It’s not the first time I’ve heard talk about the huge change resulting in an Under 5s curriculum in the UK. The first time was December 12, 2007 in a Radio 4, Women’s hour discussion. The debate hasn’t really started but I suspect it will hot up during the teaching union conferences this year.
“Moves to formalise nursery education across England could deny toddlers the freedom to play, according to teachers.
Experts in education and child psychology have expressed concerns over the new “early years foundation stage” curriculum for nurseries and children’s centres.”
The Press association
The problem with any formalisation is that toddlers loose the freedom to choose. Whilst some formalisation is expected from the carer through structured programming having an Early years foundation may constrain teachers and carers into too much checking, monitoring with clipboards and less at promoting play.
As with all things time will tell. Early years teachers are very skilled professionals. They do such an amazing job without the added burden of testing and preset standards. Whose standards?
Knowing the best way these children learn is via play it seems so wrong that the government is pushing this aspect. On the other side, it does give a framework to carers, babysitters and peace of mind to parents who leave their little ones with them whilst at work.
The fundamental here is children need to play and have freedom to play. Learning at this stage can come without planning. A trip across the playground or to the car and they spot a worm or slug hijacks anything you had planned but is a no less important learning experience to stop and investigate.
It’s an interesting development- I’m really undecided about how I feel about it.
What are your thoughts?
For more information and recent comment
Changing Curriculum for Early Childhood Education in England
Government site on the Early years foundation stage
Children’s minister Beverley Hughes responds to criticisms of the government’s new guidelines on early years learning
What’s wrong with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)?
The basics in a nutshell
Popularity: 14% [?]
Technorati Tags: nursery education, play, education
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March 28th, 2008
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Daycare, playgroups, preschool, home schooling mums, many many many blogs they all do it. There are plenty of books, websites, classes and courses that show you how to do it.
What happens if you have a child that refuses to do it?
Firstly, this is more common than you think. Craft activities neatly fit into 2 distinct groups: product and a free flow. The product based craft is hard and very dependent on your child’s personality. The free flow type of craft works for most kids and allows more freedom for…ahem..experimentation.
Benefits of craft activities
There are so many reasons why we should encourage our kids to participate in craft activities. Here are a few reasons other mums have said.
- Brilliant for fine motor development, verbal skills, muscle coordination, concentration, achievement, learning to follow directions
- It’s fun!
- Form of expression/ form of creativity
- ˜Takes them away from the TV”
- Something is produced so spouse other people can see kids been doing things ( daycare)
- Open ended art
- Enjoying the process, being creative, making decisions, using their hands
Expectation
But what age and what do you expect them to be able to do?
Many times we try out our ideas of a craft and it just doesn’t work out as these mums explain.
˜I remember trying to do crafts with my first child when she was 2 or 2 1/2. I thought she’d enjoy them. Mostly it ended up me doing all the stuff and her watching me because she didn’t have the physical dexterity or fine motor skills to do the projects I’d chosen. I gave it up very quickly. By the time she was 3; she was inventing her own crafts and is now one of the craftiest kids I know.”
˜I organized a craft afternoon at my house and everything with his neighborhood friends thinking that it would generate more interest for him. Yeah right. LOL He runs around the room screaming with his hands in the air while the others quietly make their craft.”
Importance of pushing the comfort zone
My child loved crafts if he could do them for 1 or 2 minutes at a time. We did short projects and things that could be started and stopped. He loves to use stickers, glitter, glue and sequins. Eventually I made a few Ziploc bags full of bits and bobs so he could open pick and stick whenever he wanted. Now he sits longer when he has an aim in mind.
We decide where to put up his creations and he loves to show off to whoever comes through the door; a brilliant way to improve his self esteem.
Our purpose is to give them access to many different experiences so whilst I often have an end product in mind. ˜Let’s make an angel.” Just as many times I ask him what shall we make or what is he making? My child works well after some copying. His ideas take off. Some children can create from nothing. I found what fits my son’s personality and we work with that.
Here are some of the fine motor activities my son loved when he refused craft activities. He still does many of them now.
- He played with magnetic boards>early learning counting and moving little balls to tell the time.
- Sorted beads or beans into colors
- He colored pasta shells and stringed necklaces
- He laced animals and vehicles
- He had a tub of rice and beans to push things in, discovers pour etc.
All were activities that promoted fine motor skills; some with an end point and some endless.
Perhaps your child enjoys play doh right now and has no time for crafts. No problem. Play doh has its own rewards. Don’t follow the herd follow your child and encourage the fine motor experiences through other mediums.
If your child doesn’t like or refuses to do craft activities you need to find a way of getting a balance of development skills through other means. My eldest son loves to manipulate and move; play doh was perfect for him to push, pull, poke, squeeze, cut, roll, toss and shape. Also I found combining gross motor activity and a craft made the craft accessible for him.
There was a time he couldn’t care less about craft. He wasn’t ready so I enjoyed his other skills.
If your child is a child who does not like crafts or you’re a parent who doesn’t care for crafts you can try again in the future when they are older and see if they like it then. As a parent find other ways to achieve the benefits craft activities offer through other toys and activities. What do you like doing? Can they do something similar?
There are plenty of solutions to a craft activities refuser.:)
Try a new way….but above all -don’t panic. Craft activities are just one way of achieving developmental goals. There are so many other ways. You have to be creative.
l leave the final comment to one mum who sums up craft activities really well.
˜Playing with play dough, drawing/ scribbling (usually for very short periods of time), painting (with a bucket of water outside, on an easel, etc), mixing colors with food coloring, maybe some snipping with scissors, stamping with stamps and a stamp pad, playing with stickers, playing with glitter glue, maybe gluing collages, painting rocks are all fun. But the key is to keep it very short. And if it isn’t fun, don’t do it. Try again in a few months.”
What toys and activities have you used to promote the skills craft activities do?
Popularity: 37% [?]
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March 24th, 2008
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Welcome to the 9th edition of Carnival of Parenting Podcasts
It’s a place to share and find some new parenting podcasts from the podcaster and recommendations from those who listen to podcasts.
Top 8
Send in your favourite podcasts of the fortnight.
- Just one more book: : On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Mark speaks with Lita Judge, author and illustrator of One Thousand Tracings — a children’s book which tells the true story of the generosity of real people following World War II
- Mumcentric: Sensational kids. Sensational Kids is the inspiration of parents who found it difficult to obtain any occupational therapy & sensory integration therapy for their child.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Technorati Tags: Parenting, podcasts
After reading LittleMummy’s post on gift ideas for a 2 year old. It inspired me to compiled a list of the little guy’s favourite toys. Since he has an older brother he’s lucky enough to play with some toys that’s for an older stage. But he gives them a good go.
Thomas the tank Engine
Why the little guy likes it?
- Joins in with his brother racing the trains around the track
- Taking the track apart and trying to put it together in a different way.
- Making the train sounds.
- Linking the trains together and running them fast so they derail going down hill.
- Adding cars, people, animals to the track-testing different objects to see if they run on the track.
- Crashing the trains all with sound effects.
- Seeing how many trains can be clipped together and driven around the track.
Why we like it?
- He gets really engrossed and likes to stay with the trains for more than 10 minutes at time.
- He tries out his engineering ideas. ( trying to rebuild)
- Encourages cooperation on the track with his brother ( sharing trains, space, and direction)
- Uses his imagination to make sounds, play out scenarios from the book.
- So many different ways to make the track.
- Easy storage of the track and pieces
- Open ended play that changes depending on their stage.
Popularity: 25% [?]
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