Play and the pale blue dot

Kitcamp-curiosity

The late American astronomer and astrophysicist, Carl Sagan, described our planet as the ‘pale blue dot’, described as such after seeing an image of earth taken in 1990 from the Voyager 1 space probe, from a distance of about 6 billion kilometres. His book, “Pale Blue Dot”, explores claims that earth and its inhabitants are

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Inspiring STEM in the Early Years and Primary School

Kitcamp STEM

“The most important thing is to never stop questioning.” Albert Einstein “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My household’s current ambitions are an astronaut, a particle physicist at CERN, a spy and an underwater policeman! I love the aspiration, hope and imagination, but also that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) professions

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Combating childhood obesity

Combat Childhood Obesity

Do we have a role in combating childhood obesity? How do you tackle childhood obesity in your setting? Does it genuinely impact on daily life or does it feel tokenistic? Is there a holistic approach or is it yet another strategy to implement? According to the Government’s plan for action to combat childhood obesity, nearly

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Black History Month

kitcamp-playground-diversity

October is Black History Month – a month to celebrate diversity and the contributions of black people to history. The question arises; if we spend just one month in a year highlighting black history are we potentially promoting cultural tokenism? “Black contribution to [] history is so rich and varied that attempting to confine the discussion

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I am a pirate

Pirate roleplay with Kitcamp

Pirate themed play days are always popular and make a frequent appearance on the early year’s calendar. It’s no surprise, with all the looting, funny voices, dressing up and role play opportunities. Add a Kitcamp pirate ship and the imagination really does know no limits! Creating fun, with purpose. The challenge with role play spaces is to

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PLAY – that four letter word!

Playing with Kitcamp

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” Fred Rogers. Picture the scene, the Headteacher walks in and sees busy-ness and ‘fun’ taking place in the classroom, children engaged, talking with each other, laughing or

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Can STEM solve the Engineering shortage?

year of engineering

Calling all engineers! 2018 is marked as the Year of Engineering by the government[1]. This is to address a shortage of young people aspiring to be engineers. The shortage is predicted to be 20,000 short of the jobs available in the sector leading to a significant impact on productivity and growth in the UK alone. Big investment from partners such as

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City schools and outside play

City schools, Outside play, Outside spaces, Unperturbed by wet weather, Benefits of playing outdoors

Nearly three decades ago when I was knee-high and full of bounce, I used to spend most days outside. Wind-beaten and pigtails askew, I had the best schooling experience in a state school that embraced its outside spaces. When it was raining the mentality of ‘you won’t shrink’ meant that play times were unperturbed by

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