The Early Years Foundation Stage - Case Study Example

Play Activity observation with critical evaluation Introduction The Early Years Foundation Stage is an all-inclusive sta y scaffold that sets the standards of learning, development and concern of children from birth to about five years which is the end of the child’s reception year. It imperative that parents and teachers use EYFS as this will ensure their child receives a quality experience that will support their care, development and learning. With regards to the play activity, observation of the children’s development is intended for monitoring them through investigating on their cognitive and expressive progress (Department for children, school and families, 2008, p. 6) denotes that Early Years Foundation Stage has principles that can be put into practice that can help in learning and development of the child. We should consider the fact children develop in different ways and rates therefore, all areas of learning and development are interconnected and equally important. This paper intends to determine with the section of EYFS that will relate to the play activity and provide critical evaluation for the child’s (Tina) activity. It will also determine relevant theories that can be applied with this case study with relation to EYFS. Criteria Early Years Foundation Stage is made up of six areas that are essential in learning and development. Each of these areas helps the child in personal, social and emotional development. It entails dispositions and attitudes that are essential in building self confidence and self esteem. Play activities help in making relationships with other children. The aspects of learning and development help the child in communication and language literacy (Moss and Pence, 1994, p. 40). The child will have knowledge and understanding of the environment around him. This will aid in physical development as the child will be able to move while attaining body awareness. Ultimately, it will assist the child in creative development as they will be creative through responding to experiences through communication of ideas to his peers. Critically evaluating Tina’s activity, we realize that this play activity that was arranged by the class teachers. Under learning and development, play and exploration is a technique that the teachers used to help Tina receive a quality experience that will assist her in development and learning. They organized a play activity that mainly entailed foot painting. Tina had put on her tights and did not want to join her fellow classmates in the exercise. However, the teacher went and reassured her that it was alright and gave her the confidence to play. When she was told by her the teacher that her mother said it was ok. She later agreed to take part in the exercise and it is from this exercise that, the teachers were able to monitor how Tina was able to learn through play. Play and exploration help the children reflect on wide ranging activities, preoccupations and varied interests. During this play activity, it is evident that Tina learns at her highest level as this provides her with a variety of ideas that she can engage in. Tina plays with her peers with is important in her development as she will discover different ways of doing things (Whitebread, 1996, p. 211). This is evident as she dances where there a lot of paint has been poured. As the children start to play, they tend to express fears through reliving anxious experiences. This is evident when Tina is asked to remove her tights so that she can participate in foot painting. She refuses to do so but the teacher reassures her that her mother told them it was ok. Children learn through experience, Tina had to experience this play both physically and emotionally. She took off her tights and stepped on the red paint depicting physical activity. After stepping on the paint she started laughing, jumping and screaming with joy. She illustrated emotions as she was enjoying the play. Children may play by themselves or with others. Tina started by playing by herself when she asked her friends not to walk and jump like she was doing. Tina also plays with others as she asked her friend Katy, to come and join and dance with her. (DCSF, 2008, p. 38) believes that during the play activity, children can use their experience that they have and broaden them to build up concepts and ideas. The play activity that was organized wanted the children to step on paint and walking on the mural paper. Tina started by walking on the mural paper and then started jumping .She told her friends to jump like her. When the red paint on her feet was over, she stepped into the blue paint and asks her friend Katy to come and dance with her. It was dangerous to dance there but she liked it because it felt like jelly. The teacher found out the type of jelly she liked. It is from this interaction that another play activity, hand painting was organized. Tina learned a lot of things from this play activity. She was able to act independently when she refused to remove her tights as her mother told her not to do so in school. She had to be assured by the teacher that her mother told her it was ok. After putting paint on her foot she was keen to learn and found out things for herself. She told her friends not just to walk on the mural paper, but to jump. Tina was involved in learning as she gained the sense of adventure in this activity. She danced on top of the paint which seemed dangerous but, she liked it. She grew in confidence as she learned to make decisions based on thoughts arranged in a logical manner. She felt that the dance was interesting that why she called her friend. In this scenario, it is evident that she is developing communication skills that would help her in making relationships. The EYFS curriculum is based on four fundamental principles; includes a unique child, which is followed by positive relationships. The third principle enabling environments and lastly, learning and development. The last principle in the curriculum is the stage that Tina is currently. In a Unique child, Child development is paramount. (Moyles, 1998, p. 21) asserts that since young children are vulnerable, adults should take care of their physical and psychological well being. This is why the teachers had to ensure everybody’s safety during the play activity. Positive relationships entails respecting each other, warm and trusting relationships help to positively impact the child’s development and learning. The parents are the regarded as the most enduring educators. In school, the