Aistear Learning Goals

WB Aim 1: Children will be strong psychologically and socially.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. make strong attachments and develop warm and supportive relationships with family, peers and adults in out-of-home settings and in their community
2. be aware of and name their own feelings, and understand that others may have different feelings
3. handle transitions and changes well
4. be confident and self-reliant
5. respect themselves, others and the environment
6. make decisions and choices about their own learning and development.

WB Aim 2: Children will be as healthy and fit as they can be.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. gain increasing control and co-ordination of body movements
2. be aware of their bodies, their bodily functions, and their changing abilities
3. discover, explore and refine gross and fine motor skills
4. use self-help skills in caring for their own bodies
5. show good judgement when taking risks
6. make healthy choices and demonstrate positive attitudes to nutrition, hygiene, exercise, and routine.

WB Aim 3: : Children will be creative and spiritual.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. express themselves creatively and experience the arts
2. express themselves through a variety of types of play
3. develop and nurture their sense of wonder and awe
4. become reflective and think flexibly
5. care for the environment
6. understand that others may have beliefs and values different to their own.

WB Aim 4: Children will have positive outlooks on learning and on life.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. show increasing independence, and be able to make choices and decisions
2. demonstrate a sense of mastery and belief in their own abilities and display learning dispositions, such as determination and perseverance
3. think positively, take learning risks, and become resilient and resourceful when things go wrong
4. motivate themselves, and welcome and seek challenge
5. respect life, their own and others’, and know that life has a meaning and purpose
6. be active citizens.

IB Aim 1: Children will have strong self-identities and will feel respected and affirmed as unique individuals with their own life stories.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. build respectful relationships with others
2. appreciate the features that make a person special and unique (name, size, hair, hand and footprint, gender, birthday)
3. understand that as individuals they are separate from others with their own needs, interests and abilities
4. have a sense of ‘who they are’ and be able to describe their backgrounds, strengths and abilities
5. feel valued and see themselves and their interests reflected in the environment
6. express their own ideas, preferences and needs, and have these responded to with respect and consistency.

IB Aim 2: Children will have a sense of group identity where links with their family and community are acknowledged and extended

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. feel that they have a place and a right to belong to the group
2. know that members of their family and community are positively acknowledged and welcomed
3. be able to share personal experiences about their own families and cultures, and come to know that there is a diversity of family structures, cultures and backgrounds
4. understand and take part in routines, customs, festivals, and celebrations
5. see themselves as part of a wider community and know about their local area, including some of its places, features and people
6. express their own ideas, preferences and needs, and have these responded to with respect and consistency.

IB Aim 3: Children will be able to express their rights and show an understanding and regard for the identity, rights and views of others.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. express their views and help make decisions in matters that affect them
2. understand the rules and the boundaries of acceptable behaviour
3. interact, work co-operatively, and help others
4. be aware of and respect others’ needs, rights, feelings, culture, language, background, and religious beliefs
5. have a sense of social justice and recognise and deal with unfair behaviour
6. demonstrate the skills of co-operation, responsibility, negotiation, and conflict resolution.

IB Aim 4: Children will see themselves as capable learners.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. develop a broad range of abilities and interests
2. show an awareness of their own unique strengths, abilities and learning styles, and be willing to share their skills and knowledge with others
3. show increasing confidence and self-assurance in directing their own learning
4. demonstrate dispositions like curiosity, persistence and responsibility
5. experience learning opportunities that are based on personal interests, and linked to their home, community and culture
6. be motivated, and begin to think about and recognise their own progress and achievements.

C Aim 1: Children will use non-verbal communication skills.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. use a range of body movements, facial expressions, and early vocalisations to show feelings and share information
2. understand and use non-verbal communication rules, such as turn-taking and making eye contact
3. interpret and respond to non-verbal communication by others
4. understand and respect that some people will rely on non-verbal communication as their main way of interacting with others
5. combine non-verbal and verbal communication to get their point across
6. express themselves creatively and imaginatively using non-verbal communication.

