Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

What is play?

The Kornmehl Philosophy states the following about learning through play:

We embrace and acknowledge that children come to the Kornmehl Pre-school with a richness of experiences. We believe that childhood is a time to be, to seek and make meaning of the world. We believe that children learn best through play. We see play as being the “heartbeat” of our Pre-school program. Play provides opportunities for children to learn as they experiment, explore, discover, create, improvise and imagine. When children play with other children, they form relationships, test out ideas, challenge each other’s thinking, explore language and build new understandings and connections. Play provides a supportive environment where children can ask questions, solve problems and engage in critical thinking. In these ways play can promote positive dispositions towards learning.

Play is an active investigation and utilises creative expression. It helps to build resilience, problem-solving, language development and speech, communication, empathy, creativity, and self-expression. Play is vital for acting out feelings, fears, ideas, experiences, and for self-expression. Whilst playing, children are learning the skills of life – to negotiate, take turns, share, express frustration in appropriate ways, to creatively explore their world in a safe environment. Play releases great hormones in the brain that help children to relax. It inspires and motivates children to keep on going. It is a natural aspect of children’s lives.

Children’s immersion in their play, illustrates how play enables them to simply enjoy being. There is a wealth of research available to support the positive impact of play on a child’s lifelong learning and wellbeing. Neurological research confirms that play is a powerful tool to support healthy brain development and cognitive function. Play allows children to be active leaders in their own learning and development. It takes shape in many forms and will look different in every context.

Play-based learning is a key feature of quality early childhood programs and involves a range of sensory learning experiences that promote discovery, curiosity, creativity, exploration, interaction, learning and development. A play-based learning approach also fosters children’s critical skills, understanding and dispositions which are essential to their successful learning and development.

Children are intrinsically motivated by play and play nurtures a positive attitude towards learning. Through play children develop connections, build relationships, and make meaning of the world around them.

What does a play-based approach to learning look like?

Educators encourage children’s learning through play by:

providing resources that reflect children’s ages, interests, knowledge, strengths, abilities, and culture to stimulate and support play. Resources which allow open ended use of items e.g. loose parts, boxes, crates etc.
planning play experiences based on the assessment of children’s individual differences, interests, developmental needs, and ability. For example, as a child learns to hold a pencil to draw and write, educators will give children different sized objects to grasp, and to build strength in the child’s fingers.
observing children as they play so that they can understand how they play with other children, what skills and understanding they demonstrate in play and what activities can strengthen their skills in play.
joining in children’s play to extend the child’s learning and to model skills such as reasoning, appropriate language, and positive behaviours.
providing large blocks of unhurried and uninterrupted time for play for children’s ideas and games to develop.

Resources:

Library visits

This week the children all participated in their first visit to the Primary School library. Going up to the big school is an adventure. The walk up the hill is always very exciting. The children are learning to walk in pairs, not to run and to stay on the path. Starting to build a sense of connection to the big school is part of laying the foundation for the future when the children will transition to the school.

The librarian, Mrs Rogut, played some games with the children to familiarise them with the new space and she read them a story.

Playball

The Early Childhood years are the ideal time for children to form healthy lifestyle habits such as physical activity. Playball is a valuable program that teaches, encourages, and supports several fundamental movement and physical skills.

These include jumping, running, galloping, hopping, catching, kicking, and throwing, not to mention balance and co-ordination, fine motor, and small muscle development. The children have the opportunity to learn how to use different pieces of equipment such as hockey sticks, bat, and balls etc. Other skills such as listening and following directions, being part of a team, sharing, and sportsmanship are also being taught. Life skills such as independence, persistence, goal setting, respect and co-operation are supported and promoted.

A key to any physical activity is enjoyment. When children are having fun, they are more motivated and want to keep doing it. The Playball program is about fun, being active and giving things a go. Skills and learning experiences are taught in a way that is fun and positive and tailored to the individual experiences, needs and abilities of each child.

The children were introduced to their wonderful coaches, Al and Rama.

The children engaged in various exercises that involved crossing the midline, balancing, bouncing, and catching the ball, and obstacle courses. Having Playball in the MPH provides the children with another opportunity to become familiar with the school grounds.