The role of a teacher
Country Bears philosophy emphasises play as crucial to all aspects of learning for children. It is the teacher’s role to see through the eyes of a child. For example, when a child approaches a teacher with a worm or spider in their little hands, it might be the very first one that they have found all by themselves. You can just imagine how proud and excited this child could be, so it’s important for us teachers to respond in such a way that honours their experience. Teachers can be great actors for the sake of the child, even though teachers may be squeamish inside when a child walks up to us with a cockroach or spider, we can pretend that it’s the most amazing thing we have seen.
Do you remember what it was like to play as a child when you were younger? It’s like what it was for some of us, growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, when we could go out and play all day, and we had to come home when the street lights came on. There were no adults to supervise us or to help us negotiate conflict, we somehow managed to just resolve and get through it.
We need to place trust with the children, as when the children ‘feel’ that they are not being watched or listened to, the children just seem to explode with wonderful and amazing play and conversations that just melt the hearts of us teachers.
We understand that in an Early Childhood setting, supervision is very important for safety, but we can still give the children the perception that no adults are around, giving them the sense of freedom. Even by placing our back to children, or just sitting behind the fort or fence, they think we are unable to hear or see them, so their play can change. It is in these experiences that teachers can really appreciate the uniqueness of each child.
A beautiful quote from a four-year-old boy when asked what play is, he replied: “Play is when adults stop telling me what to do”. Again, it is up to the experience of a teacher to know when to watch with wonder as to how the play might unfold or to know when to intervene. It has been said that when a child is interrupted with their play, it takes about 20 minutes for them to regain that level of focus and concentration. Teachers here at Country Bears know each and every child, so this level of knowledge helps the teachers to know when a child or a group of children may need the assistance of a teacher. It is through experiences that challenge children, where the learning happens, as they negotiate their way around their peers needs, thoughts and opinions!
If you would like to visit our wonderful Centre, designed to provide the children space and time to develop at their own individual time, give us a call on 09 412 8055 to arrange a suitable time. In the meantime, check out our website www.countrybears.co.nz or our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cbearsecc.