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ACECQA. (2018, Feb). Belonging, being and becoming - the early years learning framework for Australia. Retrieved from https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority. (2018). Developmental milestones and the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/DevelopmentalMilestonesEYLFandNQS.pdf

Care for Kids. (2024). Attachment theory in early education and care. Retrieved from Care for Kids: https://www.careforkids.com.au/blog/attachment-theory-in-early-education-and-care

Childcare Philosophy - Bambini Early Learning Centres. (2023, November 29). Bambini Early Learning Centres. https://bambini.au/philosophy/

Kearns, K. (2010). Frameworks for Learning and Development. French's Forrest: Pearson.

Nolan, A., & Raban, B. (2015). Theories into Practice. Blairgowrie, AU: Teaching Solutions.

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Sensory Play links to the Early Years Learning Framework (ACECQA, 2018) as it connects children to their world (2) and teaches them about natural and processed materials. (4.4) Children of all ages, especially young babies, use their senses to inquire, research and investigate (4.2). The framework of play-based learning supports these observations by emphasizing the importance of play in children's holistic development. Sensory play activities that are set up stimulate the children’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, spatial awareness, sight, and hearing and provides opportunities for children to explore, create, problem-solve, and interact with others, fostering cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth.

The children were appropriately interested in hearing-based sensory play – hearing the stories, music, songs and dance. The children were curious to start with, but some required rounding up to become engaged. The song had a crucial role in building their engagement. From that point on, they displayed good attention, curiosity and had fun, while hearing the story and looking at all the different animals. The children were confident in recognising animals and making the sounds and a few used gestures to describe the animal. The puppet props were also very interesting for the children. Overall, the children concentrated and listened to the whole story. They enjoyed making the animal sounds. I could hear them repeating the experience by themselves.

In the open-ended questioning, I was very pleased to see the understanding of the child “I” who could already describe where the water went and flowed to. I did not expect the child to be able to describe it flowing, which reflects knowledge from the visual and then the next steps the water takes by reflection and consideration. This aligns with Piaget who believed that open-ended questions stimulate the children’s curiosity and help them construct their understanding of the world (Nolan & Raban, 2015). However, it was not easy to ask questions of the children as they did not want to verbally answer every time or did not engage.

In my future practice I would like to ask the children to choose a story book from the shelving or song from the iPad for story time, to capture their emerging interests of animals and have them engage by self. I would also like to implement a water based sensory activity with flowing water, so the children can do a scientific experiment with water flow, using cups and coloured water.

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For the first provocation (provocation number 1), I spent time asking more questions of the children about what they saw, to understand what they understood from sensory experiences.

Child “I” was washing his hands before lunch time. As the water flowed from the tap, I asked him “Where does the water go?” and he used non-verbal and verbal skills, to point to the sink-hole and said “here”. I then asked “and then where?” and he said “downstairs!”. This was interesting because the child understands that the water flows under the sink, down the drain and downstairs. The child recognised that the room is upstairs.

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We chose the book “Walking through the jungle” by Stella Blackstone, Debbie Harter and Fred Penner during morning story time.

To engage the children upfront, first I gathered the children on the mat and sung a nursery song “Incy Wincy spider” to help them engage. I find any song will help as the children sing along, dance or are at least curious of what is happening. Some children required rounding up, but the whole group of 11 children joined on the mat in the centre of the room to listen to the song, some sitting, some standing. I could then commence story-time. We encourage all the children to sit and listen.

Some of the strategies to encourage engagement during the story time were:

Acknowledgement of land

I turned the pages slowly when I read so that the children have the time to look at every picture

I changed the tone of my voice which makes story-time more interesting and fun for the children

Asked the children what the animal is and what sounds the animal makes?

Used finger puppet animals that look similar to the book, to make the expressions of the animal.

Putting the song “Bear Hunt” on the i-Pad and then freezing the song and asking the children to make actions and sounds of the animals

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During the placement I was given opportunities to work in the room with children aged 12 months to 2 years. I observed the children’s interactions with different materials in the indoor and outdoor environment. During my placement I spoke to the Mentor (Educator) about the children’s interest and looked around the room and environment set up. The Educator advised that the children are interested in the jungle animal and the colours. Towards the end of the second week of my placement, I discussed with the Educator (before implementing) about the strategies and explore my provocation (provocation number 2) I would like to implement during story time.

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Engaging through music and storytelling

I would like to engage the children through senses other than touch – such as hearing senses (verbal communication, listening to music, musical play, story time) and see their emerging interests. Sensory experiences involving hearing and music can be fun but also develop concentration skills, communication skills, language development, and connect with their peers in a group. The ELC at Bambini is set up with the Reggio Emilia philosophy as a core value: children facilitate their own learning and are active advocates of their own development. In practice, the room is equipped with musical instruments, CD player, and a large mat in the centre of the room for story time. The children can choose their own sensory experience or be educator led, as individuals or in a group time.

