# data[].attributes.body
What are some activities/ strategies to encourage a child to think about their learning and to develop their language skills?

# data[].attributes.body
This investigation was with children (birth to 2 years) at Journey Early Learning in Taylors Hill, Victoria. There are many opportunities for the children to develop their interests in a safe and secure environment with state-of-the-art facilities. Additionally, the centre prioritises positive relationships between all members of the community to ensure all children are fully supported (Journey Early Learning, 2023).

# data[].attributes.body
Resources needed

1. Paint, paper,

2. Preparation of ice cube painting (prior to the session):

water is placed in an ice-cube tray and food colouring, or paint is added.

Then a lolly pop stick is added to each ice-cube section with the coloured water.

It is then placed in the freezer for a few hours until frozen.

It was taken out of the fridge and let it melt a little for about 5 minutes before using.

How the children responded (2 children).

Initially they looked at the lolly-pop ice-cubes.

The educator asked, “what are the colours?”

The children responded and acknowledged the three colours.

Neither Child S and Child T had seen the lollypop sticks ice-cubes before.

After a few minutes, Child S picked up a blue lolly-pop ice-cube and began to move it around the paper.  He then put the ice cube on his hand several times - he said, “look my hand” and then he moved to the paper and continued painting.

Child S commented that the ice-cube was cold.

The other child looked at the lolly pop ice cube and laughed and said, “What’s that?”  She then began using the painting ice-cube tool to create her own artwork which was very different to the other child (boy).

Child T appeared to enjoy the activity but did not show as much enthusiasm as the other Child S.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Red Car Green Car, A Changing Colours Book by Roger Priddy Books 

# data[].attributes.body
How did I provoke the children?

My three activities revolve around hands-on and cooperative learning. However, each activity has a distinct structure, encompassing group time, dramatic play, and painting. These diverse approaches facilitate extended learning through discussions that enrich vocabulary and comprehension, engaging in socio-dramatic activities that bring experiences to life, and fostering creative play that encourages children to explore new ideas using their imagination.

Resources needed:

Red Car Green Car, A Changing Colours Book by Roger Priddy Books.

Sorting colour game - using cards with different colour objects.

How the children responded (4 children).

The children enjoyed the book.

Two children started pointing and began to say the objects.

They laughed as they did it at the same time.

They were intrigued with the cards and started.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Red Car Green Car, A Changing Colours Book by Roger Priddy Books 

# data[].attributes.body
The key themes were language development (in particular colour vocabulary was a recurring topic throughout the observations) and self-directed play. The children were all engaged throughout each activity.  The children were interacting appropriately at all times, exhibiting their awareness of active listening,  and caring and respect for one another. Additionally, this awareness was in the context of parallel play where the children were not directly engaging but playing alongside each other.

# data[].attributes.body
In the afternoon, Child A walked to the sandpit and the Educator went with her. The child began to play, and she used the shovel to put some sand in the bucket.  Child B, who was also in the sandpit, was observing Child A; she then moved closer to Child A.  Child B was smiling. The Educator asked Child B, “Do you want to play too?” Child B clapped her hands and moved even closer. “Look at this,” commented Child A.  She then looked in the bucket and picked up a small orange stone. Child B said, “this is big sand”.  The Educator said “I don’t think this is sand”.  Child A said “it’s a stone. It is orange”. The Educator then asked the children “What colour is the bucket?.  Child A indicated the bucket was orange and was correct.  Child B said it was yellow. The Educator got a yellow bucket and showed Child B “this is orange and this is yellow”. She then used other artefacts around her and indicated that a ball in the sandpit  was orange and the shovel was yellow. Child A commented, “The  sun is yellow”. Child B commented, “This is yellow” as she pointed to her water bottle on the side of the sandpit. The children continued on playing beside each other. Child B continued to watch Child A and copy her. Child A then asked the Educator,  “What colour is the sand?” The Educator said “it is yellow too but was not a bright yellow like the shovel”.  Child A commented “OK, this is a bright orange” as she pointed to the bucket.  The sandpit play was 8 minutes, then both children decided to get up and go.

