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If there are any other questions, comments, concerns or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment either under any of the relevant categories/boxes or in this one. Thank you for your time and attention. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for your child's literacy and language development!

All things good,
Jiordann and Mossfiel Childcare Centre Team

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Embedding Indigenous perspectives, Access to the indoor and outdoor spaces, Layout based around play, Fostering all children’s literacy abilities, including those who speak English as an additional language, and Incorporation of a variety of loose parts

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Photo from past years incorporation of 'loose parts'

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‘Loose parts’ can be defined as anything that moves (Daly & Belogovsky 2016, p. 23). They are materials that have no set instructions in how to engage with. Examples include cardboard, paint, sticks, sand, wooden blocks and so on. These materials are ‘Reggio-inspired’, as there is no ‘correct’ usage, catering to unique and individual learning experiences (Nolan & Raban 2015, p. 38). In this way, children are leading and building autonomy by freely “assembling, inventing, and constructing… [their ideas] through creativity and play” (DET 2019, p. 40). ‘Loose parts’ are a form of visual aid, stimulating all learning abilities and ideal for this age group (Daly & Belogovsky 2016, p. 23). These materials encourage children to utilise their multiliteracies and languages in any way in which they choose to, strengthening their play skills. This is evident when children communicate what they are doing, when they tell stories, use technology, dance, draw, ask questions or take on various roles as they play.

This aligns with the ‘social interactionist perspective’ as social engagement and the environment plays a significant role in children’s language development (Fellowes & Oakley 2019, p. 76).‘Loose parts’ that promote social interactions include shared instruments, age-appropriate costumes, story books, large paper to collaboratively draw on and so forth (Daly & Belogovsky 2016, p. 23). Fostering these materials and social interactions contributes to a multiliteracy-rich environment as children learn to “listen within a suspension of judgement” (Rinaldi 2001, p. 3) and extend their multiliteracies through shared play experiences. We intend to cultivate these extraordinary materials by combining indoor and outdoor ‘loose parts’, storing them in height-appropriate boxes promoting access and conducting a thorough risk and quality assessment to ensure a hazard-free and enjoyable play experience for all (Daly & Belogovsky 2016, p. 23). Furthermore, acquiring age-appropriate materials poses an opportunity for family involvement as we encourage you to donate any materials, contributing directly to your children’s learning.

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Click on the image to view an example of our classroom design in 2D and 3D!

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Play-based layout and fostering all children's learning abilities

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Play-based layout and fostering all children's learning abilities

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It is important that the environment promotes multiliteracies by fostering security, individuality, “comfort, stability, and safety…where there is scope…to explore and take risks” (Bradford 2012, p. 22). This could be achieved by designing the layout of the classroom based around play, rather than developmental domains. For example, implementing a cozy corner, group area and sleeping room next to one another promotes quieter spaces supporting children with lower-activity and higher-sensitivity levels. Conversely, the remaining areas are devoted to louder or messier activities to encourage social interaction. In this way, literacy and language learning is not confined to specific areas of writing or reading. But rather, is expanded as children can tell stories, sing songs, dance, role play and draw in various areas. Fostering a play-based environment encourages children to explore and take risks as they are unrestricted in which multiliteracies they are to utilise within different areas. Furthermore, it is important that children who speak English as an additional language are fostered within the environment. We aim to create a “multiliterate print environment” (Shwarzer, Haywood & Lorenzen 2003, p. 459) by incorporating children’s mother-tongue language through labelling personal items with their traditional names and displaying posters of various types of alphabets. In this way, children of all language backgrounds feel welcomed and celebrated. Thus, creating a wonderfully proud and diverse range of a community of multiliteracy-rich individuals.

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Folder name New Folder Rename Move to Archive? Confirm 3D mode not supported.Reload page to change the language? Make cover Snapshot will appear after a while in a "Snapshots" section Copied

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Floor plans and interior design

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Floor plans and interior design - Planner 5D

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Folder name New Folder Rename Move to Archive? Confirm 3D mode not supported.Reload page to change the language? Make cover Snapshot will appear after a while in a "Snapshots" section Copied Upgrade your browseror download Google Chrome or Firefox. Go to My Projects and continue from the last edit or start building a new one from the blank.

