Block Play

Children need many opportunities to become competent in their block

play, to master, control and practise their skills. The experience starts
with the babies and toddlers, when the young baby grasps, sucks,
releases, bangs and plays hide and seek with a single block. At Kate
Greenaway we provide carefully designed blocks easy for the
youngest children to hold, manipulate and explore.

Gradually, through this exploration and interaction, the child finds out
about the properties of each of the different blocks, separating out
their differences and similarities, establishing common physical
characteristics, and ‘knowing the blocks’. Through block play children
are encouraged to explore mathematical ideas of area, shape and
spatial relationships. By playing with blocks children acquire a basic
repertoire of building techniques. As the children get older, their
symbolic representations and abstract sculptures become more
detailed and intricate.

Block play encourages collaboration, co-operation and conversation:

building together, and helping each other to lift heavy blocks.

Block play can also support and extend stories (for example, using
blocks to retell the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff) and interaction
with non-fiction books (e.g. about buildings).

Block Play as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Block Play enables children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities for making independent choices, sustaining
interest and involvement for increasing periods of time, and collaborating with others.

Whilst using the blocks, children can develop their communication, language and literacy as they discuss ideas with each other, talk about what
they want to do, listen to the ideas of others, and use language to describe size and position. Children can also refer to books about building and
structures whilst taking part in block play, and they can record their constructions by drawing and making marks.

Block play supports the development of children’s problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by providing opportunities to count for a purpose and
use the language of quantity and size (more, fewer, longer, shorter etc). Children gain direct experience of the properties of shapes, how to describe
shapes, how to use the correct mathematical terms to describe shapes, and how the different blocks fit together. Both building with blocks and tidying
up at the end provide opportunities to sort blocks by their properties and sizes. Block Play enables children to develop problems which they need to
find solutions to, for example balancing different shapes in a structure or finding the right block to place.

Children can also develop their knowledge and understanding of the world, exploring the shape, texture and smell of the blocks at first, and finding
out how to build different types of structures and how to make them stable.

Block play helps physical development because children need to develop their gross motor skills, picking up and moving the blocks (sometimes
needing to work with another to move the largest hollow blocks), and also their fine motor skills to position and manipulate smaller blocks precisely.

Children’s creative development is fostered by the open-ended nature of the blocks, allowing them to create many different types of structures,
explore ideas and use their imagination. Block play can be linked with small world play, with children developing stories around their constructions
(e.g. princes and princesses in a castle) and large-scale role play, like the swimming pool created with hollow blocks recorded in the Tuning into
Children video. Children can reflect on how far they have achieved what they intended to with the blocks and think about how they might modify what
they have made or do it differently next time.
 Introducing children to literature and books
The youngest children are introduced to songs and rhymes with whole-body
movement, finger play and actions. Gradually props and pictures are
introduced to support songs and rhymes. Nursery rhymes engage children in
small manageable chunks of text, giving children experiences of alliteration,
rhyme and rhythm in a context which develops their speaking and listening.

Towards the end of the second year, simple stories are introduced, again
supported by props. Props match well to the developmental emergence of
symbolic understanding where there is a close relationship between the
symbol and the real object. Simple stories for young children deal with familiar
events; props represent familiar objects and animals. Through involvement in
stories and playing with props, children move from beyond the “here and now”,
enhancing their imaginative life. Towards the end of the fourth year, children
rely less on props and can sustain involvement in more complex stories
through the text and illustrations alone, though props remain important to play
with the ideas and storylines.

We keep groups of children as small as possible, so that we can tailor the

experience to the individual needs of each child, and so that children have an
opportunity to speak and actively listen (rather than just “sit up nicely”). The
pace of group sessions is carefully planned, with a mixture of stories, songs
and rhymes. In small groups, children are helped to focus their attention to
sounds – musical (instruments, listening to music, making sounds with the
body), environmental, and the sounds of letter and words. Children experiment
with their voices making a wide range of sounds, at different pitches and volumes. The skills of segmenting and blending are founded on
the earlier experiences of enjoying rhymes and songs, and developing an ability to focus attention to sounds. They are developed through
in-context fun with words and sounds: alliteration, stumbling as we say “p-p-p-penguin” and identifying the initial sound in words and how
they rhyme e.g. reading The Cat in the Hat and getting children to guess the word from just the initial sound or from the rhyme) and then
further breaking words down (segmenting into their individual phonemes). Children are encouraged to play with sounds, experimenting
with new rhymes (e.g. “Twinkle twinkle chocolate bar”). Staff model pronunciation of sounds with care.

Through the enjoyment of stories, the children learn about the characters, about the formal arrangement of books (with covers, titles, text
and sometimes speech bubbles) and that a story has a structure – a beginning, middle and end. All story books are very carefully selected
for rich and engaging language, often with repetition and refrains; for high quality illustrations; and to show a range of ethnic groups,
cultures, types of families, women and men in various roles, different places, etc. Children’s knowledge of print in books is built on their
awareness of print in the environment – signs, logos, brands etc. In the third year, we help draw children’s attention to letters and words in
environmental print. Staff make books with children about memorable experiences, and children are also able to make their own books
when they please. ICT resourcing enables the use of photos (taken by children or adults) to be incorporated, and to develop electronic
forms of books (e.g. recording a trip through making a PowerPoint).

