Search results for ""author alistair bryce-clegg""

This lively book from bestselling author Alistair Bryce-Clegg will guide you in planning, stimulating and organising role play in the early years, both indoors and out. Role play is an important part of every child's development, and this lively book will guide you through every stage of including role play in your early years practice. Part 1 discusses why role play is important, and Part 2 presents activities suitable for a range of role play situations. There are ideas for materials, equipment and locations, including advice on making the most of limited resources. Unlock your imagination and help your children to bring out what's inside!

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A must-have guide for everyone working in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Bestselling author Alistair Bryce-Clegg is known for his original and creative ideas and witty and accessible writing style. This book does not disappoint! It is filled with brilliant ideas and practical approaches to use as an Early Years practitioner, including advice for planning sessions, setting up an engaging environment matched to children's interests and encouraging and developing outdoor learning. With a focus on child-led learning, wellbeing and creating the best environment for all young learners, Best Practice in the Early Years is the perfect tool to evaluate, refine and improve provision in your setting. Packed with detailed explanations, thought-provoking questions and inspiring new approaches, this book is a must for all Early Years practitioners eager to ensure their practice is the best it can be for every child in their care.

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From bestselling author Alistair Bryce-Clegg comes a book that shows adults working with children the huge impact that quality talk experiences can have on children's lifelong attainment. Young children are fascinated by the world around them. They have high levels of natural curiosity and a compelling desire to explore and experience EVERYTHING! As children develop the skills of language and communication it is talk that helps children to make sense of those experiences by asking questions and talking about their thoughts. Talk not only plays a pivotal role in helping children to understand the world around them, it also enables them to learn how to make sense of the role that they play within in it. After all, talk is just the thoughts that you have in your head coming out of your mouth. If you haven't got many thoughts in your head then you won't have much to talk about. Alternatively, if you don't have very much experience of language and talk, you will not be able to express your thoughts. Our role as practitioners is to create a wealth of learning opportunities and experiences that will fill children's heads with thoughts and questions and then support them in acquiring the language to be able to communicate those thoughts to make sense of their world and be understood.

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From bestselling author Alistair Bryce-Clegg comes a book based on a fundamental truth: you can have the best teaching resources in the world at your disposal, but if you lack the engagement of the children you are working with, the potential for high level learning is minimal. For children to make progress in all aspects of their learning, the practitioners who work with them must have a good understanding of what the child already knows and can do (assessment). They should be able to create activities that will take the children forward to the next step in their learning (planning). Finally, they should measure the impact of those activities on the children's attainment (evaluation) and then the process can start again. The one crucial element that this model lacks, however, is engagement. This book will show through practical examples how early years practitioners can move away from the more traditional model of teaching to one that maintains all of the essential elements but is driven by engagement, the most powerful learning tool of all. It features advice on reflective practice, real examples to inspire, and how to make fundamental changes that will impact on children's learning in a hugely positive way.

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From bestselling author Alistair Bryce-Clegg comes an essential book for all Early Years practitioners, focusing on how to make sure your displays are child-led and child-focused. Learning opportunities in the early years need to be child-led and child-centered, and yet many settings still create displays that are by adults and for adults, or which have involved children putting together pre-prepared pieces to form near-identical finished products. Both the EYFS and the Children's Act ask that children play an active part in decision-making processes, and child-led display offers an excellent way of moving towards these goals. This book gives specific examples of display development which actively involve children, and which encourage ongoing interaction. It also addresses some of the traditional views about display and show how changing these views can lead to display becoming more than just decorative wall covering. Issues of space and budget are also covered, making it appropriate for all practitioners within early years settings. Special reference is made to issues encountered by pre-schools who have to pack everything up at the end of session as well as childminders who have limited display space within their own homes. 'It makes the reader think not just about what to display, but why, ensuring that displays are really meaningful and relevant. Importantly, it shows how to involve children in creating and enjoying displays so they become an integral part of learning' - Sarah Brew, Parents in Touch

