Can I Go and Play Now?: Rethinking the Early Years

Product Information

It is really encouraging lots of new vocabulary, giving my children an exciting purpose to mark-make, and developing their maths. It’s why I created the concept of co-play – the Golden Blend of direct teaching (where we deliver specific skills) and then play where children explore and share their understanding as an open-ended experience with us as co-adventurers too. We are there to facilitate learning not to dictate learning and his book makes this abundantly clear. Greg thank you for writing such a superb book it’s the beach read I needed that made me think of work in such a ‘magical’ way.

Right away I could tell that Greg makes clear sense in what he's saying in that what our youngest children need is the "best version of you" and your understanding that they are children and will create noise, mess, chaos and fun! Cracks in the walls, secret tunnels, mythical creatures, heroes and villains, hidey holes and the Land Of Far Away are where Adventure Island come to life.Or, alternatively, should it be an established method of tutelage embedded in the foundations of the UK’s teacher training programmes? Love how the magic of make-believe and co-play has spiralled outwards following my talk at BSME - British Schools in the Middle East EY conference.

It’s a subtle shift but can be a really powerful one since children begin to see that we value their thinking and their explorations and more importantly that we are part of them, that we are in the World of Good Things together.Schemas are those repeated patterns seen in children’s behaviour, and they link directly to the development and strengthening of cognitive structures in the brain. I advise all to read, EYFS practitioners, KS1 teachers, KS2 teachers, Child minders, Ofsted inspectors and any member of an SLT.

Both are highly impactful and creative ways to bring learning to life based on the view that children are capable, creative and need agency in their education so that they are authentic learners and we can be authentic educators.If you work in a school where your own team or leadership see play like something out of a Breughel painting, then Play Projects might just be the approach you are looking for! To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. I think in time, I have discovered one thing, but I won’t reveal it because it’s something that if you are willing to adventure into play, I’d love you to find it for yourself. The passion for play shines through in the authors words, inspirational; and important when considering the best time to engage in play, when to step back and let it unfold and how to develop play in your setting through a quality enabling environment. My own journey began by asking myself questions: Are the children in my care truly playing, truly thriving?

Out of all the wonderful nuggets that Greg Bottrill left us with yesterday at the Early Years Conference, my favourite was this question for all educators and settings to consider. Greg puts into words what you know will be best for your class, giving you confidence to fight for these children and their right to play, whilst making sure the SLT remain happy! I will definitely be taking lots of ideas from this book and School and the Magic of Children into practise when we get back in September. I’ll be sharing the joy of Play Projects, The Message Centre, Drawing Club and How To Play all exploring the magic of children.You might do it in certain phases of the day to begin with to take your first steps but if you see the magic of children and all its possibilities then you will want to adventure more. I’m out in beautiful Qatar and if you’re one of the Play People in EY or KS1 you’ve got one last chance to come tomorrow to Sherborne Senior School, Rawdat Al Jahhaniya, Doha from 9am-2pm. A former Early Years Lead and Assistant Headteacher, Greg is passionate about education being an adventure not a pre-drawn route for children.