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Write about your experience with Playwork?

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Write about your experience with Playwork?

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Play is something children learn from the day they are born, and it starts from their interactions with their parents. (KABOOM!, 2010)
My experience with Playwork has been eye-opening when I look at the freedom that Playwork gives children
the imagination to dream big, I have started to embed, giving the children the time and space to find their way through the activity or during their day in the centre. I feel like, as an educator, it can be hard not to control and restrict the child's learning by constantly saying stop or don't or even good job, saying good job, taking the chance of the child growing and doing more, asking them are you happy with it or what is it will give the child the opportunity to look at their work and see if they want to add to it and continue to grow as an individual. As I work in a Montessori Centre, I feel that it fits in with Montessori theory Because it gives the children the option to pick what they want to learn, and as Maria Montessori says, " Play is the child's work."- (Montessori, 2021) It's about giving the child the best environment and letting the children move at their own pace and the time and opportunity to make the life choices they want to make. In the center, we follow structure and rules cause that is what we know is part of the job and how we keep everyone safe, but controlling the day every day is going to help the children understand life skills but take the chance for them to understand the concurrence for their actions.

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How can Playwork be used as a tool for pedagogical documentation?

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How can Playwork be used as a tool for pedagogical documentation?

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In childcare, we are constantly observing children. We might do a verbal observation, but this is our way of understanding children and might mean changing our delivery of instruction or practice of learning. In my centre, we document children's and parent's voices to help with our planning cycle. Looking at each child as an individual and looking at all the different things that make up each child, like the interests and cultural backgrounds, looking at how we can make that one child and build a connection with them can help when we are looking at how this learning experience is assisting this child or what they are getting out of this experience and where we can go from here to continue, and this is what makes it essential to have documentation and evidence; this is not just for one staff member; and shared through the centre, so we are all helping with the planning circle, giving the best learning appetites, and growing as an individual. We want children to think outside the box, giving children the option to become more giant thinkers, which helps the child keep trying and learning. (Project Zero, 2014) We also need to know when we educators need to step in and when we let the children run their experiences from a disagreement with another child or the time to problem solve how to finish a puzzle. (Toronto Press, 2015, pp. 9) Instead of telling the children what to do and when to do it, letting them run their path, taking a step back, and documenting and observing the children guide them down their way. When looking at all the different types of documentation we do as educators, some can still be tricky to understand. Still, with more training and support and continuing to be open to learning more and growing as educators, we will do our best to help children grow and continue to observe and document. I know when it comes to the Quality improvement plans, even though I understand what they are for when it comes to the evidence we add, I overthink it and get lost, but I am slowly working on it and first working on the learning outcomes so each term I go through the learning outcomes and make five goals that link to then. I have grown to understand them so much more and use them a lot in the observations for the children I do per month.

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How has Playwork changed your way of thinking?

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How has Playwork changed your way of thinking?

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I have learned a lot about Playwork. But the central part I took away was giving the children freedom and creating a welcoming environment. Looking at all the different types of Playwork with all the risks and benefits, having the Loose Parts playwork would be an excellent sustainability program to run in the centre, getting families to help bring in recycled items to use for our Loose Part section in the room, Ready for when the children engage in Loose Parts Playwork during outdoor or indoor play. There will likely be more loose parts in the centre, and from when I first brought loose parts into the centre every day, the children used the area to create something unique. I want to continue to grow my knowledge of the different types of Play types that Bob Hughes put in 14 different types of play and look into how they all link and what makes them so different. (Wales, 2017, pp. 2-3)
A lot of change will come over time in childcare and kinder programs. Still, it is all about starting one day at a time, communicating with staff, and continuously improving for the children's best interests as they are the future.

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Montessori, F. (2021, June 25). Montessori Activities vs Open-Ended Play. Fishtown Montessori. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://www.fishtownmontessori.com/montessori-activities-vs-open-ended-play/#:~:text=Maria%20Montessori%20said%2C%20%E2%80%9CPlay%20is,play%20at%20the%20same%20time.

Toronto Press, U. O. (2015). Journeys: Reconceptualizing early childhood practices through pedagogical narration (p. 9). Pacini-Ketchabaw, V, Nxumalo, F, Kocher, L, Elliot, E & Sanchez, A. https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=9f176d0b-c247-4085-a0fa-f0fba7609dd5%40redis&ppid=pp_9&vid=0&format=EB

[Project Zero]. (2014, December 1). PZ Thinking Routines [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKV_S5NpDdc&t=214s

[KABOOM!]. (2010, May 4). Playwork: An Introduction [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9vylo_t3Ns&t=129s

Wales, P. (2017). Play Types (pp. 2-3). Play Wales. https://issuu.com/playwales/docs/play_types