02/11/2023
HAVE YOU EVER FOUND YOURSELF ASKING 'WHY DON'T THEY EVER PLAY WITH THEIR OWN TOYS' DOES YOUR CHILD WANT TO ALWAYS TO EXPLORE REAL OBJECTS FROM AROUND THE HOME?
When children play with natural and authentic resources they get the feel, the taste, the texture, the smell, the weight.
When you give a child a closed resources, with a predetermined learning outcome the excitement is short.
When a child leads their own play, with no predetermined outcome the possibilities are endless! The children are instantly rewarded with a sense of satisfaction, a sense of self and confidence to be themselves.
Children connect their learning to personal experiences. If we focused on planning ahead, letters of the week, printed worksheets and predetermined craft activities the children would hold no personal relevance and become disinterested very quickly.
Have you noticed that the number of fingers a child usually holds up to represent a number first, is their age? Or the letter they usually form first is the first letter of their name, or M for 'Mummy' or D for 'Daddy'
When children begin early imaginative play, it is usually a representation of what they have seen in the home.
When children are able to thrive in their self-assurance and feel a real sense of belonging in their nursery environment, when they feel they have a voice and their opinions matter, when they are able to lead their own play and express their preferences fully. Then they begin to thrive. They learn the most important skill sets, at their own personal pace to prepare them for their academic learning later on!
