Young Children Learn Through Water Play

As an early years practitioner you will recognise that children’s play is closely linked to their learning and development. Children learn in so many different ways but you will notice that they learn mainly through play. When children are able to do many different activity’s that allows them to lean but have fun at the same time thy will find what they are doing fun and will engage the children. It is important that when in you your setting you set up a variety of educational activity’s this way the children will be able to choose freely what they want to do.

The relationship between play and learning seems obvious to many child professionals and parents, and yet there are still lack of understanding surrounding the importance of children's play. Some people believe that children need to "work" not play, and that playing serves no useful purpose in a learning and development environment. This is surprising considering that play, with its high levels of motivation and potential enjoyment empowers children (as well as people

When learning becomes fun the teachers find it less challenging for trying to keep the child engaged in the activity at hand. The job of the educator working with a play-based curriculum is to facilitate play, to draw out and extend what children learn through play (Play Based Programmes, 2015). Children have a variety of play spaces available that mimic their regular world around them, each space can be intertwined with another centre such as combining the truck centre with the block centre, or adding in some zoo animals to the area. The play based approach can be used by children of all abilities, it allows children to play independently or as a small group, and allows the children the opportunity to bring their home life into their play.

There are a whole lot of programs or curriculums out there that try to talk about the environmental and academic needs of children. In this paper, I will try my best to discuss the five components of the

This particular article talks about Scientific Literacy Project (SLP) and how it is incorporated into a Kindergarten classroom. The SLP believes that science involves asking questions about the world around us and seeking answers to the questions. The process involves predictions, summarizing, and communicating to other what they have learned. The ways that the activities are developed is by: learning science through inquiry, social interactions and science talk among children, and book reading that stimulate children’s interest and knowledge of science. There are also six study units, two including: Force and Motion and Marine Life as

In addition to play promoting pleasure as well as physical activity, play forms the holistic growth in children’s development, or to put it in another way using Brown (2003) acronym, acknowledged as ‘SPICE’; play represents the ‘social interaction’; ‘physical activity’; ‘intellectual stimulation’; creative achievement and emotional stability, (with the addition of “compound flexibility”) in a child’s development. Compound flexibility is the idea that a child’s psychological development occurs using the relationship between his/her environment with the adaptability of the child himself. Thus the flexibility of surroundings and his/her adaptableness can provide children the means to explore; experiment and investigate (Brown, 2003, pp. 53-4). On the contrary, the absence of social interaction and physical activity through the means of play can inhibit children’s overall development and without the consistency of play children suffer a “chronic lack of sensory interaction with the world, [which leads to] a form of sensory deprivation” (Hughes, 2001, p.217 in Lester and Maudsley 2006).

Three to five-year olds have been exploring water all their lives, whether in the bath, as a sink, in the rain, or on a beach. Ideally they have had regular opportunities to explore at the water table area in the classroom too. The open exploration of water builds on children’s prior experiences by giving them plenty of time to explore water with materials selected to highlight water’s movement and its ability to take the shape of its container. In addition, open exploration introduces children to science talks with the whole class, which continue throughout open and focused explorations. Science talks give children opportunities to reflect on their observations, experiences, questions and theories, and they create a group sense

According to Te Whariki, children make sense of material, society and nature when engaging in play. It could be seen that the children were practicing their physical skills through stirring, splashing, mixing and shaking during the water play. I tried to ask their suggestions to increase and attract their interests and attention. According to Erikson (Santrock, 2011) children at a stage that is called “autonomy vs. shame and doubt”, they do not want to be restricted, and desire for independence. Therefore, I made chances for children to take initiative when shaking the glitters. However, it was frustrated that some children did not want to share the glitter to other children, and their attention was short and are prone to be distracted by other things.