Non-fiction books begin with the simplest board books about familiar objects, people and animals for babies, and range to carefully
structured and accessible books (e.g. books and leaflets which categorise birds into different species) that help children to structure and
reflect upon their experiences of the world around them, and learn new facts. These books are used to support displays, and to add
information to enhance and deepen the experiences that the nursery provides. The book corner is a place where children can share a
book with another adult, or experience a book on tape. It is a place with a special atmosphere of calm, reflection and thoughtfulness. Our
stock of books is uniformly high quality and includes books in different languages and books which represent the diversity of the children
who come to Kate Greenaway. Children are able to borrow books and to repeat the experience of their favourite stories in the intimate
environment of their homes.
Books and children’s literature as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Books support children’s personal, social and emotional development from the very earliest stages by providing a context for snuggling in with
an adult, making choices and developing preferences like having a favourite story or book, and feeling a sense of belonging by joining in with
others. The well-organised book areas enable children to select books on their own, as well as with an adult, for increasingly long periods of time.
Books can give children a sense of identity by reflecting
cultural and social practices.

Whilst enjoying books and literature, children can develop

their communication, language and literacy. From
babies vocalising as they see pictures, to toddlers joining
in with repeated refrains and older children being able to
talk for extended periods about pictures, characters and
the main events of the story, books help to develop
children’s communication and expand their vocabulary.
They support language for thinking, wondering why and
how things happen in stories, and imagining how
characters might feel – which enriches role play and small
world play. Books and rhymes help children to become
active listeners, tuning into and delighting in different
sounds like rhymes or individual letter sounds, and being
able to sustain and enjoy listening over periods of time.
Books, leaflets, posters and computer programmes can all
give children additional information whilst they are
engaged in other experiences, like Block Play or finding
out about different insects in the garden.

Books and rhymes help children to develop their

problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by providing
opportunities to join in with counting and number rhymes,
and to count as part of their enjoyment of a story (e.g.
how many holes did the hungry caterpillar make in the
leaf?) Children can learn to recognise numbers in books
and identify patterns and shapes in illustrations and
photographs.

Children can also develop their knowledge and

understanding of the world through books: nursery-made books enable children to reflect on, talk about and celebrate their earlier experiences
and think about the past, the seasons, and their own growth and change. Books also help children to widen their knowledge, for example by
showing in pictures animals they are unlikely to see first-hand.

Holding books and turning pages with care helps children’s physical development.

Children’s creative development is supported because books, rhymes and stories enrich pretend play, and children can enjoy performance by
remembering and saying or singing rhymes and refrains from books.
Emergent writing and book-making
At Kate Greenaway young children are given opportunities to respond to the world with marks and symbols, exploring experimenting and
playing. Discovering that one thing can stand for another, creating and experimenting with their own symbols and marks and recognising
that others may use marks differently.

The older children are given a variety of different mediums with which to write or mark-make. They are encouraged to make books,
represent their life experiences, their family, to try to write for themselves. There is a specific mark-making area with the equipment such as
stapler, tape, hole punch etc, and mark-making is also
encouraged in other areas, such as role-play and the garden, so
the children can write lists for shopping etc. Early writing is a
good context for learning about letter names and sounds, often
starting with the letters most important to the child in her or his
name. Children are helped to learn to use a tripod grip through
the use of very small pieces of chalk and crayon, and as they
start to plan correct letter formation they are shown correct
direction.

Children at Kate Greenaway are regularly involved in book-

making: enjoying home-made books about life at home and in
nursery, and making their own books, including the use of digital
photography. Books can be made very quickly and entirely to a
child’s own agenda in the resourced area; with adult help, books are developed including photos from trips and significant nursery events,
and in different forms e.g. leaflets, small posters, PowerPoints. Writing in these different forms allows children a context to think about how
they have grown and changed over time, and to reflect on their own learning and experiences.

Emergent writing and book-making as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Emergent writing and book-making helps children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities for making choices,
sustaining interest and involvement for increasing periods of time, and collaborating with others. Children often use drawing, mark-making and
writing as a context to talk about their home and family, and books with photos can enhance children’s sense of their own community, family, and
personal history. As children become more able to form letters, especially to write their own names, they feel a sense of pride in achieving a
complex skill.

Early writing develops their communication, language and literacy as they begin to use marks, circles and lines, letter-type shapes and finally
correctly-formed letters to represent words and sounds. This can be supported in a range of contexts – inside and out, in the book-making area and
by the blocks – and can often have a real purpose, like putting together a shopping list or putting up a sign to ask that a model should be kept, not
tidied away. As children attempt to represent the sounds of words they say on paper, they are learning how letters represent sounds and can be
taught the names and sounds of letters of the alphabet. When children choose to browse, share or show others books they have made, they are
showing that they know that information can be recorded in print.

Emergent writing supports the development of children’s problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by providing opportunities to make marks to
stand for numbers, and in time write some numbers correctly.

Children can also develop their knowledge and understanding of the world, using different tools to make marks and also using ICT for early
writing and illustration.

Physical development is helped as children learn to use a range of tools to make marks, both on large and small scales, and gain increasing
control and co-ordination through practice.

Children’s creative development is supported as they experiment with making up symbols and explaining how these stand for other things, and
experiment with shapes, colours and forms (e.g. enclosures, grids, etc) in their mark-making, using different media and types of paper. Children
can talk about their books and emergent writing, explaining what they mean and reflecting on what they have done.
 Malleable materials
From the earliest days of infancy, children need experiences of
different types of materials. Malleable materials can be transformed
into different shapes and sizes, and their properties can be changed
(e.g. by adding water). Playing with them provides for thinking about
shape, space and area – and the foundations of chemistry.

