Observation: At the supermarket checkout, A mother
told her child to ‘pay’ for their
groceries. The little girl, Kyah (pseudonym) who was approximately 4 years old,
got her little purse out and pulled out what looked like either cut up pieces
of magazines or catalogues. The little girl handed the shop assistant her
‘money’ and then Mum handed the actual money over. The shop assistant gave the
little girl the change.
Literacy and Numeracy Analysis:
During the observation the Kyah was involved in the monetary concept, which is a part of numeracy. She also took part in many literacy processes which included learning and knowing the procedure, the words involved in that activity and how Kyah interprets it and relates to Outcome 4: Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials(DEEWR, 2009). She was also involved in communication which (Makin & Whitehead, 2006) argues promotes active thinking. She also partook in turn taking, and memory recall which are large parts of literacy and numeracy. Tucker (2010) explains daily tasks enable children to function in maths contexts which in turn introduces them to mathematic concepts.
During the observation the Kyah was involved in the monetary concept, which is a part of numeracy. She also took part in many literacy processes which included learning and knowing the procedure, the words involved in that activity and how Kyah interprets it and relates to Outcome 4: Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials(DEEWR, 2009). She was also involved in communication which (Makin & Whitehead, 2006) argues promotes active thinking. She also partook in turn taking, and memory recall which are large parts of literacy and numeracy. Tucker (2010) explains daily tasks enable children to function in maths contexts which in turn introduces them to mathematic concepts.
Extend the moment
To extend the moment in the supermarket, Kyah’s Mum could specify how many ‘notes’ Kyah has to count out to give the cashier or actually get Kyah to hand over the real money and be more involved in the process. Kyah could also get a bigger feel of the whole shopping experience if her mother and her wrote a list together, and maybe Kyah had her own list of things with the picture of the grocery item and the word. As Makin & Whitehead (2006) emphasises; young children learn best through communication and hands-on experience.
To extend the moment in the supermarket, Kyah’s Mum could specify how many ‘notes’ Kyah has to count out to give the cashier or actually get Kyah to hand over the real money and be more involved in the process. Kyah could also get a bigger feel of the whole shopping experience if her mother and her wrote a list together, and maybe Kyah had her own list of things with the picture of the grocery item and the word. As Makin & Whitehead (2006) emphasises; young children learn best through communication and hands-on experience.
Extend at school
Children make sense of the world through imaginary play and often pretend to be other people (Makin & Whitehead, 2006). Therefore, to extend on this through a lesson, setting up a pretend shop where the children can be both customer and cashier would be ideal. Consulting the children about how they would like it set up, what kinds of items they would have, how they would be categorised would allow children to participate in decision, which would provide a sense of belonging and promote a child’s agency, which would enable them to influence their world [1.1.6]. It would also help them to make the connection to community and become effective communicators [1.1.1] and have the child’s knowledge, ideas, culture and interests [1.1.2] in the program, particularly if you have the children bring in empty grocery items from home. This would also involve the family, aiding in again the sense of belonging and Outcome 3: Environment that is inclusive/reflective of culture/identity (DEEWR, n.d./DEEWR, 2009).
Learning experiences need to be challenging but attainable, enjoyable and meaningful (English, 2004), and gives children responsibility and control, time to repeat and practice, as well as physical activity. It also promotes understanding of the cultural role of Mathematics (Tucker, 2010). To make the learning experience more enjoyable as well as challenging and meaningful, prices could be put on the items with the insertion of play money to extend the experience.
To build upon Outcome 4: Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another(DEEWR, 2009) a small outing could be arranged for a trip to the local grocery store to purchase some items for a group learning experience, such as baking a cake.
Other extensions could include writing shopping lists to go to their shop and making signs and name badges for the shop. Story telling is also very useful in the early childhood setting. A book about shopping could be very beneficial in this instance. Some examples include Spot Goes Shopping (Hill, 2014), Hubble Bubble: Spell-a-popping, Granny’s Shopping (Tracey, 2013), Llama Llama Shopping Drama (Anna, 2013) or The Ice Cream Shop (Morris, 2014).
Educators respond to children’s ideas and play and use intentional teaching to scaffold and extend each child’s learning [1.2.2] (ACECQA, 2012). This could be used as an opportunity to educating children on taking increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing [Outcome 3] (DEEWR, 2009) by using the grocery items they have chosen or going through a catalogue and doing a form of group time in what is sometimes food and healthy food. Using this opportunity you could also identify with Outcome 3.3.2 Children are supported to become environmentally responsible and show respect for the environment, and delve into recyclables and rubbish with the groceries the children have purchased (ACECQA, 2012).
