Name of material: Physical independence Image(s): Video : Point(s) - - PDF document

Name of material:

Physical independence

Image(s): Video: Point(s) of interest:

The appeal of using high quality, smaller versions of the real, functional tools that are used by adults.

Primary purpose:

Main objective To develop the practical skills associated with care of the self.

Secondary purposes

Incidental benefits Development of attention and concentration. Promotion of wellbeing through joyful exploration. Refinement of finger grasps, physical dexterity and hand-eye coordination.

Control of error:

Each activity provides the control of error that the real outcome either will or will not be achieved using the real tool. That is, if the child is using a real glass for a drink then either he/she will get the liquid to his/her own mouth without spilling or he/she won’t. In this case the ‘control of error’ is the potential for error that is usually artificially hidden by “kids” equipment or by pretend play. For instance, plastic ‘sippy cups’ prevent spills artificially, and empty cups in a pretend ‘tea party’ will not spill, even if the child’s movements are not

• careful. In these examples the child does not receive the input of the ‘spill’ as a prompt to

alter his/her movements. Therefore when using real tools for their true purpose in the Care

• f Self/Others/Environment lessons the potential for error is the control of error.

EYLF Outcome 1.2: Children develop their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency by engaging in exploration, problem-solving and self- correction (rather than relying on an adult to identify the error and suggest the answer).

Presentation:

Please ¡note: ¡ ¡ Please ¡note: ¡At ¡the ¡Pre-­‑school ¡age ¡it ¡is ¡expected ¡that ¡the ¡child ¡will ¡have ¡had ¡experience ¡with ¡ these ¡processes ¡(either ¡at ¡home ¡or ¡in ¡the ¡Infant/Toddler ¡group). ¡The ¡following ¡lessons ¡are, ¡ therefore, ¡observations ¡of ¡the ¡child’s ¡actions ¡rather ¡than ¡directions ¡given ¡by ¡the ¡educator. Preparation:

• The educator observes the child wishing to engage in care of the self and observes

the child’s attempts with the corresponding activity (offering scaffolding/reminders as required). Lesson 1: Completes toilet routine independently

• The child identifies his/her own body signals (self-initiates the use of the toilet,

rather than going according to an external prompt or timetable).

• The child unfastens his/her own pants.
• The child releases his/her bladder/bowels into the toilet.
• The child uses toilet paper to clean any remaining urine/faecal matter from the

body.

• The child disposes of the used toilet paper and flushes the toilet.
• The child replaces and fastens his/her pants.
• The child thoroughly washes his/her hands.

Lesson 2: Pours own drink independently

• The child places the dominant hand around the handle of the jug.
• The non-dominant hand is placed under the ‘lip’ of the jug.
• The jug is lifted slightly and then slowly tipped towards the vessel.
• When the water starts flowing the angle of the jug is maintained, or corrected if the

flow is too fast.

• When the vessel is nearly full the jug is carefully tipped back towards being straight.

Lesson 3: Makes own snack when hungry

• The child recognises his/her own hunger.
• The child washes his/her hands thoroughly.
• The child collects the necessary ingredients/food from the shelf/fridge/cupboard.
• The child collects the necessary tools.
• The child prepares the snack and places it on a plate.
• The child washes his/her tools and plate.

Lesson 4: Identifies and wipes own runny nose

• The child identifies the sensation of mucus that is runny or dripping from the nose.
• The child takes a tissue and folds it over to ensure it is thick enough to be

absorbent.

• The child wraps the tissue around the nose and blows gently.
• The child squeezes his/her nose slightly with the tissue.
• The child moves the tissue away in a ‘wiping’ motion across the base of the nose.

• The child places the tissue in the bin, checks his/her nose in the mirror and washes

his/her hands thoroughly. Lesson 5: Puts on own clothes

• The child responds to the body’s signals, such as recognising fluctuations in

temperature with the sense of thermoreception or feeling the dampness of wet clothing after a spill, and collects the related clothing to correct the issue.

• The child removes old articles of clothing as needed (and places them on a

hanger/in a bag/on the drying rack).

