so our Education Team here at Storypark ‘virtually’ got together this week to provide some guidance and support...
Learning at home – Music, creativity, loose parts & quiet time
These ideas from our education team will help get your children’s creativity flowing as well as some suggestions for relaxing, quieter experiences. Musical ideas Game: Statues, musical chairs or cushions Sing your welcome song together that you would sing at your early learning centre Make your own musical instruments and create a song Clap and stamp to the beat Make...
Learning at home – Everyday activities and dramatic play
Children learn best when engaged in fun and meaningful activities, and there are plenty of opportunities to be involved in this type of learning at home. Our team of educators have put together some ideas of experiences to do with children using everyday objects from home and inspiring imagination through role play. Cooking Recipes for play dough, slime, oobleck Process...