This assignment is a case study of a child’s engagement, inquiry skills and understanding of physical or chemical understandings. There are two parts to the assignment that build to the final case study report. Part A is to design a science inquiry activity suitable for engaging a child at junior primary with physical or chemical science understandings that uses materials like water, sand, ball or tubes. At the next, it is needed to figure out how the planned inquiry activity links to the Australian Curriculum and the early Years Learning Framework. This report also needs to explain and justify the learning theory that underpins the activity and the proposed teaching and learning approach. At the last

Sustainability should be prioritised in order for students to “become socially responsible and show respect for the environment” (Early Years Learning Framework, 2009). As educators we should be leading by example through effective sustainability practices. The Early Years

As the concept of education for sustainability has grown in global prominence, many schools and teachers are eager to implement sustainability education in the classroom. However, teachers often feel unsure of how to actually teach sustainability: they rarely have the opportunity to build their knowledge in this area and, as such, may not have a great deal of experience in crafting sustainability education programs. This study shares some of the ways that teachers are successfully implementing sustainability education at sites where sustainability is a shared goal among educators and community members. The authors looked at teacher practice in eight schools in Victoria, Australia, focusing in particular on practices of place-based sustainability education and the relationships between teachers, students, and community members.

It is commonly known that our large carbon footprint has impacted our environment in a negative way and if mankind does not change our ways of mass consumption and over use of finite resources we will become difficult to life as we know it. Yet this common knowledge does not seem to be enough motivation for all people. Integrating environmental sustainability into universities (Ralph, 2013). This article illustrates the drivers and barriers to moving towards an environmentally sustainable university. As universities are a large source of energy production, students should also be educated on the environment. This awareness of our carbon footprint should be integrated into the learning curriculum. “The United Nations (UN) Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 placed education for sustainable development on the global agenda and as one of the top priorities in national policy documents” (Anderberg et al. 2009). The article suggests that

Greening activities can be integrated into existing curricula in science, art, humanities, math, language arts, or electives. Using the school as a hands-on laboratory offers opportunities for real-world problem-solving. Students can undertake study of themes such as energy, water, forests, toxic pollution, and waste. The whole school should be involved in practical initiatives - for example, saving water, recycling materials and saving energy. Outdoor education, and time spent in nature locally - whether the schoolyard, a park, or a field trip - is a critical component of a hands-on, place-based, experiential education. Where environmental education is not part of the regular curriculum, recommendations can be made by the Green Team as to how these themes can be incorporated. See our Teach Stewardship and Resources pages for a Sustainable Curricula Directory, examples of environmental curricula, on-line quizzes, and other teaching and learning resources, including reviews of books and other media with environmental themes. No need to reinvent the wheel

Educators play an essential part in preparing and empowering students to take the responsibility for creating and enjoying a sustainable future. The Adelaide Declaration by Australian Ministers of Education (1999) includes the goal that: ‘When students leave school, they should have an understanding of, and concern for, stewardship of the natural environment, and the knowledge to contribute to ecologically sustainable development’ (1.7). The Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations also emphasizes on the importance of offering a quality education for young generation to improve people’s lives and pursue sustainable development. Educators, thereby, should be competent in assisting children to understand sustainability issues, concepts and practices in order to help them become responsible global and local citizens. As stated in Melbourne Declaration (Ministerial Council on Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs [MCEETYA], 2008), excellent teachers are able to incorporate children’s learning towards sustainability by providing a wide range of effective learning experiences. One vital way of promoting children’s learning in Sustainability is to embed Sustainability Education into daily routines and teaching practices. Although the importance of having qualified and competent educators who concerns about Sustainability Education for young children has been clearly stated in many global, national and local documents, teachers in the field are still facing

The early childhood education is a field that has been rather slow to take up the challenge of sustainability; it has a potentially significant role to play not because of underlying concerns for children’s welfare, but because of interest in children’s environments and its attention to social justice. Recently, a new dimension has been added to early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) as an emerging national and international field, given a fillip with the launch of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) (UNESCO, 2005). Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) recognizes that young children have capacities to be active agents of change now, as well as in