TEY_10_1_2020

Teachearlyyears.com 37 Investigation area Outdoor play and learning is really important to us, which is why we have free flow all day, every day. We don’t fill our outdoor area with ‘indoor’ resources but instead try to keep it as natural as possible and encourage children to mark make in the mud with sticks or talk about mathematical concepts when they’re digging holes, as opposed to taking out drawing supplies or number lines. We find that we explore and learn so much more when we’re outdoors with the children, so we’ve been trying to bring the outdoors in. This is especially beneficial for settings that have limited time outdoors, as it means children can still investigate the wonders of nature inside. Try creating an investigation area, ideally next to a window, where the children have access to treasures they’ve found outside alongside magnifying glasses, scales, rulers, scissors, etc. MY SNAPSHOTS Natural resources Using what nature provides is not only great for being more sustainable but also perfect for settings with small budgets. There’s even fun to be had in collecting the natural treasures all around us and this can be used to build on parent partnerships: you can ask parents to go on scavenger hunts at the weekend to collect items with their children, which is hugely beneficial in itself. The natural items themselves can be used for messy play, sensory play, treasure baskets and tinker trays. They can be added to play dough, paint and even water to explore them further. We created paint brushes using sticks and different types of leaves that had fallen from the trees – simply tie the leaves to the sticks with string and ta-da, you have a new resource to discover! Cosy and calm A friend of mine was overwhelmed by the difference lighting had made in her setting, so I had a go at creating my own cosy and calm play spaces. Removing harsh lighting and creating spaces with natural lighting or lamps/fairy lights is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach and is said to create a calming and nurturing space that can benefit both learning and concentration. I know it isn’t always possible to replace strip lighting with lamps, but we’ve come up with some ways to achieve this in our environment. Firstly, we removed bulbs from some areas and hung material from the ceiling to mask some of the harsher strip lights. We then added more fairy lights to the darker areas where lighting had been removed. It’s still a work in progress but we can already see a difference in the children with these small changes. Calming spaces We removed bulbs from some areas and hung material from the ceiling. READ MORE MY LITTLE GARDEN By Katrin Wiehle I found a lovely collection of books about nature to share with the children that I highly recommend. They are the Natural World Board Books by Katrin Wiehle; I can’t wait to see her add more to this collection, which is also made from 100% recyclable materials. HAVE YOU READ… Laura England suggests collecting natural learning materials, bringing the outdoors in and taking the time to dim your lights… Laura England is preschool leader at Blythe Bridge Day Nursery. Follow @littlemiss_ey and visit bit.do/TEYle for more great ideas.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODczNTIw