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…
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…
I’ve been pondering why we love stories so much and why children love to have their favourites read over and over again, and as I pondered the words of the old hymn came into my mind. I don’t think I have ever really looked at the words, but they were there somewhere hidden away. Stories bind us together, stories help…
Fifteen years ago, I felt the lord impress upon my heart to set up a nursery with a Christian ethos. In 2008 I received a word from a visiting pastor at the church I attended at the time who spoke to me and said, “You will bear so much fruit it will be indescribable”. At the time I wasn’t sure…
Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Ofsted Wolf…. Once upon a time there was a girl called Little Red Riding Hood. One day she decided that she loved learning so much that she wanted to help children have fun and learn new things. So, she decided to work in Early Years. Off she went into the wide, open…
From the moment our daughter could make any sound at all, she has been a singer and music maker. I have a vivid memory of her as a one-year-old, pushing her walker full of wooden bricks and whistling! It seems that music is part of her DNA, and it is undoubtedly part of her spiritual DNA. It is such a…
After our very first visit to the New Wine Summer camp as a new Christian family, the car journey home was full of singing. Captain Alan Price had made an impression that would never be forgotten as we heartily sang “It’s an adventure following Jesus. It’s an adventure learning from him”. Those days were our first introduction to life in…
Train up a child… This is such a well known verse and is perhaps the aim of many of our Christian nurseries and preschools around the country. I love the photo of the two boys running off as there, just ahead, is a corner. We cannot see what is just around there. There is a mystery that we cannot solve!…
