The art of play based learning

"Some teachers taught the curriculum today.  Other teachers taught students today.  There's a big difference."  From @blunteducator 

Meeting students at their point of learning is an art.  There is no predictable way of knowing where it might lead or what part of the curriculum might be uncovered.  For me, it is the most exciting way to teach and learn.  It is what gets me out of bed in the morning.  I love the not knowing.  I enjoy the discovering alongside.  The raw excitement that learning through play provides is addictive.  The faces, the pure joy of discovery.  In the moment.

One day I came to school and a child said "lets go bug hunting".  Another day, it was raining and puddles had formed outside.  The students spontaneously made lego boats, took them outside and began to float them.  What might my response be?   'Oh no I hope we don't find a cockroach, besides I don't have time to supervise you'  or ' that lego is so expensive, you might loose some!'. Instead, play based learning is about embracing children's ideas and running alongside them.  Spontaineous, unplanned, messy, uncomfortable, risky.

Yes, time is required. The putting aside of the curriculum is a starting point for teaching through play.  You can't pick something up without laying something down.  Instead of teaching science units,  prepared by teachers in advance, science is taught from the moment the bugs are discovered.  Curriculum is added to the play.  

I don't count myself as an expert in this area yet.  But I am learning.  Since beginning to teach through play I have read the curriculum documents like I have never read them before.  They have never meant so much to me.  I remember being so excited when I found an awesome science resource linked to the NZC through #SlowSciNZ after the sinking and floating experience.  http://scienceonline.tki.org.nz/What-do-my-students-need-to-learn/Building-Science-Concepts  It talks about the science concepts.  By finding the passion in the students first, it enabled me to become passionate in a way I had never done before.  As I recorded this experience in a learning story, I was able to make links to our curriculum documents, both Te Whariki and NZC.  This included next steps.  

Questions and comments become the life blood of 'at the point learning'.  Knowing when to stop and notice.  Then either using descriptive commentary, and/or questions to pull out further learning.  It's a skill I'm developing.   Initially feeling strange not having a pre-set lesson, then the excitement of spotting learning, and then the joining in as a learning partner with questions or comments.  My greatest challenge is not to speak but to listen. When I do, adding to the experience with helpful questions. My greatest help in development, Early Childhood Teachers.

This is what I mean by children leading the learning.  Its an art and play enables this to happen.