# data[].attributes.body
Before the morning snack, three children observed the Educators as they were setting up a painting table.  Child D sat down to paint and said “I want this”, as he pointed to the blue paint. Child E commented I want the green” and pointed to the container.  Child F said “I want yellow”; and reached over to the yellow paint.    The Educator indicated that they could choose from the paint colours; red, blue, yellow, green and orange. “Which is your favourite colour?” she said to the children.  Child D said “I like red” and Child E said “green”.  Child E used the paint brushes one by one by drawing lines across the paper from left to right.  Each new colour she chose she would paint under the previous colour.  She kept going and used all the colours available.  She called out “it's a rainbow” The Educator began to sing a familiar song called The Rainbow Color Song and the children stopped painting and  joined the singing.  Child D was particularly enthusiastic and could remember all the words of the song. They started to dance and hold each other's hands.  The Educator danced with them as they sang and other children then joined the Group.

# data[].attributes.body
Before lunch the children were playing inside.  Child C walked to the mat and saw a book on the mat.  Child C started reading “My First Colours” by Simon Abbott. He picked up the book the correct way with the title on the front and started to turn the pages one by one from the beginning of the book. The Educator came along and asked the child what he was reading.  “This is red” said the child  as he pointed to a red car and made a car sound - vroom, vroom.  Then the child began to giggle as he began to do the body movement of the car and said “I’m a red car” and the Educator said, “I’m a red truck” and then the Educator began to giggle, they then gave each other a high five.  “What else can you see that is red?”  said the Educator.  He pointed to a red block. “Well done," said the Educator, “you are learning your colours!”  The child said “colours are fun, colours are everywhere”.  The Educator said, “what colour is this” as she pointed to a green apple in the book.  “It's green, I can eat it, Yum, Yum, Yum”.   “Well done”, said the Educator “you know your colours!”  The child kept reading the book and finished after 4 minutes before washing his hands for lunch.

# data[].attributes.body
My three observations are aligned with Outcome 4 & 5 in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) as below (2016).

Language development (Outcome 5) is a key element and is fully utilised in the three observations, in particular colour recognition.

A disposition for learning (Outcome 4) is apparent with all the children who appeared  settled and focussed.

Using prior knowledge (Outcome 4) to create a new experience was evident as the children were curious and initiated the activities independently.

Play-based learning  (Outcome 4) was used throughout the observations which gave opportunities for the children to “discover, create, improvise, test theories, imagine and engage with others” (VEYLDF, 2016, p. 21).

# data[].attributes.body
Implementation of the provocations:

Two activities were planned and implemented, and one strategy was proposed for a third activity. Each activity had a distinct idea and implementation - creative painting, literacy/language development using a story, singing and movement through a song.

What strategies and conversation happened?

The children were attentive and intrigued when using the unusual painting tool of the ice-cube (Activity 1).  This open-end experience allowed the children to explore different objects, colours and textures to create their artwork.  It also led to discussions about the ice-cube and how it started to disappear and melted.  Early Childhood Australia (2016) comment “[s]supporting the development of creative and innovative thinking is significant for children as they face new situations and challenges throughout their lives” (para. 5).

What went well:

The book and matching game were particularly popular as the four children were fully engaged in the activity throughout the session. All the children used the colours and objects names well and understood the structure of the game after they were shown. They clapped when they made a match and exhibited great enthusiasm each time. This simple but effective game supports skill acquisition of grouping, sorting, comparing and ordering which in turn leads to cognitive development and problem solving techniques (Playgroup WA, 2023, para. 4).

# data[].attributes.body
What I could have improved:

Overall, the activities went well but I feel that I could take more advantage of some spontaneous teachable moments to build on the children’s learning (Community Child Care Victoria, 2011, p.3).  For example, one of the children commented “look!” when two colours of the paint mixed. I could have taken the opportunity to extend language development by talking about more colours. Another time, a child talked about animals (prompted by the crocodile in the book) which may have led to further language development about animals.

Additionally, I was aware that one child in the matching game did not show much interest. He is particularly interested in trains, and this could have initiated more learning if I had included a train in the matching game.   Using interests within curriculum planning is a powerful way to support a meaningful learning experience for the child/ren involved (ACECQA, 2012, p. 1).

What method was used to capture the learning?

Several strategies/methods were used:

Observations by participating in the discussion and/or interactions in order to gain a greater understanding of the child's learning and thinking processes.

Photographs as highlighted on the Padlet.

Sample of the children’s work  as recorded on the Padlet.

