This project explored;

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• Setting up for playful learning; physical environment, systems and structures to support guided inquiry

• Resourcing for playful learning; materials and how to use them 

• Linking the curriculum to playful learning

• Key ideas to support a contextual, site specific next step

‘What might a sustainable, community-based program look like and how

might this develop our sense of place, our connection to community and nature?’

This project explored;

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• Routines to support children’s interactions in natural environments, through a

• ctions, story, and song.

• Value-adding to the PQIP with emerging research, skills and understandings

• relating to nature pedagogy and The 100 Languages of Children (Malaguzzi). 

• Simple processes to document learning in nature and connect with community.

• How a curiosity tub can capture children’s thinking, ideas, and wonderings.

• The concept of ‘deep listening’ (Dadirri – a concept shared by Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann.)

• Using artefacts to promote investigation, hypothesising, problem solving, experimenting, and researching (language taken from the PQIP)

• Tools to capture children’s understanding and parent’s reflections at key points of the year ( we monitor the impact)

Play-based and inquiry learning is about much more than just having play stations available and freely accessible for students. It is about the pedagogy that is used by the teacher to foster, extend, and introduce new learning through intentional planned and spontaneous interactions, as well as providing opportunities for these types of play. This project explored the what, why and how of learning through play.

It is a child’s own creativity and natural desire to explore the world that leads them on a path of discovery—not a set curriculum or fixed-outcome tasks. The environment plays a foundational role in the process of making learning meaningful. In this project, a pre-school team answered some big questions around play, permissions, mess and affordances and THEN conducted a play audit to explore new thinking and new possibilities; reimagining how their environment aims to inspire a sense of wonder. 

Five Reception classes joined forces to explore big ideas about STORY.

How we learn through story, the powerful nature of storytelling and story sharing.

We explored stories from nature and then used natural items to create our very own story trail. A keepsake created from clay and natural items provided an anchor to the big idea - 'our stories are central to who we are.'

This kindy was exploring the many shapes, forms and big ideas around pattern. Our half day, held on a site-closure day, explored and reflected upon conceptual understandings of patterning. What is a pattern? How do ‘mysterious patterns’ show up in the world around us? Do we have patterns hiding in plain sight? ​We took a deep dive into BOTH the Numeracy preschool indicators and the ACARA Foundation (Mathematics) curriculum to understand how we can support children to best share what they know and can do.​

This project involved a mixture of staff professional learning and sessions with children. Staff were invited to explore creativity on a personal level, establishing personally rewarding creative environments and seeking out daily creative inputs.​ Alongside this, children were invited to interact with creative installations and open-ended invitations to play. These include loose parts play, puppet making, magical gardens (painting secret doors and installing them.) While children were engaging, educators were invited to take notes and identify the play frames and examples of divergent thinking. This project included reflections from readings and experiments, meaningful documentation, a look at EYLF V2 and purposeful planning.