Enabling Environments: Learning Experiences - A world of difference

While play is an essential ingredient of childhood, so too are children’s early experiences in the world. Watching a child see and do something for the first time is one of the joys of working in early years. Something as trivial as seeing someone knit, dropping a pebble into water or feeding the ducks at the local park can fill children’s faces with fascination and later feed their imaginations.

Not only do early experiences form a background to children’s earliest memories, but they are also developmentally significant. In some ways, it could be argued that widening children’s worlds through experiences is one of the key roles of an early educator.

WHY EXPERIENCES MATTER

We know from neuroscientists that children’s brains are hungry for stimulation. Indeed, this is the case throughout our lives. What we touch, taste and see and what we talk about create a myriad of connections in our ever-changing brains. The term ‘neuroplasticity’ is used to describe the way that the brain is flexible, especially in early childhood. While the firing of neurons in response to stimulation is not visible, it is easy enough to see the effects of stimulation on children’s development in more tangible ways.

First, children who have had a wide range of experiences tend to have a lot to say. This is because as long as there is an adult on hand or another child, it is normal for children to want to communicate to others about what they are doing and seeing. This is because communication and language is in its earliest phase as a social and emotional activity – a joining together of a shared experience.

It is interesting too that some adults are better communicators when they are alongside children during an experience. Interactions tend to be lengthier rather than fleeting. Adults often make more meaningful comments and find it easier to follow a child’s lead. This is perhaps not surprising, as traditionally adults were rarely involved with children’s play apart from as babies or toddlers.

Interestingly, a wide range of experiences also seems to help children build a wider vocabulary. This is because every new experience will open the doors to specific words. A child who has cooked using an egg in the mixture is likely to learn and use the word ‘cracked’, while a child who has stroked a guide dog may talk about its ‘coat’ rather than its fur.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Children who have had a range of experiences also benefit cognitively. This is because they can make increasingly complex connections between what they have done and any new information. We can see this in the way that children notice similarities in objects and events – for example, ‘That squirrel is like the one that took our bird food away.’

It is fascinating also to see the way that children make connections through their play, so a child who has been involved in preparing a picnic might pretend to pack a hamper in the home corner.

INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCES

Over the past few years, many early years settings have chosen to plan mainly around children’s interests. While this is laudable as an approach, it does rely on children having a wide range of experiences from which they can draw on. This is not a problem for some children whose parents or family members take them far and wide and who involve them in the day-to-day business of running a home.

These are the ‘lucky’ children who are taken to the park, the workshop at the local museum or are made a part of the decision-making over whether to buy satsumas or clementines while at the supermarket. These are the children who come into the setting bursting with knowledge and a desire to play out what they have seen and done.

The problem comes for those children who do not have this diversity of experience in their lives. Disadvantage in terms of education comes in all shapes and forms. For some families, it may be that the cost of transport is a barrier, while for others it may be that time or opportunity is limited. For these children, and indeed for all children, you may want to consider planning a range of experiences for them during their time with you.

This could be seen as a journey whereby you think about what children may not have the opportunity to do or see, and then plan for it. In some early years settings, this might mean creating a plan for experiences over a two-year period, while in other settings it might mean a plan for a few months.

DEVISING A PLAN

There are many starting points to creating a long-term plan for experiences. It can be useful to sit down with colleagues and discuss what you feel is important for children in your area to experience, as well as what they are already getting. When you do this, you might find that you reflect on your own childhood or experience of being a parent.

Luckily, there is no right or wrong as every positive experience however small will reap its own reward. Indeed, some of the low-cost, low-tech experiences are often the ones that children often remember. Shining brass or deadheading a flowering plant may seem banal, but for children not used to such things, they can be exciting experiences.

Dividing experiences into categories can be a helpful way of working:

Outings

What is available for children to see and do within your local area? For example, a library, museum, canal or pet shop.

Visitors

Who could come in to the setting to show the children how to do something? For example, a musician, optician or artist.

Outdoors

What outdoor experiences might children benefit from? For example, planting, bird-feeding, helping with a bonfire or a barbecue.

Indoors

What indoor tasks can children become involved in? For example, preparing meals, wrapping parcels or feeding a pet.

BUILDING ON EXPERIENCES

One of the great things about providing children with a wide range of experiences is watching how they incorporate their new-found knowledge into a host of child-initiated activities. For instance, children who have visited a library might start to role-play ‘libraries’ in the book area, while children who watched someone play the drums might start to beat out rhythms.

We can help children to build on from an experience in many ways. This might include taking photographs, bringing in appropriate props and resources to enrich their play, and also creating stories and books together. We should also look for ways of sharing and involving parents in their children’s latest adventures.

If we focus on outings, for example, on the ordinary and local, parents will often hear comments from their child about what they have done, or maybe feel that they can join in. In the same way, parents or grandparents may be at the start of the adventure as we encourage them to share their talents.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Look out for the first article in Penny Tassoni’s new series on ‘essential learning experiences’ in Nursery World on 23 January. Part our monthly EYFS Activities pullout, the series will set out the importance of particular experiences and how to build on them to improve the learning outcomes of young children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Part 1 will look at the learning delights of cooking.

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