Blog - Play Sense ECD

Play For The Future

playsense — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 02:04:10 +0000

Looking into a crystal ball, would be great to see the jobs of the future. And what would these be? The only real clues we have is that those jobs are unlikely to be ones that can be automated – if a computer, robot or artificial intelligence can do it, your child won’t be needed to do it. The other sure thing is a flexible minds and adaptability will be strengths that will come in handy!

Google recently conducted recruitment research called Project Oxygen to define the top 8 criteria needed to succeed at Google. This research gives us a clue as to what we need to foster in our children. And guess what! It’s not SKILLS – in fact the lowest of 8 criteria that Google look for is a Skill – STEM skills[1] – all other 7 criteria are SOFT SKILLS!

Soft skills are those intangible strengths that we need to foster in toddlers to set them up for success, happiness and lifelong learning. Here are the 5 Soft skills that Play Sense prioritizes (and the overlap with Google’s findings is incredible!):

Collaboration – the ability to understand one’s own mind, the mind of another and make connections with other human beings is critical in the work world. For the two-year-old, this is best fostered in small group settings. When leaving home for the first time, your child should experience socialization in a protected and nurturing environment. This beds down the foundation for a collaborative mindset.
Creativity – the ability to create something out of nothing, to envisage an end product and plan the steps to get there are critical to a creative mind set. Simple toys, free play and imaginary play lay the foundations for life long creativity.
Self-Regulation – the ability to manage strong emotions, create a balanced response to changes in the world and to moderate one’s own behaviour is a vital part of learning and success. The only way a young child learns self-regulation of strong feelings and overwhelming behaviours is in the context of loving, empathic relationships. As parents and teachers, we need to be co-regulators – facilitating the development of self-regulation
Executive function – the CEO of the brain – executive function plans the way to achieve something, weighing up all resources at one’s disposal. Executive function activates the plan, reassesses as one goes along and changes direction should the need arise. This mental flexibility and ability to see the bigger picture as well as the finer details is a critical soft skill. It is wonderfully developed as little ones embark on free play and imaginary games.
Super Senses – the motivation, will and drive to learn, be challenged and the spark to engage are what we call the Super Senses – intangible soft skills that drive a child to master his world and develop a lifelong love for learning. Every education opportunity should nurture this magic quality. In the young child, play is the secret to igniting this fire.

Play is the best way to develop these 5 Soft Skills.

Do not prioritize skill development too young.

Avoid overscheduling young children in formal skill-based education and extramural programs. Above all remember Play holds the Key!

[1] STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

The post Play For The Future first appeared on Play Sense ECD.

The Importance Of Supporting Relationships And Attachment In The Early Years

playsense — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 01:32:56 +0000

WRITTEN BY: Antoinette Horrell

We are born to connect. As human beings we are relational, and we need biological, emotional and psychological connection with others.

We learn how to connect and create the patterns we form during our infancy and early childhood years.

These patterns and experiences become embodied in us and become the way we understand how the world and people work. Such early experiences with our primary caregivers teach us what to expect throughout life and how to build our relationships with everyone. The child that has developed a secure attachment pattern (from a close connection to his mother or father) has learned that his emotional needs will be met and then as an adult, he finds it relatively easy to form close friendships and doesn’t worry about rejection or exclusion.

Attachment is the relationship that parents and babies share together. It is when you see a baby look at their parent and they catch each other’s eyes in a wonderful gaze: the parent smiles and the baby smiles and then the parent kisses and the baby coos. Or, when an infant cry to tell their mother they are hungry, and she picks up the baby and provides a warm cozy snuggle and the baby is satiated with a full heart and belly.

This is the dance that creates the framework for the interactions that we have our whole lives and how we understand love. Child psychiatrist Dr Kaylene Henderson explains that when your child has a secure attachment to you, he is able to use you as a secure base from which to venture out, explore the world and his place in it. (A Dose of Awesomeness- Understanding Attachment).

