Let Them Eat Cake

I recently completed some CPD at another setting and as is often the case in these situations, experiences were shared between delegates. One in particular stood out. In this practitioner's school, games such as football had been banned because one child was unable to take part due to medical reasons. It was felt that if one child couldn't access sports, than none of them should because it wasn't fair. But is this blanket exclusion, inclusion?

The Rise of the Pinterest Perfect Nursery

Pablo Picasso is reputed to have said that "taste is the enemy of creativeness", every day pictures are shared across all forms of social media of beautiful nurseries, all shared in the 'best possible taste'. Why are they shared? 

The Value of Craptivities

It is Valentine's day today and my daughter (age 7) has proudly brought home a Valentine's card for her daddy. I have no doubt that the class probably all made similar cards and the proud look on my daughter's face as she presented her hero with her creation is one that I will treasure for a long time to come. Why then is this type of activity, which provokes such feelings of pure joy, increasingly being scathingly referred to as a 'craptivity'?

Why What To Expect When Should Be What To Expect Next

Humans can be found on every continent in the world, we are the same species: Homo sapiens, we were all children once.  Surely you would therefore expect that regardless of where we are in the world, the rate of progression of child development would be the same?

The Necessity of Distraction

Over the past few weeks, I have read more and more posts about the importance of reducing distraction and increasing focus by the dulling down of displays. This particular idea has come about following the publication of studies which demonstrate that when children work in a new, brightly decorated classroom they are often distracted by their new surroundings

Plastic Attachment

Prior to Christmas, and completely off her own bat, my eight year old daughter went through her bedroom and deposited into a box a selection of toys that she wanted to donate to charity. Among them was a plastic, baby doll.

Think of a nursery without any teddy bears

I wrote this at the start of lockdown, when many on Early Years focussed social media were throwing the baby out with the bath water. Even today I read about a nursery school teacher planning to have forward facing desk based practice in their 3-4 nursery classroom.

For the good of the economy

Risking the lives of our youngest children alongside an apparently expendable workforce for the good of the economy. 

Phrase it like this

Gestalt processing is when children communicate using phrases which they have heard, rather than developing their language typically ie sounds>words>phrases.

Repeating precviously heard phrases in known as delayed echolalia. Within my nursery school setting, this form of communication is becoming increasingly common, and is being observed in some of our children who are already being assessed for autism.

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