teachers act as the children’s parents and, ensure their safety. (Wilcock, 2007, p. 83) denotes that enabling environments help to support every child’s learnining and development. The play activity, foot painting helped Tina gain confidence to explore and learn things around her environment. This is a surrounding that should be an outdoor or indoor activity that is challenging yet safe. This environment also provides the perfect opportunity that can be used to observe the child in order to understand the child’s development. Learning and development is the last stage as the child will have the chance to play with ideas in different situations. Tina jumped and danced while the other just walked on the mural paper. Active learning involves children interacting with each other and with objects for a specific period. The play activity lasted for duration of fifteen minutes and in this duration they had discovered connections and better understanding of doing things. From the observation, there a lot of activities that can be related to EYFS. It can help a child in individual and shared emotional development. (Bruce, 1987, p. 52) recognizes that aspect of communication is imperative as it will help in making relationships. The child will later develop problem solving skills that will help him in future. This will help him in attaining knowledge of the environment he or she is in. Bodily development is also achieved after such an activity. This help in maintaining a good posture. Imaginative development can also be observed and, this can be developed so that the child can become creative. The theory that is applicable to this play activity is Piaget’s theory. Tina is in the formal- operational period. This is the fourth stage of cognitive development. When Tina notices that her paint is over, she shouts to the teacher to request her for more paint so that she can continue foot painting. She qualifies for a subject that is likely to make to the next stage which is the concrete- operational though, she is still in the formal- operation duration. Behavioral theories from Ivan Pavlov and John Watson are also applicable in this play activity. They regard development as a result of stimuli and reinforcement (Department for children, school and families, 2008, p. 19). They are considered as the inner thoughts that can help in child learning and development. Tina was able to tell her friends not just to walk but also jump. She called her friend to dance with her that they can both enjoy. The strength of this activity was to help Tina and other children to develop individual skill and ensure they are competent learners. It made the children to understand the essence of being independent and strong with the presence of secure relationships. The environment that this activity took place helps in extending the child’s development and learning skills. They develop and adopt different ways in all areas of learning and development at different rates that are equally important and are interlinked together. (Palaiologou, 2008, p. 116) believes that this activity enables observation of children’s play and offers assistance to those children who found any difficulty during the play. It also helped in determining how children play back at home and appreciate cultural approaches to this activity. With regards to watch could have been made better in this activity, the introduction of a person the children regard as their hero will be essential. This would have made the play livelier. Since the children tend to be noisy and disorganized, the play activity should have run for another fifteen minutes. This would have enabled the observation exercise to be easy as the teacher would have know when to get involved and when to leave the children to play (QCDA, 2011). The adults’ role in this activity was the most important. Since play comes spontaneously to most children, they need the support of the teachers who, in this case, are the adults. The teachers have to plan and resource an environment that is challenging like the foot painting activity where the children can play. The adults should ensure that this environment is supported to ensure the safety of the children. The adults should always be on standby to ensure that every child is involved and respond to any incident that may occur. For instance, dancing in wet paint may lead to Tina injuring her self. In conclusion, Early Years Foundation Stage ensure that the child receive a quality experience that will support their care, development and learning. This curriculum assists the child in creative development as they will be creative through responding to experiences. Play and exploration help the children reflect on wide ranging activities, preoccupations and varied interests(Bruce, 1987, p. 52). We should consider the fact children develop in different ways and rates therefore, all areas of learning and development are interconnected and equally important. This activity was to help Tina and other children to develop individual skill and ensure they are competent learners. References Department for children, school and families, 2008. Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 October 2011]. Department for children, schools and families (DCSF), 2008. The early Years Foundation Stage. Nottingham: DCSF Palaiologou, I., 2008. Childhood Observation. London: Learning Matters Bruce, T., 1987. Time to Play in Early Childhood Education. Manchester: Hodder & Stoughton Donaldson, M., 1978. Children’s Mind, Fontana. London: Taylor & Francis Moyles, J., 1998. To Play or not to Play? This is the question’ in S. Smidt (Ed): The early years: a reader. Moss, P. and Pence, A., 1994. Valuing quality in early childhood services. London: Paul Chapman. Trawick-Smith, J., 2006. Early childhood development. A multicultural perspective. New York: Merrill Qualifications and curriculum development agency (QCDA), 2011. Observing Play Activity: The Children’s Developmental Play Instrument (EYFS) with Reliability Studies. [Online] Available at: < http://qca.org.uk/ca/found/ > [Accessed 30 October 2011] Thornton, L. and Brunton, P. (2005). Healthy Living in the Early Years Foundation Stage. New York: Optimus Education eBooks Whitebread, D. (1996). Teaching and learning in the early years. London: Routledge Wilcock, L. (2007). The Early Years Foundation Stage in Practice. Manchester: Step Forward Publishing, Limited Learning and Development: Early Years Foundation Stage available online at www.everychildmatters.gov.uk http://www.foundationstage.net http://qca.org.uk/ca/found/ Read More