When the first lockdown began, schools and preschools across Australia shifted their curriculums onto online platforms for students to access from home, often supported by parents simultaneously working full-time jobs.
The realities of the pandemic and lockdowns have pushed us to consider how rich learning opportunities can be encouraged in ANY early childhood setting – including the home. As parents (or teachers) it can be easy to think children need to be occupied with activities – from craft and sensory, to literacy and numeracy. While activities can be valuable and have their time and place, tightly structured academic activities are not practical for long periods of time for younger children – and neither is long bouts of screen time. So where does that leave early childhood education and remote learning?
Research has long demonstrated the equal if not paramount importance of open-ended play. Open-ended play is unstructured and without limitations, encouraging children to take the lead in their play, explorations and learning. In fact, play IS ‘the work of the child’ (Maria Montessori) – it is how they develop and learn.
Young children are natural scientists and engineers, they are explorative and creative – developing their understanding of their body, sense of self and the world around them. Open-ended play offers a meaningful and learning-rich alternative that not only suits both childcare centres and home-learning environments, but also supports the innate way children learn and develop.
Pressed to consider how we can provide learning experiences for children, both parents and childcare centres are seeking to offer high quality resources that encourage learning through play. When using open-ended resources like CONNETIX, regardless of whether children are at school or home, they can engage in play which will inevitably be rich in learning opportunities.
The realities of the pandemic and lockdowns have pushed us to consider how rich learning opportunities can be encouraged in ANY early childhood setting – including the home. As parents (or teachers) it can be easy to think children need to be occupied with activities – from craft and sensory, to literacy and numeracy. While activities can be valuable and have their time and place, tightly structured academic activities are not practical for long periods of time for younger children – and neither is long bouts of screen time. So where does that leave early childhood education and remote learning?
Research has long demonstrated the equal if not paramount importance of open-ended play. Open-ended play is unstructured and without limitations, encouraging children to take the lead in their play, explorations and learning. In fact, play IS ‘the work of the child’ (Maria Montessori) – it is how they develop and learn.
Young children are natural scientists and engineers, they are explorative and creative – developing their understanding of their body, sense of self and the world around them. Open-ended play offers a meaningful and learning-rich alternative that not only suits both childcare centres and home-learning environments, but also supports the innate way children learn and develop.
Pressed to consider how we can provide learning experiences for children, both parents and childcare centres are seeking to offer high quality resources that encourage learning through play. When using open-ended resources like CONNETIX, regardless of whether children are at school or home, they can engage in play which will inevitably be rich in learning opportunities.
