Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Social and emotional development

Our days at Kornmehl are full of moments in play where the social and emotional wellbeing of each child is at the heart of all we do and at the core of The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).

As early childhood educators, we are constantly aware of and initiating ways to support the children as they develop the skills of communicating, connecting, empathising, co-operating, negotiating, and befriending another child or groups of children. Through play the children have many opportunities to practise these skills, allowing them to forge positive relationships and a better understanding of what other people are feeling and thinking.

We spend a great deal of time focussing on inclusion. Our goal is for the children to learn inclusive practices, in a way that is respectful to them and others.

Through discussions and role plays, we are able to bring an awareness to the children of what inclusion looks like, how it makes us feel and the impact of our words and actions on others. We share with the children, examples of things they could say to a friend, to make them feel good (a build-up) as opposed to words that can hurt others and put them down.

We use the story called “Have you filled a bucket today?” by Carol McCloud to make these concepts and ideas more tangible and real for the children.

The children appear to understand the analogy of carrying invisible buckets and how kindness and good deeds fill up each other’s buckets and at the same they fill up their own buckets too.

Below are some ideas from the children on what they could do or say to fill someone’s bucket up:

Being sweet and kind
Saying I love you
Sharing
Playing with a friend
Hugging
Collecting someone’s water bottle
Helping to look for someone’s shoes.

Our hope is that by teaching the children from a young age about inclusion, they will grow up to be respectful, kind, caring and socially aware citizens of the world.

Woodwork

Woodwork is an open-ended play experience, there is no right or wrong way to do woodworking. It encompasses creative thinking, mathematical skills, scientific investigation, physical development, and co-ordination, developing language and vocabulary, and much more. It has the potential to build self-esteem and confidence. By empowering and trusting children to use real tools and by giving them responsibility to take risks that are supported by the adults who are close by, children are able to take on this challenge, gain new skills, problem solve, and take pride in their creations. Children are free to explore and be creative in their thinking and construction. Through this, children learn that they are capable individuals. As they tinker and explore, they persevere, show determination and self-belief, and develop in confidence.

Woodworking is a collaborative experience, with children learning together as they create and construct in small groups. This gives rise to communication opportunities as children share ideas, make plans, ask questions and engage in discussions. Rich vocabulary is inspired – children talk about shapes, sizes, position, and plans.

The holistic nature of woodwork is what makes is so appealing. Children can really loose themselves in the moment as they become focused on their constructions. This high level of engagement is fascinating to observe. The more opportunities that children have to construct, the greater their skills become. As children master new techniques and skills, an immense sense of satisfaction is achieved. Children quickly become competent, independent, and curious learners, experimenting with wood, its properties, tools, and ways of joining.

Last week we re-introduced the woodwork table to all three groups. We discussed the rules and safety aspects related to using the equipment and area safely:

August: My daddy uses a hammer, he builds houses.
Hudson: I was helping everybody getting the hammers and take the screws (nails) out. I took the screws out for Noam and Louis, and I helped Judah put the screw back in. Noam needed a teeny bit of help. I felt happy because everybody said, can you help me Hudson? And I said yes because I work with my grandpa a lot of times! He fixes motorbikes!
Asher: We were hammering the nails in and taking the nails out and we used the back to take the nails out. Janice showed us how to take the nails out.