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
Continue reading »
Language has the power to create a genuine sense of inclusion[1] along with a growth mindset for children. How can we ensure we are using it to full effect? How does play provide a platform from which to develop mindset and inclusion? Here, I explore the possibility that we can inadvertently cap learning or create
Continue reading »
“Nurturing Natures; Attachment and Children’s Emotional, Sociocultural and Brain Development” by Graham Music. Review by Mel Newton, mother of 1, Sussex Star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rich in the most current scientific research, yet engaging and accessible; A deeply informative and inspiring read for anyone involved with the care and wellbeing of children and young people. Graham Music Graham
Continue reading »
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
Continue reading »
Kitcamp: a new inspiration for loose parts play You may not have heard the term ‘loose parts’ before, but you’ll recognise the type of play. Imagine a child tinkering with a collection of seemingly unrelated objects, e.g. sticks, pine cones, cardboard tubes, shells and buttons. They’ll use these bits and bobs to build a tower,
Continue reading »
“The Gift of Failure: how to step back and let your child succeed” by Jessica Lahey. Reviewed by Isabelle Regent-Ngwata, mother of 2, Hampshire. Star rating (4 out of 5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “The setbacks, mistakes, miscalculations and failures we have shoved out of our children’s way are the very experiences that teach them how to be resourceful,
Continue reading »
The new school year commonly starts with an ‘ourselves’ topic. The same planning and the same intentions. Getting to know one another, build relationships and assessing. With Kitcamp’s ‘I am me’ toolkit we explore alternative ways to launch this topic. It is a great way to get to know the class and to help them get to
Continue reading »
“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
Continue reading »
We know play is important. It is a child’s work. But is there more to it? With current media awareness around mental health, we reflect on how play can make a difference for a child’s long-term mental wellbeing. Mentalhealth.org tells us that 1 in 10 children and young people are affected by mental health issues.
Continue reading »
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
Continue reading »