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Who better to be the first guest on the Tiny Chair Podcast but the fabulous Alice Sharp? Alice has over 30 years of experience in the Early Years under her (probably sparkly) belt and creates excitement and curiosity for Early Years educators and parents alike through her training courses and webinars.
“I love that children think big, deep, philosophical thoughts… and we have no idea how to answer them!”
Alice Sharp
Generation beta are the babies born between 2025 and 2039, so they are starting their childhood right now. Gen Beta will live in a world of AI and automation as a normal part of daily life, and with their birth years taken into account, members of Gen Beta likely live to see the 22nd century.
Alice Sharp reflects on the changes we need to make in the Early Years to meet the changing needs of successive generations, including looking away from more traditional theories around early learning and development.
“I love Froebel and Montessori and Steiner and Vygotsky and Bruner and Piaget,” says Alice, “... but they have never met the children that we have in our nurseries now.”
Alice Sharp believes that we can take the principles and values of previous generations of childhood theorists, but as Early Years educators, we need to keep an eye on the future.
“By 2035, 16% of the global population will be generation beta,” explains Alice, “We need to see what their little world will look like so we can provide play that is building the right foundations.”
The children in our Early Years settings now are mostly Generation Alpha, born between 2010 and 2024. This generation has the most technological integration in their childhoods, mostly thanks to their Millennial and Gen Z parents.
“We’ve got two and three-year-olds that would prefer to watch an iPad,” says Alice, “If they’re obsessed with volcanoes, they’re watching all the YouTube clips of volcanoes, and they’re learning and understanding… but there’s nothing more exciting than doing the exploding volcano in the playroom, feeling as if you’re part of it.”
Alice Sharp believes that now more than ever, physical materials and resources should take centre stage in our Early Years provision. While Gen Beta will grow up in a world where they're surrounded by technology and artificial intelligence, we can make plenty of room for traditional intelligence too.
“Technology’s here and it’s not going to go away, but I need physical materials so that I can completely and utterly engage my head, my hands, and my heart.”
Alice Sharp explains that play should be central to all education, and is what schools could learn from how we deliver learning in the Early Years.
“Play! Materials! Materials make that content meaningful for them,” explains Alice, “Every child should be exposed to something that creates the context for learning. The processes and concepts being taught are brought to life, not by ‘chalk and talk’ or ipads.”
But with technology becoming central to so many aspects of how we live, how can we ensure that the children coming into our settings have the opportunity to engage with it safely and competently?
“Our job is to give them the skills they need that will allow them to program, that will allow them to analyse,” explains Alice, “The science is telling us that it needs to be more about the soft skills.”
“I love materials,” explains Alice, “I love provocations and invitations to engage in curiosity and so when I find objects I become a bit obsessive! I’ve got over 300 spoons, 28 mashers, and a bag of 45 thimbles!”
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