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Ms. Francesca Theuma - Early Years Infant Curriculum Coordinator
Learning Through Play
Sounds Like Fun!
These are but a few examples of how the teachers take the students along an enquiry journey that inspires the young students to ask questions and explore different options. The IEYC aims to offer a range of units that capture the curiosity of a child between entry and exit points and it is the teacher’s job to find out what children already know about a theme and what they are curious to learn. Incorporating all of this into their environment is also an essential element of the IEYC, creating areas for role-play, a small world area or and an art area in the classroom environment sets the scene for an adventure of enquiry. All of this allows the teachers to support child-initiated and personalized learning such as through one-to-one discussions, drawings or circle-time.
As the great educationalist, Jean Piaget, famously said: “Children have real understanding only of that which they invent themselves”. So, next time you see a young child create a little area out of a pile of rocks, making incomprehensible sounds and probably making what looks like a mess to you, remember that in their universe this is probably a perfectly acceptable Golden Bay with boats floating around and sharks looming in the sidelines. It is our opportunity to step into their learning journey and say “So what is going on here?