Have spent the last two days visiting some wonderful settings with Michelle. All part of New Shoots (newshoots.co.nz) which has a wonderful philosophy of child centred learning...the environments are all eco friendly with lots of light, windows at child height and outdoor spaces which are carefully thought through. I saw my first maze for children with the Griselinia plant which is native to New Zealand with glossy leaves a bit like laurel - it bushes out and gives a feeling of being hidden whilst still being seen. The children were busy weaving themselves in and out of it!
What strikes me is the level of knowledge and understanding of the practitioners - they know their child development and can articulate what they see children doing very well. Here's an example from a Learning Story about Abbie and Noah as they play together in the sand, Siobhan the key worker evaluates it like this...
"Conflict is a normal part of any healthy relationship. After all, two people cant't be expected to agree on everything, all the time. Learning how to deal with conflict - rather than avoiding it - is crucial. When conflict is mis-managed, it can cause great harm to a relationship, but when handled in a respectful, positive way, conflict provides an opportunity to strengthen the bond between to people"
The Learning Story that Siobhan wrote about Abbie and Noah tells the unfolding story of what happened as they played together (well sort of) - Noah wanted what Abbie had and she had some quite sophisticated ways of dealing with that...its a story that no doubt will end up with them being best mates!!!
Lots to share from some wonderful practice here especially in relation to observation and documentation......
