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We have all heard of fiddle toys, and children with “sensory needs,” and there is a dilute understanding amongst educators of the value of such things. Some of us provide our students with them, some of us feel the costs in terms of disruption...

Acknowledge children’s emotionsAt times, it can be very frustrating when children are ‘overreacting’ to situations that seem very trivial. However, it is important to remember that problems are relative. Cast your mind back to when you were a...

With mental health issues on the rise, it is no surprise that many children, in addition to adults, suffer from anxiety. This isn’t always easy to identify in young children since their big emotions and behaviour can just be part of their...

Superhero play is a great context that engages children and it can be useful to reflect upon if both boys and girls are participating in this play. Sometimes the children’s heroes of choice can be male dominated and we can find ourselves drawn...

Everything a child consistently hears, sees and feels creates a blueprint for how they view themselves, the world and their place within it. The programming that we receive throughout our early years acts like a ‘default setting’ that...

There is something rather shocking about hearing a three- or four-year-old shouting, “Die, die!” or “I’m gonna kill you!” Yet, these cries are regularly heard within our early childhood settings. When we are faced with notions of killing and...

Autism is a lifelong condition that affects how people communicate and how they experience the world. When working in early years, you are likely to come across children that are on the autism spectrum. Diagnosis is often made at a very young...

In my previous article, I wrote about a number of giant figures whose ideas in many ways, formed the foundations for much of what we see today as best practice in the early years. In this article, I wish to look at the ideas of four more giant...

Many of you will be entering your settings hoping that one little person in particular has mellowed in their behaviour over the holidays. This little person does not respond to the behavioural approaches that work for the other children. The...

It is useful from time to time, to reflect on the ideas and wisdom of those philosophers, theorists and practitioners who, in previous generations, laid down many of the foundations of practice in the field of early years. In this first article...

Being able to speak clearly, express ideas and understand others are fundamental building blocks for a child’s development. Building language skills is not only important for the EYFS area of ‘communication and language’, but also for so many...

Within early childhood education, we understand the importance of building secure attachments with children and we strive to follow their interests and cater for their individual needs. If a child cries, we tend to them; if they need a nappy...

We all want children to be intrinsically motivated to do the right thing and to have a good moral compass guiding them. In order for them to have this, they need to learn consequences and develop their empathy, so that they know right from wrong...

In the final article exploring sensory support for emotional regulation, Sensory Engagement Specialist and Sensory Projects founder, Joanna Grace, explores how gentle exercise can support brain development for children of all abilities. This...

I am currently writing a book on superhero play which I’m finding very enjoyable! Superheroes are a huge part of popular culture. They are instantly recognisable and whatever our viewpoint about them, they find their way into our early childhood...

I recently attended a Halloween party at my grandson’s nursery, which involved all of the children dressing up. To begin with, the children were read a story and then they sat in groups with their nursery staff and family members who had come...

What are visuals? Visual aids are a set of individual pictures that communicate a meaning to someone through the use of an image. Otherwise known as visual aids or just visuals, it could be a picture of a toilet/ apple/sand tray/story time/a...

In this third of four articles exploring sensory support for emotional regulation, Sensory Engagement Specialist and Sensory Projects founder, Joanna Grace, explores how we can use our noses to support wellbeing. This article is based on one of...

Children behave the way that they do for many different reasons. Sometimes it’s just a bad day, sometimes they are frustrated because their thoughts and emotions are bigger than their ability to communicate and sometimes it runs far deeper and...

In this second of four articles exploring sensory support for emotional regulation, Sensory Engagement Specialist and Sensory Projects Founder, Joanna Grace, explores how we can support children’s emotional regulation by labelling the full...

During their play, children regularly behave in interesting and unusual ways that are sometimes confusing or even frustrating, such as lining up the toy animals, climbing inside boxes or repeatedly playing with the taps. As early childhood...

What a child sees, hears and feels on a consistent basis creates a blueprint for how they view themselves and how they respond to the world around them. Over time and repetition, our subconscious mind, which controls 95% of what we do, becomes...

I have come across a lovely book by Robert Neubecker who has re-written the nursery rhyme ‘What are little boys made of?’ Instead of ‘slugs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails’, it says ‘moons and stars and rockets to Mars!’ It is generally...

In this first of four articles exploring sensory support for emotional regulation, Sensory Engagement Specialist and Sensory Projects Founder, Joanna Grace, explores how we can boost the brain’s ability to set-shift through play. This article is...

In a world that is becoming more and more digital, it is more important than ever to emphasise how important stories are in a child’s development. Computers and tablets are great in many ways. However, they can never and should never replace...

I was first introduced to the theoretical work of Reuven Feuerstein by my friend and mentor the late Professor Bob Burden when I trained as an educational psychologist at the University of Exeter. At the time, I thought Feuerstein’s ideas were...

  I do love a good singsong! Take our village pantomime. This is stuffed full of music and dance. Everyone from the local publican to members of the WI gather onto our tiny village hall stage in front of friends and family. It is a riot of...

You will probably have come across the phrase ‘All behaviour is communication’ at some point in your life.  There are several different viewpoints and many scholars and theorists have debated this to be true or false depending on their stance. ...

In previous articles, I looked at the theories of Jerome Bruner, with his emphasis on children’s thinking skills, Albert Bandura who focused on the social nature of children’s learning and Urie Bronfenbrenner who examined children’s learning in...