Look and learn

Develop your understanding of children's learning by considering the following scenario Hal, aged four years and 10 months, has been in the setting for three months, having just been placed with an adoptive family after spending most of his life in care. It is likely that he has Reactive Attachment Disorder (often seen in children in care or who have been adopted). Today he is in the junk modelling area, where he sifts through the junk and scatters and throws it on the floor. He eventually selects an egg box and throws it in the air a few times, catching it perfectly, even when it is thrown quite high. He begins to jump around, interfering with others, shouting, laughing loudly and making high-pitched squeaks. Other children tell him to be quiet and close ranks around the table. He elbows his way in and two children leave. He bangs his box on the table while searching for something. He finds the masking tape, tears off strips and winds them around the box. He continues to bind the tape around the box, concentrating hard, until the box is fully enclosed and the tape has run out. He then takes another roll and begins to wind it around his waist. He stops when another child draws attention to it.