Glen Education Chelsea

Working in Partnership with Children to Create Learning Environments

Amelia Carter, Early Childhood Educator 

Jess House, Early Childhood Educator

“We are trying to create an environment where education will be almost inevitable.” - Margaret McMillan

As educators, we take pride in working in partnership with our children create learning spaces in which they enjoy exploring and which inspires their learning.  Children teach us, just as much as we teach them, as the indoor and outdoor environment becomes our third teacher.  We welcome children to be active contributors, influencing their environment at kindergarten – as it is an extension of their home. 

 This creates an enthusiastic, cohesive, and exciting atmosphere which is contagious.  We excitedly discuss and choose puzzles, toys, craft, music, books, welcoming children's voice as they embrace a sense of belonging.  By creating inviting and welcoming spaces children are able to engage in learning in an environment which fosters a sense of ownership and independence – children take pride in welcoming families into their space, showing their artwork displayed on their pinboard, where they put their bag, lunch, drink bottle, wash their hands. 

Indoors - We make play dough during the session as a sensory cooking experience, and the children help pour and safely knead the ingredients deciding what colour they would like.  We welcome ideas of dinosaur figures, grass, and utilise our outdoor to add leaves for food, craft to create trees.  We add books and expand to include 'Danny Go! The Dinosaur Clap Dance Song' which adds gross motor skills to our learning experience. 

Outdoors – Educators empower children to make choices of where they would like to play, promoting a sense of agency and emergent program.  We enjoy our homely outdoor yard and feel our natural environment is a resource for our children’s learning.  Rock painting, counting gumnuts, leaf collecting, and water experiences promote sustainability.  

Using our indoor and outdoor spaces creatively provides opportunities for social connections, which leads to language development, problem solving and conflict resolution.   We play imaginative games such as Hide and Seek, riding on our sailing boat down to Mordialloc pier, driving to the movies on our Fire Truck, and digging for gold in our sandpit.