14th August 2012

Pram Rides On The Agenda Today!

Sometimes as a teacher, one of the most challenging things that I find is reflecting in action, while attempting to cater for the many needs of children- especially while stuck inside on a rainy day.
What is amazing is seeing the children doing the same- thinking and reflecting in action. Making do with the resources they have and the space they have, and creating their own fun and learning. Today the fun and exploration was from a pram tucked away in the corner. And on realising that it was there, 'T' (3 years old) promptly brought it out of hiding, and immediately children were lining up for a ride or a turn to push.

This quick thinking and imagination on their behalf meant that they took control of their learning by extending on the ideas that they already had around the use of prams. Ministry of Education (1996) states that "...using many materials for different purposes enables children to recognise that different technologies may be used in various places and settings (p.95). Once the children had lost interest in their pram rides, 'T' then proceeded to load it up with blocks, transporting them from the block area on the deck, to the mat area inside. This was an example of her utilising the pram for another purpose, without any prompting or encouragement from others.

Initially, the learning and development that I noticed happening was in the form of social skills- through taking turns, role modelling 'mum' or 'dad' or the 'baby', compromising on the route that the pram would be pushed around the centre and decking, as well as problem solving when they were faced with a barrier in their path.

Although this brilliant piece of technology was created to transport babies around, today it also aided in the gross motor skills of our children. As we don't have a decent amount of space within our centre to effectively extend and challenge the children's gross motor skills, we have to find ways to let them exert their energy positively, stretch their muscles, and develop fundamental movement skills (Sanders, 2002).

From playing with this piece of technology, they were able to push and pull each other up and down the ramp, climb into and out of the pram, and also stand on front foot rest and balance while another child was being pushed around. These concepts are just a few that are very important within a child's physical development, and also with the development of their gross motor skills (Greenfield, 2007; Gonzalez-Mena, 2008).

In terms of risk taking, sadly we don't have a variety of challenging equipment for the children to explore, and this is obvious to us in the way that the children use existing equipment. When they began to climb on the front of the pram and balance while it was being pushed, we identified a need for more risk taking opportunities within our setting (Greenfield, 2007). Again, much of this is beyond our reach as a centre, with barriers such as finances, space and council boundaries preventing us from addressing these issues.

Some realistic ways that we can extend on this learning is by providing more opportunities within our setting for the children to enjoy outdoor resources with wheels, such as trolleys, scooters, and small bikes.

Reference List

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Foundations of early childhood education: Teaching children n a diverse society. New York, United States: McGraw Hill

Greenfield, C. (2007). Outside is where we need to be: A guide to providing outdoor environments in early childhood settings. Manukau, New Zealand: Manukau Institute of Technology

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whariki: He whariki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media

Sanders, S. (2002). Active for life: Developmentally appropriate movement programs for young children (pp. 31 -41, 91). Washington D.C.: NAEYC. 

•