The Awe and Wonder of Light (and Dark).We talk a lot in the Early Years about the concept of Awe and Wonder. Two fairly small words that promote some huge emotional responses. When words are used a lot, they can sometimes come to lose their meaning and be used in situations that don’t do them justice. But true moments of awe and wonder can have significant impact on children’s engagement with their environment and their potential for learning. Although awe and wonder are similar, they are not the same. We will often talk about being ‘in awe’ of something which means that we recognise its grandeur and see it as greater than us. We might be in awe of someone’s … Read More
(At Least) 50 Fantastic Ideas To Try At Home…Can You Help?
As more people are self-isolating and schools and childcare settings across the world are closing, we thought we would contribute to easing the burden by providing another place you can direct parent’s /carers to for support. We are part of a wonderful, international community of Early Years practitioners who have a wealth of knowledge and a HUGE bank of ideas and activities. So, let’s gather together and share them! As a starting point I am going to use my blog to share activities that can fairly easily be done at home. I’ll gather a collection of ideas each week and post them on the website – with links from social media. If you would like to contribute please email me … Read More
Continuous Provision in Key Stage One Part 3 – Outcomes
I am really pleased that Jo from St John’s C of E Primary has agreed to write me a third blog post. You can find the others here and here. It is great to see a play based approach to learning having such a positive impact. My third blog leads to the subject I am most frequently asked about. A subject which I tend to avoid as it is often steered towards data, data, data…I like to ‘practise what I preach’; value the journey rather than the outcome’, but that is not to say that the children ‘s progress and ultimate end of Key Stage assessments are not too far from our minds as we plan the provision. Outcomes, in the … Read More
Continuing an Early Years Approach into Key Stage One
In the first of three blog posts I have asked Joanna from her setting in Yorkshire to talk us through her school’s Early Years Approach to Key Stage One. Why she decided to do it, what she actually does and the all important impact on emotional as well as academic attainment. Over to you Joanna… Our journey started five years ago and we haven’t looked back since. Walking around our setting now, it is hard to believe that we ever worked any other way; the formal classroom layout replaced with quiet nooks, busy provision areas and thoughtful provocations. Children are everywhere… on the floor, on cushions, in pairs, in groups or sitting quietly on their own. Our Key Stage One … Read More