Zombies, facepaint, pretend play and chase catch play is big with the children I work with and it seems we are moaning painted heros and villians with great imaginations these days.
Today I was blown away with the level of realism with the face painting one of the teachers had engaged in with and alongside the children, really bringing their imaginations alive.
The first child I saw with their face paint made me think
Oh my god theres been an accident in the centre, why have I not been notified.
I only reacted like this because of my new role as a manager of the centre and the manager is to be informed, a long with the rest of the teaching team of any accidents and incidents in the centre on the day. I was also shocked on first sight because the paint looked so real. My second thought was does this child need comfort and attention, I quickly evaluated that this was not so because they were in role playing at a zombie doggie part in their imaginary play, together with others spread out around the centre. My third thought disappeared just as quickly, which was contacting the parents after investigating the scene with the team.
Oh the relief
MY REACTION
This reaction led me to reflect on my thinking and why I reacted liked this.
I had so many questions
How would a parent react when they first see their child and would they value and appropriate the actions of the teachers who were following the interest of their child/ren?
As a teacher professinally I see the value in the building of relationships, responding to childrens interest, valuing the child’s voice through extending and encouraging this play, and viewing spontaneous play as a meaningful way of learning. But, as a parent of two child I started thinking about how shocking and frightening it could appear if you didnt know the content of the day.
And I was right on the money with this innate response to nurture, because one parent gasped and went into a protective mode when they first saw their child – luckly it was my sister in law and she laughed at herself then congratulated the person responsible.
Reflect even deeper
This reaction of a parent made my think.
HOW DOES THIS RELISTIC IMAGINATIVE PLAY LOOK LIKE FROM THOSES LOOKING OVER THE FENCE AND HOW DOES IT LINK TO OUR CURRICULUM TE WHARIKI.
We are seen to be providing a safe and secure environment for the tamariki in our community. Looking in and seeing children playing with bloody scrapped marks on their faces doesnt reflect this image.
IS THIS APPROPRIATE IN AN EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
Now dont get me wrong, I was the driving force this time last year reseaching and supporting the interest of weapon play in our centre. Moving away from a
no
environment to a safe
yes we can do that
environment – with expectations that were shared, reviewed and evaluated along with the child their families and teachers
We have got to remember as teachers that we are here to extend, encourage and support the childrens evolving strengths and interest. This face painting was harmless and created a buzz. A sense of fun and delight for the children and teachers involved. They are exposed to these themes at home through multi media, older siblings and from the influences of their friends.
The children are sharing common interests, exchanging ideas and views, expressing themselves, evaluating their play, appreciating different point of views when they listen to others, play different roles, displaying leadership roles and taking care to not harm themselves and others. And I could name much more of the valued learning that this experience provided for the group of children. I even observed children taking risk in these roles that they wouldnt have with out their armour (the face paint). New children to the centre were entering play and initiating play as well for the first time.
I
believe by inspiring children to be who ever they chose to be today day empowered individuals to display confidence in themselves and supported their thinking about themselves and their own self image – there were no victims displayed here just some very creative and inspiring heros (and their artistry to show case)
This play and valuable learning opportunity could have easily been lost if I didn’t first stop, looked and listened
Im going to share my thinking with the teaching team to gain different perspectives and there thinking. Along with poses a few questions to our whanau about how they feel and view this play.
I think in the future we could document this play on the spot. Communicate our wow moments of the day through our reflective communication practises for our parents. And, continue to ensure research is done to ensure we are all, as a team fully informed when making choices to extend learning in different directions.
Im hoping those looking in from over the fence evaluate our learning environment through the indications of observing – happy children, happy teachers and smiling faces who are involved and engaged.
I BELIEVE OUR ENVIRONMENT TO BE SAFE AND SECURE BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL THE RIGHT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. ALONG WITH TEACHERS THAT GENUINLY LOVE AND CARE FOR THE CHILDREN WE HAVE THE HONOUR TO NURTURE AND GROW EVERYDAY TOGETHER WITH THEIR BEAUTIFUL WHANAU.
On reflection - in a world of thought and action 