At the moment the big buzz word in education is creativity. And creativity matters…
Category: students
Play, Play, Play let our children play!
Amazing with all the research in the world a majority of the school systems still have an emphasis on academic learning and not experimental learning which is learning by play, experiences and just fun.
Dirt is good, less screen time, more play time
Dirt is good, less screen time, more play time is quite a powerful message, with a new marketing campaign from OMO Arabia. OMO are making a bold statement below with United Nations article 31. “Most parents are breaking this child’s right every day. #rightoplay ” As parents we need to reintroduce play especially to offset the…
Are we Teaching our Children to Think in the Early Years?
Recently I attended a education conference where the following topic kept coming up ‘Are we teaching our children to think?’ In a presentation by Yong Zhou a Professor in the School of Education, University of Kansas, mentioned “Singapore results for education is the number one system around the world according to their results with the standard…
‘Learn by Play’ Benefits of Educational based toys…
“Learn by play” has become a cliché, but it’s also become one of the most controversial subjects around the world among educational researchers and academics. Have you ever stopped to watch how children interact/engage with their toys? Which toys do they enjoy playing with most. Which ones last the longest? Which ones are always recycled…
How do children first learn coding – Onscreen or Offscreen
Where do children learn coding? Do you realise by the time a child has come to school, attended a coding class they have already started, learning coding through their active play in the early years. How you ask, well let’s think about what coding is, breaking it down, it is patterns or complex algorithms. This is…
Inclusion of all – Early Years Education
Let’s sit and think, what does inclusion for all actually mean for us as parents, educators even sports coaches and friends. As a parent and educator inclusion to me is allowing every child be part of the activities, in a safe supported environment. Educating my child it is ok for people to have different beliefs,…
Early Years Maths, Experiential learning vs Academic learning
In a meeting this week, I heard a great analogy from an executive teacher “Do you want to snorkel or scuba dive when teaching’. (Funny enough it also was communicated from my son’s school a few days ago re: curriculum and assessments.) Meaning do you want students to have an in depth understanding (scuba dive)…
Success in Our Education System is more than just Academic Learning!
‘Education systems can help people lead happier, more fulfilling lives by teaching them to be aware of their thoughts, emotions and behaviors’ say Sir Anthony Seldon. This quote I came across when researching educating students for life. Many countries education do extremely well with academic learning, standardized tests and exams especially throughout Asia with curriculum…
Technology Founder’s Children Restricted With Technology
There has been lots of debate online about technology, our children and Steve Jobs, the late, great tech guru and founder of Apple. Specifically, he did not allow his kids to use iPads at a young age. We all ask what is the reason? Why did the founder of Apple feel it necessary to…
Understanding STEM in Early Years!
The big buzz in schools curriculum is the acronym STEM. Lets look at breaking it down, finding out what it really means in the early years. Academically speaking STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. It is a focus on these areas simultaneously. Not only because the skills and knowledge in each discipline are…
Positive or Negative what is the impact of Technology in the Early Years!
We all understand technology is the way of the future, I know myself I rely on it living abroad whether it is for work or even to speak to family and friends. There are many pros and cons to using technology with children. In this post we are going to look at a little research…
Outdoor Play in Early Years
Whether it is winter, summer, spring or autumn there are always amazing activities that children can explore outdoors in the early years. Children are on holidays around the world and it’s a great time to get them playing in the backyard, at a park, beach, forest, mountains or just in the local square. It’s a part…
Messy Play in the Early Years!
With October being #sensoryawareness month lets look at messy play. There is nothing better than seeing children be free to explore, experiment through messy play. The learning opportunities are endless being creative, using their imagination and generally challenging themselves. Whether it be playing inside with bubbles, shaving foam, flour or outside in the sand and…
Reactionary Parenting vs Parental Interactions in Early Years
An interaction vs a reaction between an adult and child, whether it be a parent, teacher, nanny, family or friend is a subject that is vital to appreciate. The first interactions between a child and adult will build a rapport for how they will continue to treat each other in the future. Are your interactions…
Lets Build Resilient Children in the Early Years
Lets talk about building resilience in children especially in the early years. Resilience is one of the most important social skills children can learn in their early years. When a child falls over generally a parent assesses the situation if not serious proceeds to say ‘pick yourself up, keep playing’. It has a stronger meaning than…
Reggio, Montessori, Walker theories what do they all have in common?
The theme is cars this afternoon when he came home from school they were scattered around the play room where he left them before heading off to school. Cars go crash into the wall, flying off the bean bags onto a make shift ramp. My son has set up a race track with the aim…
Let’s Play in the Early Years!
What’s more fun than the freedom of running in the park, balancing on one foot, jumping up and down with your friends. Whilst inventing new games to play, using your imagination to take you to wonderful places in the park, backyard, beach, swimming pool, playground, classroom and many more. Using all your senses (sensory/tactile play)…
Teaching is it a Calling or Part of your Training and Environment
My mother was a teacher, my grandmother too. Not only that, my family also has an education supply/manfacturer business. So it’s not as if I’ve fallen into education by accident. Indeed, it’s been a long time coming: I too trained as a primary teacher then decided to become a physical education (PE) teacher. I still…
Early Years 