50 Fantastic Ideas
8 total works
50 Fantastic ideas for Involving Parents
by Sally Featherstone and Phill Featherstone
Published 26 September 2013
The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework requires that practitioners forge positive relationships with parents and actively engage them in their children's early learning experiences. The suggestions in this book aim to aid practitioners in their endeavours to make parents feel welcome, included and supported.
Practitioners can dip into the book and choose simple ideas ranging from supporting parents during the induction period, involving them in curriculum development and helping them to support their children's learning at home. Each idea comprises: a list of resources needed; step-by-step instructions on how put the idea into action; suggestions for how to extend the idea; and how the idea is beneficial to parents.
Practitioners can dip into the book and choose simple ideas ranging from supporting parents during the induction period, involving them in curriculum development and helping them to support their children's learning at home. Each idea comprises: a list of resources needed; step-by-step instructions on how put the idea into action; suggestions for how to extend the idea; and how the idea is beneficial to parents.
Messy play is at the heart of the early years curriculum, supporting creativity and imagination, and giving children opportunities to experiment with tactile materials. This book offers 50 ideas for using natural resources, simple household items and recycled resources for low cost inspiration.
Practitioners and teachers in the early years are always looking for new ideas for messy and 'hands-on' play, and this book will give children many opportunities for exploration and investigation through sensory play.
Practitioners and teachers in the early years are always looking for new ideas for messy and 'hands-on' play, and this book will give children many opportunities for exploration and investigation through sensory play.
50 Fantastic ideas for Exploring Emotions
by Sally Featherstone and Phill Featherstone
Published 26 September 2013
Emotional intelligence is a gift we can give to each child, but it doesn't develop without adult support guidance and modelling. The curriculum for the early years puts personal, social and emotional development at the heart of best practice, an essential part of entitlement to a high quality early education. Children's lives are often lived on a roller coaster of emotions as they swing from raging anger to squirming mirth, sunny happiness to weeping despair. How can adults help them to understand and respond to such a wide range of deeply felt emotions?
This book offers you fifty short starter sessions with interesting ideas for follow up, each one focused on a different aspect of emotional development. The activities will help children to understand, explore and manage their own emotions and those of others through discussion, observation, stories, songs and movement. Try some of these engaging activities and ensure that the children you work or live with become emotionally intelligent.
This book offers you fifty short starter sessions with interesting ideas for follow up, each one focused on a different aspect of emotional development. The activities will help children to understand, explore and manage their own emotions and those of others through discussion, observation, stories, songs and movement. Try some of these engaging activities and ensure that the children you work or live with become emotionally intelligent.
Children love constructing models and other objects, and working with found and recycled materials has a firm and continuing place in the early years, encouraging children to be imaginative and creative as they practice their skills in joining, wrapping, bending and cutting. These materials that are often free or low cost, are available everywhere, waiting for imaginative practitioners to find and use them.
This book gives you 50 ideas for using free, cheap and recycled materials in your setting, both for creative and independent play and for specific projects. The resources suggested are all easily available, and the ideas are only starters for the continuing interest children have in this sort of work.
This book gives you 50 ideas for using free, cheap and recycled materials in your setting, both for creative and independent play and for specific projects. The resources suggested are all easily available, and the ideas are only starters for the continuing interest children have in this sort of work.
The weather is a constant source of wonder, excitement, enjoyment and frustration for children and the adults who live and work with them. The unpredictable nature of our current weather puts pressure on planning and preparing activities in advance, often meaning that children cannot go out of doors, or may have their usual activities curtailed.
This book offers you 50 ideas for simple activities to do in the rain, wind or snow (and in fog, frost, mist and sunshine!). The ideas may not all be new to you, some are revivals of old favourites, but they are all easy to prepare, mostly using resources readily at hand on your home or setting, collected in one place and ready for you to use.
This book offers you 50 ideas for simple activities to do in the rain, wind or snow (and in fog, frost, mist and sunshine!). The ideas may not all be new to you, some are revivals of old favourites, but they are all easy to prepare, mostly using resources readily at hand on your home or setting, collected in one place and ready for you to use.
50 Fantastic Ideas for Investigations
by Sally Featherstone and Phill Featherstone
Published 8 September 2016
Exploring and investigating familiar objects and places gives children real experiences to think, plan and get involved in both indoors and outside. This book gives a variety of ideas for investigations, some of which will extend far beyond the simple initial starting points.
Simple observations can turn into early science, technology and creative thinking. Using familiar and easily found objects, the investigations will involve and encourage children to develop these thoughts.
Simple observations can turn into early science, technology and creative thinking. Using familiar and easily found objects, the investigations will involve and encourage children to develop these thoughts.
50 Fantastic ideas for Sharing and Playing
by Sally Featherstone and Phill Featherstone
Published 26 September 2013
50 Fantastic Ideas for Sharing and Playing introduces children to the concept of sharing and supports practitioners with lots of ideas for sharing through play. Sharing is an essential skill for children to learn and this simple text has activity ideas for both indoors and outdoors, helping children to share their talk and thoughts as well as their belongings. For young children and those children who are not used to sharing they need to be introduced to the concept in a meaningful way, which is going to make them willing to share, as they are keen to achieve the ultimate reward. The best way to do this is through play. Children are far more likely to able to apply what they have learnt about sharing through a real play experience than they are to apply the morals of a sharing story to their every day life and ultimately shows children that sharing can help them to achieve their goals.
You only need to watch children to know that boys and girls learn differently! It's not that girls don't like to be outdoors, to get messy or to be noisily active, they do - they are just able control their muscles at a younger age, so they can sit, watch and listen to adults more easily. They can also manipulate materials and tools such as pencils (called fine motor skills) earlier than many boys, so they are ready for the reading and writing activities in school.
But we must resist the temptation to think that boys are not as good as girls - they are just different. Their skills and interests draw them to activities that are big, adventurous, risky and messy, and of course, they love being outside. All children like pretend play, but this is sometimes limited to domestic activity in the home corner, rather than allowing boys to experiment with roles often associated with grown up men.
This book offers you fifty ideas for things that make the most of the ways boys learn, capturing their interest and helping them to learn. Many offer opportunities for early writing, mathematics and reading, as well as technology, science and role-play.
But we must resist the temptation to think that boys are not as good as girls - they are just different. Their skills and interests draw them to activities that are big, adventurous, risky and messy, and of course, they love being outside. All children like pretend play, but this is sometimes limited to domestic activity in the home corner, rather than allowing boys to experiment with roles often associated with grown up men.
This book offers you fifty ideas for things that make the most of the ways boys learn, capturing their interest and helping them to learn. Many offer opportunities for early writing, mathematics and reading, as well as technology, science and role-play.