In the past few weeks, several topics have come up in our Early Years program that have given us the opportunity to have some thoughtful discussions… One child commented “I have a boy water bottle”(The bottle had a Pokemon design printed on it) Educator “I wonder why it is a boy water bottle?” The childContinue reading “Girl water bottles / Boy water bottles”
Author Archives: Sali Chippett
Why is Nature Play important?
What is Nature Play? Nature play is a specific type of play that is: (a) freely chosen, child-led and unstructured (as opposed to adult-led) and (b) includes interactions with natural elements such as trees, rocks, plants, dirt and water (Agostini et al., 2018; Beery, 2020; Ernst et al., 2019) From the Australian Institute of familyContinue reading “Why is Nature Play important?”
Christmas as an opportunity to hear other’s perspectives
Every Christmas, In our Early Years program, Educators set up a fireplace area with stockings.This year for the first time, a child commented on the stockings being filled. The comment was “Will we share the candy?”This comment led to the following questions “Do stockings always get filled?” “Are they always filled with candy?” “Does yourContinue reading “Christmas as an opportunity to hear other’s perspectives”
Loose Parts foster Diversity
The Early Years group were exploring wood chips along with various real kitchen utensils. The loose parts in this play were kitchen utensils and wood chips. Through observation of the play, I noticed that the children were using the wood chips to represent food and drink. The children offered me their creations: Pancakes with chocolateContinue reading “Loose Parts foster Diversity”
Loose parts play
What are loose parts?Loose parts are open ended materials that children are able to move around, change and manipulate. They include recycled materials, found objects and nature materials. Outdoors, there are many loose parts available such as rocks, leaves, acorns, pinecones, seeds and sticks. How will children use loose parts?Children can create, design and tellContinue reading “Loose parts play”
Project Ideas
The Reggio Emilia philosophy guides children’s learning by responding to their interests, this leads to valuable project work. Here are some project ideas that have developed through the children’s interests in our Early Years group.
How children can communicate through weapon play
Children are often asked not to play ‘weapons’ however they continue to use items they find as a gun or a sword. I have found that allowing ‘weapon’ play to continue while observing closely leads to trust and communication between adults and children. Here is an example of how a group of children in ourContinue reading “How children can communicate through weapon play”
Risky Play Strengthens Mindfulness and Problem-Solving
Jumping off boulders, climbing trees and playing with sticks. Many of us have fond childhood memories of taking risks while playing outdoors.Even though there were injuries along the way, there was great satisfaction in trying a new challenge: first failing and eventually succeeding. When we step back and allow children to take risks we areContinue reading “Risky Play Strengthens Mindfulness and Problem-Solving”
Project Ideas: It’s not a Stick!
We responded to the children’s interest in stick play by reading the book ‘It’s not a stick’ by Antoinette Portis. The character in the book is reminded to ‘Be careful with that stick’. The drawings illustrate that in the character’s imagination, the stick is ‘not a stick’ it is a fishing rod, a baton, aContinue reading “Project Ideas: It’s not a Stick!”
Essential Outdoor Gear for All Seasons
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” ― Alfred Wainwright, A Coast to Coast Walk Good quality outdoor clothing is an important part of playing and learning outdoors. Children can focus on exploring with less concern about being cold or wet. The wide variety of options and prices of outdoor gear availableContinue reading “Essential Outdoor Gear for All Seasons”
Learning Discoveries 