Early Years with the Jelly Bean Queen

    I love my job, love, love, love it! But there are times when it feels like an uphill struggle. There are times when I feel like a Defender of Play and its blooming hard! However, there are also days where the stars align and it just works. These days are the BEST and the ones to focus on. So, I wanted to share with you my glorious moments of playful learning this week. The Summer Term is golden isn't it? All the efforts we put in start paying off, and I always notice those younger, quieter children beginning to blossom, nothing is more joyous! This week a bunch of our Class have been totally fascinated by Robots and so we collected together all our tattier bits and pieces. You know the ones, the bricks left out in the sand pit, the broken pieces of Kine'x and anything from the Caretakers bottom draw! It was a great opportunity to talk about upcycling, how we can repurpose old things to make new and potentially better things with them. The glue gun, as you c...

  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...