As Christopher Robin learned in Hundred Acre Wood, a forest is a great place for adventures. If you don’t have a forest nearby, you don’t need to miss out. Here are some ideas to bring the adventure to your setting.
Continue reading…
Have you ever seen the film, ‘Pay it Forward’? If you haven’t, I highly recommend it. What starts as a young boy’s school project grows to become a nationwide movement of doing kind acts for others. We may not be able to singlehandedly transform a person’s life for the better, but we can all do a multitude of small kindnesses which, when added up, make a positive and powerful difference in the lives of others.
Continue reading…
‘All you need is love’ sang The Beatles, and studies have shown that what makes the biggest difference to children in their early years is knowing an adult who shows they care. There is no other resource that is more valuable to children than a loving adult. We often think about love in terms of family relationships, but loving early years practitioners have an important role too. Sadly, not all children will experience love in their home environment, but, even for those that do, forming loving bonds with the people who care for them in their early years setting is vital, not just for healthy social and emotional development, but for their cognitive growth too. Love actually helps to build brains!
Continue reading…
Just like any other skill learning to identify and express emotions is a vital part of healthy social and emotional development in children. That is why it is important to teach and encourage our children how to identify and cope with big emotions. As parents, teachers and early years practitioners, it can be hard to know how to do this in an engaging way, but in all honesty, it can be as simple as using books such as Conker the Chameleon and open-ended play resources to model feelings.
Continue reading…
Developing number sense in young children focuses on three skill strands: counting, comparison, and composition (Griffiths, Gifford and Back, 2016). The Domino 10-Frame Tray helps to support early counting and comparison, with its unique and easily recognisable pattern helping children to develop subitising skills.
Hi, I’m Rebecca and EYFS is my passion! I love to make my own resources and find resources that promote hands-on learning as much as possible, as well as a good bargain! I have worked in EYFS most of my career so far since university, but I am currently in my 4th year as a Reception class teacher and an EYFS lead. Just over a year ago, I set up a Facebook group and Instagram page called Sparkle and Shine in EYFS to share all my ideas which is going from strength to strength. Including sensory play ideas, play set ups and general inspiration, take a look:
Sparkle and Shine in EYFS on Facebook
Sparkle and Shine in EYFS on Instagram
Here are some of my activity ideas for using Yellow Door’s Number Pebbles, with pre-schoolers through to KS1:
In a recent Facebook giveaway, we asked you for outdoor learning activities that have gone down well in your setting. Here are some of the ideas you shared, and we hope they will inspire other early years practitioners and parents.
In our recent Facebook giveaway, we asked you to share science experiments and investigative play activities that your children have loved doing. There were so many brilliant suggestions that we thought it would be helpful to collate some of them to inspire other practitioners and parents.
“We use your resources on a daily basis and our children love them”.
We love to get reviews on our website and are especially pleased to hear how durable and well-used our products prove to be in your busy settings! Niki Wilson, Manager of Folksworth Preschool, gives her feedback on the following resources:
In our recent Facebook giveaway, we asked for your ideas of ways that you are supporting children with their transition to a new setting, class or ‘big’ school. There were so many brilliant suggestions that we thought it would be helpful to collate some of them to share in this blog.
Register/Log in
Basket