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Greg Bottrill. Can I Go and Play Now?
Can I Go & Play Now?
Contents
About the Author
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Child at the Centre of the Universe
I want to change our view of Early Years and our very practice
What is required for this approach to be successful?
If only we could find a way to listen ..
You as a practitioner need to have an ingrained sense of what it is that children truly need
Education needs people who have pedagogy at the heart of their desire to be a teacher
Your adult voice cannot be their voice
To achieve skills growth effectively, you need to know your children’s Next Steps
Chapter 2 Making their Universe the Right Universe
Now consider your classroom space
Neutral tones enable children
Too often displays can become wallpaper
Children naturally test boundaries
Engagement is absolutely vital not only to behaviour but also to learning
Part 2 Getting Continuous Provision Right
Chapter 3 What Play is and What Play Isn’t
Real play is owned by the child
Ask yourself – what should children be doing?
At some point in our lives play seems to stop
We need to ensure that children get enough childhood ahead of the teen phase
Chapter 4 What Do I Do All Day?
So how do we timetable our children’s day?
Children need time to play
You as an adult can adapt and change, the developmental needs of children can’t
Within your day you should be considering how to make a ‘play sandwich’
Carpet times
Does it matter how children sit? Or stand even?
Treasure at the end
‘I am not a teacher, I am not a teacher ...’
Chapter 5 Seriously, What Do I Do All Day?
Observing
Collaborating
Inspiring
Challenging
Upcycling
Refreshing
Playing
Intervening
Part 3 The 3MS
Chapter 6 What are the 3Ms?
The 3Ms liberate you
The next step is then to roll up your sleeves and go and get stuck in to play
Tracking each child’s next steps through the 3Ms
So how does this change your life?
The 3Ms does not rely on weekly planning
There are actually 6Ms not 3
Chapter 7 3M Number 1 – Making Conversation
Conversation and talk is at the very heart of Early Years
First, it’s vital that you are aware of the way you talk to children
Child chat
Vocabulary
Commentary play
Inevitably when working with children not all collaboration proves to be positive
Modelling
Pronunciation
‘Parent patter’
The adult world in this situation absolutely needs to be a positive force
Put the 3Ms of Making conversation at the very heart of your practice
Chapter 8 3M Number 2 – Mark Making
The symbolic world surrounds us
Let’s just clarify one thing first
The Scale
Working from left to right
Listening and comprehension
Physical core control
Instant letter shape recall
Sound blending
Flow
Wide vocabulary
Speech clarity
Pen grip
Purpose
Boys’ writing
Often you will come across teachers who will say that they find it hard to engage boys in writing
Boys are individuals
Their own interests
Love
Modelling
Time
Flexibility
Writing everywhere, everywhere, everywhere
Within your provision, make a wide range of writing frames available
A different format for ‘tracking’ progress
Reading
Your role in reading
What should reading be?
What should education’s purpose be?
Book bands
Reading does need a degree of not-play in order for it to happen
Real opportunities come through play
Practising with parents
We need to explain to parents just how vital it is that they engage in reading with their children
Chapter 9 3M Number 3 – Mathematics
Show me a worksheet and I’ll show you a bin
Mini maths
Engagement in play as a tool
Parents as a resource
As with the other 3Ms, your next steps will be critical to get right
Chapter 10 3M Number 4 – Muscle and Movement
Gross motor development
Fine motor skills
Hands
Chapter 11 3M Number 5 – Mindfulness
Mindfulness in the classroom
Mindfulness is key to your next steps too
Chapter 12 3M Number 6 – Magic
Part 4 The Great Outdoors
Chapter 13 The Outside World
The first step is to ditch your own fear
Taking your indoor provision and plonking it outside is not the great outdoors
Chapter 14 Your Outdoor Space
Water
Sand
Gravel pit
Mud kitchen
Digging pits
Garden plots
Obstacle course
Dens
Rules
Chapter 15 Parents
Children want you to spend time with them
So what do parents need to do?
We need to reshape how education is perceived
The first thing to convince parents about is the importance of play
By the time they get to you it’s often too late
Chapter 16 TAs
The role of the TA
Ultimately you need to get your support staff on board with your play-based vision
Ideas
Now for the final shift
Chapter 17 The Headteacher
The one thing that headteachers certainly struggle with is play
Don’t forget that play and the 3Ms don’t have to stop at the Reception door
Concluding Remarks
The Scales of Writing Skills Presentation
Final word
Index
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Rethinking the Early Years
Inspired by theorists such as Loris Malaguzzi, EY consultant Alistair Bryce-Clegg and family psychologist Steve Biddulph among others, he is committed to making a positive change to children’s experience in society and education. He makes no claim to be right about everything, but hopes that this book will at least enable you to undertake your own journey of discovery that will lead to better, brighter things.
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How true and how damning. The adult world seems perennially to want children to be seen and not heard, but the hundred is there in spite of this. We hear the hundred every day. Children want you to hear their joy, their representations of the world, their understanding, their delight, their inquisitiveness. Unfortunately, we are often guilty of not listening; of not taking heed; of not paying attention; of only truly having brain space for our own planned activity, our own impositions, our own pressures. And children soon learn that you aren’t listening. They soon discover that the adult world is detached from theirs, that they have to do what you want them to do, to jump through the hoop, to follow-the-leader, to tiptoe through the bluebells. Children’s marvel, their desire to invent and their dreams are nothing if they are denied the opportunity to be.
If only we had enough faith ... enough faith to not steal ninety-nine, enough faith to agree with children that the hundred is there. Enough faith to be on their side for once, to think like the child that you once were and to see the world through their eyes. Isn’t that what we want our children to do: marvel, dream, laugh, sing, love, think?
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