Knowledge and Understanding of the World in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Practical Guidance in the Early Years Foundation Stage – Stella Louis, David Fulton Publishers
More Than Cooking – Developing children’s learning through cooking by Jane Khan (2003) foreword by Heston Blumenthal Early Education
Philosophy for Children http://www.philosophy4children.co.uk/
Through play, children make sense of the world and this knowledge is the basis for later learning in such areas as science, geography, design and history.
Activities both indoor and outdoor, alone or in company, stimulate curiosity and interest, which in turn lead to exploration, reflection, critical examination and discussion.
Interacting with others gives children the opportunity to gather information about gender, ethnicity and religious issues thereby widening experience. Parent’s and practitioner involvement here is very important as their knowledge and understanding extends their children’s experience of the world around them, helping them to make sense of it and interact with it. However, we need to be careful not to be too quick to provide information or fill in gaps before children have had sufficient time to find out for themselves, or even just to ponder on the possibilities. Ask open-ended questions, such as ‘What do you think about…?’ and ‘I wonder why…?’ and then take the time to REALLY listen to children’s responses. Approaches such as Philosophy for Children remind us that young children are capable of deep philosophical thought and reflection and that adults are often too quick to assume that they hold all the answers!
