Reggio and Play Based Learning

Our teaching and learning philosophy in LC2 (and across Hobsonville Point Primary) is fostered through our commitment to make learning authentic, purposeful, engaging and enjoyable for all of our students. We build strong relationships with our colleagues and our students to ensure we honour who we all are, and what we all bring to our LC2 whānau. 

Two approaches that inform our practice are Reggio Emilia and Play Based Learning. 

Reggio Emilia
The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education which values the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it.

Reggio sees the environment as the third teacher and as such, recognises its potential to inspire children. An environment filled with natural light, order and beauty. Open spaces free from clutter, where every material is considered for its purpose, every corner is ever-evolving to encourage children to delve deeper and deeper into their interests.

The space encourages collaboration, communication and exploration. The space respects children as capable by providing them with authentic materials & tools. The space is cared for by the children and the adults.

Play Based Learning
Play Based Learning is just as it sounds: students learn through play. Deliberate acts of teaching are intertwined through observation, questioning and by posing provocations that spark student's interests and develop skills. 

Play is an essential part of a child’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. For many teachers and parents ‘play’ has attracted a negative ‘time wasting’ connotation but in reality play is a vital part of every child’s development.  It allows them to test ideas, work through uncertainties, explore social interactions  and make sense of the world around them.  Play has no predetermined outcome or time limit.  It is not about an end product but about a process.  It’s the exploration of ideas that is crucial.  Play is children’s work.

Young children’s play allows them to explore, identify, negotiate, take risks and create meaning. The intellectual and cognitive benefits of playing have been well documented. Children who engage in quality play experiences are more likely to have well-developed memory skills, language development, and are able to regulate their behaviour, leading to enhanced school adjustment and academic learning (Bodrova & Leong, 2005).

What's been happening in LC2?

Here are some learning snapshots from LC2 over the past few weeks.

Self Portraits

Identity can be seen through variety of lenses. Our focus of identity encompasses a wide variety of things that make us unique.  For some,  it was returning back from the school holidays; re-establishing and re-connecting, whilst others who are new are searching for the connection to belong to our school and within LC2.   Expressing ourselves through drawings have empowered the students to delve deeper into who they are, and how they perceive themselves in picture form.  We have prompted children with simple provocations of mirrors that help them to revisit, and reflect on how they see themselves & most importantly celebrating who they are.

Clay offers students to continue to explore hands on tactical experiences with a natural substance. 

Language & Social Science:  This space is small and intimate, children use this space to identify with this substance as individuals and also supports a small group of learners together.  Here they are able to learn from one another as they enter into a dialogue with the material.  

Science:  Children are exposed to one of the many natural elements of the world. Clay comes from the earth: ancient, organic, substantial.  Discovering concepts of smooth, cold, wet, hard, grainy as they explore further with clay.

Mathematical:  Children experience a substance that encourages their literacy skills.  Children become familiar with the symbols as they mould the clay, they begin to understand concepts of weight, mass & textures as they continue to shape and mould.  Children develop an awareness of how clay can form different sizes of shapes, and begin to compare from experience to experience.

Health & Physical Well-being:  Children are able to express through hands on experience, clay requires muscle, as the children begin to discover and extend skills of kneading, poking, pinching, squeezing these are all important skills that they will need to continue developing their gross and fine motor skills – which will help with their writing skills in years to come.

Mirrors are used to support children to establish and develop the concepts of a reflective surface through self-exploration of themselves and of their environment.

Language & Social Sciences:  This area offers opportunities to further explore self-awareness amongst the individuals and small group learning experiences.  A place where the children are able to communicate with one another, this becomes a great observational tool for themselves and of their environment. 

Mathematics:  Provides young children with another perspective of vision, angles of dimensions.  An area, which supports and develops the early introduction into mathematical concepts.

Hauora

Learning to self manage ourselves can be seen through a variety of  ways.  As we focus on the importance of how we can use hauora to help support our learning in LC 2.  We have been exploring what is kindness, and how to be kind.  We remind our learners that this also extends to the kindness of our bodies & mind.  We have indulged in breathing techniques & strategies, and yoga.  Watch this space!

