All My Children

Shannon will sit happily at a craft table in the book corner. She will play in the home corner and enjoys playdough. Shannon does not ever choose the sit- on toys and has never been seen to push teddy or dolly in the pushchair. Her mum says that Shannon still sits in a buggy when they go out.

Possible reasons for this behaviour Continue Reading »

Sean has to be seen to be winning at whatever he plays. This is especially obvious when playing more organised games such as lotto or snakes and ladders. If the game takes a slightly negative turn, e.g. if Sean’s counter lands on a snake and he has to go down it, he will often end up by leaving the table and refusing to play on. However, while things are going in his favour, he is able to complete the game. Continue Reading »

Andrew is happy to play with other children and has three boys with whom he particularly likes to play. As soon as the game becomes involved enough to warrant rules, e.g. ‘You are not allowed to get me when I go behind this tree’, Andrew seems to deliberately ignore the rules. Games almost always end in arguments. When an adult is setting out the rules of a table-top game, Andrew often ignores these, deliberately moving his counter in any way he sees fit. Although the adults end up barring Andrew from the games, he always makes a fuss about it. Continue Reading »

Harry is a popular boy who loves to be involved in all activities in the pre-school. He is a polite, well-behaved child who follows instructions and is confident. However, whenever there is a more physical or boisterous activity going on, Harry becomes quite out of control, very excited and appears not to be able to hear adults giving him instructions about expected behaviour. Continue Reading »

For an indoor party it’s a good thing to think of balloons — they always look festive. So do the traditional decorations for a Christmas party of paper chains, holly and ivy, tinsel and glitter, stars, shining balls and bells. But you will want other ideas for parties with a particular theme. Continue Reading »

Jade only plays with one particular child at the pre-school. If that child is absent, Jade just sits by herself. She is co-operative with adults and joins in with tasks but will not play with any other child during the free play session. When her particular friend is at the pre-school, Jade dislikes being joined in a game by anyone else. Continue Reading »

Toni always attaches herself to an adult by holding their hand when she is outside and will attempt to stay with that person for the entire session. When other children approach her and ask her to join them she becomes even more attached to the adult, holding on to their hand more tightly. All suggestions and encouragements from staff fail to engage Toni in the activities on offer. Continue Reading »

Samantha is four years old and loves to play with the younger children in the pre-school and almost always chooses activities and toys associated with very young children or even babies. Whenever there is a free play session she will invariably choose from the box containing things like stacking toys and shape posting boxes. Continue Reading »

Milos is very keen to participate in everything on offer at the pre-school. So keen, in fact, that he is bursting to answer questions in whole-group sessions, often blurting out answers before the adult has finished talking. During games, Milos has difficulty waiting for his turn and just takes his turn before anyone can intervene. Milos acts on impulse and doesn’t seem to think first. Continue Reading »

Lucy simply refuses to carry on with games if other children make suggestions which do not match her own. If Lucy’s rules are not adhered to, she finds it impossible to carry on with the game. Lucy often ends up in tears of frustration when she cannot get her own way and takes some time to recover her composure. Lucy has great difficulty accepting that she cannot always be first in line or the one who has done the ‘best’ painting. Continue Reading »