The nature of the preparation as well as collaborative learning relates to Outcome 2: Encourages positive relationships, active decision making and collaborative play to create a sense of community and Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation (DEEWR, 2009).
Children make sense of the world through imaginary play and often pretend to be other people (Makin & Whitehead, 2006). Therefore, to extend on this through a lesson, setting up a pretend shop where the children can be both customer and cashier would be ideal. Consulting the children about how they would like it set up, what kinds of items they would have, how they would be categorised would allow children to participate in decision, which would provide a sense of belonging and promote a child’s agency, which would enable them to influence their world [1.1.6]. It would also help them to make the connection to community and become effective communicators [1.1.1] and have the child’s knowledge, ideas, culture and interests [1.1.2] in the program, particularly if you have the children bring in empty grocery items from home. This would also involve the family, aiding in again the sense of belonging and Outcome 3: Environment that is inclusive/reflective of culture/identity (DEEWR, n.d./DEEWR, 2009).
Learning experiences need to be challenging but attainable, enjoyable and meaningful (English, 2004), and gives children responsibility and control, time to repeat and practice, as well as physical activity. It also promotes understanding of the cultural role of Mathematics (Tucker, 2010). To make the learning experience more enjoyable as well as challenging and meaningful, prices could be put on the items with the insertion of play money to extend the experience.
To build upon Outcome 4: Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another(DEEWR, 2009) a small outing could be arranged for a trip to the local grocery store to purchase some items for a group learning experience, such as baking a cake.
Other extensions could include writing shopping lists to go to their shop and making signs and name badges for the shop. Story telling is also very useful in the early childhood setting. A book about shopping could be very beneficial in this instance. Some examples include Spot Goes Shopping (Hill, 2014), Hubble Bubble: Spell-a-popping, Granny’s Shopping (Tracey, 2013), Llama Llama Shopping Drama (Anna, 2013) or The Ice Cream Shop (Morris, 2014).
Educators respond to children’s ideas and play and use intentional teaching to scaffold and extend each child’s learning [1.2.2] (ACECQA, 2012). This could be used as an opportunity to educating children on taking increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing [Outcome 3] (DEEWR, 2009) by using the grocery items they have chosen or going through a catalogue and doing a form of group time in what is sometimes food and healthy food. Using this opportunity you could also identify with Outcome 3.3.2 Children are supported to become environmentally responsible and show respect for the environment, and delve into recyclables and rubbish with the groceries the children have purchased (ACECQA, 2012).
The nature of the preparation as well as collaborative learning relates to Outcome 2: Encourages positive relationships, active decision making and collaborative play to create a sense of community and Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation (DEEWR, 2009).
References
Anna, D. (2013). Llama Llama Shopping Drama. Hachette publishing.
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority
(ACECQA). (2012). National Quality Standards. National Quality Framework,
Australian Government.
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). (n.d.) Links between the EYLF, the NQS, and everyday practice. National Quality Standard Professional Learning Program.
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). (n.d.) Links between the EYLF, the NQS, and everyday practice. National Quality Standard Professional Learning Program.
Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).
(2009). Belonging, being and becoming: the early years
learning framework for Australia. Canberra: Commonwealth of
Australia.
English, L. D. (2004). 'Promoting the development
of young children's mathematical and analogical
reasoning', Mathematical and analogical reasoning of
young learners, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, N.J., pp.
203-213.
Hill, E. (2014) Spot Goes Shopping. Penguin Books.
Hill, E. (2014) Spot Goes Shopping. Penguin Books.
Makin, L
& Whitehead, M. (2006). How to
Develop Children’s Early Literacy. 4th
ed, Paul Chapman Publishing, Britain.
Morris, J (2014) The Ice Cream Shop. Scholastic.
Morris, J (2014) The Ice Cream Shop. Scholastic.
Tracey, C.
(2013) Hubble Bubble: Spell-a-Popping, Granny’s Shopping. Nosy Crow.
Tucker, K. (2010). 'Why play?', Mathematics through play in the early
years, 2nd ed, SAGE, Los Angeles, Calif., pp. 5-14.
