50 Fantastic Ideas For Celebrations And Festivals

Important dates and occasions are often marked with a variety of celebrations and festivals. These occasions are also important markers for children in the passing of time and repeated experience. In Early Years education the best time to talk about a celebration or festival is often after it has occurred rather than before it happens. This is because many young children don't have a strong memory or understanding of something that occurred a year ago. So the closer they are to the experience, the richer their learning can be. In this colourful new book by Alistair Bryce-Clegg there are activities that cover: Christmas Diwali Easter Hanukkah Chinese New Year Halloween Bonfire Night Each activity encourages the children to learn about a particular celebration or festival and also to acquire new skills or techniques. Each of these skills and techniques can be taught on their own, or linked to other activity ideas that you (or the children) might have. The list of celebrations and festivals that are covered is by no means exhaustive, but the activities are flexible enough to allow practitioners to keep their core content and apply a different theme. They are limited only by your imagination...!

The tuff tray is a staple resource that is often abandoned or underused in early years settings. However, when used effectively, a tuff tray can enhance a child's learning through its versatile usage, such as messy play or as enhancements to support themes and ideas that are being explored. A simple tuff tray provocation can offer many learning opportunities to help a child progress and develop, as its sensory play approach promotes open-ended investigations and problem solving. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Tuff Trays is packed full of exciting activities that are not only simple and easy to prepare and manage, but that also use materials and tools found in most settings and at very low cost. With ideas for tuff trays that support books, promote mathematics and are ideal for celebrations and festivals, this book creates inviting opportunities for learning objectives to be met in an exciting and creative way.

Circle time stimulates learning in all areas of development – from the improvement of social skills and positive relationships to encouraging children to listen to each other within a caring and respectful environment. Judith Harries brings together creative ideas for circle time where learning can be shared and music and drama can be enjoyed. The book includes circle time activities and games that cover all of the Early Learning Goals through the sharing of thoughts, feelings and experiences. It can also be used across the curriculum, including helping children with literacy and mathematics through phonics and number games. This timeless collection of ideas featuring colourful and fun photography is a fantastic resource with many new activities for circle time, as well as some old favourites.

A collection of 50 fun and effective activities to nurture kindness and inclusivity in your Early Years setting. Covering important topics such as race, disability, age, appearance and mental health with positivity and openness, this book gives practitioners the confidence to build an inclusive environment for all children. Following the belief that children can be active agents of change, the ideas encourage children to ask questions, challenge prejudice and celebrate diversity through games, provocations, role play, physical activity, arts and crafts and more. With over 40 books in the 50 Fantastic Ideas series there's something for everyone – whether you're a practitioner looking for new ideas or you want to try out a popular well-loved activity with a new twist. Each book offers a wide range of fun and creative activities to carry out with children aged 0–5 years, with lists of resources, step-by-step instructions and information about the benefits for children.

Children have a natural curiosity towards real life procedures and being involved in cooking and all of its preparation activities has proven to stimulate young minds throughout history. By preparing simple meals together from scratch, children will naturally develop the love of good, healthy food, whilst it can also tackle the issue of fussy eaters, who are far more likely to try something they've prepared themselves. Based on Judit's sound practice as a qualified teacher and baker, having taken part in local and national conferences, she has gathered together a varied collection of activity ideas around cooking and baking from different cultures, with some added simple recipes too.

_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. _______________ A collection of 50 fun and effective activities to help explore and bring to life themes around farming and food production. The ideas in this book will develop a child's confidence, curiosity and connection with the land that sustains them and supports their development within the Early Learning Framework, including new vocabulary, mathematical skills, development of fine motor skills and making healthy food choices. Activities such as 'explore fruit browning,' 'balloon sheep sheering' and 'discover your dinner plate' provide real-life connections to the farm-to-fork journey. The programme, designed by experts from the Country Trust, the UK's leading agricultural education charity, offers a framework through which to explore health, cooking, growing, animals, ethics, care for the environment, nature and much more. The sensory and wide-ranging connections of the farm nurture their relationship with nature and provide benefits for their mental and physical health. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Farm Activities can be used to provide inspiration for a farm theme in the classroom, for activities to complement a class growing project, to introduce ways to use food, farming or natural themes to strengthen aspects of the curriculum, or to support a farm visit. This book will show practitioners how to make exploring every aspect of a farm-to-fork journey a fun and foundational part of any setting.

Role-play is a fun and creative way to engage with children in EYFS, and is fundamental in developing children's learning and communication skills. This new addition to the 50 Fantastic series is filled with great ways to make the most of play-based learning in your environment. Each activity is linked to children's interests, and is designed to allow the child to learn, create, communicate, and have fun! Many of the scenarios involve an element of problem solving to encourage team work, and the suggested props and locations are both easily sourced and well-suited to Early Years schools and settings. With a whole host of inspirational ideas with photos to match, this book is the perfect starting point for creating an outstanding role-play environment.

50 Fantastic Ideas for Exploring Shape and Pattern features activities and games filled with rich contexts for learning and discussion, as well as fun opportunities for consolidation and problem-solving. Alison Hutchison draws on her wealth of experience to present ideas in line with the Early Learning Goals for investigating shape and pattern in the world around us. She focuses on helping young children to make connections and develop language, knowledge and understanding of shape and pattern. Whether children build with fabric blocks to create patterns or explore symmetry while playing with natural materials, the easy-to-prepare activities in this book facilitate engaging learning opportunities for children's ideas and interests to be explored.