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Embedding Indigenous Perspectives and access to the indoor and outdoor environment

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Embedding Indigenous Perspectives and access to the indoor and outdoor environment

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A significant part of our practice is how we can continue to embed Indigenous perspectives. In regard to the environment, ‘Place-thought’ is a vital concept that leverages the power of place (Hamm 2015, p. 64). Through play, children are encouraged to engage with their environment and be inclusive of the more-than-humans present. For example, a child may use a stick to draw letters or pictures in the sand. The child here is not only engaged with the multiliteracies of visual art and connection to nature, but they are also transitioning a Western approach (drawing on paper) to art by incorporation of the more-than-human. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that children have access to the indoor and outdoor environment to connect with place. This empowers children with choice and creates countless opportunities to foster their multiliteracies by placing “Aboriginal ways of knowing in the centre of understanding about the places we live in” (Hamm 2015, p. 64). The environment acts as a facilitator of learning, encouraging children to engage and experiment with their multiliteracies and place “through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing and hearing” (Nolan & Raban 2015, p. 38).

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Dedicate time for play, Employ scaffolding techniques, Be open-minded, Steer away from explicit teaching of reading and writing, Listen to children, Incorporation of visual aids, and Learn phrases from relevant languages

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Special consideration of children who speak English as an additional language 

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Special consideration of children who speak English as an additional language 

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It is important that children with English as an additional language are particularly supported through their expressive and receptive language development. Incorporation of visual aids (i.e., pictures, videos, technology, gestures) help children to retain information in a simpler context of connecting words and ideas with visuals. Another strategy we aim to employ is to try to learn words in children’s first languages as simple phrases such as “Good job” and “How are you” creates meaningful, multiliterate learning opportunities. We encourage families to utilise their mother-tongue as this ensures the child is exposed to at least one fluent language modelled at home (Supporting Oral Language Development in Dual Language Learners 2016). Studies have shown that young children who are multilingual develop strong “executive functioning skills such as cognitive flexibility, focus attention, multi-tasking and listening” (Karem & Hobek 2022, p. 79), all of which are emergent-literacy skills. Fostering the multiliteracy of children’s home languages within our program encourages an opportunity for children to respectfully engage with their peers as “native literacy and native cultural backgrounds are considered rich resources of learning” (Shwarzer, Haywood & Lorenzen 2003, p. 456).

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‘Listening’ is complex as it requires us to be open, sensitive, and most importantly, hear other people (Rinaldi 2001, p. 2). Children’s voices are often overlooked, and our program believes it is important to constantly view the child as capable and competent. Therefore, it is beneficial to shift the power and listen to children promoting agency and self-confidence. This idea aligns with the ‘Reggio Emilia’ approach, where children’s interests and ideas are valued and intertwined within pedagogy (Iorio 2016, p. 1161). In this way, learning is child-centered as they are empowered when their interests are placed at the forefront of curriculum providing them with a unique motivation to learn. Through listening and being listened to, children are able to enhance their language development through communicating their ideas, using descriptive language, paying attention and being “open to difference” (Rinaldi 2001, p. 3). It is important to note that an Indigenous concept to listening is known as ‘Dadirri’ which focuses on ‘deep listening’ as a way of “tapping into the deep spring within us” (Ungunmerr-Baumann 2002, p. 1). Our program believes that the Indigenous people have a profound depth of spirituality that has much to teach us about our practices.

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Steer away from explicit teaching of reading and writing

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Steer away from explicit teaching of reading and writing

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Another strategy we plan to apply is to steer away from explicit teaching of reading and writing by adopting a true, play-based approach where there are no pre-determined outcomes. In this way, children are free to explore and engage ‘with’ play without pressures of being compared to certain milestones encouraging “unexpected, unknown ways of learning to occur” enhancing literacy (Hamm & Boucher 2017, p. 64). For example, if reading is the focus, ensure the book has been chosen of interest to the child. When given cues to, scaffold by pointing out features of the book (i.e., text structure, visual elements, emotions). This is known as a ‘cooperative play style’ through shared reading (Edwards & Mackenzie 2013, p. 340). This aligns with the ‘whole-to-part-approach’ which emphasises the importance of meaning making and enjoyment of texts rather than explicitly reading (Fellowes & Oakley 2019, p. 222). This supports children’s literacy skills of listening, visualisation, and comprehension of narratives.