Malleable materials encourage children to use each of the five

senses. The programme at Kate Greenaway has been planned with
the involvement of the Occupational Therapy Service in Islington, to
provide satisfying experiences for children with low-arousal (where
sensory feedback has to be strong, in order to help the nervous
system to a state of equilibrium – so children can bang, bash, and
push hard) and equally to help children who have a highly-aroused
nervous system (who are easily overwhelmed by sensory
experiences, and so have to be introduced to them very gradually,
perhaps a tiny dot of shaving foam on a fingertip or a just few grains
of sand to touch). This helps children to manage the flow of sensory information, integrate it, and enjoy the stimulation of their senses.

Malleable materials can also be used by children from the third year onwards to express symbolic and creative thinking – for example, the
bowls of porridge for the three bears. Children can talk and think about the transformation of materials from one state to another (what
happens when you put water in the freezer; when you add cornflour to water, baking powder to flour in cooking). They are given
experiences of reversals (from water to ice back to water). Children are helped to develop technical competences and skills – for example,
learning the different ways of making pots (thumb and coil). Every day, malleable materials are presented at floor and table level, to
encourage different styles of interaction, and to suit the different ages and levels of development of the children.

Malleable materials as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Playing with malleable materials supports children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities to explore materials,
develop skills in using tools and manipulating the materials, and develop confidence and autonomy, sometimes becoming involved for long periods
of time with or without the support of an adult. The materials can provide a further challenge as children seek to develop skills for particular
processes, e.g. making a small pot out of clay, and feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Malleable materials provide a context for children’s developing communication, language and literacy as they talk about what they are doing and
develop ideas with others.

Children’s problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy are developed through exploring quantities and how a large amount of a material can be
split into smaller amounts, and by having real problems to solve around quantity (sharing playdough out fairly, for example) and number (e.g.
checking the number of people at the table and the numbers of tools to share). Using shape cutters and other tools, they can develop their
understanding of shapes and their names. Children can count the number of items they have made and know how groups change in quantity when
items are added or taken away.

Children can develop their knowledge and understanding of the world, exploring materials with their senses and finding out about how actions
have effects (rolling, squashing etc) and how materials can be changed (e.g. adding water to the clay).

They can use tools for a purpose, also helping their physical development as they manipulate materials in different ways with fingers, hands and
feet, and use tools, developing their fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination. Sensory exploration helps children to feel calm, and in making
lines and circles children are experimenting with their first mark-making (and reading for blind children).

Children’s creative development is supported as they develop a “feel” for different textures and materials. They may use malleable materials to
make objects according to their ideas and plans, and as representations in imaginative play (e.g. making animals out of playdough and playing with
them). Children can develop ideas and plans, and reflect on how pleased they are with the results of what they have made and what they might do
differently next time.
 Cookery
Younger children mainly engage with
tasting, knowing the names of different
foods, cutting and holding them. Simple
cooking ingredients are combined
together for the experience of mixing and
transformation (e.g. adding water to flour
and making a sticky mixture).

For older children, the cooking area is

structured to promote independence.
Ingredients are stored where children can
reach them and are clearly labelled.
Recipes are laid out so that children can
follow them, first with adult help, and then
independently. Children gain experience
of how to gradually add liquids, to stir,
beat, and fold ingredients together etc.

Cooking is an accessible way for children to find out about different cultures and traditions, and develop positive attitudes about diversity.
By taking part in preparing and clearing up after meals, children have a strong experience of living in a community, sharing out work and
making a positive contribution to the smooth running of the day. The whole cooking process is important, from the decision to choose a
recipe, to the washing up at the end, sharing food (or taking it home) and reflecting on the processes of change.

Cooking as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Cooking helps children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities for exploration, developing skills, confidence and
autonomy, and sometimes involvement for long periods of time with or without adult support. Cooking can be difficult, so children feel a sense of
pride and satisfaction when they eat or take home what they have made. Older children can cook independently, following a recipe, selecting
ingredients and tools themselves and asking for support if they need it from other children or adults.

Cooking also supports children’s developing communication, language and literacy as they talk about what they are doing and collaborate with
others. Children will often have to follow precise instructions from adults, and use talk to organise, order and clarify what they are doing. In following
recipes, children are learning about how to select and retrieve information from books.

Children develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by finding out about quantity, starting with ideas of “more”, “a lot”, and over time
developing more sophisticated ideas of exact measurement (of quantity, weight, size and time). Cooking presents a “real context” for the use of
number – counting out the spoons of sugar, for example, correctly reading a number in a recipe, or placing muffin mixture into cases to experience
division and one-to-one correspondence.

Cooking is a good context for children to expand their knowledge and understanding of the world, finding out about different ingredients, what
happens when things are mixed together and how heat and cold changes substances. Through preparing and eating food, children can find out
about other cultures and traditions. Whilst cooking, children can observe materials closely and explore them with all their senses, and talk about
what they see and how things change. They can gain first-hand experience of cause-effect relationships, and observe which changes are one-way
and which are reversible (you can melt ice, but can’t get the flour and butter back from a cake you have baked).

They can use tools for a purpose, supporting their physical development, and learn about keeping safe whilst experiencing risks (e.g. cutting with
sharp knives). They can find out how substances can be changed by tools, for example by whisking egg whites.

Children’s creative development is supported as they develop their own ideas and tastes in cooking (e.g. choosing to make a chocolate or plain
cake, cutting cookies like animals, or into mathematical shapes). They can talk about and evaluate what they have done.
 Role Play
For the youngest children this is initially based on their experiences of their home life. Role-
play begins with props which closely resemble real objects in the world (pretend
telephones, pretend cups and saucers, etc); for older children, the transformative power of
their imagination enables one thing to stand for almost anything else they choose.
Therefore the home corner for younger children is mainly resourced with props which
resemble real objects, whilst the home corner for older children has more open-ended and
adaptable resources.

