Day 7

It was a lovely sunny morning, and children are supposed to play outside. When entering the preschool group, I joined them in the sandpit where children had already begun to build some complex structures out of sand. Others were building castles with high towers, others drilled deep tunnels where the toy trucks could move through. I got down beside them, and I said, how in the world are we going to get this bridge built where the truck can get across it? This triggered a conversation regarding wet sand to get stable, which also incorporated early STEM learning in the play-like setting (Edwards, 2023).

It came naturally that children started cooperating with each other, one child took a bucket to gather the water, the other took a spade and delved the walls. This was an illustration of EYLF Outcome 2: children are connected to and contribute to their world, because they negotiated roles and shared tools (Department of Education, 2022). I also spoke about safety in the sun, promoting the use of hats and sunscreen, which promotes the care and welfare of children, NQS QA2: Children Health and Safety (ACECQA, 2020).

 

When an argument occurred on who is to take the biggest bucket, I assisted the kids in resolving the situation by proposing them a turn taking timer. This supported the principle in the ECA Code of Ethics of establishing cooperation and respect among children (Early Childhood Australia, 2016).

 

Professional Reflection: The sandpit play of today will aid in strengthening the point that open materials in play tend to embrace creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving. I understood that guiding questions are useful to scaffold ideas without giving them or controlling the play but giving room to ideas of the children. In the future, I would prefer to provide measuring cups and rulers in order to extend mathematic concepts.