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An inspirational book that studies the development of mark-making skills in relation to 'talk' and provides age-appropriate activities to use with young children that will have a significant impact on their learning. There is so much that you can do with children to get them ready to write. Mark-making development in boys is statistically slower and less successful than girls. Bestselling author Alistair Bryce-Clegg believes that this has a small part to do with physical development and more to do with appropriate understanding and the planning of engaging activities. His book will help practitioners not only to understand the development stages of becoming a mark maker but also to provide tried and tested activities and interventions to use. Using these techniques, he believes they will see a significant increase in progress for both boys and girls! As the content is appropriate to stage of development and not age of child it is aimed at children of all ages - from the point that they begin to make marks. This is an accessible theory into practice book backed up with a 'how to' section which contains real examples of effective initiatives based on case studies in a variety of settings.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. The desire to be independent is a natural part of child development and when children feel safe and secure within their environment they tend to embrace it. We can help out children to develop a sense of independence by encouraging them to make simple choices within their everyday life. The degree of independence that children can achieve is often determined by their age and level of skill, but also their self confidence. The more opportunities children have to be independent, the more their self confidence will grow and the more success they will enjoy. This inspiring new book contains 50 simple, highly effective and fun ideas for helping children to embrace and develop this natural part of child development.

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Helping children make the transition between Reception and Year One is a challenge. When done well it can have a significant impact on children's emotional and academic development, but when done badly it can set some children's development back by up to a year. Alistair Bryce-Clegg is determined to help practitioners conquer this challenge. Having been involved in a number of transition projects that specifically focus on children's emotional, social and academic development throughout this period, Alistair's draws upon his experience in this new book. Packed full of practical ideas to help practitioners to plan for and create an effective learning environment that promotes high levels of attainment in Year One based on the effective principles of EYFS practice, this book should be an essential in any Reception and Year One teacher's library.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Not only is the changing of the seasons an ideal time for children to focus on their understanding and exploration of the world around them, it is also a fantastic opportunity to encourage them to learn new skills or consolidate existing ones, using ‘seasons’ as a focus. The activities in this book support practitioners in exploring and reinforcing key learning around Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Although the ideas are linked to specific seasons, the concepts and skills are transferable to other seasons or activities. Suitable for Early Years practitioners and parents, this book is packed full of original ideas to inspire both adults and children. There are activities for both indoor and outdoor inspiration as well as some that can be done in both. Each activity also features guidance on how to extend the learning further as well as an overview of some of the things the children will be learning while they are participating. Regardless of whether you are freezing in the winter snow or melting in summer sun there will be something here to inspire!

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. This is a fantastic repository of information for anyone looking for ways to get kids having fun outside in productive, creative ways. With practical and straightforward ideas, this will help children learn to love the outside world and get in touch with nature. '...will have adults as excited as children when completing the wondrous practical outdoor activities inside it!' Early Years Educator

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Thoughtfully curated by bestselling author and early years consultant Alistair Bryce-Clegg, this beautiful Pinterest-worthy book is brimming with 365 days worth of inspiration for early years practitioners. He draws on quotes, images, the thoughts of education and child development thinkers and the work of contemporary practitioners to create a picture of children′s play today. Whether it′s sitting down with your morning cup of coffee or as you wind down for the day, this beautifully designed full colour book is here to motivate and inspire you and your practice all year through.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. One of the secrets to getting children to be enthusiastic writers is to give them a subject to write about that they find engaging and worthwhile. If children are not interested or motivated by what they have been asked to write about, you can be sure that any writing you do get will be rushed, short and a bit half-hearted. In 50 Fantastic Ideas for Early Writing Prompts, Alistair Bryce-Clegg offers a collection of all of his favourite ideas and inspirations that have motivated the children he works with to pick up their pencils and get scribbling!

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Children are naturally drawn to making marks. Long before they pick up a pencil or a paintbrush, they will experiment with making marks using hands, fingers, feet etc. as well as various found objects that they come across in day-to-day life. For children to become really confident and secure mark makers we need to provide them with lots of different opportunities with a variety of exciting mark making resources in many different contexts. Alistair Bryce-Clegg has collected together a whole host of ideas for different mark making utensils, as well as exploring numerous substances and surfaces that children can make marks on. Some of the ideas will support children to create their own 'masterpieces' while others will encourage them to make marks with other children in a group. As with all Alistair's ideas, 'engaging children' comes top of his list as when children are engaged they make the biggest steps forward on the road to writing and have the most fun!