For all children, the potential for sustained play is developed through adding different
sensory experiences to the home corner by the inclusion of pasta, dough, flour etc to stir
and mix.

We do not provide plastic food for the older children, so that they can use their imaginations
to transform materials: a ball of playdough can become an orange, for example, and a pan
of lentils a stew that is being cooked.

Role play as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Role play enhances children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities for playing with others, using developing
social and communication skills, for developing autonomy, and sometimes sustaining involvement for long periods of time with or without adult
support. Through role play children can explore other people’s points of views and how to respond to the feelings and wishes of others. Play can
also be a medium for children to explore their life experiences and both joyous and sad emotions.

In role play, children develop their communication, language and literacy as they talk about what they are doing, initially using just one or two
words and later developing conversation, having to take turns, negotiate and listen to the ideas of others to imagine and create roles and scenarios.
Role play can offer children a context for making marks and emergent writing, for example writing notes and lists, and an opportunity for emergent
reading, browsing magazines, recipe books and other texts in the home area.

Children develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by exploring size, placement and quantities – which clothes fit which dolls, for
example, setting the table, and hanging up dressing-up
clothes. In role play children can use numbers, counting the
number of people at the picnic, deciding how many plates and
how much food to pack, or counting up the aliens who are
dead on the ground.

It can provide a context for children to expand their

knowledge and understanding of the world, as they
imagine different events and explore different roles and jobs.

Role play supports their physical development, through

outdoor role-play involving running and climbing, and through
developing their fine motor skills to dress babies, put on
dressing-up clothes and put home corner and picnic items in
and out of boxes and cupboards. Children’s creative
development is supported as they develop their imagination
and also play by imitating what they know about adults and
other children. In role play children can use their imagination to devise and act out storylines, put together sequences of movements, and develop
ideas with others.
 Outdoor play and gardening
There is a special quality to being outdoors: experiencing the changes
in natural light, feeling wind, rain, snow and sleet, or getting warm in
the sun. So whilst we offer a broad and balanced curriculum outdoors,
covering all six areas of learning, that does not mean that all indoor
experiences are available outdoors (or vice versa).

Being outdoors has a special importance to children growing up in a

busy, noisy, crowded environment like Kings Cross. The garden has
been very carefully planned to give children a sense of tranquillity and
an enjoyment of natural textures and colours in a densely built and
large-scale environment.

We provide a range of learning opportunities outdoors at Kate

Greenaway for children of all ages, and the environment particularly
enables children to make strong progress in their physical
development. High quality wheeled toys, from the push-along trolleys
which help young toddlers with balancing and walking, link our
collection of 2-wheeled bikes enabling children to develop their
balance, co-ordination, stamina and strength. There is small and large
scale climbing equipment which is safe for all children to use
independently: children are never lifted onto equipment. Children
have opportunities for large-scale building in the garden with the
hollow blocks. A range of balls and bats is available, in different sizes
and with different levels of hardness/softness.

Emergent writing is supported with clipboards, and with paintbrushes

and pots of water to “paint” the back wall. Large-scale and whole-
body painting can also be provided outdoors. Imaginative play is particularly supported by many of the design features of the garden (for
example, trees to hide behind, hills and hidden corners, the thick planting of bamboos) encourage imaginative play and hide-and-seek.

For the youngest babies, we provide secure spaces for crawling and exploring the outdoors, with large rugs and baskets/boxes for a sense
of enclosure. Children can also sleep outside in the covered area by the sleep room.

The all-weather clothing (for children and staff) enables the garden to be used in any weather and for children to have the experience of
standing in the rain, splashing in puddles, being out in the snow, making snowballs and snow-structures.

In the early stages the younger children enjoy digging and turning the soil, finding the creatures and minibeasts that live in it. They can
explore how wet and dry soil feels, and look for stones. With the help of an adult, they can pick a range of vegetables and fruits.

As they get older they learn about the changing seasons in the garden, how weather affects plant growth, the need for sun, light and water,
and the life cycles of butterflies. ICT enables closer observation, using the digital microscope, and recording through digital photos and
video.
Gardening and outdoor play as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Gardening and outdoor play helps children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities for exploring the
environment with interest, finding and enjoying new features, developing skills, confidence and autonomy, and sometimes involvement for long
periods of time with or without adult support. The garden provides physical challenges which children will enjoy at first with support, and then
independently, managing a small number of rules and boundaries, gaining confidence in their own abilities and recognising risks and dangers. The
garden provides large-scale experiences which encourage children to link up with others and work collaboratively, and in using bikes and other
individual equipment children learn about how to share resources and also to be appropriately assertive.

Gardening and outdoor play also support children’s developing communication, language and literacy
as they talk about what they are doing and collaborate with others. Children will often have to follow
instructions from adults, and when they work and play collaboratively they need to listen carefully to each
other, respond to each other’s ideas and negotiate. Gardening particularly provides a context for learning
new vocabulary, and supports mark-making (putting in labels) and early reading. Children can also enjoy
making marks in the sand, and developing large and fine motor skills which will support their emergent
writing.

Children develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by exploring capacity (sand and
water), length (e.g. observing the growth of a plant) and counting and sharing out items (e.g. when
planting seeds or seedlings). Children also have opportunities to sort when they select a particular
seedling or bulb to plant. The environment is rich in different shapes and textures to observe, enjoy and
identify. There are many different materials to enjoy putting in and tipping out of containers. Whilst
climbing, running and crawling, children experience being in, out, under and over, and can develop their
understanding and use of positional language.

