Plastic, plastic everywhere. It certainly seems to be the case when you consider that an estimated 9 million tons of it end up in the ocean each year[1]. In 2015, 448 million tons of plastic was produced[2]. In the last 15 years we have produced nearly half of all the plastic that has ever been
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“If you’re inquisitive about life and about the world around you, then space is the ultimate adventure.” Richard Branson Exploring Space and the Universe through STEM, History and Play Space and the Universe spans so many areas of learning – Science, History, Knowledge and Understanding of the World, Shape and Measure, Art, STEM, role-play and
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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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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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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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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
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“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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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.
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Children learn by imitating. A baby’s first smile mirrors another’s grin; the first babbles mimic a parent’s speech. It’s therefore hardly surprising that the earliest role play children act outcomes from familiar domestic scenes. Examples include chatting away into a toy phone or cooking up a storm with plastic food and making mud pies. They
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Role play gets your jobs done! Never is there an easier way to get young children helping with jobs than to get them into a role. Get them fully engaged in imaginative play and before you know it the ‘characters’ have dusted, organised, baked, written, vacuumed, weeded… Just imagine what you could do with your
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