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Outdoors is a great space to enhance and extend children’s learning. There are lots of children who have a natural affinity with the outdoors and use it as their preferred learning space. As adults supporting children’s learning, it is important to support the investigation of their outdoor environment, but also that learning is taken into those spaces and delivered to children in the most engaging way that it can be. What you can (almost) always guarantee is children’s enthusiasm to take their learning outdoors, what you can’t always guarantee is the weather! In 50 Fantastic Ideas for Outdoor All Year Round Alistair has created 50 ideas that will get children and practitioners outside and learning come rain, snow, wind or sunshine! All of the activities have got their own central skill that can then be adapted to fit the interests of the children or each setting's own particular outdoor environment. So, whether your setting's outdoor space is a back garden, a small yard or large playground there will be activities that can be used and that will inspire young learners.

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There are so many ways practitioners can get children ready for writing and Alistair explores these in this step by step practical guide. Starting with the theory this book takes practitioners through the developmental stages, looks at gender differences in mark making and then provides some innovative ideas for intervention such as Dough Gym and writing like a Jedi! Alistair is convinced that once practitioners understand the developmental stages of becoming a mark maker (from palm gripping to shoulder pivot) and are given the tried and tested activities to use, they will see a significant difference in progress.

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This book builds upon Alistair Bryce-Clegg's previous title Continuous Provision in the Early Years. Continuous Provision: The Skills is designed to show practitioners what effective continuous provision should look like and how practitioners can link their provision directly to assessment. It has an emphasis on skill-based learning. Alistair Bryce-Clegg shows the difference between 'pure skills', skills related to specific areas of continuous provision like sand, water and role play, and 'facilitative skills' that children can experience throughout a setting, in many different areas and activities. This book looks at all areas of continuous provision with a view to helping practitioners to identify, assess and teach different 'pure' and 'facilitative' skills. The other essential element for really good continuous provision is a measure of open-ended experience, to allow children to use their own creativity and curiosity to interpret and use what they see around them. This book provides plenty of suggestions to make activities interesting and engaging for children, to encourage them to challenge themselves and learn new skills.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. _______________ Learning about phonics and putting that knowledge into practice is an integral part of every child’s learning journey. Good phonic knowledge is essential if children are to become successful writers and readers. This complexity can often make the teaching of phonics difficult (and a little dull!). This book contains a no-nonsense bank of ideas that are all simple and effective when carried out, using readily available resources so that any Early Years setting can put in to practise Alistair's innovative paths to teaching and learning phonics.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Important dates and occasions are often marked with a variety of celebrations and festivals. These occasions are also important markers for children in the passing of time and repeated experience. In Early Years education the best time to talk about a celebration or festival is often after it has occurred rather than before it happens. This is because many young children don’t have a strong memory or understanding of something that occurred a year ago. So the closer they are to the experience, the richer their learning can be. In this colourful new book by Alistair Bryce-Clegg there are activities that cover: Christmas Diwali Easter Hanukkah Chinese New Year Halloween Bonfire Night Each activity encourages the children to learn about a particular celebration or festival and also to acquire new skills or techniques. Each of these skills and techniques can be taught on their own, or linked to other activity ideas that you (or the children) might have. The list of celebrations and festivals that are covered is by no means exhaustive, but the activities are flexible enough to allow practitioners to keep their core content and apply a different theme. They are limited only by your imagination…!