The outdoor area is also a good context for children to expand their knowledge and understanding of
the world, exploring the greater space and number of materials, sometimes focussing on specific
features or processes and observing actions and their effects. Outdoors, children can find out and talk
about the features of different living things, notice and talk about patterns and become aware of change
(both immediate, e.g. what happens when you add water to soil, and also over time, e.g. noticing the
leaves drop in autumn, the growth and harvesting of vegetables year-round). The outdoors also provides
a space for large-scale construction, making dens, and also using pulleys and the water pump to explore
forces and structures. Children can use ICT to record their work and things of interest (e.g. the digital
camera; taking insects and leaves in to observe under the digital microscope).

Outdoors, children can use tools for a purpose, supporting their physical development, and learn about
keeping safe whilst experiencing risks. They can make large-scale movements and enjoy their increasing
mobility, delighting in changes of perspective as they walk and climb. Children experience negotiating
the space, making, developing and sequencing movements, and using a range of ways to move around
like slithering, shuffling, rolling, crawling, walking, running, jumping, skipping, sliding and hopping. They
can change speed and direction, go backwards and forwards, negotiate equipment, climb up and also
crawl into structures, and balance. Children can move to express their feelings and ideas, and to represent ideas (e.g. being a superhero, running
and dancing in response to seeing a butterfly). They can gain skills in using bats, rackets and balls. When they put on and take off all-weather
clothes and boots, they are developing their small-motor skills and their autonomy in managing clothing. Children can use gardening tools outside, at
first with very close supervision and then increasingly manage their own safety and be able to put away and take out tools safely and correctly.

Children’s creative development is supported as children respond in different ways to the rich textures, sounds, smells and things to see outside in
different ways. They may explore and represent what they see, think and feel through drawing, painting, making music and dance. Outdoors,
children can develop movement and dance on a large scale, and can also take part in ring-games. Outdoor role-play can develop stories across
large areas and at different levels, involving large numbers of children.
 Small world
Small world play offers some special learning opportunities for children. Acting out
narratives and ideas through the manipulation of small equipment (animals, dolls,
Lego people etc) helps children to reflect on feelings and events in their lives in a
safe way. Small world play is also rich in possibilities for learning about spaces and
positions, with many opportunities for putting things inside structures, on top, next to
and underneath.

Doll play is also carefully presented and structured. Each doll has clothes, bedding
etc which fit and the children are encouraged to imagine the dolls as a real person
and respect them as such: we discourage the naked doll face down in the water tray,
and other forms of play which devalue the dolls and limit the imaginative richness of
play.

Dolls, clothes and bedding all reflect a range of cultural practices. Children are
encouraged to take dolls out, push them in prams and take them around with the
same care and respect they would show a baby: if children simply want an object to
put somewhere and zoom around, then an alternative is found.

Small world play as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Small world play supports children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities to enjoy familiar and new play
equipment, with others or individually, developing confidence and autonomy, and sometimes involvement for long periods of time. Small world play
provides a context for children to make connections with others, drawing them into their play. In play, children can explore and experiment with
different emotions and play out aspects of their experiences.

Small world play also helps children’s developing communication, language and literacy as they vocalise, make sounds, talk about what they are
doing and collaborate with others. It is a good way to experiment with the language of possession and position. Children will sometimes develop
narratives with others, having to listen to and take account of different ideas and negotiate. Small world play is sometimes set-up to extend book
experiences (e.g. the props for the Very Hungry Caterpillar) or first-hand experiences (e.g. trains and blocks following a trip on the underground);
this allows children to reflect on what they have done, or on a story, sequence actions and events, and explore their feelings.

Children can develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by exploring sets of objects, holding things in their hands and grouping
them together, experiencing things that are larger and smaller,
using language like “more” and “a lot”, and counting. Small world
play provides problems to solve: sorting objects by their
properties (e.g. putting all the farm animals in the farm) and
finding out about adding and taking items away from sets, and
finding the total number by counting. Children can also explore
capacity and size e.g. dressing the dolls, building train tracks, and
position e.g. putting Lego people into a house.

Small world play is also a context for children to expand their

knowledge and understanding of the world, exploring objects
with all their senses, finding out about causes and effects (e.g.
how pushing the train makes it move along the tracks) and
exploring ideas about the world through play (e.g. a garage set,
farm or train station).

Their physical development is supported with opportunities to develop large and small motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination during play.

Children’s creative development is supported as they enjoy and respond to familiar playthings, making noises and movements, and start to pretend
and in time develop stories, sometimes based on their own life experiences.
 Painting and colour-mixing
At Kate Greenaway we provide multi-sensory paint
experiences for children so that they explore through all
five senses e.g. finger painting, foot painting and body
painting, as well as using tools e.g. paintbrushes.

Painting

Initially children will feel, taste, smell and explore the

texture of paint between their fingers, toes and all over
their body. Gradually they learn the names of the colours
and learn how to mix the different colours. Over time and
lots of repetition the child will be able to mix paint to the
consistency that h/she needs to paint, learning the names of the primary colours. Then using this knowledge the child will be able to mix
paint to reach the specific shade or tone needed for their painting.

Painting with the body remains an important part of the experience of paint throughout nursery, with hands, fingers, feet. Creativity begins
with the confidence to explore and enjoy the materials.

As children’s control and their planning develop, this is matched by the provision of small and delicate brushes alongside big chunky ones,
and opportunities to observe closely and remain involved in painting for periods of time. The process of creating (with paint or any other
material) is what matters, not the product: so children are not guided into producing identical daffodil paintings with the same shades of
yellow and green, but they are encouraged to enjoy and respond to objects, and express themselves using the materials freely. Mixing
paints with increasing control extends children’s scientific understanding, for example of what happens when different colours are
combined, and it can support their growing sense of their identity as they mix the colours they need to paint their hair, eye and skin
colours.

