Little Olive Tree - Playful Learners

Exploring the artwork of Eric Carle with the use of vibrant colours and patterns. Beautiful works of art created.

Interesting fact: Did you know Eric Carle painted on tissue paper using bright acrylic colours and used wavy brushstrokes. A lovely way to explore art with children. We will be exploring this further over the half-term.

If you are ever worried about the mess of children's creativity then just look at Eric Carle in his studio at the link below - love it ❤

Find out more:

https://carlemuseum.org/about/about-eric-carle/artistic-process

We have enjoyed exploring the land, water and air mat and jars. So wonderful for developing knowledge and understanding of the world. We used sustained shared thinking to talk about the importance of rain for making streams, rivers, lakes and waterfalls that flow into the sea 🌎💦💧🐬🦋🐌

https://mylittlekeepers.com/montessori-monday-land-water-and-air-jars/

Land, Air and Water Mat: https://marulatree.co.uk/product/land-air-and-water-categorisation-mat/

Strategies for supporting children with sensory needs ❤

This week we collected a handful of dandelions from the garden and made dandelion playdough. We talked about not collecting too many dandelions as it's important we leave most of them as they are pollen and nectar rich flowers that are loved by bees and butterflies - developing knowledge and understanding of the world and empathy and care for wildlife and nature 🐝🦋

Three beautiful stories that explore the relationship between dandelions and the wisdom of children:

Three Dandelion Stories from tales from the lilypad:
https://talesfromthelilypad.podbean.com/e/three-dandelion-stories/

Interesting facts about dandelions:

1) The botanical name for dandelions is 'Taraxacum'. Botanists have identified over 200 micro-species of Taraxacum in the UK;
2) The nectar-rich flowers are loved by bees and butterflies;
3) Dandelions are evergreen perennials with a taproot - thick dominant central root that can locate deep water sources during times of drought making them drought tolerant;
4) The seed heads are also known as 'dandelion clocks' - the seeds disperse in the wind. The seeds provide food for bullfinches, greenfinches, goldfinches and serins;
5) The leaves, flowers and roots are edible and they have a long history of medicinal use;
6) Gardener's friend or foe? Many gardener's now welcome dandelions into their gardens due to the many benefits for wildlife. However, they are invasive so many people choose to grow them in less cultivated wildlife patches in the garden as a way to boost biodiversity in the garden.

Facts from: https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/dandelion

Gardening - A wonderful opportunity for children to explore and develop their knowledge and understanding of the world. What better way is there for children to develop their ecological knowledge and interconnectedness with the world than exploring and connecting with the same piece of land as it changes over the seasons. The trees and bushes in bud, birds busy collecting items for building nests, worms, soil, the first appearance of bees, the sudden growth, beauty and then the inevitable decay of Spring time flowers 🌿🌱🪻🌷

The children have started digging the soil and pulling up weeds to prepare it for planting. We are planning to plant a sensory herb garden that the children can use to add to their outdoor kitchen, clay work, playdough, baking and other sensory activities 🌿

The children enjoyed exploring the Spring season exploratory bag alongside the Montessori seasons mat and Nursery World Spring poster - Exploring animals. Lots to talk about including learning about the world, extending ideas and developing vocabulary 🌿🐝🐣🐸

Montessori seasons mat purchased from Marula Tree Montessori - Handmade Montessori resources:
https://marulatree.co.uk/product/montessori-season-mat/

We have enjoyed learning about the lifecycle of a chicken and bringing the toys into our imaginary small world play. The wonderful magic that happens when you let a child lead the play and the adult co-participates. Play brings a richer and deeper level of learning and understanding and heightens the great capacity of creativity and the imagination 🐔🐣🐥

"We can think of imagination as a treasure trove for the child's future. The creative powers associated with imagination are intensely alive and active in healthy children. They are essential as the child reaches out into the world, developing new skills and abilities and discovering seemingly endless new possibilities" (Anat Baniel in Kids Beyond Limits, p.187)

