Early Years with the Jelly Bean Queen

  Although Early Years is my first love, a while ago I became a Forest School Leader and in all honestly have never looked back. Forest School genuinely speaks to my soul, and I believe, has the power to make School a much better place for everyone. Forest School conjures up a whole heap of wonderful, natural, relaxing ideas and scenes to mind doesn’t it? I am a sucker for running water, there is just so much to explore and learn about in a stream! However, the reality is that Forest School sites have to work for your setting, your budget, your skills set and, probably most of all, your space. Several years ago, I took on the role of Forest School Leader at my School, and can honestly say I have never learnt so much. At the time I was pretty fixed in my Early Years bubble, so the idea of leading something across School was both scary and exciting. I left my Forest School Leaders course ready to change the world. I didn’t bank on any resistance. I mean, who would?! I l...

Oooh a favorite of mine; the freedom of the outdoors, the sounds of nature, the possibilities for large scale mess and the certainty of exploration all around.   I have had many variations on the Outdoor Kitchen, and absolutely love the learning possibilities here, from capacity, quantity and 'too much!' to the lovely problem solving of will it fit? What will happen if I add this? Will that smell yuck or yum ?! The Outdoor Kitchen comes in many forms, the Mud Zone, The Texture Kitchen, The Woodland Café, The Bug Bistro but the opportunities are the same, the uniqueness comes from us and our wonderful children. Some of my most favorite teaching sessions have been those using the resources that are naturally found in the outdoors, weeds, grass seeds, herbs, flowers and petals gathered from the garden (but not the growing areas!) The possibilities are endless, but also unique to your own setting. The thing that brings us all together here is the clear and obvious...

There is so much speculation about our Schools, when will we return, how will we operate, what kind of world will we be operating in? These are scary times, but maybe we can look through and beyond this, are these also times for change? The idea that our system should change is not new, but maybe now, more than ever there is a real chance of this happening. Teachers and Parents across the World are experiencing a life changing event, to varying levels, which is highlighting two things; time, and how truly precious this is, and childhood, how truly precious this is. Change is afoot. It has been suggested that a third of people in the UK will now change their working patterns, having seen that they can work from home and achieve a greater, happier work life balance. There is talk of more children being home-schooled and of more parents dedicating time to ‘family’ in a far more exclusive way than before. It is certainly heart-warming to think that a crisis like this co...

Picture it, the happy, joyful Foundation Stage Unit, all morning there is mess and play and laughter. Then the afternoon arrives, the setting up for the next day begins, the observations are discussed, the play shared and reflected on, and ides are generated.  The magic needs to be sprinkled. A lone, brave member of staff decides to face the long and dusty journey to the store room, affectionately known in all schools as the Cupboard of Doom (Cellar of Doom, Room of Doom, Attic of Doom, I have known a few variations!) She laughingly tells her colleagues “If I’m not back in 20 minutes send help!” Laughing, but meaning it. On entering, there are clouds of dust, several baskets of disused multilink, exercise books from 1972 and incomplete ICT equipment. She forces the door, leaps over the discarded debris from the Christmas performance and Year 3’s, fabulous at the time but now mouldy and infested, Volcano display. She has no idea what she will find…… she h...

Now I am a firm believer in play, and not just in the Early Years. So, one of the bonuses of this Lockdown is the opportunity to play and learn with my own children. My Son is currently mad, keen on Harry Potter and in particular pretending to break into Snape’s Potion cupboard! So, whilst out walking we gathered a range of bits and pieces to create both Snape’s store and our own potions. Obviously, this required a potion recipe, which he was really excited to write, including things like burnt Niffler Claws, Unicorn Tears and, my personal favourite, one streak of Hippogriff mane!  Finally, the mixing could begin, he crushed snail shells, pressed the colours out of petals and brewed different, bizarrely named, potions. The experimenting was a lot more thought out than when I do this with my Three-year-old Nursery Class, with a lot more contemplation. In this I think it was more identifiable as science to the untrained Early Years eye. He busied himself trying out di...

Early Years Magic and Mayhem See where the children live? We have to join them! Afterall what is childhood without a bit of Magic? But how can we do this?  Create magic, daily and at the drop of a hat ‘in the moment’, and following children, enabling them to be leaders?! Add into that the need for Funky Fingers, Dough Disco, some kind of mindfulness activity, challenge for the most able, Phonics sessions, a spot of baking and, of course singing time! Agghh, the mind buzzes! Seriously, making aside, it can be simple. We keep the notion of children leading right there, at the forefront of our minds, always. This creates magic, because it is theirs. Remember Piaget and his egocentrism? Young children are all about themselves, their ideas and opinions. That is not to say they are not able to share, think about or even appreciate others ideas, but fundamentally the science is saying they are most focused on their own stuff. So why mess? Follow it! Embra...