Learning through play in Foundation stage - what does it mean?

[Fizzly]

I've seen people on here saying that children shouldn't be doing structured learning in pre-school/reception and that it is all 'learning through play' these days under the EYFS. And that children 'should not' be learning phonics at this age.

I don't really get this. My DS (3.5) knows all his sounds, numbers, shapes but has never sat down at a table to 'learn' these. He is starting to learn to write out letters, spell his name and blend some of the easier sounds. He's learned these things while playing so far as I can tell (I certainly haven't set out to 'teach' him things and his nursery is - if anything - more play based than some others I've visited). For example he's been moving the letter magnets we have on the fridge around, to create different shapes, picking out the ones in his name and recently lining them all up into the order of the alphabet. He loves counting things out - up to quite high numbers. He loves working out what letters different things he sees when he is playing begin with.

So, is he being pushed? Or is he 'learning through play' in the 'right' way? Those people who don't think there should be any 'structured' learning at this stage, what sort of 'learning' do you think children should get in their play?

If you're not pushing him then of course he's learning through play! It's all about exposure (to numbers, letters, shapes, colours, the world) which it sounds like he's getting and learning from.

Sounds like learning through play to me!

DD is in reception- I was told their activities have to be 80% 'child-led', rather than adult-led. So they do phonics every day, and some reading and maths, but the bulk of their day is spent basically choosing what they want to do from a wide range of activities laid out. They have a writing corner, dressing up, a pretend shop, cardboard/glue for making things, sandpit, water play, all the usual stuff as well as various weird 'sensory' activities, like plastic numbers hidden in jelly .

Personally I love it. I work with year 3 and 4 kids and I really wish they were given more time for free play and following their interests rather than the structured learning of KS2.

"I was told their activities have to be 80% 'child-led', rather than adult-led."

I don't know who told you that but it is incorrect. There should be a balance of adult and child led activities and 80% of assessment evidence should be from observing during the child led time.

"I've seen people on here saying that children shouldn't be doing structured learning in pre-school/reception and that it is all 'learning through play' these days under the EYFS. And that children 'should not' be learning phonics at this age"

also incorrect Early learning goal 9 reading states -ELG 09 Reading: Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately.

Ah ok, it was from a conversation with DD's TA about her learning journal so maybe that's what she meant. In any case, they certainly do a lot of child-led activities and DD is thriving!

mrz, thank you for that from the goals (where can I find these?). I've read a bunch of pre-school related threads today as I'm considering what to do about it and nearly every one has someone saying 'oooh, phonics, no. They should be playing'.

Thanks.

Considering what to do about what?

What to do about pre-school. We have a couple of options about where DS goes in September so was looking at some relevant threads - which is where I saw the comments about learning through play.

www.foundationyears.org.uk/early-years-foundation-stage-2012/

Children do learn through play but that doesn't mean they can't learn phonics or maths or history or any other subject ... and I would be concerned about any setting or individual who believed it did.

www.foundationyears.org.uk/early-years-foundation-stage-2012/

abcdoes.typepad.com/abc-does-a-blog/child-initiated-learning/

abcdoes.typepad.com/abc-does-a-blog/phonics/

abcdoes.typepad.com/abc-does-a-blog/2011/08/the-teaching-of-reading-and-phonics-debbie-hepplewhite.html

The foundation stage is far more than academics. Infact learning good social skills is far more important that this age than academics. Social skills are best developed through play.

Personally I think the EYFS takes child initated learning too far. Playing is important, but there needs to be a balance between adult initated learning and child initated learning in some nurseries. I feel that a small amount of structured learning is good for pre school children. Learning to stick at a difficult task is a useful skill in life.

I feel that well off children whose parents can afford outside activites are at a considerable advantage. Following instructions in say a swimming class, gym class or a music class helps increase concentration.

I'm not yet convinced that EYFS has all that much to do with what we would have considered learning in the old days, the sitting in rows chanting whatever the teacher old us or writing out letters time and time again until the bell rang. From what I can tell so far it has more to do with socialisation than formal learning.

OP, to your question 'what sort of 'learning' do you think children should get in their play? '

They learn to take turn, share, respect other chldren when they are talking, listen to simple instructions, dress up and role play, hear stories, invent stories, learn sequencing (what comes first in a story, for example). They learn rythm and rhymes, which is very important when they will come to reading. They learn about seasons, for example when they plant seeds, at our schools they had eggs and chicks at spring time which they looked after and learned to handle. They might have a sensory garden outside with lots of different plants, smells, herbs, they learn about that too. Learning through play means that they are developing some of the skills to respect their environment, and listen to others, be creative, etc. Learning is not only about numbers and letters.

And I have never heard a teacher say that they don't want children to do phonics before school, that's a first to me. As a childminder, in our 'Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage', we are to encourage (children aged 4 ish, or when they are ready) to help children identiry the main events in a story, enact stories, use story boads, props to encourage children to talk about a story (very important when it will come to understanding a text); provide regular systmetic synthetic phonics sessions. These should be multi sensory... Provide varied texts and encourage children to use their skills including their phonic knowledge to decode words (there's also a section on writing, and a section on numbers, but I won't bore you with it). My point is, it is not true that children 'should not' be learning phonics at this age.