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Global Be Well Day in the Early Years. Acknowledgements. With sincere and grateful thanks to Rachael Symes, Head of Early Years, Australian International School, Singapore, for putting together all the Early Years slides for Global Be Well Day. Intent.
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Acknowledgements With sincere and grateful thanks to Rachael Symes, Head of Early Years, Australian International School, Singapore, for putting together all the Early Years slides for Global Be Well Day.
Intent • The intent of the following slides, is for the suggested activities and the ‘why’ behind offering Early Years children these experiences, to be used as a resource for Cognita Early Years Educators. • The ‘why’ is to help keep our parent body informed of the benefits of having a holistic and balanced educational approach to ensure the ongoing and long term benefits of mental and physical well-being. Research shows that the single most important factor in education is the Early Childhood Educator. “The Early Childhood Educator is the secret to the prosperity of society. The opportunity that the educator has to lay the trajectory to a child’s pathway is huge.” Dr Stuart Shanker
Legacy • After the initial GBWD launch the legacy will be for Cognita to release educational Early Years pieces. • Schools can then embed these educational Early Years pieces into their day-to-day practice. • Our end goal for all students who have experienced a Cognita Education is to have a well developed character with a strong sense of ‘grit and resilience’. Ultimately leading to optimal potential for mental wellbeing in adulthood.
The 100 Languages - (Reggio inspired approach) Imagine believing that children have the ability to express themselves in more than one way. Now times that by 100! Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Approach, describes the "infinite ways that children can express, explore, and connect their thoughts, feelings and imaginings." These languages (the Hundred Languages of Children) are symbolic and are open to the endless potentials in children. They believe in the potential of a child's ability to wonder. It is the belief that there are "multiple ways of seeing and multiple ways of being."
GBWD linked to Unit of Inquiry: How We Express Ourselves • Transdisciplinary Theme - An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetics. Central Ideas for our 3 and 4 year old programs • P4: Creatively using tools and materials helps people to express their ideas and feelings • P3: Artist explore and use a variety of materials to create (honouring the 100 languages of children)
Transient Art - Healthy Lifestyle “Art takes nature as its model.” Aristotle • It allows you to explore and experiment with patterns and shapes, using materials from the natural environment • The art can be created where ever you like and with whatever materials inspire you. • We create a frame from rocks, sticks or tape to define a space for our artwork • You can mix it up by adding man made materials such as plastic or cardboard to your art - these can be recycled over and over again • It is about the process not the product - the wind might come and blow the art away so remember to get a photo of your masterpiece before the storm
Den Building - Healthy Lifestyle What do we learn through Den Building? • Creativity and problem solving skills – use your imagination and build your own idea from scratch. Work out how different materials can fit together to create the best den. • The importance of a private space – create your own private world inside your den – it might be a secret cave, a house or a pirate ship! • Team working skills – work with your friends to build your den. Giving everyone different roles and responsibilities gets the job done quickly • Experiencing the outdoors – when you’re collecting the bits and pieces for your den, take a while to appreciate the wonderful nature around you • Most importantly...den building is LOTS OF FUN!
Nature - Healthy Lifestyle A Cognita Education comes to life through a sequenced and challenging Outdoor Education curriculum that equips our students with a wide range of skills, nurtures a connection to nature, and develops agency and resilience.
In Tune with Nature Health and Wellbeing. Outdoor education however, is not just extended expeditions in the wilderness, although these are some of the most impactful experiences; OE can be short experiences which take students out in natural environments to bare out the content which is being taught in the classroom. Accessible to all students from Early Years to Secondary, teaching in the outdoors engages students with relevant, hands on exemplars for understanding the natural world around them. The value of spending time in nature is well understood for providing opportunity for wellbeing, health and “tech-detox” (Atchley, Strayer, & Atchley; 2012) and for students to disconnect from devices to connect with themselves and each other but the value does not stop there. Outdoor Education also provides an opportunity for Cognita Schools to address the moral imperative for opportunities to “nurture a connection to nature”. Cognita Outdoor Education Curriculum
Nature: There are no garden mistakes, only experiments. Activity: Having soil/ seeds and germination seedling trays/ spades/rocks • Encourage the learners to play with the soil and then plant their own seeds. Having the area setup as a nursery would create a calming environment.
Children learn from growing things: • Responsibility – from caring for plants • Understanding – as they learn about cause and effect (for example, plants die without water, weeds compete with plants) • Self-confidence – from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown • Love of nature – a chance to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place • Reasoning and discovery – learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, nutrition and simple construction • Physical activity – doing something fun and productive • Cooperation – including shared play activity and teamwork • Creativity – finding new and exciting ways to grow food • Nutrition – learning about where fresh food comes from.
Nature: Exploring fruits and vegetables with our senses Activity: Setting up a variety of fruits/ vegetables/ clip boards/ crayons/ chopping boards/ glass bowls • Encouraging the learners to peel/ feel/ touch and smell the fruits. Having an adult talk about the benefits of each food in an engaging way would encourage the learners to explore more. This area could be set up as a juice bar where the children could experiment with texture and colour.
Exploring fruits and vegetables with our senses • Eating and preparing foods can be a great sensory experience for children and a fun learning opportunity. • Children are “hands-on” learners. They learn by exploring and manipulating objects in their environment using the five senses: seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, and hearing. Eating and preparing foods can be a great sensory experience for children and a fun learning opportunity. • Because of their age and fine motor skills, infants and toddlers use their fingers to eat, and meals easily become sensory activities! Especially when trying foods for the first time, they often “play” with foods – squishing food, pushing it around, licking, smelling, and finally tasting it. For preschoolers, the expectation at mealtimes is to develop social and cultural meal skills, and “playing” with food is discouraged. Yet, it’s still natural for preschoolers to enjoy the sensory properties of foods.
