Sky climbs the tyre Scroll to learning area

Two year olds Skye is with her key person who’s helping her to climb the tyre in the garden. She trust her as she supports her with a new, risky task that she finds difficult. Skye then goes to play on the slide near by with an older girl. She then wants Brenda to see what she’s doing as she takes a risk down the slide.

Good for looking at

• Emotional warmth
• Trust
• Key person approach
• Taking risks
• Physical play
• Physical development
• Well-being

Two year old Skye is with her key person who’s helping her to climb the tyre in the garden. Skye then goes to play on the slide near by with an older girl.

Notice

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

Reflect

What are your thoughts about:

• How Sky was communicating with Brenda?
• What areas of learning and development were covered?
• The role of the adult in this interaction – how did she support her?
• How the other children influenced Skye’s learning?
• The value of this type of risky physical play?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Support Skye’s physical developments further?
• Encourage her attempts to try out new difficult activities?
• Make sure the activity is safe enough? Think about risk vs benefit (see more in further reading)

What next:

• How can you encourage this kind of physical challenge in your setting?