50 Fantastic Ideas For Forest School

Jamie Victoria Barnes, creator of The Childcare Guru, uses her wealth of knowledge to present an invaluable resource filled with activities that spark creativity and encourage development and learning in a natural environment, perfect for helping young children enjoy a healthy and balanced lifestyle. The benefits of rich outdoor learning experiences are second to none. Outdoor learning offers holistic development for every child and in a fast-paced world heavily focussed on technology, forest schools provide a stimulating and relaxed environment to learn in, away from time pressures and electric devices. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Forest School presents full-colour photographs and easy-to-follow activities from Forest School TV to natural art self-portraits to get young children outside and reconnecting with the natural world, supporting their emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Amongst many popular activities, listening to and telling stories is fundamental to every early years setting. Apart from being fun and exciting, storytelling has many functions in children's development, helping them to make sense of the world and organize events and experience. Children often retell their adventures as stories, from the simple event of having dinner to major happenings such as falling down the stairs! The story organizes events from the past and as they happen, and both the story and its telling convey important information about relationships, thoughts and feelings and the children's personal life in general. This book contains simple but creative ideas to help practitioners prompt and aid storytelling for and with the children in their setting.

Every year, an increasing number of children enter the Early Years setting either new to English or with English as an additional language (EAL), which can be daunting, not just for the child but for the practitioner too. How can Early Years practitioners ensure that the right support is in place for the child and themselves? What practical ideas can be used successfully to enrich an EAL child's understanding of a new language, while, at the same time, allowing that child to bond with their peers? 50 Fantastic Ideas for Children with EAL is an invaluable resource to help integrate children with EAL into the classroom with fresh, exciting and engaging activities that are easy to resource, require little preparation and are fun to carry out. The activities include simple speak-and-repeat games, visual ideas to support learning new words and phrases and activities that evoke feelings of being at home, allowing the children to feel welcomed and part of the school's diverse community. Traditional games are also featured to help children with EAL play with their peers, as well as feel that they can contribute to the learning of others. Perfect for promoting inclusion and self-esteem, 50 Fantastic Ideas for Children with EAL is ideal for supporting children as they navigate the ups and downs of having English as an additional language.

"Many practitioners are under pressure to deliver effective outdoor learning experiences for all children. Current resources are aimed at academic courses or families - this book is an inspirational and accessible resource for practitioners. A starting point for outdoor activities that really engage, encourage and develop children"--Publisher's description.

This book is a complete guide to Forest School provision and Nature Pedagogy and it examines the models, methods, worldviews and values that underpin teaching in nature. Cree and Robb show how a robust Nature Pedagogy can support learning, behaviour, and physical and emotional wellbeing, and, importantly, a deeper relationship with the natural world. They offer an overview of what a Forest School programme could look like through the year. The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy provides ‘real-life’ examples from a variety of contexts, sample session plans and detailed guidance on using language, crafting and working with the natural world. This accessible resource guides readers along the Forest School path, covering topics such as: the history of nature education; our sensory system in nature; Forest School ethos and worldview and playing and crafting in the natural world. Guiding practitioners through planning for a programme, including taking care of a woodland site and preparing all the essential policies and procedures for working with groups and nature, this book is written by dedicated Forest School and nature education experts and is essential reading for settings, schools, youth groups, families and anyone working with children and young people.

Introducing mindfulness in Early Years settings equips young children with life-long skills that develop as they mature. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Mindfulness features a range of activities that enable children to build awareness of their emotions, focus on the present and empathise more easily with others. From ideas to manage distractions to games for independence, this collection of ideas includes colourful photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, making it a fantastic resources to bring mindfulness into the Early Years. 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.

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.

The 50 Fantastic Things series is a no nonsense, ideas bank .no frills, just 50 examples of great ideas already in practice!