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How Honour­ing a Child’s Small Fascination Opens the Door to Deep Learning

Some of the most meaningful moments in early childhood don’t happen in the planned activities, the themed weeks, or the beautifully prepped provocations.
They happen in the quiet corners — in the tiny sparks of curiosity that children discover all by themselves.

This week, it was a hole punch.

Not a fancy resource.
Not something new.
Just a simple tool sitting on the table… and one child who couldn’t resist the satisfying click, the steady resistance, the tiny circle falling free.

And instead of rushing them on, correcting the grip, or suggesting something “more purposeful,” slow pedagogy invites us to pause.

To notice.
To trust.
To let the child lead.

✨ What Slow Pedagogy Really Means

Slow pedagogy isn’t about doing less.
It’s about doing what matters — deeply, attentively, intentionally.

It asks us to:

• Honour a child’s pace

• Make room for repetition

• Value the process over the product

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When it comes to planning for the first few weeks of the Autumn term with your new children I would focus on prioritising the following:

• Making sure new children feel safe and settled
• Building positive relationships with all children
• Establishing rules and expectations 
• Getting children used to the daily routine 

If you take a re-watch of my video from my Hygge Summer School you can see that I share the ways I would plan and organise the daily routine at the start of the year in Reception or nursery. 

When the time feels right for you and your children you can then start to spark new curiosities and interests by introducing these to the children. As much as I believe lots of what we teach from should come from the children I also understand that there needs to be a balance of us as educators offering the opportunity to broaden the children's knowledge through the exposure to different and new experiences. These might be linked to seasonal changes, festivals or celebrations.  ...