Painting and colour mixing as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Painting and colour mixing supports children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities to show curiosity, develop
new skills, develop confidence and autonomy, make choices and sometimes become involved for long periods of time. In painting themselves and
friends, children can enhance their self-confidence (e.g. about appearance, hair, eye and skin colour) and feeling of belonging.

Painting and colour mixing also help children’s developing communication, language and literacy as they vocalise, make sounds, talk about what
they are doing and collaborate with others. Children will sometimes negotiate as they paint on a large scale together and talk about their ideas.
When learning about mixing colours, children will need to listen carefully and follow instructions, and as their competence develops they may talk
about what they are doing and what they observe. Painting with fingers, feet, hands and brushes enables children to make marks and to talk about
the different marks and what they stand for. Children can use brushes and tools with increasing control, making lines and circles and starting to draw
letter-like shapes and conventional letters.

Children can develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by exploring quantity as they paint, covering space and making shapes.
They may paint an intended number of objects and count these, and represent size and position in their painting. When mixing colours, they will
need to solve problems involving quantity in order to make the colour they want.

Painting and colour-mixing are also contexts for children to expand their knowledge and understanding of the world, exploring materials (paint,
brushes and other tools, paper and other materials to paint on) with all their senses. Whilst painting, children can observe changes, including how
the paper becomes damp, how paint behaves when it is thicker and thinner, how different techniques of applying paint have different results, and
how colours change when mixed.

Their physical development is enhanced with opportunities to develop large and small motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination using their whole
body, hands, feet, fingers, and tools including brushes.

Their creative development is supported as they enjoy and respond to experiences by painting, enjoying the texture of the paint and paper, making
different types of movements, shapes and representations on large and small scales and carefully differentiating and mixing colours.
 Modelling and making with boxes and other materials, including
woodwork
Woodwork begins with pushing and hitting large-headed plastic nails into soft objects
(marrows, play-dough, etc). Children need plenty of experiences at this larger scale,
before they are ready to use the metal hammers and nails, hitting nails into soft wood
and corks. As children become more skilful, they have the opportunity to hammer
nails into wood, saw wood, and join pieces together (with nails or glue) and then to
complete a small project which involves planning, discussion, solving problems, and
using the acquired skills of sawing and hammering.

Box modelling

Cardboard boxes, tubes, plastic bottles and other recycled materials are enjoyable in
their own right (as containers to fill up with sand, water or other materials; as props
for play) and also provide for rich creative experiences, creating models that have a
special meaning for the child. Box-modelling can be a powerful medium for exploring
the imagination and developing narratives. During modelling work, children can
practise and develop their skills in cutting, gluing and sellotaping, exploring the property of materials by finding out what you can (and can’t)
glue together, and how strong sellotape joins can be.

Box modelling and woodwork as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Model-making and woodwork supports children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities to make choices, show
curiosity, develop new skills, develop confidence and autonomy, make choices and sometimes become involved for long periods of time.
Woodwork especially is challenging, and can therefore give children a powerful sense of satisfaction and pleasure in their increasing skills and
independence, and a context to learn about tackling problems and managing possible dangers, turning to adults for help when necessary.

Children’s communication, language and literacy are supported as they vocalise, make sounds, talk about what they are doing and collaborate
with others. Children will sometimes need to listen carefully and
follow instructions, in order to learn new skills and to work safely.

Children can develop their problem-solving, reasoning and

numeracy by exploring size and shape as they select materials,
sometimes counting and sorting by size or properties, and
experiment with joining them together. Many problems have to
be solved: applying the right amount of glue, cutting off the right
amount of sellotape, sorting wood into sizes, and measuring and
cutting accurately. Children gain experience in fitting shapes
together.

Modelling and woodwork also provide a context for children to

expand their knowledge and understanding of the world,
exploring the properties of materials (what sticks, and what does
not; the properties of wood). Children can explore cause-effect
relationships, for example when they hammer into soft materials or wood, and can develop skills and knowledge about the function and use of
tools. They can learn how to select the right tool for the job, or the right material to make a join.

Their physical development is enhanced with opportunities to develop large and small motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination, keeping safe
when they use saws and hammers.

Their creative development is supported as they use their imagination to create objects, sometimes talking through their ideas and plans and
reflecting on the final product. Children can explore materials, shapes and colours in two and three dimensions. They can make props out of
resources to support their imaginative play.
Music, movement and dance, including Developmental Movement
Play (DMP from Jabadao)
This starts with the younger children with action songs and nursery rhymes, children
are encouraged to actively participate in being a ‘Little Bunny’, or “Winding the Bobbin
Up”. A lot of work goes in to turn-taking and call response games.

As they grow older children experience different rhythms and have access to a range
of music on the CD player and on musical instruments. They learn loud and soft, high
and low etc.

Children participate in adult-led music sessions, where they are encouraged to warm
up their body and their voice before starting to use the musical instruments or to join in
with the activities offered during this session.

A lot of time is spent on how to play the instrument correctly and how to get the best
sound from their choice of drums, shaker etc.

We always have the Orange Zone (DMP Area) available indoors, where children can
develop movement, and develop through movement. Developmental Movement Play (DMP) allows for crawling, rolling, pulling and pushing,
going in, over and under things, and experimenting with the body in space (and as many other movements as the children can imagine). We
encourage children to move freely and to become more aware of their bodies: instead of saying “no running indoors”, we support children in
moving safely and considerately without losing the joy of being two and wishing to skip to the door and out into the garden.

