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“Strive to make everyday the best day of your life, because there is no good reason not to.” Hal Elrod

Get Rid Of The Templates

Oct 14, 2020

Children are so highly creative and learn to express their world and what’s around them in their own unique way from an early age.

 

Yet often we as adults try to stifle this creative freedom.

 

Perhaps by showing children how we expect their painting of a pumpkin to look and only offering one paint colour.

 

Maybe setting up a craft station where all the children have to make a paper spider with pipe cleaner legs.

 

Or

 

How about giving children templates, outlines to colour in or pre-determined shapes to use in their craft activity.

 

These stop us from focussing on the process of the learning and instead give the child the message that the outcome is what’s important here.

 

Instead talk to the children, “Ok so you want to make a representation of the bumblebee you saw outside, what materials shall we use? What colours would work best here? What shape will you make the body? How would be the best way to create the...

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“It’s rained today and the children have brought mud in with them.”

Oct 08, 2020

While visiting a school recently I over heard a Reception teacher panic that the children had brought mud inside the classroom and how the outdoor area needed astroturf laying instead.

 

That real connection with nature is so important; the mud, the puddles, the wind. This is how we learn about the world around us and is so important in our sensory development. We can’t deny young children of these experiences. In fact in my opinion I believe we need to encourage it more! This is when the real magic of early years learning happens!

 

To over come the problem of mud inside consider the footwear and clothing the children have to go outdoors in. Perhaps having a welly boot stand? A clothes airer for waterproofs, or a boot wash station? Why not put down a barrier mat in the entrance into the classroom that children can get changed on?

 

Making a few small changes means we can continue to have wonderful learning opportunities going on every day in nature.

Find out...

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“I Think I’m Planning Too Much Enchanted Provision"

Oct 08, 2020

You’ve spent all weekend printing, cutting and laminating resources as well as planning what would go in each every of provision for the week. By 10am Monday morning you feel disheartened as the resources are strewn across the classroom or are not being used as you intended.

It’s exhausting isn’t it!? I know because that used to me. Then I realised it didn’t have to be that way.

 

Once I started planning from the children’s interests and fascinations I saw that the learning just happened in the high quality continuous provision I had already set up. Levels of engagement improved, I saw huge levels of creativity  and I rarely got interrupted to support behaviour. I stopped having children wandering around the provision looking lost or disrupting others as they were exploring their own ideas and projects.

 

This saved me so much time and I could spend time doing things that would actually had an impact on my children. Like planning a...

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"My Children Can't Sit On The Carpet"

Oct 08, 2020

Do you find your children struggle to sit on the carpet for group time. Here are some things to consider;

  • How long are your adult led sessions?
  • Are you breaking children off in the middle of their play to come and sit with you for group time? This might b for things like assembly times.
  • How many children are in your group? Could you break up into smaller groups (maybe even groups of 4-5 to start with and slowly increase it.
  • Do you plan adult led sessions inside and out to show the importance of learning happening everywhere?
  • Have you had a focus on how we can be a good listener? I like to have visual good sitting supports up, use verbal reminders and use makaton signs and actions.
  • Are you making your sessions active and irresistible? The use of props, engaging stories, using different voices (e.g quiet whispers at times or showing excitement, action rhymes, creating intrigue and suspense (something discovered in a box)
  • Have you planned around the children’s interests and what...
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Mental Health

Oct 06, 2020
A few years ago working in early education was tough for me. The pressures of knowing what young children needed to flourish but having the daily battles of trying to help others see. Breaking down the relationships built up with children and the time for connection because ‘formal learning was a priority.’ As a leader I often felt that I spread myself too thin. The more I did, the more that was expected from me.
 
Those above me didn’t want people who loved and cared about their job. They needed machines that were unconnected from love to go through a process. This sadden me deeply.
 
I remember one day stopping to look at my reflection in the mirror. My skin looked grey and tired, my shoulders and neck ached, I felt dizzy with worry about all that was expected from me and wondering how I could ever do all these things well.
 
