Inquiry Based Learning with Dr Claire Warden

This week we are going to be exploring the idea of mathematics and the relationship it has with the world of inquiry based learning.

We start off by discussing an article aimed at involving STEM in our environment.

A Number Line in the Nursery Classroom: A Vehicle for Understanding Children's Number Knowledge

In this discussion we only manage to cover a very small section of mathematics; the idea of counting and number lines.

What's really important in this is children's agency and understanding that children are mathematical thinkers. We need to learn to slow down in our process of working with children to listen to their ideas of how the world works, it would be a joy.

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This week we're looking at how we can explore language in nature. I'm often asked how you can teach language and nature outside in the natural world. My friends and I are going to break it down and look into the lost arts of storytelling and book reading. We start off with some research by Robert MacFarlane in his book The Lost Words: A Spell Book.

We discuss the balance of story reading and the importance of book in the lives of children and the joy of storytelling and how it can be a very flexible approach to literacy in nature.

REF. Jessica A. R. Logan, Laura M. Justice, Melike Yumuş, Leydi Johana Chaparro-Moreno. When Children Are Not Read to at Home. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1097/DBP.00000000000006

You can download a free provocation document on this subject here.

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This week have a great discussion for you in which we explore the adult sense of wonder

We kick things off with a quote from Rachel Carson's book The Sense of Wonder.

"A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful. Full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring is dimmed, and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good fairy, I would ask her that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life."

We look at how awe is a mixture of terror and amazement, think carefully about how we present the natural world and how we embrace the fact that it's a place of beauty but also of harsh reality.

It's important that we really hold on to our own awe and wonder and how we can support and nourish those experiences of children around us to maintain their sense of wonderment through to adulthood.

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This week we're taking a look at the impact of culture on our love of outdoor play.

This is a sensitive subject, and one that some people find difficult to explore but really it's all about one human being reaching out to another and embracing the diversity of people on the planet and really relish the different forms of culture and experiences that we bring to the learning moments when we engage with children.

We can only say that we are reaching a point of true equality when we can all look at situations from another persons perspective. Through that diversity and equality we will get to a point where everyone feels welcome to play out.

You can download a free provocation document on this subject here.

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Creating a culture of inclusion is what we're talking about this week.

We dissect the difference between the idea of a need and a right and look at how we can support children and their parents when they're experiencing the need for special rights.

We consider time in a new way. As something that goes at the at the pace of children's thinking and enjoyment and how we can adapt the way we work with children to make sure we embrace the natural world as part of our therapy, so that we can support children to feel the benefits of being outside.

The important thing for me is that we think more about the inclusion. More about the idea that one person is going to embrace another to make all people feel welcome when they come in to a community.

You can download a free provocation document on this subject here.

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Thinking about our own health and wellbeing is the topic of discussion today. We consider how we can help ourselves through some of the stresses we're feeling at the moment about business, professional growth or the stresses of a global lockdown.

We talk about finding moments of joy, building ourselves and ways we can reconcile, affirm and be forward thinking together in our practices as a professional group, not only in Scotland but all over the world.

Join us as we help and support each other to get through these times of crisis.

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Join us as this week we take a look at behaviour. We think about how we can support our children to self regulate and hear practitioners and their experiences of the needs of 2 year olds.

We address behaviour management both inside building and out in the natural word. It's important to remember to remain calm and offer consistency by putting in positive boundaries.

Download a free practitioner provocation guide on the subject of behaviour here.

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Interaction vs Interference - that's what we're debating tonight. We discuss the effect that words like dominate, reflexivity and reflection have in our work as practitioners.

We want to be warm and caring practitioners and to understand the power balance that can take over in an early years environment.

We also talk about the place that silence has in our role and gentle moments we have everyday that we're with children.

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This time on Conversations with Dr Claire Warden we're talking all about the things we might fear about going and working outside. As a group we've had to face fears of mice, being bitten by midges, encountering a worm and even having to face the cold.

Join us as we tackle our fears and the things that offer us challenges and together we can come to a point that we can overcome them with tenacity and joy!

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This week we continue our discussion from the previous episode about leadership for change. We focus on how we can really make a difference to our setting by creating a narrative that engages everyone in understanding our vision and value.

We continue by discussing the difference between a growth and fixed mindset and what we can do when we work with people who display those two characteristics.

And finally we end our discussion by talking about creating persistent change. How we leave a legacy of what we believe, that can be used by practitioners in the future.

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