Music, movement and dance as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Music, movement and dance supports children’s personal, social and emotional
development by providing opportunities to explore and respond to the environment and
music, sometimes individually but often with others. In DMP, children can develop
confidence in their movements and physical abilities, enjoying challenge and learning
how to stay safe. DMP and dance also require increasing attention and concentration,
sometimes with periods of watching and listening.

Music, movement and dance also help children’s developing communication, language
and literacy as they vocalise, make sounds, talk about what they are doing and
collaborate with others. Children will sometimes negotiate and talk about their ideas. They
may move and dance in response to favourite rhymes and songs, following rhythms and action-words. During reflection times for DMP, they may
talk about what they have been doing, expressing and elaborating their ideas.

Children can develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by exploring space as they move, having first-hand experiences of being
inside, on top, underneath etc. Action rhymes and dances can involve counting and responding to concepts of large and small, fitting-in or being too
big.

Children can increase their knowledge and understanding of the world, exploring materials (e.g. the elastic cloth in DMP) and using their whole
body to explore the world from different perspectives.

Their physical development is enhanced with opportunities to develop large and small motor skills, gradually moving in ways which are more
controlled, including stopping and starting, balancing and holding positions, going backwards and forwards, jumping on and off. Children gain skills
in negotiating space and objects, moving spontaneously and in response to music. They can move freely with pleasure in a range of ways, including
slithering, shuffling, rolling, crawling, walking, running, jumping, skipping, sliding and hopping.

Movement can express feelings and represent ideas to support creative development as children enjoy moving and exploring spaces and their
bodies, sometimes imitating actions in sequences and sometimes expressing themselves freely. Children might talk about their intentions and
describe their movements. They can move in response to music and rhythms and show their preferences. Children might introduce a storyline or
ideas into their movement and dance, and might move co-operatively, freely or in a structured context (e.g. a ring game or action song).
Sand and water
Sand is an adaptable natural material which children enjoy touching and being in.
Indoors, the younger children have a mini-beach-like experience where they can
sit in sand, wallow and feel, using all five senses. This is mirrored in the outdoor
experience of sand where they can do deep digging; the sand is coarser to the
touch and can be made into castles, or shapes. The sand area is resourced with
natural materials for imaginative play, as well as buckets and spades for digging
and building. Often being in the sand prompts children to develop small world and
imaginative play, and will involve making structures and using the sand to pretend
with. The older children can transport the sand, add water to it, mix it to use it for their
imaginative play, cook with it, make a hole to go to another place etc. In the sand,
footprints and shoe prints can be carefully examined and various mark-making materials
such as combs and sticks can be used to experiment and make patterns.

Water is another natural material that is enjoyable to experience and supports

well-being. Children use all their five senses to explore it. Suitable clothing is
provided so that the children can experience the rain, splashing in puddles, both on bikes and on foot. They can feel the rain running over
the exposed parts of their bodies. The pump helps children to experiment with the sensations of running water, to observe levels changing
and how water can cascade downwards, and experience how much energy is needed to move water. Water also adds to the children’s
play scenarios and is experienced, like the sand, both indoors and out.

Both sand and water promote mathematical thinking (exploring quantities as you transfer the material from one size of container to
another) and scientific thinking (experiencing the force of “uplift” which makes things float, knowing that plants and animals need water to
survive and finding out about how materials are washed with water, for example).

Sand and water as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Sand and water enhance children’s personal, social and emotional development by being interesting and also calming materials to play with on
your own, alongside others and collaboratively. Children can explore with enjoyment and can sustain involvement for periods of time, with or
without adult support, developing their confidence and their skills.

Sand and water play also helps children’s developing communication, language and literacy as they vocalise, make sounds, talk about what
they are doing and collaborate with others. Children will sometimes negotiate and talk ideas through. Sand and water can provide a context for
pretend play (making cakes with the sand, playing with small world equipment in sand or water, for example) enabling children to develop
narratives and extend their experiences and ideas through play. Children can make marks in sand using their fingers and using tools, supporting
their emergent writing.

They can develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by exploring capacity as they fill and empty different containers. Sand and
water provide a first-hand experience of dividing a large quantity of a material into smaller amounts, and a context for counting (e.g. the number of
cakes), matching (giving one cake to each person), comparing sizes (e.g. different-sized sandcastles) and weights (small and large containers of
sand and water).

Children can increase their knowledge and understanding of the world, exploring these natural materials and how they can be changed, for
example how adding water changes the properties of sand, and that this is a reversible change as the sand will dry out again, and how water is
used to wash materials.

Their physical development is enhanced with opportunities to develop large and small motor skills, from picking up big heavy buckets and
containers to using tiny teaspoons in the sand or pouring with care from one container to another. Children can use tools, like whisks in the water
and spades in the sand, manipulating the materials to achieve the results they want and developing their skills in using the tools and their eye-hand
co-ordination.

Creative development is enhanced as children use their senses to connect to natural materials and use sand to make models, exploring textures
and sometimes adding marks and decorations. Sand and water can also support imaginative play (pouring out drinks, for example).
 Treasure Basket and Heuristic Play
The Treasure Basket offers babies the opportunity for exploring and playing with objects from
the real world instead of toys. Objects in the Treasure Basket have interesting textures, shapes
and smells which babies can explore by touching, dropping, sucking, smelling. Because the
baby takes the lead in the exploration of the objects, the experience is stimulating without being
over-stimulating and it allows babies to control the amount of time they spend exploring, and
also to return to favourite objects. The Treasure Basket also enhances the social awareness of
the baby, with several babies sitting around the basket often interacting with each other and
starting to mirror each other’s movements and communication. The role of the adult is primarily
to provide secure space and time, with emotional security from her/his presence close to the
baby. The adult should be very careful not to interfere or guide the baby, but sensitive interaction
and communication will add to the richness of the experience.

