Learning is taking place across the Early Years in many different shapes and forms. At OLSCC, we use age appropriate pedagogies to underpin our teaching and learning. Age-appropriate pedagogies support Early Years teachers to apply a range and balance of teaching approaches in their classroom practice. There are several things teachers consider when choosing which approach to take, including

• The children’s interests and capabilities
• The curriculum
• Evidence of the children’s learning
• School and community contexts

The approaches include direct teaching, explicit instruction, inquiry learning, project based learning, play based learning and projects.  All of these assist us in promoting independent learning with our students. Above are some of our Year 1’s taking their learning outside the classroom, blending explicit teaching and inquiry learning as they explore money.

This week on our Early Years Assembly, we explored the notion of The Learning Pit. Originally developed in the UK by James Nottingham, The Learning Pit assists students in thinking and talking about their learning. The students could recognize that when faced with any new learning or challenge, whether that be academic, such as learning to read, or sporting, such as learning to swim, or any other learning in life, we may feel nervous or excited to begin. As we dive into the learning pit and deepen our learning, we often face confusion. We need to call on all our learning dispositions of persistence, resilience, optimism, motivation, creativity, curiosity and independence to find a way out of the pit. As we engage in this process, our learning grows and deepens until we find success. And then the process begins all over again! Our Early Years students were terrific at identifying that we never really complete this process, as we continue learning into adulthood. As I told our students on Monday, I have been in the pit many times this year, as have all of our teachers, for this is how we grow and develop! I have enjoyed many fruitful conversations with students since our Monday assembly, and have been thrilled to hear them confirm that leaping OVER the learning pit is not of any benefit to them, as they could recognize that the actual LEARNING will not have happened if they take this option. We need to allow ourselves to wallow in the pit and grow from the experience!

4J are happy to welcome a new classmate, Phoenix Fleming. Thanks to Molly and Keira for helping Phoenix settle in!

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years