Today, during free indoor play I noticed a spontaneous construction activity where three children began stacking foam blocks to build a “tall tower.” I start observing them, asking open-ended questions like, “What do you think goes on top?” and “How can we stop it from falling?” to scaffold their thinking. This supported EYLF V2.0 Outcome 4 – Children are confident and involved learners, particularly in problem-solving and spatial reasoning (AGDE, 2022).

This experience represents child agency and play-based pedagogy, where children extended their learning through experimentation and collaboration. According research, play-based learning is most effective when adults act as co-learners, guiding inquiry without taking control (Parker et al., 2022). I provided lightweight blocks, ensuring accessibility, and remained present to observe, guide, and model language by supporting both cognitive and language development.

I also supported inclusion and equity by offering participation options to quieter children and describing their actions to confirm their contributions. One of the children who nomally observes from the side start handing blocks to peers, showing growing social confidence. I responded positively, using statements like, “Good job, you’re helping your friends build that’s teamwork!” in line with ECA’s Code of Ethics, which emphasises dignity and respect for all children (Early Childhood Australia, 2016).

From a curriculum point, this activity supported learning across domains like mathematics, which is height, balance, counting and so on, science which is cause and effect, and social development which is collaboration. I document learning and discuss the interaction informally with my mentor, aligning with Regulation 74 – Documenting assessment for planning and NQS QA1.2.2: Responsive teaching (ACECQA, 2020).

Though no clear Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander content was used, I plan to further extend this learning by including natural building materials like sticks, leaves, barks and so on and referencing stories about structures from First Nations cultures supporting EYLF Principles: Respect for diversity(AGDE,2022) and QA6.2.3: Community engagement(ACECQA, 2020).

Behaviour guidance occurred naturally during play because when one of the children took a block another was using, I calmly asked them to take turns and offered an extra set. This moment promoted social learning and reflected Standard 4.3: Managing challenging behaviour with care and empathy (AITSL, 2017).

From a theoretical perspective, I was guided by Piaget’s constructivist theory, where children actively build knowledge through exploration (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019), and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, as I provided prompts within each child’s learning zone (McLeod, 2025).

Next time, I will try to introduce measuring tools like ruler and measuring tape and storybooks about buildings to further extend children’s ideas and support cross-curricular planning in a way that respects their play choices and emerging interests.