Guest Authors

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...

 The introvert, extrovert and the ambivert child Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Is it your idea of heaven to curl up on your own with a good book? Or is it to dance the night away in a nightclub with hundreds of other people? At what...

    Kindness is one of the most important qualities a person can have. Some people believe that it can be a sign of weakness and naivety. However, to be truly kind as a person it takes strength and courage. By teaching children about...

Having typed that title, staring at the blank page on my computer screen, I am rather worried about what to say next. Or, rather, how I would ever stop typing once I started. I have previously written a whole book on this topic and even that...

Children are now growing up in a world that is globally interconnected and increasingly shaped by technology and social media.  This increase in digital technology and social media means that the social nature of learning for many children is...

Have we got it wrong? A small group of pre-schoolers are playing at the sand table. Some exciting props have been added, along with a dozen or so brightly-coloured diggers, tractors and trailers. The children are engaged and happy, and the...

We all want children to succeed in life and it is human instinct to want to protect them from pain and to stop them from repeating the same mistakes that we made in our younger years. We have all failed at some point and it is never pleasant....

We all enjoy reading lovely books like The Gruffalo or Rosie’s Walk with our young children, but a great way to really get the children engrossed is to dramatise these stories by actually walking with the mouse through the wood or strolling with...

Children who experience their sensory world differently are at increased risk of eating in a restricted way. Due to the fact that eating is so very important for survival, these children are unlikely to experience the sensory challenges...

Children in modern day society are exposed to stressful environments, pressurised tests from the early age of 6 and a vast range of new and exciting technologies; it is no surprise that negative statistics about children’s mental health are...