Supporting Learning in the Early Years

Providing the Curriculum Outdoors - Literacy

19th June 2020

Children develop speech, language and communication at different rates. They need to learn the skills of listening, turn taking and articulating thoughts and actions. Learning the art of conversation and communication takes time ...

Providing the Curriculum Outdoors - The World Around Us

12th June 2020

Young children spend lots of time trying to make sense of the immediate world around them. They are naturally curious about what happens throughout the different seasons. They ask questions about the people around them. The im ...

Providing the Curriculum Outdoors - Mathematics

4th June 2020

Mathematical concepts are important for everyday life. They develop slowly and over time in young children. Children need lots of opportunities to experience mathematics in a variety of different contexts. The outdoor envir ...

Providing the Curriculum Outdoors - Social & Emotional Development

28th May 2020

Social and emotional development is all about how individuals make sense of and learn about who they are. Young children experience many emotions and have to learn how to manage and express these emotions appropriately. They be ...

Providing the Curriculum Outdoors (Physical Development - Fine Motor)

18th May 2020

Fine motor skills are used to make small intricate movements such as writing, drawing, scissor work, threading, buttoning, zipping, handling cutlery and much more. Most of these complex fine motor skills become easier for chi ...

Providing the Curriculum Outdoors (Physical Development - Gross Motor)

14th May 2020

The best way to plan for learning outdoors is by looking firstly at the what children seek to do naturally, and then look at what skills your curriculum is directing you to develop. No curriculum framework requires you to develo ...

Den Play

30th March 2020

Young children tend to find small child-sized spaces very appealing. You often see them climbing and clambering into cardboard boxes, making dens under the kitchen table, crawling under the sheets or hiding behind the curtains. ...

Mud Glorious Mud!

15th April 2019

Mud kitchens, as we know them today, are a fairly new introduction to our outdoor spaces, but the concept is very much an age old favourite thing to do outdoors. Jan White, an independent consultant supporting high quality outdo ...

Celebrating Science Week 2019

13th March 2019

It's British Science Week 2019 and a great reminder that science in the early years is one of the best ways to help children find answers to their many 'why' and 'how' questions. In order to support children's curiosity and inqu ...

World Book Day

7th March 2019

"Celebrate stories. Love Reading." is the strapline for World Book Day 2019. Our role as parents and educators is to create suitable conditions for our children to want to celebrate stories and love reading. Dan Freedman, at a ...