early childhood
Excerpt from the Early Childhood Australia Policy on Physical
Environments for Centre Based Early Childhood Services
“Young children learn through interaction with their physical, social
and cultural environments. Play is the integrative process which facilitates
their learning. Through play, young children develop physically, emotionally,
socially and intellectually.
The nature, content and qualities of children's physical environments provide
the cues that elicit exploration and affect learning opportunities. Understanding
the critical elements in the structure and organisation of physical settings
is a powerful tool for ensuring desirable experiences for the children and
families who use the settings, and for the staff who provide the services.
For children, the principle considerations are that the physical environment
reflects children's cultural and familial backgrounds, and complements their
homes; caters for each individual child's physical and developmental needs;
stimulates curiosity, imagination and creativity; allows for active exploration
and experimentation; supports the development of independence; promotes social
co-operation; provides for privacy and quiet times; is challenging yet safe
and comfortable; and facilitates frequent and positive adult/child interactions
both in small groups and one to one.”
Dynamic Natural Outdoor Playspaces
The aim of featuring this new section on our website is to inspire all early childhood professionals to take the leap towards achieving a natural outdoor play space…
As for those of you already working towards a natural outdoor playspace, this section will provide plenty of fresh ideas to enable you to continue providing an exceptional playspace for your children.
To bring you this information, PRAV has visited various Early Childhood Centres who strive to create a natural outdoor play space for their children. You will have the opportunity to ‘visit’ these centres by reading through the following case studies and having a look at the many, many photographs taken.
Click here to view our first Centre - Lang Lang Preschool
Stay tuned for more case studies to come...
More information
Please download the files listed below from the members area. The links
underneath will take you to the members log in page or alternatively if you
are already logged in straight to the link. For most of the files you will
need to have Acrobat Reader installed which is free to download from adobe.
Design
Advice for Early Childhood
A detailed document containing areas to be considered before creating an outdoor playspace. I.e. Ages of children, staffing, elements the outdoor playspace should include, stages in the design process etc. |
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Physical
Environments Policy & Guidelines
Beneficial physical environments for children elicit exploration & affect learning opportunities. Critical elements in the structure & organization of physical settings ensure desirable experiences for children… Policy implementation guidelines considered. |
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Concrete
Tunnels
Are there better ways of providing the ‘tunnel’ experience? Natural tunnels created through planting are suggested. |
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Cubbies
Specific requirements to be met discussed. |
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Digging
Patches
The digging patch provides opportunities for large muscle play… What digging areas need is considered. |
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EEEC
flyer 1
Information about Environmental Education in Early Childhood (EEEC). Becoming a member form available. |
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Planning
for Safe Outdoor Play
The purpose of this document is to provide current information on the importance of play in early childhood environments & the relevant Australian Standards as pertinent to outdoor play. Children need play environments that encourage some risk taking… |
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Bike
Tracks
Providing a pathway for wheeled toy play within a playspace requires careful consideration to minimize potential conflicts of use. Location, design & materials for tracks discussed. |
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Gardening
for Children
Children can be involved in the planting… they will also enjoy learning from participating in… Recommended types of plants for play areas… textures, smells etc considered. |
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A
Frames
The maximum height of an A Frame in early childhood settings according to the current Australian Standards is… |
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Monkey
Bars
Monkey bars are good for building upper body strength and agility… Importance given since children commonly have poorly developed upper bodies. Australian Standards & ways of reducing substantially risk associated with falls are outlined. |
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Chains
Chains for playground equipment shall conform to the following standards… |
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Swings
Information including ground clearance, size of fall zone, width of seats, etc discussed. |
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Sandpits
Sand is an excellent and important medium for creative play. Size, depth, choice of sand etc are areas considered. |
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Edging
and Rebound Walls
There are no playground standards concerning rebound walls however… building regulations will apply & there are other issues to consider. |
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SunSmart
EC Sun Protection 2007
The role of children’s services can play an integral role in helping to reduce future skin cancer rates. This is because most damage due to sun exposure occurs during the early years… |
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Sun
Protection for Babies
A baby’s skin is extremely sensitive & can burn easily, so sun protection is needed as soon as the baby is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The Cancer Council Victoria makes recommendations on the following, shade, sunscreen, hats, etc. |
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