When toddlers first attend playgroups it is important that teachers use a form of “intentional teaching” to ensure that the young children are supported and loved and feel seen and heard during their time at school and that the developing feeling of secure attachment is maintained and never threatened. In this way, the teacher’s interaction with the child must be closely observed – direct responses are incredibly important, so is their body language, choice of words, facial expressions, and actions need to be closely monitored and used appropriately to accurately express what is intended.

The children should feel safe and secure and have no difficulty understanding what is happening and why scenarios play out in the way that they do. The teacher becomes a role model to demonstrate effective behaviours – to support the children in understanding each situation that they find themselves in and teach them how to respond appropriately.
As an extension of the home environment, the playgroup supports this developing secure attachment and enables young children to build the vital, strong foundations, enabling them to create positive, adaptive, trusting relationships with people throughout their whole lives.

This is achieved by the teacher adapting some important practices:

Comforting the child when they are physically hurt, ill, upset, frightened or lonely, and not shaming them for their feelings.
Responding to and noticing the child at all times.
Giving the child a sense of trust in the world and the people in it.
Physically playing and sharing time, making eye contact, touching and sharing emotions.
Laughing and sharing warm, joyful experiences together.
Making them feel like they matter, and they are understood.
Trying to be as predictable and positive as possible when reacting to the child’s behaviour.
Never using fear tactics.

If we want to raise independent, secure, happy and positive children who later believe that they are lovable and worthy of support, that have a strong frustration tolerance, can tolerate ambiguity in relationships and work, can overcome the challenges that life throws in the way and who believe that the world is a safe and predictable place, then we need to focus on developing and maintaining healthy and secure attachment with our beautiful young children.

Our future depends on it.

References

Hal Shorey Ph.D. The Freedom to Change
Rebecca Eanes. Positive Parenting
L.R. Knost. The Gentle Parent
Gabor Mate Ph.D. Hold onto Your Kids

The post The Importance Of Supporting Relationships And Attachment In The Early Years first appeared on Play Sense ECD.

Observational Learning

playsense — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 01:07:34 +0000

CONTRIBUTOR: Jessica Coleman (BAppSocSci)

Child Counsellor & Play Sense Teacher (Constantia)

Observational Learning is exactly what it sounds like; learning through an observation of someone else performing a task… and your toddler is doing it right now!

As your toddler nears their second birthday, they will begin to exhibit tricky behaviours. This is their way of searching for autonomy as they become more aware of levels of control over their surroundings. What most parents underestimate is the rate at which a toddler can pick up behaviours from their loving family around them. In a study of 112 toddlers, the outstanding results were that toddlers were far more likely to learn behaviours through observation of a complete stranger who did not address them, compared to observing someone who was directly addressing the toddler. This study shows the impact that we have on toddlers, especially when we least think they are watching us.

Albert Bandura created the Theory of Observational Learning when he performed the ‘Bobo Doll Experiment’. The experiment consisted of a woman kicking and hitting a blow up doll in a movie, shown to young children. Thereafter, the children were sent off to a playground with replica blow up dolls placed in various positions. As you have guessed, the children reacted in the same manner as the woman; they exhibited aggressive behaviour towards the blow up dolls! The shocking fact is that it goes against what we have learnt about reward based negative behaviours as there was no reward offered to the children throughout the duration of the study.

If we look at the reverse of this case study; during Vet Theme in my class at Play Sense Constantia, we incorporated caring for our ‘sick animals’ during pretend play. We have since further extended this learning activity to our everyday school life where we use our gentle, vet hands to show love and affection to our peers. This is a really great way to use your little one’s rapidly growing imagination as a tool for positive observational learning.

Now, we all need to remember that we are human beings and we cannot possibly be on top of things 100% of the time, however, it is important to remember the effect that we have on our children and consistency between what we say and what we do will help in this manner.

References

Shimpi, P., Akhtar, N., & Moore, C. (2013). Toddlers’ imitative Learning in interactive and observational contexts: the role of age and familiarity of the model. Retrieved April 2018 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23896415

Weiten, W. (2016). Psychology Themes and Variations. 2nd South African Edition. Cenage Learning:UK

The post Observational Learning first appeared on Play Sense ECD.