These child-led activities can be used to encourage children to take the lead in their own learning. The Reggio Emilia philosophy, pioneered by Malaguzzi set as a principle, that children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing and hearing, giving rise to the hundred languages children use to understand their experiences of the world (Nolan & Raban, 2015). The variety of sensory experiences, not just touch, but hearing and visual sensory experiences provides another way and opportunity to express themselves through their language.

Rogoff considered learning as taking place when children collaborate with other children and adults, such as in group time, being involved in activities with specific purposes. Her view of working with children included opportunities to engage young children in normal cultural activities, such as telling stories and music and dance (Nolan & Raban, 2015).

I wonder if the learning from these types of sensory experiences may be related to physical development (movement, coordination) and communication, as they explore their interests and become able to express themselves in their own way. I wonder if I can encourage the children to take the lead in their own learning and select musical instruments that they are interested in?

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Pedagogy of Listening - Open-ended questions from open-ended activities

I would like to encourage children to play with a wider range of sensory experiences - different materials (playdough, sand, clay, water), manipulate objects and experience joy while learning. However, it is also interesting to me to understand their knowledge of the world through the sensory experience and what they are learning. By providing opportunities for the children to manipulate materials freely,

I can engage with the children and to be curious with them and what they understand! I would like to ask open-ended questions about their interests in the experience. I want to listen (pedagogy of listening) observe and hear what they learn, what they understand and what is their emerging interests and then record in documentation to develop future experiences that are child-led. Piaget believed that open-ended questions stimulate the children’s’ curiosity and help them construct their understanding of the world (especially in the pre-operational stage of language development) (Nolan & Raban, 2015).

I wonder if as they learn to describe their world, new learnings may be related to developing concentration skills, building their communication skills (verbal and non-verbal) and language development.

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Plan / provocation

My plan / provocation is to experiment with ways to engage children for longer in sensory play experiences, supporting development and learning and to encourage them to communicate what they know and understand.

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Children engaging in a sensory experience in the sand, burying animals and digging them out – note some children engaged and others observing only. A high level of curiosity and engagement is observable from all children. Note some children are using both hands.

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Child engaging in sensory experience with playdough using fingers and hands, very focused and persistent in making a green snake. Both hands are involved to press and hold and pinch and tear.

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Children engaged in the sensory experience of washing the dolls, absorbing information and learning from their peers. Some children actively engaged and others in observing position, but excited and engaged. Children confidently engaging with water, placing hands in water to be immersed in sensory experience.

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The outdoor environment at Bambini Early Learning Centre Brighton East is set up to include several sensory experiences including the sandpit, and obstacle course, with the use of natural materials like wood, real plants, real grass, and exposure to sunlight and fresh air.

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The indoor environment and set-up are light and bright. The children’s family photos are displayed on the walls. There is a comfortable sofa for the children to sit on. Natural light enters the room. There are sensory experiences at children’s level and reach to encourage child-directed learning in emerging interests, like puzzles, animals, cars and colourful blocks.

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Montessori believed that children at this age are “sensorial explorers” (Nolan & Raban, 2015) learning best through hands-on exploration and manipulation of materials that engage their senses. Their “absorbent mind” refers their behaviour of effortlessly assimilating the sensory stimuli from the environment, including language, culture and the development of concepts (Nolan & Raban, 2015).

The Reggio Emilia philosophy, pioneered by Malaguzzi set as a principle, that children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing and hearing, giving rise to the hundred languages children use to understand their experiences of the world (Nolan & Raban, 2015). The ELC at Bambini is set up with the Reggio Emilia philosophy as a core value: children facilitate their own learning and are active advocates of their own development. The children communicate their needs in many ways including curiosity, wonder and forming interests.

Bruner believed that through thinking children were able to understand themselves via firsthand experiences. Through the socialisation process, children were able to make sense of the world. He describes children in an “Enactive” stage of learning – they are learning through play and discovery. Bruner advocated that it was the process of learning that was most important. The process allows children to explore, discover, make errors, investigate new possibilities and finally make connections to concepts which can then be generalised and applied to other aspects of learning (discovery learning) (Kearns, 2010, pp. 245-246).

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My interpretation of the three observations is all related to children’s engagement with sensory play and the opportunities the play provides for communication and learning (e.g. curiosity). The materials encouraged the children to experiment, assimilate, communicate and express their feelings, such as excitement, using gestures, new words, eye contact whilst they were engaging and learning at the same time.

To summarise, the three observations demonstrated how children can engage in sensory play:

Child “S” observed the sensory play of her peers, absorbing and learning about the information presented and then saying “my turn, my turn”.