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Getting continuous provision right is about ensuring that everything in your environment has been created to help children to learn in the absence of an adult. Continuous Provision in the Early Years will help you understand the purpose of continuous provision, how to ensure it is effective, and how to plan and tailor your activities to meet the interests and needs of the children in your setting. The book contains a mixture of theory and practical suggestions for both indoor and outdoor continuous provision. It also includes interesting case studies based on Alistair's extensive experience in early years settings. Highly readable and based on tried and tested techniques, this is an indispensable guide for all early years practitioners looking to get continuous provision right and make a positive impact.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Early Years expert Judit Horvath presents 50 fun and thoroughly creative ideas in this book designed to get children experimenting and investigating the properties of mud and clay. When given soil, clay or mud to play with, most children are instinctively motivated to explore and experiment. Mud, soil and clay are naturally open-ended, stimulating children to investigate possibilities, look for reasons and think of ideas. They are cheap and easy to source or access, simple to transform to suit any age group or activity, can be mixed with other materials, given a rich sensory experience via visual texture, deep colour, rich smell and tactile feel.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. A quality well-made treasure basket offers children a wealth of exploration, play and learning opportunities that are not only great fun, but also match the requirements of the EYFS framework. Drawing on her years of experience and extensive knowledge of children's interaction, author and practitioner Sue Gascoyne provides 50 effective and fun ways to engage children in sensory-rich treasures that offer 'a world in a basket'. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Treasure Baskets includes the child-led stages of treasure basket play using the author's original Sensory Play Continuum as a framework, as well as adult-initiated activities for using treasure baskets with children. Its simple format supports practitioners, and ultimately the children in their care, in getting the most out of this amazing resource.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Children have a natural curiosity towards real life procedures and being involved in cooking and all of its preparation activities has proven to stimulate young minds throughout history. By preparing simple meals together from scratch, children will naturally develop the love of good, healthy food, whilst it can also tackle the issue of fussy eaters, who are far more likely to try something they’ve prepared themselves. Based on Judit’s sound practice as a qualified teacher and baker, having taken part in local and national conferences, she has gathered together a varied collection of activity ideas around cooking and baking from different cultures, with some added simple recipes too.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Packed full of inspiring activities which re-invigorate and extend traditional areas of early years provision, 50 Fantastic Things to Do with a Water Tray is a must have for pre-schools and nurseries. Each activity features easy to follow step-by-step instructions with additional ideas on how to extend the activity inside and outdoors. The learning possibilities are clearly identified and practitioners can see at a glance what the children will get out of the activity.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Developing a secure understanding of number in the Early Years is key to ensuring number confidence for future stages of learning. A wide variety of meaningful hands-on experiences are required to develop a child's deep understanding of number. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Exploring Number presents ideas that are all about doing – to not only stimulate the senses, but to also provoke thinking and talking, allow questions to be asked, and ensure that links are made between number concepts and the real world. The ideas require little preparation beforehand, can be used by practitioners without any specific expertise in teaching early number, and include easy-to-source materials. Each area of early number sense is covered from adding on and taking away to number stories, identifying and writing numbers. Alison Hutchison draws on her wealth of experience to present 50 ideas and experiences that make numbers fun and accessible so that, as they explore and investigate, children are fully engaged partners in their learning at this crucial early stage of their number journey.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. There's no better way to get children moving, laughing and learning than with songs and dance, but sometimes it can feel like you've exhausted your rhyme repertoire or simply run out of musical steam. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Songs and Rhymes offers a mixture of traditional favourites, fresh alternatives to well-known rhymes, action songs, original rhythms and funny verse that will have everyone giggling. All activities include suggestions for actions and dances and tips for incorporating songs and rhymes into other areas of children's learning. Adults will feel confident singing and moving to music with children, whether one-to-one or in groups, and children will love the repetition, rhymes and rhythmic movements of these activities. Drawing on developmental research to compile the very best musical activities, this book will boost practitioners' confidence and improve children's cognitive abilities and movement skills.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Exploring Shape and Pattern features activities and games filled with rich contexts for learning and discussion, as well as fun opportunities for consolidation and problem-solving. Alison Hutchison draws on her wealth of experience to present ideas in line with the Early Learning Goals for investigating shape and pattern in the world around us. She focuses on helping young children to make connections and develop language, knowledge and understanding of shape and pattern. Whether children build with fabric blocks to create patterns or explore symmetry while playing with natural materials, the easy-to-prepare activities in this book facilitate engaging learning opportunities for children's ideas and interests to be explored.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Music is key to early childhood development and contributes to socialisation, speaking, motor skills and more. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Making Music is packed full of fun and accessible ideas for singing, creating instruments from recycled materials, exploring sounds and making music together. From making maracas, tambourines and rainsticks in the music workshop to beatboxing, singing, stomping and even writing rhythms, every activity uses easy-to-source equipment or no equipment at all. Whether you’re a specialist music teacher or a non-specialist looking for inspiration, this book is perfect for anyone looking to put the magic back into music in their Early Years setting. Written by Early Years expert Judith Harries, all ideas include step-by-step instructions, tips to understand music terminology and suggestions for further development.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. 50 Fantastic Ideas Inspired by Famous Artists uses well-known art as a visual inspiration to develop expressive art and design skills in the Early Years. It is much easier now to access art online and to bring inspirational pieces into a setting without having to buy postcards or visit an art gallery. Drawing on these readily available online sources, Judith Harries presents 50 ideas featuring a range of diverse artists from Lubaina Himid and Friedensreich Hundertwasser to Mary Delany and Picasso, and famous art including pop and street art, sculpture and portraiture. Using art supplies easily found in and outside the classroom such as paints, clay, pipe cleaners and natural resources like leaves and flowers, the interactive activities found in this book are ideal for inspiring creativity and fun at the same time!

