The Foundation Phase.

By taking part in lots of different practical activities, children will  learn and develop all the essential skills and education they need for further education, hence being called the 'foundation phase' because it is a foundation for children to develop from. The foundation phase is for children aged between 3 and 7 years of age and aims to meet the diverse needs of children. This is the most important time for learning basic skills that they will need in their lifetime. They are given problems which they need to solve physically rather than just writing on paper. The key idea of this phase is 'doing' through the idea of play so Welsh Government states that they will be given opportunities where they will have a first hand experience which can continuously be improved through repetition because they have the foundation of where to start and what to do next time. http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/earlyyearshome/foundation_phase/?lang=en
There are many different aspects of the foundation phase such as mathematics, reading, writing, problem solving, communication and the welsh language.

There are Seven Areas of learning:

1. Personal and Social Development, Well-Being and Cultural Diversity
2. Language Literacy and Communication Skills
3. Mathematical Development
4. Welsh Language Development
5. Knowledge and Understanding of the World
6. Physical Development
7. Creative Development

The first area relates to learning in the real world. It includes relationships with other people and other ethnicities, learning to respect each other equally. It is also based on the importance of an individuals confidence and motivation. A child's well being is associated with aspects such as basic needs like security, warmth and how at ease they are with themselves and their surroundings.
I believe well being is essential for a learner because they need to be comfortable and confident with their surroundings and the people they associate with, in order to thrive from education and be motivated to work to the best of their ability.
A child's personal development can be improved through independent opportunities such as eating, dressing, going to the toilet and so on. I think that if children learn independence from a young age when it is most important, they will be become more mature and developed adults later on and have the confidence to achieve greater things.
The second are is key for communication and expression of ones thoughts and feelings.
Children communicate through stories, role play and movement to name a few.
Language is also a major tool for cognitive development and how thy process their thoughts. Their speaking, listening, reading, writing and communication skills develop from this area. Without this, children would find it difficult to pronounce certain words, learn how to put letters together to read/write also, we would find it difficult to identify it a child has a disability such as dyslexia.
I believe this encourages children to have a broader imagination and be more involved in active play. It will make them more confident and contribute more during group activities.
I think Mathematical development needs to be fun and colourful but most importantly, it needs to be meaningful. I found that using cards with different numbers and animals helped a lot because they could relate a real life thing to a number. It is important that the learner is given time to work out the solution incase they become frustrated and feel like a failure.