Ec216 Reflection
|Movement and Activity for the Young Child |
|A reflective account of my outdoor activity day |
|experience |
|Student Number 20018561 |
Reflection
A reflective account of my outdoor activity day experience
For this activity I took two children, 3 year old twins, outside with a box of resources to observe what the children would do with the natural treasures I provided. I had planned to stay there for a minimum of 1 hour. Before taking the twins, I spoke to their mother, explained what I was going to do, detailed any risks the children may encounter and how I plan to ensure they will be safe. She was happy with my verbal assessment and my plans and gave her permission. This is in line with the Tickell Review (Great Britain. The Early Years: Foundations for life, health and learning, 2001) which has now been implemented in the new Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS, 2012). Dame Claire Tickell states “... practitioners should not have to undertake written risk assessments when they take children out, but instead be able to demonstrate, if asked, the ways that they are managing outings to minimise risk”. Although it was quite cold, it was dry and stayed that way for the duration of the activity.
The resources I provided were: feathers (from a pillow), pine cones (natural and spray painted gold and silver), leaves (various colours and shapes), small pebbles and large stones, and a variety of twigs.
At first the children ignored the box and went straight to a paddling pool which had a little water in the bottom. This surprised me as I expected them to be curious to see what I had bought for them. The children splashed the water about and even got wet; considering the time of year was November, I can’t imagine the water was very pleasant! However, I was not prepared to stop their learning because of a little cold water and the children seemed
|A reflective account of my outdoor activity day |
|experience |
|Student Number 20018561 |
Reflection
A reflective account of my outdoor activity day experience
For this activity I took two children, 3 year old twins, outside with a box of resources to observe what the children would do with the natural treasures I provided. I had planned to stay there for a minimum of 1 hour. Before taking the twins, I spoke to their mother, explained what I was going to do, detailed any risks the children may encounter and how I plan to ensure they will be safe. She was happy with my verbal assessment and my plans and gave her permission. This is in line with the Tickell Review (Great Britain. The Early Years: Foundations for life, health and learning, 2001) which has now been implemented in the new Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS, 2012). Dame Claire Tickell states “... practitioners should not have to undertake written risk assessments when they take children out, but instead be able to demonstrate, if asked, the ways that they are managing outings to minimise risk”. Although it was quite cold, it was dry and stayed that way for the duration of the activity.
The resources I provided were: feathers (from a pillow), pine cones (natural and spray painted gold and silver), leaves (various colours and shapes), small pebbles and large stones, and a variety of twigs.
At first the children ignored the box and went straight to a paddling pool which had a little water in the bottom. This surprised me as I expected them to be curious to see what I had bought for them. The children splashed the water about and even got wet; considering the time of year was November, I can’t imagine the water was very pleasant! However, I was not prepared to stop their learning because of a little cold water and the children seemed
References: Moss. S. (2012) Natural Childhood [Online]. Available at: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/servlet/file/store5/item823323/version1/Natural%20Childhood%20Brochure.pdf National Trust (2008) Wildlife alien to indoor children. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/what-we-do/news/archive/view-page/item737221/ 79 Play England (2008), quoted in the Observer 3 August 2008. www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/03/schools.children Elkind, D (2007) 'The Power of Play: How spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children Great Britain. Department for Education (2012). Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage [Online]. Available at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/AllPublications/Page1/DFE-00023-2012 (Accessed 21 November 2012). http://www.absorbentminds.co.uk/acatalog/What_is_Montessori_.html (no date) (Accessed: 23 November 2012).