THE LEARNING JOURNEY
Learning is a continuous journey through which children build on all the things they
have already experienced and
come across new and interesting challenges.
It is therefore very important when taking on a new child that you have spent time with them and their parents finding out what they have achieved, likes and dislikes etc as this will provide you with a good foundation to build on. Regularly noting down observations on the child will enable you to plan activities that build on what they can do and provide them with new challenges and activities.
Do you make the most of spontaneous learning opportunities and challenges that present themselves? For example if a police car drives past with its lights flashing and siren going, do you discuss it with the children and ask them to guess why the police might be in such a hurry etc. Consider how you might follow up this experience with the children when you return home.
Every child’s learning journey takes a personal path based on their own individual interests, experiences and the curriculum on offer.
Maintain a clear view of the learning journey for all children but provide different learning opportunities for individual children or groups who may need extra support or more challenge.
All areas of leaning and Development are connected and are all equally important.
The Early Years Foundation Stage is based on play and children having opportunities
to play indoors and outdoors.
Through play children can:
- Explore, develop and represent learning experiences that help the to make sense of the world
- Practise and build up ideas, concepts and skills
- Learn how to understand the need for rules
- Take risks and make mistakes
- Think creatively and imaginatively
- Communicate with others as the investigate or solve problems
The support children receive as they learn is personalised to meet their individual
needs and to extend their talents.
All children need to have support that is tailored
to meet their individual needs. This may mean adapting an activity to make it achievable
for a child with a development delay or who has a particular special need, or making
it more challenging for a child who is gifted or talented to prevent them from getting
bored. It is also important to understand that children have different styles of
learning, some learn better by being shown, others by exploring for themselves and
some will prefer to have pictures in a book or a film to watch. It is important that
you are aware of how the children in your care prefer to learn and support them appropriately.
Often Childminders are caring for a small group of children across a wide range of ages and abilities and are therefore normally good at adapting group activities to meet the needs and abilities of the children playing.