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Circle time stimulates learning in all areas of development – from the improvement of social skills and positive relationships to encouraging children to listen to each other within a caring and respectful environment. Judith Harries brings together creative ideas for circle time where learning can be shared and music and drama can be enjoyed. The book includes circle time activities and games that cover all of the Early Learning Goals through the sharing of thoughts, feelings and experiences. It can also be used across the curriculum, including helping children with literacy and mathematics through phonics and number games. This timeless collection of ideas featuring colourful and fun photography is a fantastic resource with many new activities for circle time, as well as some old favourites.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Introducing mindfulness in Early Years settings equips young children with life-long skills that develop as they mature. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Mindfulness features a range of activities that enable children to build awareness of their emotions, focus on the present and empathise more easily with others. From ideas to manage distractions to games for independence, this collection of ideas includes colourful photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, making it a fantastic resources to bring mindfulness into the Early Years.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Fearless play is a key element in developing a child's confidence, extending their limits, and helping them learn to assess risks and manage situations. This book is full of fun and colourful ideas for facilitating fearless play in early years settings. The variety of activities means there's something for every child to enjoy, ranging from basket making to mud racing. Each idea is targeted to help children face new challenges and explore the world around them, as well as helping to establish motor skills, coordination, and body awareness. A perfect resource for busy early years practitioners who want children in their care to play safely and fearlessly.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. In order to be able to think creatively, children have to be encouraged to use their imaginations and play autonomously. When setting up open-ended learning opportunities that stimulate children to investigate possibilities practitioners need easily accessible, cost effective resources. The rationale behind using cardboard boxes is the simple fact that they are cheap and open-ended, meaning they can be easily sourced and simply transformed by both adults and children. A cardboard box is a resource that when left alone, does nothing in particular but comes to life in the hands of children, requiring them to use their imagination or to build on their past experiences. Boxes as open-ended materials greatly enhance the play experience, as they require children to bring their thoughts into the play experience in a deeper way.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Packed full of inspiring activities which re-invigorate and extend traditional areas of early years provision, 50 Fantastic Things to Do with Squidgy Stuff is a must have for pre-schools and nurseries. Each activity features easy to follow step-by-step instructions with additional ideas on how to extend the activity inside and outdoors. The learning possibilities are clearly identified and practitioners can see at a glance what the children will get out of the activity.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. _______________ The tuff tray is a staple resource in Early Years settings that supports many different styles of learning and play, and offers lots of opportunities to introduce early mathematics. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Tuff Tray Mathematics is filled with fun, creative and inspiring ideas for exploring mathematical concepts using tuff trays, including size, shape, capacity, quantity, distance, volume and numbers. From exploring time with ice cubes to cutting shapes out of tortilla wraps, Sally Wright presents opportunities for mathematical learning objectives to be met in an exciting and creative way.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Getting Children Active is filled with simple and accessible ideas to make physical activity an enjoyable and meaningful part of daily life in the Early Years. Young children's physical and mental development, health and wellbeing can be significantly improved by regular physical activity, from tummy time that informs crawling to walking, and sitting still that impacts on fluent handwriting. Dr Lala Manners uses her wealth of experience to present 50 ideas to engage with young children physically in a positive way and get them active, from Scrabble and Stand where toddlers lift themselves up to standing as quickly as possible to Duvet Tunnels where children commando crawl under a sheet. Many of the ideas in this book can be used both indoors and outdoors and all of them involve using easily-accessible or free-to-source materials that can be found at home and in Early Years settings.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. This dip-in-and-out guide will help practitioners to adapt their teaching style to become more inclusive of neurodivergent children, and provide meaningful and innovative ideas that can be embedded into everyday practice. Featuring activities such as mirrored play, meditation, symbol stories and treasure baskets, these ideas are expertly formulated to support and develop children’s sensory regulation skills and communication skills, whilst enabling practitioners to understand and engage with non-speaking or pre-verbal children. All forms and templates can be downloaded from the companion website. This book was Highly Commended in the Happy and Healthy category at the Teach Early Years Awards 2023.

