Play-Based Practice: Where to begin
Play-Based Practice: Where to begin Recently I have been asked to talk about how to develop a play-based practice in school quite a lot, but generally in short sessions and as there is so much that those who work with children in the early years can do, it got me thinking about some simple […]
Surviving Lockdown #5
Stick to the Routine To watch the accompanying information video go here Imagine spending your day not knowing what is going to happen and getting pulled in different directions at any given moment. Well, this is often the reality for young children. They wake up and literally don’t know what their day has in store for […]
Surviving Lockdown #4
Risk Taking and Risky Play To watch the accompanying information video go here Challenges and risk taking are important for children to develop physically, socially, and even cognitively; though the outdoors offers many opportunities for this, risk taking can take place anywhere that a child needs to push themselves or try something new. Children will be […]
Surviving Lockdown #3
Talking Emotions To watch the accompanying information video go here Young children need to be taught about their feelings, helping them to make sense of their emotions. It will allow them to become adults who can express themselves appropriately and regulate how they behave in social situations, as well as become compassionate and empathetic. […]
Surviving Lockdown #2
Leading or Leaving To watch the accompanying information video go here A young child does not learn and develop through instruction, they learn and develop through experience and achieving the goal is not where the magic happens, it happens throughout the process. The older the child the more they can play independently, and keep themselves […]
Surviving Lockdown #1
Enabling Environment To watch the accompanying information video go here It is widely known in the early years sector that in order for young children to develop and learn they need to spend a lot of time engaged in Child-led activities. Child-led activities are when a child is left to do what they choose, exploring, […]
The Start of Good Mental Health
As it is World Mental Health Day I wanted to write something about Personal, Social and Emotional Development in the Early Years. Some young children are born or develop clinical mental health issues and some may be experiencing mental health issues due to circumstance, such as a family break up. However, the majority of young […]
The Gift of Resilience and Risk Taking
I was having a conversation with my sister earlier about how much you should protect your child. We discussed how we mostly fended for ourselves as children which probably meant we learnt how to take care of ourselves as adults, well sort of. This lead me to thinking about the message I want to share, […]
Is there a place for Planned Physical Education in the Early Years?
When delivering training, the discussion about Self-Directed Play versus Planned Physical Education Classes always comes up and is the subject of some very interesting conversations. Self-directed play is when children are allowed the freedom to choose what they do and, if possible, where they do it. This is invaluable for young children’s development and growth. […]
Playing Positive Parents
In September I will be talking about Positive Parenting at the Cheltenham Wellbeing Festival, which has made me think about what may fall into the bracket of “positive parenting”, apart from the obvious- keeping children safe, nurturing, caring for, feeding, clothing, etc. Mulling over my years of working with children and parents, what really stands […]