A couple of months ago, I travelled to Barcelona with our daughter for a few days away. It was a trip we had talked about doing for many years, but the time never seemed to be right. Last year we decided we need to set a date and go. What a wonderful time of sightseeing and being together it was!…
Nurturing creativity Rebecca Isbell and Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa (20:1.6), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) The NAEYC offers us a well organised and, at a basic level, comprehensive account of creativity in young child’s learning. The book is generously illustrated with photographs, diagrams and lists, and stories from nurseries. The chapters are concluded with questions to prompt…
Intelligence and creativity should not be considered as opposing alternatives , and imagination and learning are nurtured together. Albert Einstein supposedly once said: “creativity is intelligence having fun”. What a wonderful statement – and yet we often see a rivalry between ‘art’ and ‘science ‘. We can probably all name some distinctively imaginative people who ooze creativity, as well as…
I first heard about story scribing when I was lucky enough to go on ‘In the moment planning’/ Nursery Year in action’ training at Carterhatch Infants School with Anna Ephgrave and Ruth Moore. It struck me as a really simple way to help children get their stories down on paper, make that link between spoken and written word and encourage…
Story time, books, and storytelling are such a big part of our every day. We may share a book together during circle time, we might read when out and about and we sometimes share an audio story in the car or retell stories before naptime. We use signs to support our stories and the children soon learn new words and…
There’s nothing quite like sitting together are a fire and sharing stories and songs. Here are some safe ways to enjoy a campfire. For more outdoor ideas check out @JoFreeRangePlay on Facebook Printable guide here: let there be fire
What better way to learn about food than to grow your own veg. Here’s a great way to get started ready for Spring. Check out more ideas by looking at JoFreeRangePlay on Facebook. Printable guide here: grow your veg
Not long until Spring arrives…some flowers are coming into bud already. How many will you spot on this Spring Bingo? For more great ideas check out JoFreeRangePlay on Facebook For printable bingo card click here: spring bingo
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…
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…
