Numeracy and Literacy in Life and Play

I often wonder why we over complicate and de-value the wonders of learning in the early years and how we have become so far removed from the true and holistic, contextual needs of our children.

I believe that authentic learning requires context and interest. That we should start first with hands on experiences and materials. In our early years this means starting with play and the beauty of play is that it is truely cross-curricular, rich in whole child and whole world learning opportunities. Play is learning gold! 

As a Primary School Teacher moving into a Kindergarten Teacher's role, it has been a massive shift in my own pedagogy to accept that as an adult, our knowledge is not always important to other individuals. It is important to me because it is mine. Life and learning is about connections. We learn and create our own knowledge through the connections with self, others and our environment. Our children have their own connections to make, my role is to ensure they are supported, not told what direction they must travel in.

How does this connect to literacy and numeracy in life and in play? As adults we take for granted that literacy and numeracy is everywhere. As adults we take for granted how powerful conscious conversations with our children are. As adults we take for granted what little and integral steps we took, as children, while our own minds expanded and developed, in order to make sense of our own growing world.

The most foundation emergence of literacy is the oral language. The telling and sharing of stories. Telling stories, sharing conscious conversations, reading stories are all very valuable experiences to share with our children. Children love their names. Names are so very important and it is here where we most often begin to identify letters and see an urge to write. Encouraging children to use their name as much as possible and in as many authentic ways as possible is huge here. Naming art works, using name cards to mark unfinished work. Using place cards for table settings.

Numeracy, is all around us as well. In recipes, in lists for the supermarket, in how many seconds it takes for the traffic lights to turn green, in numbers on the letter boxes, in the days we count down until our birthdays, In how many blocks I have used for this tower or tracks in my rail way.

Daily, we count how many children are in our Kindergarten room. Girls and boys and then how many altogether. We then use this knowledge to decide how many tables we need to set and how many plates we need. When we sit down at a table with play dough; we count how many children have joined us and then decide how many pieces the play dough must then be separated into. When baking, children scour the recipe for numbers to identify. We measure out paints and count how many jars need refilling, we count how many children need paint brushes and how many children might have to wait for a turn. 

All learning must have context and purpose before it can become meaningful.

On an emotional level, all experiences have the potential to create an emotional memory or imprint. I remember fondly of moments snuggled up into my Mum or Dad’s shoulder listening to a story. Moments of closeness, like this, shared with loved ones not only supports understandings and foundation pathways, they also help to foster a love for learning, an enjoyment which cannot be under-valued. 

Yes, we have wonderful applications on our phones and ipads. Yes, we can use flash cards and force feed our children information, regardless of readiness, interest or frustrations, however, what is the the point when the learning has no heart. We need context, we need purpose, we need readiness and interest. 

Without these, information does not become lived knowledge wrapped in understanding, it just remains information. The later is not the most fabulous foundation to then be expected to hold up all future learning.

Lego Play...at the table so his little brother can't eat it

Sorting lids...followed by a "who can pick up the most" competition with Jarome when it comes time to pack them up.

Hunting for sticks...that are the right length for a perfect ninja sword

Blowing and counting bubbles