Aistear Play

Aistear

Aistear is the early childhood curriculum framework for all children from birth to six years. The word Aistear is the Irish word for journey and was chosen because early childhood marks the beginning of children's lifelong learning journeys (introducing Aistear- National Council for Curriculum Assessment)

The majority of learning in the infant classroom is play based and monthly themes are chosen to get our learners thinking more deeply. Five distinct play areas are set up in the classroom and children are divided into groups with each group taking turns to play in one area each day. The types of play children engage in are;

• Physical Play- sand, water, playdoh
• Role Play- dress up, kitchen, shop, school (depending on the monthly theme)
• Creative Play- painting, junk art
• Constructive Play- lego, blocks

In October the theme in room 2 was School and a role play corner was set up with a white board, desks, chairs and other school themed play equipment. Children went for a walk around the school exploring the various classrooms and meeting the important members of staff- teachers, the secretary, the Principal and the school care taker. This gave them a framework with which to plan their play.

Have a look at some of the photos from our play;