Quality Area 1 - Educational program and practice

I made sure that all the educators in my classroom took turns participating in brainstorming sessions to engage in critical reflection. These reflections were based on the Early Years Learning Frameworks and focused on educators' teaching methods. They also focused on how to adapt to framework changes. It was a valuable opportunity for educators to reflect on their practices, stay updated with EYLF version 2 changes, and improve their teaching approaches for children's learning and development.  To ensure that children are learning effectively, this approach was adapted from Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory in which educators interact with one another and develop knowledge of changes in the version 2. of Early Years Learning Framework (Beloglovsky & Daly, 2015).

Evidence: Critical reflection on educators regarding changes in the version 2. of EYLF.

From my observations and conversations with educators, I've noticed that children are incredibly interested in playing musical instruments. To explore this interest further, I provided the children with various instruments such as shakers, music bells, rattles, and tambourines. During the program, educators engaged children by singing nursery rhymes like "Wheels on the Bus" and the Aboriginal song "Taba Naba". They encouraged children to move the musical instruments to beats and rhythms. This experience influences the sensorimotor of Piaget's theory, which involves children exploring instruments' sounds and textures and understanding cause and effect through motor activities (Nolan & Raban, 2015). For instance, the shakers can be used to produce sound 

Evidence: Children engaging in playing the musical instruments.

I was familiar with the nursery classroom routines since I spent time getting to know each child and blending in with their daily routines. I led the day's planned activities, allowing all the babies and toddlers to participate. The children's interests and conversations also guided spontaneous indoor and outdoor experiences for children to enhance their learning. I prepared beds for each child and made milk and formula for the babies to ensure smooth transitions during sleep time. It links to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which ensures that psychological needs are met to meet the holistic learning needs of children (McLeod, 2020).  As the third teacher, the learning environment allows children to play, learn, rest, and explore in routines that reflect Reggio Emilia (Gandini, 2012). 

Evidence: Nursery room daily routine and experience setup to create welcoming environment for children.

I ensured that all the educators in my team used the Xplor app to communicate with families. Xplor is the software we use at First Grammar Baulkham Hills to keep track of children's daily information, attendance, curriculum programs, and event notifications. The app updates families about the menu, children's learning, and daily information for children. Families can use the app to leave comments, discuss their children's progress, and share how their day went when dropping off or picking up their children. We also display the current and upcoming week's programs on the program wall, making it easy for families to access them.t easy for families to access them. It influences the microsystem and mesosystem of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological theory, where children's learning is influenced by their immediate environment and interactions between educators and families (Nolan & Raban, 2015).

Evidence: Update daily observation of children on Xplor

As children were much more interested in exploring the animals, I planned the learning experiences for children, which included exploring ocean animals and sensory experiences for children. They explored their senses in soapy water and ocean animals displayed on the large tub. I intentionally planned these experiences for children to develop recognition of ocean animals, sensory integration (Tactile experience), fine motor skills, and cooperation in playing to interact with each other. 

The children are in the sensorimotor stage of Piaget's theory, specifically in the tertiary circular reactions (novelty and curiosity) stage. Children at this stage are very adventurous as they explore various animals in soapy water with great curiosity (Nolan & Raban, 2015, p.18). They squished and splashed water, touched the animals, turned them upside down, felt the texture of each animal, tried to put it into their mouth, etc.

Evidence: Children engage in exploring ocean animals to extend children's sensory skills and ocean animal recognition.

In my classroom, I stressed to all educators the importance of planning flexible, open-ended experiences that allow children to explore, experiment, and take appropriate risks in their learning. This benefits the children and fosters community and collaboration among educators. Regarding families, I advised my educators to be more welcoming and create an environment where families feel a sense of belonging and can learn more about their children's backgrounds, interests, and needs. I encouraged my educators to model best practices and develop individualized learning plans considering children's capabilities and interests in their learning and development. This aligns with Piaget's theory, where children lead their knowledge (Nolan & Raban, 2015). 

Evidence: Scaffolding children to make friendship bands using the beads.

I encouraged my educators to focus more on the children's interests and provide children with the opportunity to experience something new and take on challenges. The children enjoyed exploring water and animals during a spontaneous experience I gave them called ocean animal exploration in soapy water. The children were interested in experiencing different sensory materials, so I created a sensory-enhancing program (Davis & Degotardi, 2015). Adding sensory materials stimulates the children's senses, including touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing. For example, adding cereals and letting the children break them allows them to experience the crunch sounds while breaking them into pieces using a hammer. As a result of interacting in a new environment, children can assimilate and adapt information following Piaget's theory (Beloglovsky & Daly, 2015).

Evidence: The Sensory Exploration Week program was designed to meet children's needs by considering their interests.

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