The aim of this assignment was to create a blog, which I would use to share information and my own personal experiences about a variety of different learning contexts. I chose to identify four particular learning contexts, which were:
1. The Foundation Phase
2. Learning Through Play
3. Montessori Schools
4. Forest Schools
I have tried my best to include all I can in the blogs, including pictures and references used.
Catrin Ann Jones's Blog
Friday, 26 April 2013
Monday, 22 April 2013
Montessori
Maria Montessori, an Italian born
in 1870, worked alongside women and children for 10 years, and took a very keen
interest in children with mental disabilities. Montessori was the first woman
in Italy to become a qualified doctor. After observing a number of children,
Maria came to the conclusion that children with mental disabilities did not
need medical treatment, but a more suitable education in order to benefit their
mental developments.
The aim of the Montessori schools
was to nurture each child as an individual in order to encourage them to reach
their full potential. They felt that a positive environment was as essential
for children, as the movement and manipulation of them. Montessori used her own
thoughts, ideas and resources, which she developed. Maria Montessori’s ideas
and resources are still used in her schools, as well as others, today.
Later on, Montessori took an
interest in education and attended the University of Rome in order to study
education and anthropology. She was invited to set up a nursery in 1906, in a
slum in Rome. During the time the nursery was set up, compulsory education for
children was introduced, and started when they were 6 years old. For parents
with children under the age of 6 years old, they had to be looked after while
their mothers were out working. Because of this issued, the first nursery, Casa
dei Bambini, was opened by Maria Montessori.

She began travelling around the
world in 1912, and was invited to deliver lectures. In that same year, Maria
opened the first Montessori school in America. After her death in 1952, when
the centenary celebration of the opening of the first Montessori nursery,
22,000 other Montessori schools were discovered and identified in over 100
countries around the world.
The Children’s Room, Swansea’s
very own Montessori school, offers Welsh Medium learning, a high
teacher-to-child ratio, and conveys the Montessori principles for the children
attending the nursery. It is privately run, and is the first nursery in South
Wales according to the Montessori approach to early education. Like every other
Montessori nursery, its aim is to develop the whole child intellectually,
socially, physically linguistically and spiritually. They also aim to give each
and every child the opportunity to develop all of these listed above.
Unfortunately, I do not have any
experience of a Montessori school as there were none available to me when I was
younger, and there were none based locally to me.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Forest School

Many individuals are unaware of what a Forest School is. It is a system of learning which allows the environment to teach the children. It is a direct experience of learning. It is a setting where the usual "class dynamic" is changed by the environment. It allows children to learn all the subjects within the National Curriculum within an alternative environment. The Forest Schools' philosophy is to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through positive outdoor experiences over an extended period of time.
Forest Schools provide children with the opportunity to develop themselves, as all areas of their intelligence are used within the natural environment. It allows children to develop physically and mentally, as they are stimulated to learn and are not stuck sitting at a desk. Children are able to experience a natural environment in all kinds of weather, and through free and structured play.

The local primary school are currently creating their own natural environment in a field on school grounds. It will include a pond and wildlife, such as frogs and birds, which they will be able to take care of themselves. They will plant trees and they will be given the chance to run around and explore, which will motivate them to learn.
http://www.forestschools.com
http://www.breconbeaconstourism.co.uk/marketarea/Brynamman_The_Amman_Valley/index.html
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Learning Through Play
Learning through play is something that everyone
has experience of. Play helps children to develop their mental and physical
health. It teaches them to take risks they wouldn’t usually take, or to solve
problems they wouldn’t usually solve. This promotes imagination, independence
and creativity, which is vital for children to be able to play. Many
practitioners within education believe that children learn better through play
than any other method available. Children learn much more during the first five
years of their lives, than any other time because that is when they are taught
and when they learn how to play.
As a child, just like any other, I loved to play
although I was unaware that I was learning while playing. It was exciting,
enjoyable and easy to do when I was younger, because I was able to pick and
choose what to do and use my imagination to create my own games, which was very
fun. When I was in an infant’s class at school, within the classroom there were
separate corners which included a variety of activities. There was a bedroom, a
kitchen, a living room and a painting corner. The teachers encouraged us to
play and socialise with other children, which I know realise was to help us
develop.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/feb/15/learning-play-imaginative-inquiry-teaching-schools-live-chat
Play, which is viewed as a child initiated
approach, gives children a creative purpose as they can create their own games.
It is also self-directed, so the children themselves can decide what they want
to do and what they don’t want to do. They are able to decide who they want to
do it with and who they don’t want to do it with. It gives them an opportunity
to express themselves. Learning through play doesn’t end at the end of
childhood, it carries out throughout life. If learning had ended through play,
as teenagers or adults, we wouldn’t have been able to do half the stuff that we
can. A child’s cognitive, physical, social and cultural development is
developed through play. They use their imagination, they move around, they
socialise and play with others.

When on placement, I was able to observe children playing
and creating their own games, giving each child a character and a purpose. I
often wondered how they had learnt how to play, but then I realised that they
had taught themselves, and were encouraged by the teachers and their parents
just like I was. While observing the children, I noticed how much fun they had,
and how they had used their imagination and their own creativity skills to
create their own games.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/feb/15/learning-play-imaginative-inquiry-teaching-schools-live-chat
Labels:
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Sian
The Foundation Phase in Wales
The early years Foundation phase, an approach used in Wales, was
introduced in 2008. The approach is used by children aged 3 to 7 years old, who
attend school and nursery only. The Foundation Phase is said to be a statutory
curriculum for 3 to 7 year old children.
As well as the early years Foundation Phase in Wales, England has its
own approach called the early years Foundation Stage. This approach was
introduced in 2008 and was reformed in 2011. It came into effect on September
the 1st in 2011. This approach is used by children aged 0 to 5 years
old, and is used throughout their time at school, as well as in life.

The Foundation Phase’s aim is to raise each child’s standards of
achievement in order to encourage them to try their best and motivate them to
work hard. It aims to enhance children’s positive attitudes to learning, so
that they are able to enjoy their experiences at school rather than dislike
them. It aims to address their developing needs, so as they grow up, not only
will the child develop, but their knowledge and skills will too. It aims to
enable children to benefit from the opportunities they’re given in their early
life during their time in education, which will go on to benefit them later on
in life.

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