What Comes Before Phonics? By Dr Sally Neaum

Alistair Bryce-CleggGiveaway, Phonics160 Comments

I enjoyed Sally’s book What Comes Before Phonics? so much when I read it that I asked her to write me a guest blog post. It makes a great deal of sense and has a REALLY important message for the teaching of phonics.  We all share the aim of enabling children to become literate with ease and success, and the importance of phonics as one aspect of this process is well established. However, there remains significant disquiet about what this means for early years, in particular, how the strong focus on phonics has led to increased schoolification of both content and pedagogy practices in the early years. Like many in early years, I am concerned about the increasing pressure for early, … Read More

Spring Exploratory Jelly…

Alistair Bryce-CleggCreativity, Malleable Materials, Messy Play, Texture Kitchen4 Comments

Back in the Autumn, I posted this recipe for Autumn jelly. It is a really interesting and easy activity to create. Lots of you tried it and shared photos of your jelly creations – thank you, they were great to see and share. This week on Instagram, @earlyyearsoutdoor shared a ‘Flower Jelly’ version which looked great. If you make any sort of jelly : flower, Spring, dinosaur…. then please send me a picture and I will share it. Have a great weekend… Alistair This is a really simple activity that gives you lots of opportunities to explore many aspects of the EYFS. If you involve the children from the very beginning then not only will they be able to talk … Read More

Susan Isaacs on Play.

Alistair Bryce-CleggABC Does A Blog, Boys Learning, Child Initiated Learning, Continuous Provision, Creativity, EYFS Policy and Practice, Nurseries, Play, Uncategorized5 Comments

At the moment I am putting the finishing touches to a new book that I am writing for Sage all about play. I have always really enjoyed writing about my own thoughts on Early Years education, but in creating this book I have had the opportunity to go back, re-read and discover what other people have to say about it. One of my favourite re-reads has been The Educational Value of the Nursery School by Susan Isaacs. Her writing is so relevant to today it is hard to believe that it was first published in 1937! Isaacs was a pioneer of children’s play putting the development of emotions and feelings at the heart of her practice. She was committed to … Read More

What do you get if you cross and egg with a laminating pouch?

Alistair Bryce-CleggUncategorized10 Comments

It is that time of year again – get your laminating pouches at the ready! This is an Understanding the World activity that I guarantee you and your children will LOVE! All you need is some laminating pouches, an iron, an ironing board, some A4 paper and a few random objects. ( You can also use hair straighteners instead of the iron – just make sure the temperature is right!). Now, most of you will have spent many a happy hour slaving over (and probably jamming) your laminator making various labels and resources. Well, today you are going to give the laminator a rest and seal your pouches by hand using an iron. The reason that we want to seal … Read More