I have blogged a great deal about all of the things that you can do to prepare children to become successful writers. I think our aim should always be not just to get children writing, but to get children wanting to write. It is undoubtedly true (especially for some boys) That without the will they will struggle to master the skill! But often how we approach the teaching of writing doesn't take 'will' into account. It seems to be all about the end result and not the process. The stages of physical writing development can be tricky and different children show different levels of dexterity at different times. When it comes to 'writing' as opposed to 'mark making' I think … Read More
Making Snow…and other Early Years Practice.
Just thought you might like to share some of the sorts of practice that I have been looking at over the past couple of weeks. Last week I popped to Coventry to work with Nicki and the Early Years team at Joseph Cash Primary school. The school has 60 Reception children who work in one open plan space (with a small work room next to the loos!) and a Nursery class who have their own space but share an outside area. I was working with Nicki on the further implementation of objective led planning and looking at their current systems for recording all of their other bits of planning – plus a bit of outdoor evaluation thrown in for good … Read More
Great Malleable Material – Bubble Tea Pearls!
Whilst sorting through these photographs before I send them off to the publisher, I thought I would do a quick post to see if you had discovered this stuff. It is called Tapioca Pearls or Bubble Tea. It is basically like giant tapioca. You boil the contents of the packet in a pan and they swell up to make these large tapioca balls. On the packet it suggests that you can eat them hot or cold and add them to milky tea, soup, coffee or jelly. None of those options fill me with the desire to try them out! (amendment to post – Sandra found the following link regarding Tapioca Pearls saying that they had ingredients that may cause cancer … Read More
Adult Directed verses Child Initiated
The Early Years guidance is very clear that there needs to be a good mix of adult directed teaching and child initiated learning in your setting. What it is not very clear on is how much of each there should be. The reason for that is there is no real definitive answer, as with a great deal of Early Years practice it depends on a range of other factors. Before you even begin to discuss percentages and ratios, the first thing you need to do is to define what you mean and understand by the terms 'adult directed' and 'child initiated'. I often find that these definitions can be tricky to clarify within a team and that practitioners individual interpretations … Read More