The Early Years is often seen by many as a place where children play and teachers simply watch over their pupils whilst sipping a cup of tea. As Early Years teachers we are often told, “You are so lucky to be teaching Early Years, all you do is play!” This perception is completely TRUE! Contrary to popular belief, Early Years teachers have a responsibility to provide their pupils with opportunities to learn and build lifelong skills; the SECRET to our success is play.
Learning through play has become the norm in most successful Early Years settings, and its philosophy is rooted in the belief that children are naturally curious. When children are given a variety of opportunities and resources they will play and through that play they will learn valuable skills that will last a lifetime.
Through supported and guided play children learn to problem solve, take turns, question the world around them and learn valuable life skills such as empathy, friendship and resilience. To the untrained eye an Early Years setting may seem chaotic however there is method in our madness! An EYFS teacher’s role is to guide and extend children’s play through questioning, provide a wide variety of opportunities for learning based on the children’s interests and provide a safe space for children to make mistakes and learn from them.
Although Literacy and Numeracy are certainly taught in Early Years classrooms, the concepts are always embedded through the games and provision that is on offer to the children. Keeping children engaged is of the upmost importance because if there is no engagement there will be no playing and if there is no playing there will be no learning.
EYFS teachers may often appear to be rather muddled, confused and continually bewildered as they can frequently be overheard asking the children in their class, “I wonder why…”, “I wonder what would happen if …”, “I wonder how …..” These “Wondering” teachable moments of child centred and child led leading through play lead to days of experimentation, exploration, discovery and Wow Moments!
So the next time an Early Years child tells you all they did at School was play all day, give a knowing smile as your child’s day will have been jam packed full with those precious, engaging and impactful moments of awe and wonder!
Mr A Dhanji
Early Years Teacher
