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 »

Victoria loves dressing up and playing in the home corner. She likes to choose the children who play with her and she always has to be the ‘mum‘. In fact, whenever she plays this she insists on being in charge and dominates the play. If another child attempts to exert any control, Victoria becomes upset and cannot accept the situation. She has, on occasion, used physical means like pushing the child away in order to make her feelings clear. 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 »

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 »

Billy is very much a loner in the pre-school and usually plays by himself. He sometimes attempts to engage with the other children but joins their activities without being asked and more or less imposes himself upon them. He likes to play with the dolls‘ house or in the home corner. The staff have observed that he uses the dolls to re-enact scenes that look quite violent. Continue Reading »

Children need to develop a range of skills in order to utilise play experiences to the full. These can be considered in six areas and generally, there needs to be a fairly balanced development in each one. The six areas are:

Social — where the child shows an interest in other people and begins to develop empathy

Communication — where the child wants to communicate through verbal and non-verbal communication

Fine motor skills — where the child develops fine motor co-ordination and dexterity

Gross motor skills — which are related to mobility and body posture Imagination and thinking skills — needed for pretend play

Attention — where the child develops concentration and focused attention

It can be very useful to use the following tables as a checklist to consider children’s strengths and the areas in which they may need support at different ages and stages. Continue Reading »

This is an area that warrants close observation as it can give us good quality information about a child. At the early stage of play, children will imitate the actions of others, particularly if they are encouraged to do so. Following this stage, there are two main stages involved:

Stage 1 in which the child uses real objects as representations and props. This is a concrete level of play and can involve solitary or shared experiences. Examples are: Continue Reading »

The adult asks the children to draw a picture of themselves in the middle circle and the people closest to them (i.e. those who live with them) in the second circle. In the third circle the children draw people they see most days (these could be neighbours, relatives, pre-school friends and staff etc.). The children draw people they sometimes see in the next circle (e.g. doctors, shopkeepers, the postman). A final outer circle could be added for the children to draw people who they rarely see (e.g. relatives living abroad). Children who find drawing too challenging can be provided with a jar of buttons to represent themselves, their famly and their friends. Continue Reading »

The majority of children settle happily into the early years setting — some take a bit longer than others and may go through a shy or tearful phase while others bounce into the room with confidence from day one. A lot depends on their experiences prior to joining your nursery or playschool. If they have already experienced playing with other children, have visited other people’s houses, been to the park and discovered the excitement and pitfalls of

Swings and slides and have learnt how to cope with sharing toys and games with brothers and sisters they will probably cope with most early years situations. Continue Reading »