All these ideas are designed to encourage reflective practice – and help you identify your children’s individual characteristics of effective learning. Use them as a starting point for exploring learning areas – while being receptive to the directions that children want to go in and tuning in to their responses.
In part four of her series on sustainability, Hilary White explores the different ways we can reuse materials such as picture books to teach children the value of breathing new life into old objects.
Judith Harries discusses how children can use the word play, onomatopoeia and rhyme found in Michael Rosen's much-loved children's books to develop their speaking skills and cooperative play.
The fourth part of this series linking maths and children's books focuses on Monkey Do! by Allan Ahlberg and Andre Amstutz. As the Monkey jumps from page to page, use it as an opportunity to teach children in your setting about positional language.
The first in this ‘little scientist’ series explores the nature of chemistry and outlines some simple but exciting experiments, which will ignite children's curiosity and encourage them to make predictions based on what they see.
Drawing chalk pictures on the ground, painting fences with water and even leaving smudged fingerprints on the wall are all examples of children experimenting with mark making. Find out how you can encourage them to push their skills further.
Autumn brings plenty of inspiration for artworks – from the appearance of many spiders to the vibrant patterns that feature in Diwali celebrations. Karen Hart explores how you can mark these seasonal changes and festivities in your setting.
Emojis have become a key part of how we interact using technology and present lots of potential for learning. Judith Harries suggests we embrace this new form of communication to help children recognise their own and others' feelings.
Hitting a ball with a stick is fun. Add in a target and it becomes a challenge. Use the correct terminology and it becomes a new hobby. Let children experiment with golf equipment and develop their own swing style, says Jenni Clarke.
As the autumn and winter months bring more opportunities for cold and flu bugs to spread now is the time to be extra vigilant about handwashing in your setting. Try these activities linked to the EYFS which will educate children about the importance of regular handwashing and give them the physical skills to carry it out effectively.
With summer a distant memory, it’s time to embrace rainy days and view them as a learning opportunity.
Make Maths learning fun and effective with our pick of EYE’s Maths activities linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage. No need for expensive resources – improvise and use what you already have in your setting.
Sally Player, Foundation Stage leader at Quilters Infant School in Billericay, Essex, urges teachers to adopt a creative approach to ensure all new children develop a love of reading, and recommends resources such as 100 High Frequency Wordcards.
From creating a small world play area to hunting for apples, there are lots of innovative ways children can explore poetry and rhyme.
The experience children take from their first days at pre-school can have a lasting effect on the way they anticipate future transitions. Communicating effectively – and helping them to do the same – is key to success.
When your child is making dinosaurs stomp up the stairs or playing out scenes from real life with small figures or objects, they are engaging in small world play. Find out how you can support this type of play at home.
The official rules of rounders can be simplified for young children, enabling them to learn the basics of the sport, be active, concentrate on developing their skills and, most of all, have fun with their friends.
Take a closer look at natural plant forms and use these shapes and properties to create pictures and sculptures. As children experiment with art techniques they will also be learning about the natural world.
The popular picture book Pumpkin Soup is a staple diet for settings during the autumn months. The efforts of Cat, Duck and Squirrel to make the most perfect pumpkin soup is a great lesson in team work and sharing.
Penny Dale's picture book featuring the popular rhyme is alive with onomatopoeia and crammed with detail, making it a great stimulus for counting backwards and learning to take away one from any number to ten.
Children are naturally inquisitive about the world and they will always be excited by hands-on science. These simple experiments devised by Claire Hewson are designed to ignite children's curiosity, wonderment and sense of discovery.
Try these literacy-based activities and combine the development of children's reading and information gathering skills with learning about water conservation. Helping them to discover the importance of water is a good starting point.
When your child climbs into a box and zooms off to the moon, or stirs some pine cones in a pot to make a stew, they are engaging in role-play. Find out how you can support them to take this to the max.
In part two of her series on sustainability, Hilary White suggests ways for children to work together to discover that managing the rubbish we produce can be both fun and good for the environment.
Explore Quentin Blake's sense of fun and inspire children to experiment with words. Challenge them to write their own rhymes and have fun creating new adventures for popular characters.