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Transform your play area with these environmentally friendly DIY projects for the Early Years! This one-of-a-kind book contains everything you need to build exciting, sustainable outdoor play spaces that can be adapted for any setting, big or small. There are 36 projects ranging from smaller designs such as the Bird Box Bookshelf and the Table-Top Ramp to larger structures such as the Hobbit Hole Door and the Wonky Stage that children can help build, using recycled pallet wood. Authors Alistair Bryce-Clegg and Oliver Wotherspoon are experts in Early Years play and have been instrumental in designing some of the very best outdoor play settings, including for George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and ITV’s Love Your Garden. With their helpful illustrations, full-colour photographs, step-by-step instructions and advice on how the play spaces link to the EYFS Framework and support early learning, you don’t need to be a DIY expert to build these simple and effective natural play areas.

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_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. The tuff tray is a staple resource that is often abandoned or underused in early years settings. However, when used effectively, a tuff tray can enhance a child's learning through its versatile usage, such as messy play or as enhancements to support themes and ideas that are being explored. A simple tuff tray provocation can offer many learning opportunities to help a child progress and develop, as its sensory play approach promotes open-ended investigations and problem solving. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Tuff Trays is packed full of exciting activities that are not only simple and easy to prepare and manage, but that also use materials and tools found in most settings and at very low cost. With ideas for tuff trays that support books, promote mathematics and are ideal for celebrations and festivals, this book creates inviting opportunities for learning objectives to be met in an exciting and creative way.

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The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. The ideas in this book will enable children to experience the delights of watching animals and plants grow, sharing and caring for pets, observing a variety of life-cycles, surveying different minibeasts and finding out how to help vulnerable wild animals like hedgehogs. Linked to the Understanding the World section of the EYFS framework, this book includes ideas for games, creative activities, role play and hands-on experiences with animals and plants to build children’s empathy and encourage respect for living things, both in their own environments and further afield.

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If you’re looking for fresh, playful ideas to spark your baby’s curiosity, build their confidence and support their development, look no further! Written by the renowned childcare experts at My First Five Years, the popular app designed to help parents support their child's physical, cognitive and emotional development, this unique book of 60 activities explains the why behind different types of play, and shows you how to make the most of short, daily moments together. You might be wondering why your baby loves to show you objects they’ve found, or why they prefer some toys to others. Have you questioned why they can roll from their back onto their tummy, but not the other way around? This book breaks down the science of early childhood development into concise summaries, and includes easy, realistic ideas for play that make the most of development opportunities. The activities are clearly set out with step-by-step instructions, lists of equipment, and benefits for your baby. The book is split into six streams of development – social and emotional, gross motor, fine motor, sensory, language and cognitive – and each chapter includes a summary of the underlying science followed by simple, fun play ideas you can do at home with your baby. From tasty finger paint to egg box puzzles, the ideas fit neatly into daily life and focus on enhancing play into pivotal learning moments. There are also QR codes featured throughout, linking to additional related content. Beautifully colour illustrated and full of tips and advice, this book is perfect for building the foundations for your baby’s lifelong learning, development, health and wellbeing. 'This app has been incredible helpful in helping me navigate the minefield that is being a new mother.' - Praise for the My First Five Years app

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