Child “I” engaged immediately with the sensory play with the playdough and enjoyed the experience, by her smiles, her persistence and her response to questions “It’s a snake, it’s green”.

Child “H” used non-verbal communication to demonstrate his engagement - body language, facial expressions (by clapping hands and smiling and eye-contact) and gestures.

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3.	RATIONALE (JUSTIFICATION FOR CHOOSING THE QUESTION)

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3.	RATIONALE (JUSTIFICATION FOR CHOOSING THE QUESTION)

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Observation 1: This sensory experience related to bathing the dolls in water. The children were showing interest in the dolls. As it was a hot day, the experience was setup outdoors with the dolls, tubs and water. I noticed that the children were excited to join in the experiences.  Child “L” and “I” loved washing and cuddling the dolls. I noticed Child “S” was observing only at first. She then said to the other children “it‘s my turn”. Child “S” then moved forward and picked up a small cup, filled it with water and poured it over the doll’s head to bathe the doll. She repeated this again, engaging for longer periods in the experiences.

Observation 2:  This sensory experience related to playdough. I noticed Child “I” approached the playdough area and observed; she then spent several minutes working with the playdough. She explored the dough, pulling, combining and stretching it. She squished it with both her hands and her fingers. During this time, she was very focussed on the experience. She did not engage with her peers, preferring to explore the dough through trial and error. She also patted, pressed and pounded the dough with her hands and worked the lump of playdough by trial and error into the shape of a snake.

Educator asked - what did you make? Child “I” replied: “Snake” Educator asked, “What colour is the snake?” She replied “Green”

Observation 3: This experience was in the sand-pit outdoors and involved cognitive skills and sensory experiences. The children are interested in animals. I noticed that three children, Child “C”, and Child “L” and Child “H” were playing in the sand-pit. Child “C” picked up a plastic animal, then walked into the sandpit and used her right hand to dig a hole in the sand-pit. She then put the animal in the hole and covered it with sand. Meanwhile, Child “L” was watching. Child “L walked out of the sand-pit area to find an animal. After a few minutes he found an animal and brought it to the sand-pit. He imitated the game of Child “C” and started digging a hole in the sand and put his animal in the hole. He then covered the animal with sand. With great enjoyment, Child “L” then dug up his animal and they smiled at each other and clapped hands (non-verbal gestures and facial expressions). Child “H” stayed outside the sand-pit but watched the game intently. They then repeated this game of treasure hunt again. Once child “C” and Child “L” distracted by another experience, Child “H” took the animals, dug a hole in the sand-pit area and covered the animals with sand. He repeated the game that he observed.

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The Bambini Early Learning Centre aims to create an inclusive environment that supports continuous learning for all children. The philosophy is grounded in promoting children’s interest in play-based learning and encouraging them to seek out answers (Childcare Philosophy - Bambini Early Learning Centres, 2023). The ELC aims to provide opportunities for children to express their ideas, reflect, question and their ability to produce powerful theories about the world and how it works. Provocation may come directly from experiences or encounters that the children have had or from questions from one of the educators.

The infant / toddler room (0 to 2 yrs. old children) has 11 children enrolled in  each room.

The layout of the physical space encourages encounters, communication, participation and relationships. The arrangement of structures, objects and activities encourage provocations, choices, problem-solving and discoveries in the process of learning. Some examples of the environment at the centre:

The room is welcoming and light and visually appealing, which encourages infant and toddler curiosity and engagement.

At group-time the children sit on the rectangle mat, which is soft and has cushions

In the centre of the room is the meal-time low table and chairs

Sleep-time folding mattresses are stored in the cupboard

Bathroom has a changing station with easy access to diapers, wipes, cream, plastic-bags and disposal units, sanitizer and cleaning chemical for the changing mattress, 2 toilets for training and hand-washing sink.

Trolley with sunscreen

An outdoor area featuring a sandpit and toys for sensorial experiences.

Age-appropriate resources are set up all around the room and the walls.

The children can choose experiences according to emerging interests in sensory play, to touch, feel, and press objects at the sensory table, playing musical instruments, and visit the sandpit. Other emerging interests are related to imagination play – for example with dolls at home corner and cooking equipment at cooking corner, animals and cars and trains. Finally, the children have emerging interest in cognitive play – puzzles, building blocks, climbing frames, games on the floor on the mat.

The educator records the children’s voices through taking notes, capturing images, retaining and reviewing children’s artwork (paintings, drawings), how children engaged in the experiences and then uses emerging interests to plan learning.

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At the 0-2 years age, how can we encourage child engagement in sensory play? For example, open-ended questions like “what’s going on here” which are in-line with the child’s disposition of learning (curiosity)?