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.
I enjoy the company of young children and their honesty. I have always had children in my life from being outside playing in the street to going for a week work experience aged 14 in the Royal Infirmary day nursery, which confirmed the career path i began.
My role is varied, i left my role in a Local Authority setting to facilitate a pilot project at RBGE and i have not looked back since. every day is different i am meeting people from all over the world and sharing good practice. i love being outdoors and the variety of my working week is where i thrive. I am living my best life.
my practice is child centred as i know from past experience that a child centred approach gets the best results, i am lucky enough to have worked in some amazing settings where i reguarly observed deep level 5 engagement, I created 'Our Wee Garden,' using all my previous experience in various settings and the research team and leaders had a shared vision and values. i am confident enough now to back up my child - centred beliefs with theory.
The enviroment is engaging, interesting, nurturing, exciting and inviting, the materials are natural and because of cross contamination i have to use materials available to me within RBGE, i collect materials of interest to me, such as a colourful leaf and display it for the children to see if it sparks interest with them. the resources are open ended there is no one way of using them and the play is rich. The play is free flow and i provide continous provision each session. The children created a real sense of ownership and chose to stay in Our Wee Garden rather than venture out into the RBGE.
the children developed areas through out the pilot project an example of this is a reading nook created with pallets and sticks, the children created it. i would often give the children the option of joining me for a story and most would but some chose to continue in their play. the nurseries kept floor books which i was able to see. asking children for their opinion, what are their memories from Our Wee Garden, each child was able to give a different and acurate memory of the pilot project.
Froebelian thinking inspires me every day and informs my practice on a day to day basis, my previous work collegues would joke i was Fredrich Froebel reincarnated as i always see potential play in nature. I keep a reflective journal and often think what would Maureen Baker ( Children's house nursery) or Stella Brown (Tynecastle nursery) say or do? Collegues visiting my setting often comment on how Frobelian my practice is.
I have a real sense of social justice and it informs on my day to day practice by making Our Wee Garden as inclusive as possible, going forward i would hope that Our Wee Garden is open to all. i would hope that RBGE is a place for all and if we want children, the future, to care about the environment, sustainability and the world we need to role model our practice now. I would hope my practice displays this.
I hope to continue learning as i do every day, knowledge and skills which i can share with children and their families, collegues and working collaborativly with peers. I am not afraid to ask questions and as a visual learner, i enjoy observing and sharing knowledge i have gained working with horticulturists in RBGE.
Connectedness I value the connections I have made and continue to make with the Froebel network, I benefit the most from in person meeting.
I have always realised that everything is linked and confirmation of that is always valued. I find my Froebelian peers very supportive.