Today I helped with a guided play experience by using soft balls to encourage turn-taking, gentle movement, and social connection. Babies rolled balls to each other, and I modelled language like “Your turn” and “Wait, for your turn!” Which supported EYLF V2.0 Outcome 1.4: Children learn to interact in relation to others with empathy and respect, and Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators (AGDE, 2022).

I focused intentional teaching and responsive engagement to help babies start understanding social rules, supported by NQS QA5.2.1: Collaborative learning –which is behaviour guidance and QA5.1.1: Positive educator to cild interactions by building secure relationships (ACECQA, 2020). I supported close proximity, used gentle facial expressions, and named actions to model positive interactions.

One of the babies was struggling with waiting and was frustrated, I acknowledged their feelings saying, “It’s hard to wait”and used a colour card as a visual cue to help them recognise when it was their turn. This approach is supported by emotion coaching frameworks (Lisitsa, 2012) and reflects Standard 4.3: Manage challenging behaviours respectfully (AITSL, 2017).

For supporting equity and inclusion, I encouraged participation from all children, including those who are not yet mobile, by gently rolling the ball within reach and ensuring safe practice by following hygiene guidelines and being mindful of baby’s physical space and comfort meeting Regulation 155(ACECQA, 2020) and ethical care principles under the ECA Code of Ethics (Early Childhood Australia, 2016).

Although Aboriginal perspectives weren’t directly embedded today, I plan to introduce a same activity using native animal-themed balls and incorporate language from local First Nations cultures aligning with QA6.2.3: community engagement (ACECQA, 2020).

I reflected on this as a valuable experience to support early social regulation and peer engagement. I documented key moments and shared them with my mentor to inform future plans for emotional literacy.