Observations ‘present’ with the children  (individual or group) when the emphasis is entirely on the children. Gowrie, (n.d.) comments that Vygotsky's theory is “that social interactions help children develop their ability to use language’’. This means that when a child is having an interaction in a group it promotes language development as the children say more words to extend their communication as shown in Vygotsky’s three stages/forms of language:

Social speech is when children communicate together (usually from the age of 2) e.g. there was evidence of the children interacting briefly during Activity 2.

Private speech is when the individual directs a discuss to themselves but has not yet been internalised (usually from the age of 3) e.g., it was observed one of the children was speaking out aloud about his painting.

Silent inner speech is when a person (in this case the educator) has an “internal monologue” (usually from the age of 7).

Feedback from other educators and families was encouraging. During pick-up and drop-off, I discussed with the parents/guardians how best to support their children's development and provide feedback on their daily activities; families were particularly satisfied with this topic of promoting language through colours.   A strong partnership with families is outlined as an important area in Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality (ACECQA) Quality Area 6 – Collaborative partnerships with families and communities (2018).

# data[].attributes.body
What theories of research informed the teaching?

The educational theories of Vygotsky (1896-1934), Montessori (1870-1952), Piaget (1896-1980) and Reggio Emilia (founded by Loris Malaguzzi, 1920-1994) have profoundly shaped my approach to planning and practice. Piaget’s initial two stages of cognitive development were important to consider. Stage 1, the sensorimotor stage, is when children learn through their senses, such as in Activity 1 when the child puts the ice-cube painting tool in his hand to feel the cold ice-cube (Mcleod, 2023, para. 3). This action then generated discussion with the child which supports Vygotsky’s approach which emphasises how social interaction "plays a critical role in children's learning" (Cherry, 2023, para. 1).  Similarly, the Montessori approach utilises sensory-based materials (as does Piaget). Additionally, Montessori stresses that the tools used should be designed for young children to support child's age and stage of development. Montessori's emphatic approach that careful documentation through observation was essential is also acknowledged as part of this assignment (Chang, 2020, para. 1). Additionally, the Reggio Emilia approach, grounded in socio-constructivism, focuses on the joint effort of educators and children in building knowledge collectively. Together, they participate in collaborative experiences that promote a profound comprehension of diverse concepts and ideas throughout the learning process (Hargraves, 2020, para. 1).

Was it hands on?

Most activities were hands-on. For example, in Activity 1 the lolly-pop ice-cube painting tool required the children to use their hands by holding the painting tool  to create their own artwork. Activity 2, which was a sorting activity, enabled the children to use their thinking skills and their ability to sort and match the different objects based on their colour. The Reggio Emilia approach endorses that  “hands-on learning encourages creative exploration’’ and it also boosts self-confidence (Davey, n.d., para. 4).
Moreover, the Reggio Emilia approach, rooted in socio-constructivism, centres on the collaborative process of educators and children constructing knowledge together. They work side by side, engaging in co-constructive experiences that foster a deep understanding of various concepts and ideas (Dodd-Nufrio, 2011) (Christle, 2023).

# data[].attributes.body
Did I step back?

As an Educator I took a step back to observe the child's spontaneous  moments. This is important to give the children a chance to explore their own learning in their own creative way. This approach is supported by the Reggio Emilia theory, where "curiosity" gives  children an opportunity  to experience something new at their own pace. It also encourages “children to make sense of experiences and ideas through 100 languages” (Hargreaves, 2020, para. 5). Providing opportunities like these help the children to make sense of the activities in their own way through creative thinking.

Did you use prompts?

Throughout my activities and strategies  there were prompts such as discussions and open ended questions with the child and educator as highlighted in the National Quality Standard Professional Learning Program. ''They use everyday interactions with children during play and ongoing prioject  to stimulate children’s thinking and to enrich their learning (ACECQA, 2011, p. 124). Questions like ‘’What did you make’’ and ‘’Can you tell me what is this one’’. Open-ended questions encourage the child to consider their response and help to stimulate both thinking and language skills.

Did you make any modifications?

No modifications needed to be made.

Discuss the space and teaching area and any changes needed?

The space and teaching area was sufficient and worked well.  The Centre is very modern and spacious and particularly age-appropriate with the furniture size, and the resources used such as the sorting card, painting tools and story book used.   The planned activities were fundamentally age-appropriate as it supported the learning for all the children.

