At Doncaster Park Kindergarten, a group of children gathered around a box of mooncakes, lanterns and storytelling materials to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. It wasn’t a formal part of the day’s program. It emerged because a Chinese family brought in items to share their cultural celebration, and the educators followed the children’s excitement and questions in real time.
This moment became a bridge between cultures, a celebration of identity, and a deeply meaningful learning experience. It wasn’t planned. But it was anything but unintentional.
At ECMS, we know that great teaching is so much more than content or a program. It’s about staying present enough to notice what’s unfolding right in front of us - and knowing when to step in with purpose, or step back and trust the child.
Balancing intentional and spontaneous teaching is a practice of deep listening. And it's what makes early learning come alive.
What do we mean by intentional?
Intentional teaching is purposeful. It’s what educators plan, prepare, and deliver based on their knowledge of children’s developmental trajectories, interests and identities. It might include guided group times, provocations set up to explore mathematical concepts, or a carefully scaffolded project that unfolds over weeks.
At The Merrell, Early Childhood Teacher Rebecca Waingold uses dice games to develop subitising. “When children call out the number that lands, they’re developing core mathematical concepts while feeling like they’re just playing a game,” she explains.
This is intentional teaching - planned, evidence-based and designed to build skills in a joyful, engaging way.
What do we mean by spontaneous?
Spontaneous teaching, on the other hand, responds in the moment. It emerges from children’s curiosity, lived experience, or the environment itself. The educator’s role is to notice it, value it, and extend it thoughtfully.
At Bulldogs Community Children's Centre, it was a child noticing a bird that led to weeks of inquiry into local species, Aboriginal language, and connection to Country. Archi Walia described how a moment of excitement around a bird on the sunshade became a springboard: “It started a whole lot of conversation about Bunurong Country”.
That conversation wasn’t scheduled. It came from the child. But the educator’s role in extending it - by drawing on books, language, and reflection - was a deliberate act of teaching.
Balance is the key
Intentional and spontaneous teaching are not opposites. They are companions. The most powerful learning occurs when educators are skilled enough to hold both - planning with purpose, and adapting with agility.
As the Early Years Learning Framework v2.0 reminds us, “Educators are deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in their decisions and actions. They plan with intention and are responsive to children’s learning, strengths and interests” (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022, p. 18).
And in the VEYLDF, spontaneous teaching is explicitly recognised as a form of intentionality: “Intentional teaching is not limited to pre-planned experiences - it also includes the spontaneous responses educators make to children’s thinking and learning” (DET, 2016, p. 14).
At ECMS, we describe this as the “art of noticing.” The ability to pause, reflect, and ask: What is this child telling me? What is this place offering us right now? And then responding with care.
Knowing your context
Teaching with both intention and responsiveness also requires deep knowledge of your community and place. As ECMS Head of Pedagogy Emma Forsyth explains, “Differentiation means we take a different approach depending on what’s needed, in the context of place”.
At Doncaster Park, Renae Giannaros and her team embed children’s cultural identities in the curriculum by inviting families to share their stories - and leaving space for spontaneous celebration. “Families who come from diverse backgrounds really do appreciate when they’re being seen and heard within the service,” she reflects.
Those celebrations are often unplanned. But they are entirely intentional in their values.
The power of being with
In the end, what matters most is not whether a teaching moment was planned or spontaneous - but whether it was relational.
When we are attuned to children and to place, we’re able to offer the right kind of support at the right time. Whether it’s pausing to investigate a beetle on the path or setting up a project to explore data and graphs, our teaching is anchored in relationship.
Because when we’re truly with children - not just delivering content - we make space for deep thinking, real connection, and lifelong learning.
References
Australian Government Department of Education. (2022). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (v2.0). Canberra: DESE.
Department of Education and Training (DET). (2016). Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework: For all children from birth to eight years. Melbourne: State Government of Victoria.