Inspiration for every day

One of the great strengths of the EYFS is that, while guiding us in what children need to know and understand as they progress, it allows us to draw inspiration directly from the children by tapping into what inspires them, helping us to create our own pedagogical scaffolding and enabling us to deliver educational programmes in innovative, creative ways.

The definition of inspiration in Collins Dictionary is “a feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something that gives you new and creative ideas”. Synonyms include motivation, stimulation, and provocation, as well as many others.

Let’s start by thinking about how babies are inspired and how we can be inspired by them:

Inspiration from within

In the earliest days, weeks and months, babies’ inspiration – or motivation – is innate and a wonder to behold; the prime areas of learning and development to move, to make connections, and to communicate just seem to happen. Even so, babies are already taking their inspiration from their main carers.

You’ll notice how a baby of just a few weeks old begins to intensely observe the faces of their carers. They will watch how mouths move as they form words when soothing, crooning or talking and will go on to copy those sounds themselves. Babies persevere until they have mastered the basics, then are further inspired to refine and develop such skills.

As such, face-to-face interactions are vital at this early stage to form strong attachments, enabling babies to draw further inspiration as they progress.

The characteristics of effective learning

As children grow, there’s more emphasis on the ‘characteristics’ – which could easily be described as the inspiration for effective learning. Children are inspired to play and explore because they’re naturally curious about the world around them. They show interests that lead to increased familiarity, which in turn leads to them ‘playing with what they know’. And that’s where the learning opportunities lie, as children become increasingly willing to ‘have a go’, inspired to seek new challenges with confidence.

Through ongoing observation of children’s interests as inspiration, educators can extend potential through opportunities that enable ‘active learning’ to take place. This learning inspires children to find out more about people and their world, giving them the drive to problem solve and persevere when they face difficulties, which helps instil pride in their achievements later down the line.

Children are always ‘thinking creatively and critically’, formulating ideas that are relevant to them – whether using a stick to stir muddy puddles or swinging the same stick around their head like a lightsaber. In such scenarios, educators sometimes focus on potential dangers rather than stopping to think about what it is that’s inspired children to interact with the item this way, stymying learning. But this sort of symbolic play – where children use objects to represent other things – is about ‘testing ideas’ as they ‘build theories’, realising that an apple will quickly break up when kicked hard or that a stick must be handled carefully to avoid injuring someone. So, a balance needs to be struck between safety and scaffolding learning through play to ensure they engage with the different characteristics of learning fully.

Picture this…

As adults, we become accustomed to everyday objects and experiences and stop being fascinated by little things. We may recognise ‘teachable moments’ when we see an opportunity to scaffold learning or to suggest a line of enquiry, but do we always consider what has inspired a child to do something unexpected?

Imagine taking a group of children to your outdoor play area. It’s a short walk, no more than two minutes, but one of the children stops to pick up a stone. The other children gather round as they want to see it, too. Do you hurry them on because the objective is to reach the outdoor play area, or do you wonder what inspired the child to pick up that stone? An educator’s first concern is likely to be the potential for harm with stones, but an extra step of questioning needs to come in here: what was special about that stone? Every stone on the path is unique – different sizes, shapes, patterns, textures, weight, and composition, so what caught the child’s eye? In this scenario, the child spotted something glimmering as the sunlight reflected on the stone’s surface, making it a perfect opportunity to tap into the children’s curiosity to find out more.

Reignite your inspiration

• Recall what inspired you to work with young children in the first place. While you may enjoy the work, what inspires you to be the best version of yourself for the children each day?
• Slow things down occasionally; question some of the things you take for granted. For example, how does a spider weave a web? Stop and watch for a while. Why does a flock of geese fly in an arrow formation? Be an inspiring role model to the children.
  
• Be inspired by how children learn and develop. Science can explain many things, but we’re still discovering more. An effective pedagogy requires us to be constantly curious about the uniqueness of children and what they need to thrive.
  

Last but not least, enjoy your day of inspiration – today, tomorrow, and every day!