I attended a course on child development today. The course is normally run over 6 days, but we had to cover it in one day. All the activities were cut - I didn't get to play with the play dough!
I don't work with children - I occasionally work with adults who need help in recognising how their children learn.
Big plastic toys and 'safe' floor coverings are being replaced with the great outdoors and it seems that grass and trees are back in fashion. Treasure Baskets and home-made bottle shakers are all the rage. If you want to know more about treasurer baskets you can get some information at http://www.treasurebaskets.org/.
Ordinary household objects such as pans, whisks, cardboard boxes, garlic presses, door handles and letter boxes are also considered to be useful play items for toddlers - and why ever not? A child who never gets to walk around with a pan on his head is surely deprived.
Some may worry about Health and Safety issues, but a child who doesn't learn ( in a managed way ) how to assess and take risks doesn't learn very much at all.
All in all I was quite impressed. Gone are the days ( I hope ) when tiny children are forced to sit at the writing table at specific times of the day. A child playing happily with a crayon and clip board in the 'construction' area is likely to learn just as much - if not more.
I think we all know the above makes sense, but I am sure mistakes have been made over the years.
My own child was a horror bag at nursery school ( I withdrew him in the end ) but absolutely fine at the local playschool.
The staff were not referred to as nursery teachers. They are all practitioners. :-)
I don't work with children - I occasionally work with adults who need help in recognising how their children learn.
Big plastic toys and 'safe' floor coverings are being replaced with the great outdoors and it seems that grass and trees are back in fashion. Treasure Baskets and home-made bottle shakers are all the rage. If you want to know more about treasurer baskets you can get some information at http://www.treasurebaskets.org/.
Ordinary household objects such as pans, whisks, cardboard boxes, garlic presses, door handles and letter boxes are also considered to be useful play items for toddlers - and why ever not? A child who never gets to walk around with a pan on his head is surely deprived.
Some may worry about Health and Safety issues, but a child who doesn't learn ( in a managed way ) how to assess and take risks doesn't learn very much at all.
All in all I was quite impressed. Gone are the days ( I hope ) when tiny children are forced to sit at the writing table at specific times of the day. A child playing happily with a crayon and clip board in the 'construction' area is likely to learn just as much - if not more.
I think we all know the above makes sense, but I am sure mistakes have been made over the years.
My own child was a horror bag at nursery school ( I withdrew him in the end ) but absolutely fine at the local playschool.
The staff were not referred to as nursery teachers. They are all practitioners. :-)
5 comments:
Glad your child development class was interesting! :)
I especially agree with your comment about a child walking around the house with a pan on their head... if a very young kid can't do that - they are surely deprived! All children deserve the right to wear a clunky metal hat at some point in time!
I echo Colleen and you too Kat! :) My niece loves doing stuff with ordinary things at home. She goes to a camp in summer where she really gets to be a kid outdoors. It's the best way to do childhood :)
Household stuff is the best, it's imaginiations that really rule! :]
I think it's great that the kids get to play with ordinary objects. We try to get then to use their imagination more.
It isn't just about using their imagination. It is also about allowing them to explore - and learn about real world objects.
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