TheWithcott Times

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• Editor

Where children learn through play

Provoking wonder, curiosity, and intellectual engagement
Do you recall the thrill of discovering a rainbow you created while outside playing with the garden hose?
Children are intensely fascinated with the physical world and how it works. At Withcott Early Childhood Centre we honour childhood and promote a love of learning by adding different kinds of engaging attractions and discoveries to our environment.
This is especially effective when we include things that provoke a sense of mystery and wonder so that children become curious about how they work, where they come from and what can be learned from manipulating them.
Because childhood is a time when the world seems full of magic and wonder, we can keep those brain pathways growing and expanding by placing intriguing discoveries in our environment. Young children have a natural connectedness to nature: their joy of standing in a puddle or watching a worm move is central to their understanding of who they are in the world.
At Withcott Early Childhood Centre we provide an Open Play based program that allows children to discover and embrace freedom. Freedom can be expressed through the amount of time provided, the space the children can access and the choice of resources.
The children at the centre have the freedom to choose whether they would like to play inside or outside, and for how long they play in each area. We provide long periods of uninterrupted time so the children can engage in and finish projects they are working on. Our staff are always there to interact and encourage exploration and discovery as appropriate.
We believe that the outdoor environment is just as important as the indoor one. Because of this, we offer flexible furnishings and open-ended materials that children can engage in a range of activities that foster their development and learning – moving, manipulating, investigating, building, representing, creating, communicating and problem solving in our indoor and outdoor areas.
Open-ended materials encourage children to become flexible thinkers and responsive playmates. At Withcott Early Childhood Centre we endeavour to make our environment a homelike one where children and adults spend their days living and learning together.
If you would like to know more about our centre, please contact us on 4630 3722 or drop in to 42 Biggs Road, Withcott.
Information modified from the resource: Creating Connections and a Sense of Belonging