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Another approach to support literacy learning involves being open-minded. The ‘hundreds of languages’ is a vital theory we embed into all avenues in our program, and we believe is beneficial for you to understand (Malaguzzi cited in Edwards, Gandini & Forman 2013, p. 299). This idea expands habitual beliefs that children speak one type of language as they are capable of communicating in various forms (i.e., drawing, music, movement, play). This concept aligns with the ‘Multiple intelligence theory’ as overtime, children begin to discover their preferred languages and are able to decipher when to apply them based on social contexts (Gardner cited in Churchill et al. 2019, p. 104). Play provides an ideal platform to explore these preferences as there are no pre-described ways in which literacy learning must occur and are encouraged to “engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from [them]” (DET 2019, p. 44). Being open-minded supports multiliteracies as all languages and intelligences are embraced and valued- be they story-telling, movement, or singing songs.

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Dedicate time to play and employ scaffolding techniques 

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Dedicate time to play and employ scaffolding techniques 

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It is important to dedicate time to play and practice employing ‘scaffolding techniques’ (Bruner cited in Fellowes & Oakley 2019, p. 132). Considering play’s significant role in language development, it is paramount that children are able to engage in a healthy amount of time dedicated within and beyond school. A strategy to practice is to take a step back and observe children’s learning through play to begin to understand its relevance beyond its outward (often misunderstood) appearance. Another strategy we aim to practice involves scaffolding techniques. This can include gathering meaningful materials, being positively silenced, asking thought-provoking questions and getting involved when given cues to by the child. For example, extending emergent-literacy skills through a focus on vocabulary may involve gathering of a range of texts (i.e., drawings, story-books, foam alphabet, interactive online e-book). This may enhance receptive and expressive language skills as children make connections between letters, symbols, words, medias, and emotions through play.

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How can we construct a Multiliteracy-rich environment? 

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How can we construct a Multiliteracy-rich environment? 

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Here we discuss elements of the environment to encourage social interaction, multiliteracies, play and literacy enhancement within our program.

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Strategies to support play, Emergent literacy, Language and Multiliteracies learning: 

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Strategies to support play, Emergent literacy, Language and Multiliteracies learning: 

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It is important that we work in tandem to support children’s literacy journey through play. We have explained various strategies below and would appreciate your input!

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What is it? Multiliteracies enable new literacies and pedagogy to emerge as all ‘languages’ are embraced (Malaguzzi cited in Edwards, Gandini & Forman 2013, p. 299). This creates rich meaning-making experiences and resources representative of children’s cultural and social backgrounds. Examples of multiliteracies include code-switching, technology, visual arts, connection to nature and real-life storytelling. It is important to value multiliteracies as it enables curriculum to reflect children’s cultural and linguistic resources by viewing them as “designers of meaning” (Fellowes & Oakley 2019, p. 76).

Examples of how play-based pedagogy supports multiliteracies learning- Play-based pedagogy heavily supports multiliteracies as it is open-ended and has no predetermined outcomes. Therefore, there is no pre-described literacy children should be engaged ‘with’, but merely many opportunities to build language acquisition freely through play (Hamm & Boucher 2017, p. 64). Toddlers at this age sought the use of art forms to “express ideas and make meaning” (DET 2019, p. 45) of complex concepts through drawing, painting, and various medias (technology). Play fosters these multiliteracies as it encourages children to connect reality and culture to their learning. For example, pretend play motivates children to socially explore their multiliteracies of dramatic arts as a ‘vehicle’ to reflect, represent and communicate their cultural backgrounds and make sense of their world (EYLFPLP 2011, p. 2). Through enriching play experiences, children are able to construct their literacy languages freely, while simultaneously establish a sense of community belonging; thereby establishing self-identities and enhance language acquisition as they experiment with “words, ideas and make meaning” (DET 2019, p. 45).

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What is it? Language skills that are acquired following emergent-literacy expertise. Examples of these skills for four-year-olds include speaking in sentences, "answering questions, advanced story-telling, joking, writing, drawing, and rhyming" (ACECQA 2009, p. 7). **Please note: While it is important to utilise ‘developmental milestones’ as a guide, one should also view a child’s language development holistically (ACECQA 2009, p. 7). Thereby not viewing development as a straight timeline, but something that occurs naturally and differs between children.

