What name do you have for child initiated learning?

[Guest]

Hi, hope you are all enjoying the holiday :1b

 

We have always referred to child initiated learning times as 'choosing', and this has always worked for us, but part of me thinks it would be nice to somehow incorporate 'learning' into our name for it.

 

So, how do you all refer to it?

 

:1b

[catma]

One of my schools called it learning and playing time and another calls it finding out time to encourage the critical thinking aspect.

Cx

[Guest LornaW]

I used to call it 'choosing' some years ago and like you felt the name didn't reflect the activity and as we were using High/Scope started to call it work time. I like 'finding out time' Catma!

 

LornaW

[lashes2508]

Children's 'voices and choices '

[Lucie]

Independent learning time, with a good explanation at the beginning if the year.

[Froglet]

Mine is currently 'choosing time' but I have had a little niggle about it for the same reasons as you. I really like finding out time and can imagine that as a phrase that could be used to give a little bit more direction to those that sometimes need it...."Can you find out if..." and also to sum up at the end of the day "What did you find out today?"

 

It's also got a nice open ended feel. I need to do some work on how I collect CoEL evidence this year and this might be the start of a way in for me. Thank you for the idea!

[klc106]

We call it "time to get busy"

[Guest]

Thank you all for your replies and ideas.

 

Had a really busy day today with a friend and her little ones visiting and just sat down to come on here and suddenly remembered the thread I started!!

 

I do like finding out time.

 

A school I visited a while ago called it 'busy learning' I think.

[Guest]

I say it's time to 'choose your learning' and the children knew from day 1 what that meant, always seems to work

[finleysmaid]

Do the children care what you call it?

I think this is one of those things that is done for adults rather than children so i guess you could call it what you like!.....my only pet hate is 'work time' ! <_<

[dreamgirl]

We just say let's get busy and have some fun!

[Guest]

Finley'sMaid - no they probably don't! Choosing has always worked for us, it's something they understand and it avoids 'work time' type things! I really don't like terminology that they really don't need to know (such as 'phonemes' - my classes have always made excellent progress with reading and writing using sounds/letters rather than phonemes/graphemes, etc - but that is probably for another thread!) so maybe I should just keep it as 'choosing' and just explicitly model talking about learning/have follow-up activities to get them to talk about their learning.

[hudsod03]

As a school we are changing from child initiated time to planned purposeful play

[Guest]

We call it "time to get busy"

I LOVE this!

[Guest]

Go and Explore and Investigate...

[mundia]

Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer 'play' because that is what it is, and I think that's what children will naturally call it. I recall in my last teaching post (a few years ago now) fighting hard to keep 'play' on the timetable, but I did because I wanted it to be valued for what it is. I didn't want to call it something else just because it made it sound somehow more acceptable to others in the school.

[narnia]

PLAY

[Fredbear]

Play, play, play play play.

[bubblejack]

Yes I agree "Play"