My weekends had become consumed with work. Often turning down invites from friends and family. When I did go...
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Natural Treasures

Sep 11, 2020
 

Autumn is the most perfect time of the year to collect natural treasures in the great outdoors. 

Some of my favourites that I mention in the Wanderlust Child Nature Journal are;

  • Crab apples
  • Elderberries
  • Rosehips
  • Pears
  • Acorns
  • Ferns
  • Pine cones
  • Conkers

 

I like to give children little bags to collect these in and then offer sorting trays, jars and ten frames to explore with once back in setting. You might even give your children a numbered paper bag and ask them to collect the amount on the bag. There are many ways you can then extend this further with the language you use afterwards. How many would we have if we added one more conker to the bag? What happens if we added two bags together? What would happen if an acorn fell out of the bag? How could you sort the natural items you've collected?

How about asking your children and their families to make 100 jars of loose parts? Then ask your children to make their own labels and put these out to use in your loose parts...

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How often do you allow children to pause?

Sep 11, 2020

A curiosity, a day dream or a question... this is often how learning begins. So how often do you allow children to pause? To walk slowly and wonder about the world around them. Offering opportunities to dawdle and see the world for the very first time? We're often so guilty of rushing along and taking children on our own agenda that we forget theirs!

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that it is the process thats important. Not just when it comes to doing an activity but in life in general. I’ve been thinking about it lots this week. Noticing while in Scotland so many people even rushing to get to the viewpoint on a hike... I must admit I’m more of a dawdler myself and like to take in the small moments of the hike- the wind through the trees, the smell of the pine or the crunch under foot. Young children are very good at stopping, looking and being curious as they walk along. Perhaps we can turn to our children to learn this again from them. The importance of slowness...

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Little Red Hen

Sep 10, 2020
The Little Red Hen
 
My nursery and reception children used to love learning this story of the Little Red Hen.
 
Following recommendations from Pie Corbett we would read the story to begin with a few times. Then we would start to put some repetitive actions to the different parts of the story to help the language stick and made these into a map. This map was also sent home to families and put up around our learning spaces.
 
We then created a small world version of the farm for the children to use in their play and added into the area the mapped story.
 
We provided children with the sensory opportunities of making their own bread and visiting a farm. It was a fantastic way to help children’s language development and story telling skills. We then explored changing a few parts of the story like the characters or how it ended.
 
What are your favourite stories to tell?
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Use Every Opportunity To Learn

Sep 09, 2020

‘Put your coat on Joe’
‘Jumper on Evie!’

The weather creates a brilliant way for us to learn key life skills but if we find ourselves just telling children what to do they won’t always understand the why.

Instead we can use experiences as a learning tool. Sometimes we need to let children go outside for a few minutes without a coat in winter but make sure our adult interactions support a learning opportunity here. Talking to the children about the weather, the way the coldness feels on the skin, wondering with the child what they could do to stay warmer. Linking back moments and other experiences. ‘Remember when we went to the farm last week and the wind was blowing and we were so cold. We wished we had our hats on to keep our ears warm!’

I also like to talk about the weather with the children as part of our morning meeting. Checking the weather forecast together and opening up discussions about what to wear, or to predict what might...

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Getting Outside in September!

Sep 08, 2020

As the weather starts to change and we move into the Autumn this has to be one of my favourite times of the year to spend time outside with young children. There is just so much to see and discover! Here are a few ideas to get you started...

Go on an autumn walk 

Head for a local walk and see what natural treasures can you collect that show you signs of Autumn? You might give children a numbered paper bag and see if they can collect that amount. Or how about giving each child a colour swatch card and matching nature to their shade?

Forage
Go foraging for berries and come back and bake a fruit crumble!

Gruffalo
Read the story of the Gruffalo and retell it outside! Set up a small world scene or retell with actions outside.

Go for a heather hunt
Did you know spotting white heather is a sign of  good luck? Why not take a walk and explore the smell of heather. You might try some heather honey or do some observational paintings of heather outside.

Make a leaf crown
Go on a...

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