Examples of how play-based pedagogy supports language learning- Toddlers can be described as “lexical vacuum cleaners” (Eberle 2011, p. 22) for their extraordinary abilities to ‘suck up’ words primarily through playful experimentation and social interactions. Engaging in concentration play such as “I Spy”, requires children to observe, answer questions and maintain attention. These dexterities support reading comprehension as children analyse what they see and apply it to questions. Engaging with mark-based play encourages non-verbal methods for communication as children discover how signs and symbols impose meaning. Thus, expanding “the arena of verbal expression” (Fellowes & Oakley 2019, p. 59) as children connect the concept of writing to a type of symbolic communicational system (DET 2019). This aligns with Indigenous perspectives as visual markings can be just as powerful of a representation as “‘mere literacy’ would ever be able to allow” (Cope & Kalantzis 1999, p. 5).  It is important that we understand that literacy learning “takes a lifetime” (EYLFPLP 2011, p. 3) as we become exposed to more social interactions through play and various forms of literacies.

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What is it? Foundational skills children acquire before complex literacy expertise. Children develop receptive and expressive language through social interactions and play. This is supported by the ‘neurobiological perspective’ as children are “hard-wired to learn language” (Fellowes & Oakley 2019, p. 77), despite also being dependent on social engagement. Examples of these skills for four-year-olds include print awareness, vocabulary development, story-telling, phonetical (sound) awareness and utilising visual cues.

Examples of how play-based pedagogy supports Emergent literacy learning- Starting from birth, children build their literacy and language skills socially and through play. Toddlers at this age, learn about sounds and words when they observe others and “interact verbally and non-verbally” (DET 2019, p. 43). Through musical play, songs and instruments help children develop phonetical awareness via listening and connecting syllables to beats. Play encourages children to share stories and role play, contributing to their “emerging autonomy…, confident self-identities” (EYLF 2019, p. 16) and how they “learn to interact in relation to others” (DET 2019, p. 27). Through play, children practice and apply communicational skills as they interact (turn-taking and delegating), how to structure narratives and listen to verbal language in music and other forms of literacy.

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We aim to utilise a Play-based approach to teaching:

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We aim to utilise a Play-based approach to teaching:

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Friedrich Froebel and John Dewey were two figures who theorised about the importance of first-hand, play experiences for children’s overall learning and development (Nolan & Raban 2015).

What is play? When children make meaning of their world by making connections to previous knowledges through hands-on, self-directed experiences. Play provides an opportunity for children to develop ‘autonomy’, take risks and socially interact with others (Montessori 1946, p. 158). Examples include ‘loose parts’, sensory, physical, art, dramatic, nature play and many more (Daly & Belogovsky 2016, p. 23). The Early Years Learning Framework, which underpins early childhood education, suggests that reading, writing, speaking, and listening are best taken place in play-based, social settings (DET 2019).

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Literacy entails making-meaning using a variety of methods- be they written, spoken, visual, performed, or drawn. Literacy is influenced by our cultural and personal values, creating more layers of complexity. There is no one ‘correct’ medium of literacy. Children develop their literacy skills in a variety of ways, and we all need to practice being open to these differences as they adapt according to the unique individual (Phillips & Harris 2017). Literacy upholds many powerful roles some of which include:
- Language as a social act can be “a way for… [children] to express their identity and be proud of where they come from and who they are” (VACL 2022).
- Language as a source of empowerment enables people to carry on traditions and languages from their ancestors to preserve culture, particularly prevalent in Indigenous practices (Davidson 2016).

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My name is Jiordann, and I am currently a registered Kindergarten teacher (ages 4+) at Mossfiel Childcare Centre. I have created this discussion panel to initiate an open dialogue between teachers and parents about how we can best support your children’s language and literacy development through various concepts, examples, and strategies. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to add to the panel 😊.

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I would like to respectfully acknowledge that Mossfiel Childcare center is situated on the traditional lands of the people of the Kulin nation who communicated using Woiwurrung and Wadawurrung language (Gambay 2021). I would like to pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.