Early year’s foundation stage
Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable and self-assured.
Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.
The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning.
Children develop and learn at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.
The aims of the early year’s foundation stage are for each child to achieve the following things;
Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
Achieve economic well being
To be able to do this we have a frame work to help put this into practice.
There are 4 themes of the early year’s foundation stage and each theme is supported by 4 commitments:
A unique child (child development, inclusive practice, keeping safe, health and wellbeing)
Positive relationships (respecting each other, parents and partners, supporting learning, key person)
Enabling environments (observations, assessment and planning, supporting every child, the learning environment, the wider context)
Learning and development (play and exploration, active learning, creativity and critical thinking, areas of learning and development)
It is my job as their child minder to make sure that all the children in my care achieve these things. I will make regular observations of your child so that we will be able to watch your child develop and achieve. I will then record these observations in their learning journeys that you will be able to regularly review and then hand over with your child to their next setting.
Montessori areas of learning
Practical Life activities, which reflect everyday life (care of oneself, others and the environment).
Sensorial Materials which give the child a chance to explore and experience the physical properties of our world using his senses (touching, seeing, tasting, smelling and listening).
Language Development is vital to human development therefore a Montessori classroom should be rich in oral language such as poetry, stories, songs and conversations.
Mathematical activities help the children learn and understand the concepts of mathematics by manipulating concrete materials which will give the child a sound understanding of the basic mathematical principles. These activities will prepare him/her for later abstract reasoning and help develop problem solving capabilities.
When you have a classroom of one age, all the children want the same things and there are no role models. In the child minded environment the emphasis is on co-operation, not competition. Children learn; it's what they do naturally.
With their confidence, enthusiasm and skills, children can adapt to anything. The children's curiosity and love of learning is being developed in a positive way by providing a supportive yet challenging environment, rich in experience and mindful of the child's capacities and needs of each child.