For babies not yet sitting up, materials from the Treasure Basket can be presented hanging from an arch (in the style of a “baby gym”) or
by the adult carefully holding materials for the baby to explore with her/his feet in an age-appropriate chair. The youngest babies can
explore more with their feet than with their hands. As babies start crawling and moving around, their mobility enables them to extend their
exploration of objects. A large tin, or a number of large tins, placed near the Treasure Basket will support their desire to transfer objects in
and out of different containers.

Heuristic play extends this opportunity by providing the child with a large number of different kinds of objects and containers to explore
and play with. As with Treasure Basket play, the structuring of the materials, the place and the time are all crucial to the quality of this
special part of the nursery day for children in their second year. Driven by the child’s impulse to explore and discover, heuristic play
matches the young toddler’s fascination with materials, how they behave in space, and how they can be moved from one place to another
and scattered, piled or contained. The resources for heuristic play are special (they are not available in the free-flow environment) and
time and space need to be carefully organised and protected by the adult. As with Treasure Basket play, the objects are a large variety of
things from “real life”, not toys, and the children make their own choices as they explore without interference or guidance, but with the
warm and secure presence of adults who interact with sensitivity and care. The resources are carefully selected, and specially organised
in draw-string bags, and the children are provided with large tins to support the play.

Treasure Basket and Heuristic Play as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Treasure Basket and Heuristic Play support personal, social and emotional development by providing the very youngest children with a play
experience in which they can make choices and play autonomously, delighting in the exploration of very carefully chosen objects with all their senses
and responding with excitement and interest to new items as well as remembering and returning to familiar ones.

Treasure Basket and Heuristic play also help children’s developing communication, language and literacy as they vocalise and make sounds, often
using a range of communication with each other from the youngest ages including making eye-contact, using facial expression and gesture, and using
their whole bodies expressively. However these are not forms of play for the development of conversation between adults and children, nor a context
for learning the names of things, as a flow of language would interrupt the child’s involvement and exploration.

Children can develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy by exploring matching (one item in each hand, for example, gives a first
experience of one and two) and capacity as they fill and empty different containers. The structured materials of Heuristic Play especially give children
an opportunity to experience different sizes, to find out about putting things in and taking them out, and at the end an opportunity to sort materials as
they tidy up and put everything back into the correct bags.

Children can increase their knowledge and understanding of the world, exploring materials and their properties with all their senses and finding out
about cause-effect relationships (e.g. the noise the chain makes when dropped into the tin).

Their physical development is enhanced with opportunities to develop large and small motor skills by manipulating and exploring a range of objects
large and small, developing hand-eye co-ordination to put objects into tins or to move them towards the mouth to taste, chew or suck.

Creative development is enhanced as children use their senses to connect to natural materials and enjoy moving and making sounds
spontaneously.
Local trips and educational visits
It is important that the nursery feels connected to its
community, that if we were not here local people would miss
us. Children (of all ages) are taken out on little trips, to the
shops, to post a letter, to feed the ducks etc. For the youngest
toddlers, it is important that they have plenty of time to walk at
their own pace.

Through local visits, children learn about shops and parks:

where different types of food are bought, where the park,
library and bookshop are, and about local landmarks. They
learn about using money and about staying safe by the road.

Children are also taken to visit the big London museums (the
Science Museum and the Natural History Museum) where
they can experience play, materials and displays on a very
large scale, and enjoy travelling by tube and bus. Children also visit Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest to experience openness, space,
large leaf-falls, strong winds and sense of size, number and scale of trees.

Local trips and educational visits as a context for development and learning in the EYFS

Trips enhance children’s personal, social and emotional development by providing opportunities for exploring the environment with interest,
finding and enjoying new features. Going out helps children to learn about staying safe around people they do not know, and around traffic. Children
can learn to manage changes in routine, to feel safe in new situations and adapt their behaviour.

Going out of the nursery also supports children’s developing communication, language and literacy as they talk about what they are doing and
collaborate with others. Often there is a “language explosion” as children see cars, trains, pets and shops and vocalise or talk in response to what
they see. Children will often have to follow instructions from adult, listening carefully. Taking sketch pads provides an opportunity for emergent
writing; looking at and talking about print in the environment, including street signs, shop and car logos supports early reading.

Children can develop their problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy in large open spaces by locating themselves relative to other children and
adults, using the language of position. Tube and bus journeys provide
opportunities to recognise numbers for a purpose and to count, and to follow
maps and routes using the language of position and direction. There are many
opportunities to respond to and recognise different shapes in the environment,
and to observe symmetry.

Trips out help children to expand their knowledge and understanding of the
world, exploring large unfamiliar areas and observing change associated with the
seasons. Children may talk about what they see and the features of different
environments. Travelling by bus and tube provides a context for discussion about
how things work. Children can operate ICT (e.g. a digital camera, Pelican
Crossings, lift buttons).

Children’s physical development is supported by opportunities to explore

through movement, with toddlers especially relishing having plenty of time to stop
and take an interest. Older children can develop their strength and stamina by
walking for long periods and using stairs.

Children’s creative development is supported as children respond in different

ways to the rich textures, sounds, smells and things they see, which will often
enhance their pretend play back in nursery, especially when adults resource this
(e.g. by setting up a tube station).