Khloe in the mud kitchen

Tow year old Khloe is playing outside in the mud kitchen. She knows where the equipment is and is focused on what she's going to do. She has a hearing impairment and has recently had cochlea implants put in both ears. There is a parent, who is a volunteer helper, near by.

Good for looking at

• SEND
• COEL - Active learning and creating and thinking critically
• Mud kitchen
• Exploratory play
• Messy play
• Tool use
• Problem solving
• Learning outdoors

Two year old Khloe is playing outside in the mud kitchen. She knows where the equipment is and is focused on what she’s going to do. She has a hearing impairment and has recently had cochlea implants put in both ears. There is a parent, who is a volunteer helper, near by.

Notice

• How do we know what Khloe is interested in?  Be specific, look out for body language, actions, gestures.
• What is she learning from her play?
• Which development areas, characteristics of learning are evident?
• How does the environment support the Khloe’s learning?
• What is valuable about the materials provided as learning resources?

Reflect

What are your thoughts about:

• The value of this type of exploratory play for Khloe?
• How Khloe was trying to communicate?
• Khloe’s levels of engagement in her self chosen activity?
• The role of the environment and the materials provided as learning resources – how did they support Khloe?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Support Khloe’s interests?
• Encourage other children to join Khloe’s game and support her social development?
• Extend Khloe’s learning – e.g. supplying other materials to develop the game further? Could you use Khloe’s need for water to support her communication?
• Join in with Khloe’s game – Model behaviours for young children and show how useful they are?

What next:

• Do you need to encourage more of this kind of play and learning for the two year olds in your setting? How can you make area’s like this accessible to all of the children in your setting?