Beginnings
– How I view my practice at the start of my current training –
This practitioner has not chosen to share this information at this time.
What I enjoy most about working with young children is that everything else, in that moment, fades into insignificance. Whatever issues I have going on in my life disappear as I immerse myself in the life and moments with those children. There are moments of sheer joy as a child shows me love or achieves something really significant to their well being. There are times when I feel that my skills, experience and nature can contribute a lot to a child's well being and that makes me feel wonderful. There are times when children shake up my view of the world, challenging me and offering me insights , that makes me feel alive.
My role is to closely observe children, to come to know them as fully as possible and to provide for them the opportunities, provocations and resources that will enable them to lead their own learning. To create a physical, cultural and social environment which is loving, nurturing, respectful and secure and which nurtures these qualities in ourselves, both children and adults.
My practice is most child centred when I have TIME to be with children and observe them carefully. TIME allows me to develop a close relationship with a child, to understand their needs and desires, to appreciate the funds of knowledge that they bring with them and to sensitively identify and offer potential provocations which are responsive to their interests. My practice can be more child centred when I have a close relationship with families so that we can share our knowledge and understandings of a child's needs and work together to ensure that they are at the centre of all our relationships.
Cowgate is a Froebelian setting and its environment, materials and procedures are all based on Froebelian principles. Our built environment is natural and uncluttered, we have a wide range of open ended resources offering children the mental and physical space to interact with resources freely, unencumbered by adult expectations or restrictive designs. Our procedures are based on respect for our children as UNIQUE individuals, we do not compare them to each other or judge them according to external milestones. This is reflected in our 'Lived Story' approach to documenting children's experiences and learning and ensures that we are highly child centred. Children choose how they spend their time at Cowgate, they have the freedom to move throughout the space indoors and outdoors and, whilst we offer opportunities to take part in community visits , for example, or to have meals at the same time as friends, children will never be asked to participate against their wishes.
I believe our practice could be even more child centred if it were informed by a greater knowledge and understanding of each child's family and cultural life.
I'm not sure children do participate much in shaping the physical environment at Cowgate - the layout of the space, the resources that are provided, the aesthetics are all very much determined by adults, albeit guided by Froebelian principles. This is sometimes a consequence of external requirements, for example ROSPA guidelines around play equipment, but also adults reluctance to genuinely hand over control of what the building looks like. The rhythms of the day are determined in partnership with adults responding to children's wishes but also accounting for what resources (most particularly staffing) are available at a particular time. I am not aware of children having any direct participation in policy development.
Froebelian thinking informs and inspires my practice completely. I do not claim to be a 'perfect' Froebelian practitioner, far from it, but am constantly looking to Froebel's principles to strengthen my practice.
My concerns about social justice impact on my practice in a number of ways. Justice for ALL children whose rights need to be upheld in every thing that we do...the UNCRC and Froebel's teachings are central to this. I am also very aware that our work in the early years can reinforce or challenge inequality and injustice based on characteristics including race, gender, sexuality, disability and class. It is extremely important to me that we constantly question our practice to ensure we are challenging not reinforcing these injustices.
The early years as a sector is undervalued and underpaid...reflecting the low value place on children and on women. Initiatives such as Froebelian Futures deepen the skills and knowledge of our sector and we need to ensure that this is reflected in its status and pay.
I want to know what Froebelian research methods might look like and how, as practitioners, we can incorporate them into our day to day practice so that all children's views are central to every aspect of their individual care, of our setting's life and of policy and decision making more widely.
Time
Knowledge
Supportive reflection