How To Start A Play Group From Home

playsense — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 16:58:25 +0000

Are you dreaming of opening your own play group but feel overwhelmed at the thought of doing it all alone? Contact us for more about Play Sense franchise opportunities and how we support you from start-up to success.

Starting a play group or micro-playschool from home can be an extremely rewarding experience. As a small business owner, you have the benefit of better work-life balance along with the gratification that comes with teaching and shaping little minds. In this blog, we share our essential checklist of everything you need to consider to run a successful play school from home.

The right space

Working from home is a great way to generate income from one of your biggest assets. You will need a space that is at least 3m X 4m, and it could be inside the home (lounge, dining or sunroom) or outside the living space in a cottage or converted garage. Remember that the space itself doesn’t need to be very fancy or even entirely dedicated to your play group – just make sure it’s big and easy enough to move furniture out of the way if that is what you plan on doing every day.

If you don’t have adequate space in your own home, consider running your playschool from the home of one of the parents who attend your group. It’s a great way to keep overheads low and creates a warm, nurturing environment where little ones can safely play and learn.

Safety first

Keeping everyone safe is of utmost importance and gives you peace of mind so that you can be in the moment with the children in your care. Consider practical safety measures for the physical space such as controlled access, pool covers and fencing, animals in the home, stairs, and food allergies.

But safety is a broad heading that encompasses insurance and legal cover, as well as meeting criteria and protocols set out by government. These can be complicated to navigate so it is a good idea to enlist the help of an experienced individual or a business such as Play Sense who take care of insurance, legal and government compliance for you.

The great outdoors

Play schools need room to play! And children inherently love nature and the outdoors. You will need an outside space that is safe, secure, and spacious. It doesn’t have to be a huge garden but enough to comfortably accommodate up to 6 little ones and play equipment such as a jungle gym.

Play gyms are a great addition to any play group – not only do they ignite the imagination in children, it’s also a great way to encourage the development of essential gross motor skills, spatial awareness and movement in children. Be sure to include a play gym in your garden space for little ones to explore and enjoy.

Must-have equipment

Speaking of play gyms, every play group needs toys for little ones to play with and various supplies for activities. Make a list of essential equipment, think about things like books, blocks, musical instruments, quality toys, supplies for sensory play and art activities and more. Think about the program and what you will be teaching every day – what are the different types of play and themes you will need to plan for? Children love to dress up – how can you incorporate imaginary play into your program and what do you need for a dress up box?

At Play Sense, we provide all the equipment (complete with jungle gym!) you need to create a rich, stimulating environment for little ones to play and learn. The equipment is carefully selected to compliment the play-based curriculum, so you have everything you need, including lesson plans, to prep for the day/week without any fuss. It’s another way that having an experienced partner in your business can help you open your play group doors quicker, and without onerous planning, purchasing and/or waste.

Marketing

Happy children coming to play group every day is an important mark of a successful play group. Do you have a plan in place to reach moms and dads of little ones and invite them to join your group? Have you thought about branding, advertising, networking, and everything else that comes with running a profitable business?

As a Play Sense teacher, you have full marketing and business admin support from an experienced team who wants to help you succeed. Not only do we provide training, equipment, and operational support, we market your business so you can fill your group and get on with doing more of what you love – teaching!

At Play Sense we believe that we are offering the best of both worlds to qualified ECD teachers and professionals who want to start their own play schools. We provide the structure and 360° support that you need for your business to thrive so that you can reap the rewards of better earnings, better work-life balance, and more gratification as an exceptional teacher. Whether you want to start a play group or have an existing play group, our proven franchise model fast tracks your success as a business owner. Over 50 teachers and ECD professionals have started their own micro-playschools with Play Sense without looking back.

For more information, watch our recent webinar about how Play Sense is re-imagining Early Childhood Development and Education.

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