‘I wish I was small enough to go inside the house!’ (Audrey, age 4) Statements like this open the door to think differently about how children engage with technology. Why couldn’t they shrink and jump into or out of an imaginary world they may have thoughtfully constructed from blocks or boxes? Why can’t they insert […]
Category Archives: Play
Playwork at Forrest Out of School Hours Care
In this article, the FOOSHC team discusses the Playwork Principles, which the service has embedded in its practice, resulting in strong developmental outcomes for children and awards for excellence. Image: supplied, FOOSHC Forrest Out of School Hours Care (FOOSHC), rated ‘Excellent’ under the National Quality Standard, is a community-based, not-for-profit service in Canberra run by […]
Intentional teaching leads to purposeful play-based learning
Evidence-based intentional teaching, write Anna Razak and Dr Jen Jackson from the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), can help educators and teachers progress and support children’s learning. It is also important for educators and teachers to incorporate the intentionality of children and their families into their planning for children’s learning. Intentional teaching is an important […]
Play in the Home: Why it’s essential for early childhood development
This article appeared in Every Child magazine Vol. 28, No.2, 2022 The home offers rich and authentic opportunities for play-based learning, Joanne Grimmond observes. Children’s formative experiences of play in the home lay the foundation for their later learning, and digital platforms, such as the new Play and Learn Together web-based resource, can be used to […]
Block play as an enduring, powerful toy
Associate Professor Kym Simoncini shares research and findings ahead of her masterclass ‘STEM in the early years: We can all do STEM’ at the ECA National Conference from 5-8 October 2022. If you’re interested in seeing Kym present as part of the conference program, you can purchase a virtual ticket. The image was sourced from iStock. […]
Bush kinder program: taking the classroom and learning outside
Imagine walking through your local nature trail and seeing a group of kindergarten children playing and exploring. Some are climbing a tree and playfully hanging on a branch. Some are jumping in puddles and splashing muddy water all over themselves. Some are squatting to look at insects, while others are collecting sticks and making ‘bonfires’. […]
Music education and play-based learning
Image provided by author, Amy Rothe. Australian early learning settings follow a play-based pedagogy, in line with the emphasis placed on play in the national frameworks. Music is not a core part of this pedagogy, perhaps because of the perception that music education is about rote instruction, practising scales and reading notation—compared to play-based learning, […]
Leading play-based pedagogies
In this article, Lennie Barblett, Sandra Cheeseman and Catharine Hydon emphasise children’s right to learn through play no matter the age. Additionally, they suggest that all educators lead and be articulate in their advocacy of play-based pedagogies for children’s learning, development and wellbeing. At the 2021 Early Childhood Australia National Conference, we spoke about leading […]
Using evidence to improve children’s outcomes
Written by Zid Mancenido, Senior Manager, Research and Evaluation and Amie Fabry, Senior Researcher at the Australian Education Research Organisation. Hensman Street Elementary in Perth is looking into research on play and inquiry. ‘Our observations, videos, photographs and records tell us how our children are engaging in learning and interacting with peers, the environment and our […]
Enabling environments and children’s agency: Connecting the pieces
The Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009, p. 45) defines agency as being able to make choices and decisions, to influence events and to have an impact on one’s world. Children’s agency is supported through intentional teaching, involvement in decision making and reciprocal, attuned responsive interactions. (ACECQA, 2018) all of which constitute the environments that […]
