Make that difference! Write learning Stories that go straight to the essence of what it means to be a curious, wondrous learner. Amelie, curious, adventurous, imaginative explorer. ~Ephemeral art installation in a stream~ It has always been my hope that I write with a 'whole heartedness' and with a 'relational connection' so that what I write makes a difference in children's learning lives and contributes to their identities as life long learners.  I want the legacy I leave behind to be one that reflects my practice, as year after year, day after day, moment after moment, I have intentionally nurtured the children in our setting to build the brain they will have for a life time. I want to understand this impact and I want to work in a setting where these ideas are a commonly shared value. That's not to say that we all write or act the same. Far from it. Anyone who lives and works in an environment that expects 'sameness', or strict adherence t

The language of learning What happens when the unexpected happens is often a real insight into the character of a learner. Curiosity, creativity, persistence and camaraderie require vulnerability. Putting yourself out there, being brave in every sense of the word, is a way into exploring something new and not giving up, even when the ‘new’ is tricky. Whether learning is inside the intricacies of making and being a friend, writing letters that at first are so difficult, exploring our natural world with the wonder that comes from deep within or when an ‘actual’ spider falls into your gumboot, how we respond keeps us open to further inquiry or not…. hearing the language of learning helps to build resilience, resourcefulness and reflective inquiry, three of Guy Claxton’s learning power words. And the fourth, so very powerful for learning, is wrapped up inside social learning where we bump ideas around together and come up with innovative, collaborative efforts that are far more than

Te Whāriki is child centred and learning oriented, challenging us to be our best possible selves and to make the difference that children are entitled to: What does this mean for teachers' professional responsibilities? These words offer such an awe inspiring vision for learning and teaching, infused with Te Whāriki Principles and Strands, and take us 'beyond the horizon', certainly way beyond complacency and ordinariness. This is why our professional responsibilities must be meaningful, collaborative and nurture teachers as life long learners too. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa, New Zealand requires all teaching teams to consider how, in their every day practice, teachers meet each of the Council's Teaching Standards, asking:  What quality practices do we use in our setting that connect with this standard?  Whenever I consider how we might fulfil our professional responsibilities, it is always with a consideration of what effect these will have o

So why inquiry learning? It's such a fascinating notion. It conjures up all manner of explorations, motivated from deep within, as learners seek to build the brain they will have for their life time. ' I wonder what makes the sky blue?   Where do the stars go in the daytime? What will happen if...?'  It's what drives babies to look at those wriggly things at the end of their arms and wonder what they can do? It intriguingly invites connection between people. Where does that ant trail lead and let's find out together . Rarely does learning happen in isolation from others and when we see learning as connection, we realise the way relationships are the blanket that warms that spark, so it dances as flames across time and space. Learning is energy that finds its will to keep pursuing the quest when we often don't even know what this means at the beginning, long past the easy bits into practice and effort, inside what is imaginable and therefore possible.