{"id":268,"date":"2020-03-19T16:05:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T16:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/earlyyears\/?p=268"},"modified":"2023-01-17T14:42:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T14:42:27","slug":"working-and-teaching-in-the-early-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/earlyyears\/working-and-teaching-in-the-early-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Working and Teaching in the Early Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Elle<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hi I am Elle Gentle I am a second-year student studying a BA (Hons) Working and Teaching in the Early Years, currently researching the benefits of children being allowed to take risks. Has health and safety gone too far and are we restricting their development if we wrap them up in cotton wool? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kids<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the years I have spent a lot of time\nworking abroad in places such as Egypt and Malaysia looking after children as a\nKid\u2019s Club representative, providing various activities and a range of arts and\ncrafts for all different ages. However, for this article I wanted to focus my\nattention on the work that I did in Malaysia on a small island resort called Sea Gypsy Village Resort<\/strong>. The island where the resort is located is called\nPulau Sibu Besar and I have worked there on and off for about three\nyears. As described on their website, the place is \u201cA resort surrounded by jungle with a beautiful, safe, secluded,\nvirtually private sandy beach. Perfect for families and couples who are looking\nto escape the stress of the city. Transport yourself back to a time before\nphones and email, engage in a digital detox to rediscover the value of time\nspent together\u201d. <\/em>https:\/\/www.siburesort.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"People<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I think one of the reasons why I have fallen in love with this place is\nthis last point, the digital detox. I have been able to see families coming\ntogether, children playing outside, running around and exploring both jungle and\nocean. As for the parents, they are able to relax as they know that their\nchildren are safe on this secluded island. This is something so often lost to\nthe industrialised world as our children become increasingly surrounded by\ntechnology. Whilst there are many benefits to this technology, are our younger\ngenerations playing outside like we used to do? The benefits of outside play\nare endless, as stated by Greenfield (2004, cited in Little and Wyver,\n2008: 36) \u2018the risks and challenges of being outdoors provide rich\nopportunities for learning, problem-solving and developing social competence\u2019<\/em>.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Building<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The resort also provides educational school\ntrips several times a year. From the minute the\nchildren set foot on the island, they take part in games and tasks that promote\nteamwork, leadership skills, problem solving and survival skills. The\nactivities can include anything from making bandanas to creating team chants,\nfrom gutting fish to making shelters and from orienteering to beach\ncompetitions. The children are constantly surprised by what they are capable of\nand go home exhausted and elated. The necessary risks assessments are completed\nby the resort and standard operating procedures are put in place to ensure the\nsafety of all children. One of the main activities which could be described as\nrisky, is the Survivor game<\/strong>. The\nchildren are taught basic survival skills such as making fires with flints,\nbuilding shelters from natural materials and even how to gut fish. Once these\nskills are taught, we take them to a small deserted island and make out as if\nthey will be staying there overnight. The children must work as a team, gather\nthe resources needed, put together a shelter and make a fire. The skills that\nthe children develop from this are incredible and include resourcefulness, team-work,\nperseverance, problem solving. So much learning happens from such a hands-on\nexperience. According to Craig (2007, cited in McArdle et al, 2013: 249) \u2018Confidence\nto face up to new and challenging situations is a condition that, we suggest,\nencourages resilience\u2019.<\/em> Could we be doing more in the UK to facilitate these types\nof experiences?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LITTLE, H. and WYER,\nS., 2008. Outdoor play. Australian\nJournal of Early Childhood. <\/em>33 (2), pp. 33-40. Available from: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/183693910803300206\n[Accessed 31 January 2020].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MCARDLE, K., HARRISON,\nT. and HARRISON, D., 2013. Does a nurturing approach that uses an outdoor play\nenvironment build resilience in children from a challenge background? Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor\nLearning. <\/em>13 (3), pp 238-254. Available from: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14729679.2013.776862<\/a> [Accessed 31 January 2020].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a second-year student studying a BA (Hons) Working and Teaching in the Early Years, currently researching the benefits of children being allowed to take risks. 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