# data[].attributes.body
This planned provocation leverages the assignment question, its underlying rationale, and my understanding of them as a basis to guide these concepts/ideas in a direction that enhances the educational journey for the children.

Question: What are some activities / strategies to encourage a child to think about their learning and to develop their language skills?

How did I ‘provoke’ the children?

The three activities are designed to focus on hands-on, cooperative learning and language development. Nevertheless, each activity is distinguished by its own theme: one involves creative painting with a distinctive tool, another focuses on language development through a story book paired with a matching game, and the third employs a song and movement strategy. These varied approaches support an extensive learning experience by promoting discussions that enhance sensory development and vocabulary, encouraging creative play that inspires children to explore new ideas through their imagination (Hedger, 2022, para. 5).

Broad ideas and learning opportunity:

The primary educational ‘provocations’ achieved involve fostering language development through the vocabulary associated with colour. By employing methods such as sensory exploration, discussions, interactive games, and creative artistic activities, the goal is to improve the children's skills in emerging literacy/numeracy skills of sorting (Activity 2), matching (Activity 2), identifying objects and colours (Activity 2 and 3), and exploration of textures (Activity 1).

Further ‘provocations’ through this intentional teaching…

crafted the children's curiosity, sparked their imagination, and cultivated language development.

Inspired the children to actively contribute their own ideas and participate in discussions centred around colours and various objects.

The result of these provocations was of little consequence - it was evident that the children were enthusiastically involved in learning about colours through hands-on activities and is a “gift of learning” (McArdle, 2020, para. 3).

Interestingly, the term "provocation" has historical roots in the Reggio approach. Simply put, these language provocations were designed to stimulate and invite learning, interest, creativity, and thoughtful reflection.

These provocations allowed the children to explore, create, and engage in critical thinking freely, just as the children did when they wondered why the painting tool in Activity 1 was cold when they touched it (EYC, 2017, para. 1; Szydlik, 2018)!

# data[].attributes.body
This planned provocation leverages the assignment question, its underlying rationale, and my understanding of them as a basis to guide these concepts/ideas in a direction that enhances the educational journey for the children.

Question: What are some activities / strategies to encourage a child to think about their learning and to develop their language skills?

How did I ‘provoke’ the children?

The three activities are designed to focus on hands-on, cooperative learning and language development. Nevertheless, each activity is distinguished by its own theme: one involves creative painting with a distinctive tool, another focuses on language development through a story book paired with a matching game, and the third employs a song and movement strategy. These varied approaches support an extensive learning experience by promoting discussions that enhance sensory development and vocabulary, encouraging creative play that inspires children to explore new ideas through their imagination.(Hedger, 2022, para. 5).

# data[].attributes.body
Broad ideas and learning opportunity:

The primary educational ‘provocations’ achieved involve fostering language development through the vocabulary associated with colour. By employing methods such as sensory exploration, discussions, interactive games, and creative artistic activities, the goal is to improve the  children's skills in emerging literacy/numeracy skills of sorting (Activity 2), matching (Activity 2), identifying objects and colours (Activity 2 and 3), and exploration of textures (Activity 1).

Further ‘provocations’ through this intentional teaching…

crafted the children's curiosity, sparked their imagination, and cultivated language development.

Inspired the children to actively contribute their own ideas and participate in discussions centred around colours and various objects.

The result of these provocations was of little consequence - it was evident that the children were enthusiastically involved in learning about colours through hands-on activities and is a “gift of learning” (McArdle, 2020, para. 3).

Interestingly, the term "provocation" has historical roots in the Reggio approach. Simply put, these language provocations were designed to stimulate and invite learning, interest, creativity, and thoughtful reflection.

Moreover, active listening as highlighted by Reggio is critical for adding spontaneous teaching moments. I endeavoured to listen to the children, allowing the children to communicate and voice their thoughts. It was exciting to also witness that these very young children are already developing the essential elements of listening to others, valuing the exchange back and forth and contributing when there is a pause in the conversation to know they can add something new to the discussion (Rinaldi, 2001, p. 3).

These provocations allowed the children to explore, create, and engage in critical thinking freely, just as the children did when they wondered why the painting tool in Activity 1 was cold when they touched it (EYC, 2017, para. 1; Szydlik, 2018)!