Beginnings
– How I view my practice at the start of my current training –
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It was not until I started the BA in Childhood Practice that I began to think more in-depth about Froebelian practice and children. I therefore draw on Froebel to describe the inspiration and joy of working within the early years sector
I aspire to promoting Froebelian practice within the early years. This brings many challenges. My thinking resonates with the the ideas of the Enlightenment where people need to be educated to think for themselves and not to rely on the thinking of others in authority to tell them what they should think. As an educator it is imperative to be critical of those in authority who may not have the best interests of children at the heart of what they say and do. One of my roles is to place children at the heart and centre of my work and practice and try and instil this in others within the setting.
My Practice is most child-centred when I draw on Froebelian principles to guide me in times when 'others' in authority think they may be making decisions which provide good outcomes for children yet deep down with Froebelian guidance I can counter this and say why!
In our setting we try and promote the curiosity and wonder, experiences which are real and direct with materials, nature and people as the bedrock. Adults who know when to step in and when to step back - freedom with guidance - (Liebschner, 1992)
Children are central and pivotal to all that we do. Children learn by doing, active participation and initiation, with emphasis on the wholeness of the experiences - needs to be embedded. Abstract learning and instruction have no relation to the child's physical, mental or spiritual needs (Hardy, 1913)
I use my Froebelian practice to inform my thinking, I draw on it to guide me in all I do with young children. Froebelian principles are navigational tools which guide me.
When play is positioned as a right (UNCRC), it can be seen in relation to democracy, equity, and social justice, because children relate to the world around them through their play.
Every day is a learning day, you learn so much by listening and talking to children. Education is a continual journey from birth to death. Childhood is not just preparation for adulthood.
Other like-minded practitioners, the Edinburgh Froebel Network and reading.