It is two months now since the new Education Inspection Framework came into effect and reports are just beginning to be published. Without any doubt, there is a change in...
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A few years ago, I read “The Boy who Would Be a Helicopter” by Vivien Gussin Paley. This was her description of her work in Chicago around storytelling and story-acting. She describes how she worked with children to “scribe” their stories, recording them word-for-word as told by the children. The story was then acted out by the child and friends…
Creating a successful 2-year-old environment takes a lot of planning, prioritizing and organization. Transitioning from infancy to a 2-year-old preschool can be a big adjustment. These children are usually very attached to their caregivers. It is important for the child to feel secure when they are away from home. Your classroom should offer a place for parents and children to be greeted and feel welcome. I always offer a hug and a…
Play has been described as a natural language of childhood.1 We all did a whole lot of playing when we were young and learnt far more than we realise from it. Young children not only learn through play but they can have a strong connection with their creator who made them in His image. That is why we have chosen…
Jesus well understood the vulnerability of toddlers. When He was Himself about two He was taken by Joseph and His mother Mary to Egypt as a refugee. There is nothing new about the flight of families from hardship, persecution and threat of death. In fact the movement of a great people group (the Hebrews) plays a crucial role in the history of Moses. The flight from…
The responses of two-year-olds starting at nursery may be very different. The unfamiliarity of the setting will evoke a wide range of behaviours. Some, being overwhelmed, may simply ‘go into their shell’; some are distressed by the moment of separation from mums; others are attracted by everything in turn as it comes to their attention and they flit from one activity or centre to another. The toddler, who…
I recently came across a piece of research linked to the concept of “power” within our relationships with children, and especially within the context of faith developing in children. Annemie Dillen (1) suggests that looking at the Christian tradition of developing faith in young children reveals a “complex interplay” between the power of children and the power of adults. She…
By the time this edition of Early Days goes to print I will have celebrated 30 years of marriage with my wonderful husband, Pete. So perhaps it is fitting that “Professional Love” is the theme of this magazine. There have been times in those thirty years when loving and sticking together has been a decision and commitment rather than a…
The introduction of British Values into Early Years was met with a raft of confusion and an abundance of resources available (at a charge!) on numerous Early Years websites. The range of posters displaying the Queen, the Union flag, roast dinners and tea parties not only showed the depth of misunderstanding, but served to promote exclusivity and not the “mutual…
Current interest in the understanding of “professional love” (Page, 2011), and how this is perceived in Early Years groups across the country, provides an important opportunity to look at how love might be understood in a Christian nursery, and how that links with our desire to express to children and families the unconditional love of God as our Father. Jools…