Jack makes a log sculpture

Two year old Jack is in the garden. He decides to create something with the large logs that are lying around. The practitioner supports his creative efforts.

Good for looking at

• Expressive art and design
• Following the child's interests
• Effective practice
• Learning outdoors
• Positioning schema

Two year old Jack is in the garden. He decides to create something with the large logs that are lying around. The practitioner supports his creative efforts.

Notice

• What cues can you see that show what Jack is interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How is Jack learning? Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe
• In what ways does the adult support Jack’s learning?
• How does the environment support the Jack’s learning?
• What is valuable about the materials provided as learning resources?

Reflect

What are your thoughts about:

• How Jack was trying to communicate and express himself?
• Jack’s idea of what to do with the materials in the garden? Do you think he had a preconceived idea or was he going with the flow?
• The role of the adult in this interaction – how did she support Jack?
• The value of this type of object play for Jack?
• The value of the environment and materials provided for Jack?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Support Jack’s interest positioning objects?
• Encourage other Jack to share his interests and maybe begin to collaborate with other children?
• Extend Jack’s learning – e.g. supplying other materials to develop his ideas further?

What next:

• Do you need to encourage more of this kind of object play with natural materials for the two year olds in your setting? What would you need to do to make this happen?