• The child places new articles of clothing on.
• The child fastens any buttons, buckles, studs or zips.

Lesson 6: Puts on own shoes

• The child retrieves his/her own shoes and unfastens any straps or knots.
• The child places socks on first (if relevant).
• The child pulls the sides of the shoe apart, and pulls the tongue out, before placing

the left shoe on the left foot and the right shoe on the right foot.

• The child fastens any straps/bows.

Conclusion:

• When the child has completed his/her exploration you may use model some

language relating to the experience, such as “It looks like you were feeling quite hungry earlier, do you feel full now that you’ve had your snack?”

Links to the Early Years Learning Framework Outcomes:

Participating in the Care of the self routines independently helps the child progress towards the following Learning Outcomes; 3.1: Children become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing by experiencing the joy of independence and mastery over his/her own body. 3.2: Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing by implementing practical life skills to care for their own needs. 4.3: Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another by taking skills developed in separate Practical Life lessons (such as the Dressing Frames) and applying them in natural, spontaneous and personally relevant contexts. 4.4: Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials by making active, self-motivated and meaningful choices from the prepared environment.

Observation and assessment for learning:

When the child is working independently the educator can gather and analyse information about what the child knows, can do and understands by observing the following:

Indicators of progress;

• The child collects the right tool to respond to his/her needs (eg. a glass when

thirsty) but uses the tools incorrectly or with a lack of coordination. This indicates conceptual understanding but not procedural memory. Revisit the demonstration with the tool when the child collects it.

• The child uses a tool effectively when the teacher is present, and suggests

knowledge of its purpose in relation to specific needs (eg. feels thirsty and says “I need a drink) but does not show awareness of where to access this tool in the

• environment. Consider how the environment is arranged to identify whether the tool

is somehow obscured or if its location is inconsistent. Ensure that it is placed prominently and that it remains in its ‘home’ consistently. Indicators of mastery;

• The child confidently collects and uses a tool in relation to a particular need.
• The child assists other children with collecting and utilising tools.

If the child demonstrates the aforementioned skills the educator can engage in intentional teaching by modelling the use of the next material in sequence or the more challenging variation. If the child does not yet demonstrate the aforementioned skills the educator can show responsiveness to children by scaffolding the exploration with the presentation tips mentioned above. Questions for reflective practice: After presenting this material the educator might ask,

• Are there other theories or knowledge that could help me to understand better what

I have observed or experienced? What are they? How might those theories and that knowledge affect my practice?

• Who is advantaged when I work in this way? Who is disadvantaged?

Extensions/Variations:

There are countless opportunities for young children to engage in meaningful examples of Care of the Self. These include, but are not limited to;

• Using kitchen tools (tongs)
• Using food preparation tools (vegetable peelers, graters, juicers etc)
• Completing the bath routine independently (may not be relevant in all

contexts but could occur in services where children remain in the centre for particularly long hours)

• Using a hairbrush/comb
• Using a toothbrush (may not be relevant in all contexts but could occur in

services where children remain in the centre for particularly long hours)

• Putting on own sunscreen

Support ¡at ¡home ¡ ¡ Partnerships ¡with ¡families ¡

At this stage in a child’s development he/she is developing practical life skills required to care for the self. A parent/relative could reinforce this and support continuity of learning and transitions by;

• Gathering and presenting activities as suggested in the ‘Extensions/Variations’

above.

• Role modelling the tools and processes used for Care of the Self at home and

taking care to slowly, deliberately present these to your child.

• Reinforcing the language associated with practical life work, including the nouns

relating to the tools (eg. “toothbrush”) and the verbs associated with the tasks (eg “brushing”). The preschool age child may be interested in more advanced terms – for instance, when brushing teeth the parent can explain “You need to remove the plaque so your teeth don’t develop cavities” or “Remember to reach back to your premolars.”

• Investing in high-quality and functional tools that your child can use (such as small

jugs and glasses) and ensuring that these are kept in places where the child can independently access them.

To ¡learn ¡more ¡visit ¡Pinterest ¡