C Aim 2: Children will use language.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. interact with other children and adults by listening, discussing and taking turns in conversation
2. explore sound, pattern, rhythm, and repetition in language
3. use an expanding vocabulary of words and phrases, and show a growing understanding of syntax and meaning
4. use language with confidence and competence for giving and receiving information, asking questions, requesting, refusing, negotiating, problem-solving, imagining and recreating roles and situations, and clarifying thinking, ideas and feelings
5. become proficient users of at least one language and have an awareness and appreciation of other languages
6. be positive about their home language, and know that they can use different languages to communicate with different people and in different situations.

C Aim 3: Children will broaden their understanding of the world by making sense of experiences through language.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. use language to interpret experiences, to solve problems, and to clarify thinking , ideas and feelings
2. use books and ICT for fun, to gain information and broaden their understanding of the world
3. build awareness of the variety of symbols (pictures, print, numbers) used to communicate, and understand that these can be read by others
4. become familiar with and use a variety of print in an enjoyable and meaningful way
5. have opportunities to use a variety of mark-making materials and implements in an enjoyable and meaningful way
6. develop counting skills, and a growing understanding of the meaning and use of numbers and mathematical language in an enjoyable and meaningful way.

C Aim 4: Children will express themselves creatively and imaginatively.

1. share their feelings, thoughts and ideas by story-telling, making art, moving to music, role-playing, problem solving, and responding to these experiences
2. express themselves through the visual arts using skills such as cutting, drawing, gluing, sticking, painting, building, printing, sculpting, and sewing
3. listen to and respond to a variety of types of music, sing songs and make music using instruments
4. use language to imagine and recreate roles and experiences
5. respond to and create literacy experiences through story, poetry, song, and drama
6. show confidence in trying out new things, taking risks, and thinking creatively.

ET Aim 1: Children will learn about and make sense of the world around them.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. engage, explore and experiment in their environment and use new physical skills including skills to manipulate objects and materials
2. demonstrate a growing understanding of themselves and others in their community
3. develop an understanding of change as part of their lives
4. learn about the natural environment and its features, materials, animals, and plants, and their own responsibility as carers
5. develop a sense of time, shape, space, and place
6. come to understand concepts such as matching, comparing, ordering, sorting, size, weight, height, length, capacity, and money in an enjoyable and meaningful way.

ET Aim 2: Children will develop and use skills and strategies for observing, questioning, investigating, understanding, negotiating, and problem-solving, and come to see themselves as explorers and thinkers.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. recognise patterns and make connections and associations between new learning and what they already know
2. gather and use information from different sources using their increasing cognitive, physical and social skills
3. use their experience and information to explore and develop working theories about how the world works, and think about how and why they learn things
4. demonstrate their ability to reason, negotiate and think logically
5. collaborate with others to share interests and to solve problems confidently
6. use their creativity and imagination to think of new ways to solve problems.

ET Aim 3: Children will develop and use skills and strategies for observing, questioning, investigating, understanding, negotiating, and problem-solving, and come to see themselves as explorers and thinkers.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. make marks and use drawing, painting and model-making to record objects, events and ideas
2. become familiar with and associate symbols (pictures, numbers, letters, and words) with the things they represent
3. build awareness of the variety of symbols (pictures, print, numbers) used to communicate, and use these in an enjoyable and meaningful way leading to early reading and writing
4. express feelings, thoughts and ideas through improvising, moving, playing, talking, writing, story-telling, music and art
5. use letters, words, sentences, numbers, signs, pictures, colour, and shapes to give and record information, to describe and to make sense of their own and others’ experiences
6. use books and ICT (software and the internet) for enjoyment and as a source of information.

ET Aim 4: Children will develop and use skills and strategies for observing, questioning, investigating, understanding, negotiating, and problem-solving, and come to see themselves as explorers and thinkers.

In partnership with the adult, children will
1. demonstrate growing confidence in being able to do things for themselves
2. address challenges and cope with frustrations
3. make decisions and take increasing responsibility for their own learning
4. feel confident that their ideas, thoughts and questions will be listened to and taken seriously
5. develop higher-order thinking skills such as problem-solving, predicting, analysing, questioning, and justifying
6. act on their curiosity, take risks and be open to new ideas and uncertainty.