🌿 Outdoor Adventures - time outdoors with your child can be as simple as digging some dirt in the garden to look for worms and other mini beasts or a walk to a local park or woodland. Outings do not need to be elaborate or expensive. In fact, children learn so much more from slow meaningful practice, where they can linger, take their time and re-explore the same outdoor environments. Exploring nature in the local neighbourhood is more important that travelling long distances as children learn to care for the wildlife on their own doorstep 🌿

Making the Most of Outdoor Adventures with Young Children - Playful Learning Studio For some families, the idea of “adventuring” outside with young children can feel overwhelming. But with a few tips and some preparation, it can be simple, enjoyable, and incredibly rewarding—for both you and your child. START SMALL VIEW POST 2 MIN Parent Tips In our world of perfectly curated...

Early Reading and Writing - It is important to remember that early childhood development is not about children sitting at a table to write their name or learning the alphabet and how to read. These are skills that should be taught much later when children are ready.

Evidence-based research continuously supports that early years education should focus on best practice for early reading and writing.

Best practice includes:

Reading:
A focus on communication and language through high quality interactions - this includes reading children's favourite books on a daily basis, singing nursery rhymes and songs (repetition is the key); 2 way conversations and sustained shared thinking; real-life experiences and playful interactions;

‘If adults talk with children effectively—taking the lead from the child, elaborating on what they say, asking questions, sharing rhymes or songs or books— then children are given the best start in developing the cognitive tools they need to succeed at school’.
Early Intervention Foundation, The Best Start 2015 at Home.

Writing:
Before children should even be expected to hold a pencil or sit at a table they need to develop core muscles and gross and fine motor skills. Children need to develop what is called transcriptional skills (physical skills) and the motivation to write. This includes large mark making activities both indoors and outdoors and activities that support the development of fine motor skills. Developing core muscles, such as carrying heavy objects and lots of physical movement, such as crawling, rolling, swinging...

https://wordsforlife.org.uk/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/article-reading-and-writing

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/articles/z4ddgwx

https://childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk/resources/pre-writing-skills-tips-and-advice/

https://www.strongerpracticehubs.org.uk/hubs/ee/reachout-eysph-ee/resources/quick-read-supporting-pre-writing-skills-great-outdoors

https://empoweredparents.co/pre-writing-activities/

https://www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/Listing/Category/grow-a-love-of-reading?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14116314455&gbraid=0AAAAADb9cN6JjZfeKGQlA5BzFDKTfi

https://www.strongerpracticehubs.org.uk/hubs/ee/ee-eysph/resources/what-best-practice-support-early-reading-and-writing-young-children

We enjoyed 'World Book Day' yesterday where the children shared books from home. We also explored the 'Zog' story bag and re-enacted the story using toys and props from the story bag. We created our own role-play book shop 📚📖

World Book Day is a wonderful way to "champion the fun of reading because it seriously improves children’s lives" (National Literacy Trust). However, a love of reading needs to be embedded into everyday practice and the importance of reading shared with families. Reading with children brings a huge amount of pleasure and is crucial for supporting children's love of literacy and developing communication and language skills. Reading also supports children's imagination, creativity and the development of empathy for characters within the story.

Interesting research facts:

1) Twice as many children and young people who enjoy reading in their free time had above average reading skills than children who don’t enjoy it (34.2% vs 15.7%).
2) Just 1 in 3 (34.6%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in 2024. This is the lowest level since we first asked the question in 2005.
3) Only 1 in 5 (20.5%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they read daily, again, the lowest levels since 2005.
(National Literacy Trust)

"This year’s data is once again stark. We are witnessing the lowest levels of reading enjoyment and daily reading in a generation – a critical challenge for literacy, wellbeing, and life chances. But our research also offers hope. Young people are still motivated to read when it connects to their interests, when they have choice, and when it feels relevant to their lives. We must meet young readers where they are – emotionally, culturally and digitally – if we are to reignite a love of reading across the UK.”

Jonathan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust

https://literacytrust.org.uk/

https://www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/Listing/Category/grow-a-love-of-reading?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14116314455&gbraid=0AAAAADb9cN6JjZfeKGQlA5BzFDKTfi