Te Reo Māori

Every Wednesday morning LC2 spends some time with Matua Araz who leads our bicultural journey through Te Reo Māori and Kapahaka. We look forward to seeing the progression of learning and understanding. During week 1 we explored the concept of a mihi. We all had a turn at standing up the front and introducing ourselves in korero Māori.

Ko (your name) toku ingoa.

E (age, in māori) oku tau.

Learning Areas in LC2

You may have noticed the different learning areas created throughout Learning Common 2. We believe the environment is the third teacher and should support, provoke and inspire the children's thinking and learning. These areas evolve to reflect our current learning focus. This blog and our Learning Journey Wall (in the hallway outside LC2) will be two places you can check for updates about the learning happening in LC2. You'll also see our learning documented in photos and explanations around the common. Please use these as prompts to talk with your child about what they have been doing. 

Atelier 

Exploring a variety of expressive mediums fosters imagination, creativity & wonderment of the world. A space to discover how learners are able to interpret through materials and articulate their own ideas.

Construction Area
                                                     

With an emphasis on recycled and natural materials as one of our features within this space, we have observed the diverse group of learners using this learning area to explore.

The open ended possibilities of these materials have enabled students to reuse these for more than one purpose.  In this learning space students will further explore Mathematics, Science & Social Science concepts in non-traditional learning.

So far, this space has been used for problem solving, negotiation of space and materials, small group interactions, conversations, measuring height, volume, balancing, organising and classification.

Identity is our current focus topic, and we are beginning to see just how much the Hobsonville Point development is influencing ideas of how the small groups are planning and creating within their everyday play.

Light - as a provocation in the classroom where the children come together to explore array of materials in collaboration.

Language & Mathematics:  A working space supporting children through the materials. Using language to promote meaningful experiences.  Where children are exposed to a variety of shapes, sizes, properties of volume capacity that they are working with and within, counting objects, these are all in-conjunction with teachers supporting this with language identification in order for children to gain a clear understanding and comprehension of the learning that is happening.

Science & Technology:  We encourage possibilities of exploring transparent and coloured objects against the light – offering opportunities to make comparisons from one material to another.

Social Sciences:  This space promotes and enriches small group learning together.  Making comparison with other perspectives and adding to their own pre-existing knowledge.

Books support children’s literacy within our classroom.  This area offers many learning possibilities within the curriculum. 

Language & Social Sciences:  Through teacher interactions which help to promote meaningful experiences for children throughout the day. An emphasis on reading stories and promoting small group experiences to further support the rich love of communication. 

Mathematics:  Children continue to recognise familiar symbols through pictures and text.

Mathematical resources continue to support and foster the learners through their learning.  This area offers many learning possibilities within the curriculum. Problem solving with open ended materials & traditional resources encourages the rich learning of how objects have meaning in context for students. This area supports the children’s ability to make sense of how these works together, extending and developing skills within our curriculum

Language & Social Sciences:  A space to share with others collaboratively and learning alongside others.  Sharing ideas, challenging theories through the many tools of communication.

Mathematics:  These experiences continue to offer the opportunity for children to become more familiar with shapes, exploring volume, estimating space needed, sorting, balancing & classification of objects.

The Science area displays recycled, man-made and natural elements for the children to explore the vast array of gifts of Papatuanuku.  As the children explore these materials they develop their ideas and working theories of the wider world around them

Language & Social Sciences: Children discover learning together, elaborating on current knowledge of vocabulary making sense of their world as they make these connections with objects and words.

Science:  Children are beginning to work by de-compacting their working theories/ideas, and find ways to rediscover through their exploration.    

The family area is a place where the children are able to role-play, a place to gather, enjoy, and make connections from their home to school and of their wider community.  This is a place to explore learning concepts and learn together.

Language & Social Sciences:  This curriculum area supports and promotes children to be further exposed with the rich language that is promoted in the classroom from teacher to student, and student to student.  A place that fosters social gathering as a learning community.

Mathematics:  Children explore concepts of sorting and classification as they discover through the materials, students gain an awareness of mixing ingredients together – whether it is done with natural materials like sand and water, children gain a better understanding of components that mix, and measuring quantities needed to make their own recipes.