A model for Christian early education. The reader is invited to consider the whole work of early years and take in the full scope of what is happening in the life of a little person. “To climb a new tree means to the boy the discovery of a new world.” (Froebel) Trees have had an important place in my own work with…
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…
Have you ever thought about making a den in your garden? Here’s a great idea from Jo at Free Range Play. Have a go and see how you get on. And check out more ideas on the Resources page or visit @JoFreeRangePlay on Facebook Click here for printable den ideas: den building
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…
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
Making music with things you find outside can be great fun. Here are a few ideas – and you can find other things to do by looking at JoFreeRangePlay on Facebook Printable guide here: making music
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…
