Early Years Alliance - A Week of Play

St. Michael’s Nursey is proud to be signed up with the annual Early Years Alliance ‘Week of Play’.  This has been a fun week showcasing how we support children’s learning, well-being and development through play.  This year’s theme ‘Books and Beyond’, highlights how books, stories and imagination can be an amazing springboard that inspire children to discover, build empathy, test out real life scenarios, communication skills and make sense of  their world.

The team support this by making stories an integral part of a child’s day here at nursery.  We tell stories through many different mediums – puppet shows, story stones, improvisation, ad-libbing, acting and music.  We are taking part in the National Year of Reading and enjoy a ‘Book of the Month’ because we understand that repetition builds familiarity, builds vocabulary, memory, empathy for the characters and a deeper level of comprehension.

Our well trained staff support children's development by understanding that play may be noisy, messy and they are on hand with resources to extend, support and enhance the play.  A stick can be a wand, scraps of material can be turned into super hero capes, pine cones can be money, a cardboard box can be castle and a line of chairs can be a train!

Some of the recent books the 0-2 years have been enjoying lately are ‘Jonty Gentoo’ and ‘The Scarecrows’ Wedding’ by Julia Donaldson.

The team use these books as a springboard to invite children to discover art, music, sensory input and language.  Baby Champion Emma explains, “at this age the children are curious about their surroundings and this often means that they will want to explore the invitations of play that we offer.  They might wish to explore the properties of paint, or use different tools to paint with, sprinkle sand in the sand pit, explore pouring, mixing, scooping and water play.”

Dragonflies and Kindergarten have enjoyed the story of ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Because they hear this story repetitively, means that they are so familiar with the story, it feeds into their play and the team are on hand to initiate invitations and resources to enhance the play.

Last week, some of the children in Kindergarten enjoyed a walk down Sticklepath Hill to see the Taw Bridge.  This linked beautifully to their book of the month 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'.  They enjoyed a stroll through St. Paul’s Church garden and Michele read the story.  They even learnt the Makaton sign for goat and church.

Play is defined as freely chosen, self directed and intrinsically motivated. Children need time and space to become absorbed in their play.

We have a wonderful large Forest School that provides children with ample of opportunity to do just that.  Through play, children develop confidence, creativity, communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and friendships. It is how they explore the world, make sense of new experiences, and discover who they are.

When our team play with the children, they are constantly modelling important life skills

which promote perseverance, adaptability and resilience. This might be jumping in the puddles because we love the rain and shrugging off getting muddy trousers.

We wonder what story your child enjoys at home?