Early Years Ideas

EY educator, family outreach, primary teacher & mummy. Tweeting Ideas for learning & having fun with children. #EYshare creator and host - currently on hiatus

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

Announcement: #EYshare is going to take a break for a while. What with baby imminent as well as moving house, I just don't have the time or energy to hold the weekly chats right now. The chats will return as soon as I'm able. Thanks for understanding 💜

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@AaronTeamEC Yeah that's fair. I'm not really meaning the traditional circle time but more a together time of sorts. I think that's my old school language popping up there 😂

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

This may be unpopular, but I miss circle times. They have fallen out of favour in most of the nurseries I work in nowadays, replaced by free play for the children. While I obviously advocate for free play and recognise its value, I feel that we are doing a disservice... (1/2)

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@SwailesRuth Yes!! You used my favourite word earlier - balance. There is a place for gathering and being together alongside all the other types of play and activity in early years

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@SwailesRuth I wonder if there is a difference between England and Scotland? Obviously we work to different curriculums and frameworks.

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

Love it when twitter (sorry x) can be used to have a good professional chat with people who really know their stuff. I haven't been here for ages and it's nice to be back!

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@thepetitioner Interesting! Well I'll take my medicine. I'm very happy to be wrong on this occasion :)

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@SwailesRuth OK, I take your point and I'm happy to be wrong. I 100% accept that the fab early years practitioners know their stuff and are using their time and resources for the best outcomes of the children.

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@SwailesRuth Absolutely. It needs to be done with the needs of the children in mind. Extended waiting etc is not appropriate but waiting for a turn in a small group is such a vital skill.

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@SwailesRuth ... enjoying the balance of both types of activity :)

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@SwailesRuth Really happy to hear this. I see ad hoc gatherings and random gathering as a story is being shared but it is not often as purposeful as a planned circle time may have been.
Of course I cannot speak for all nurseries by any stretch of the imagination. I hope that many are...

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

Obviously we know our children for those who wouldn't be able to cope with these sort of times - adjustments are made. But for the majority, it can be a wonderful time of togetherness and enjoying their little nursery community. I hope circle time comes back.

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

... to our children by not preparing them for the real world by teaching them the skills of coming together to listen and join in with a short story/ song time/ activity/ whatever.

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@OriginalRobyn @EmmaDee77 My problem with this guidance is that it seems to place a lot of emphasis on a high temperature. Obviously a temperature is something to look out for but not all illness causes a fever.

[Emma Davis @EmmaDee77]

@EarlyYearsIdeas Exactly! To safeguard physical and emotional health, poorly children should be at home.

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

@EmmaDee77 Oh what on earth are they thinking? How can a child learn and achieve if they are ill? Surely we all know about maslow and basic needs at this point. Physiological wellness is the base for everything else!

[Early Years Ideas @EarlyYearsIdeas]

Slow Saturday morning play for miss 18m. Pompoms and containers! Loads of fun collecting them and pouring. Fab for coordination and fine motor skills 👌

[Help A Teacher @HelpATeacher]

So true! 🧡

[Mud & Bloom🌱 @MudandBloom]

#autumnleaves #nature #autumn

[Dan Wuori @DanWuori]

Literacy learning begins early.

Check out this sweet little one as she “reads” a board book independently in her crib.

Her language is not yet conventional. But consider all the knowledge she’s putting on display.

First, she knows that books contain meaning and that they can be read aloud - just like her parents do with her.

She’s got an understanding (even if her book is upside down) that as stories progress one turns the pages from left to right.

And, interestingly, she may even recognize that books catering to her age range often include simple, repetitive text. (Listen as she vocalizes a similar pattern over and over.)

Is she interacting with the text itself? Not yet. And that’s just fine.

But at well under a year of age, she’s already absorbed an impressive amount about books and how they work.

Read with your baby every day. You’ll be amazed by the benefits.

This literate little one was shared to IG by last1knights.