Activities, Learning & Development​

 

Brown Bears Approach​

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My approach to children’s progress and development is to encourage interest and involvement while supporting each individual child through their journey of discovery and learning. I support creativity through shared thinking and provide the tools for each child to become confident and independent. I ensure the children's environment is exciting and varied so they are able to explore by themselves but within a safe and secure setting.​

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I ensure I spend time getting to know each child by observing, speaking to the parents and listening to the child. This gives me the background information to be able to plan for each child and assess their needs. I have a routine that fits in with the children and I plan the week ahead keeping in mind their interests, needs and current development stages. ​

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I track each child’s progress and plan ahead for activities that will support them in all the development areas. This helps to highlight if the child needs any additional support in one or a few areas. I also reflect back over the week and make any notes on what activities went well, what could be improved next time, how the children reacted, any progress notes and any other general information about that week.

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I keep learning journeys for each child and share these with parents on a regular basis. Within these I include photos of the children doing activities, details on how this fits into the Early Years stages, how they were supported in their learning and plan how the activity can be developed or changed next time. I also include any pictures the children have made or any highlights such as saying a new word or if they have used the toilet on their own for the first time.

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The daily diary is sent home every night and includes details on what we did that day, what the child ate, when they slept and for how long, plus any 'wow' moments or interesting things from the day. I ask parents to feedback to me in the daily diary also so I have an idea of what the children been up to and any new things they're doing.

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The setting

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My first priority is always for the protection, safety and welfare of the children in my care. I carry out a regular review of my risk assessment and on a daily basis I check the areas available to the children to ensure they are safe.​

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I ensure the environment is light, airy and clean with a varied range of toys that are appropriate to the children in my care. I make sure there is a range of adult led and child led play and exploration so the children have the chance to think critically and make decisions for themselves. The activities are planned to stretch the children without putting any pressure on them. I also make sure they are fun so the children are interested and want to get involved. ​

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​In the main room there are two large toy boxes which contain general toys such as cars, trains, dolls, building blocks etc. I also rotate other boxes of toys such as farm/zoo sets, play insects, small world play people, wooden trains, dressing up, shopping items etc. I have lots of extra toys stored in our outhouse so I'm able to change what's available to the children every couple of weeks. I always have out a box of musical instruments as we have music and singing on a daily basis. There is also a book shelf that is easily accessible with the books always on display so the children can see them. I ensure the books are age appropriate and any others are kept upstairs with books rotated to keep up the children’s interest in them. We have story time at least once a day and I encourage the children to pick out the books themselves.

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I ensure we have time outdoors everyday which I feel is really important to all areas of their development and well being. We go on walks, visit the park and play in the garden. I also think about how we can incorporate play and learning outdoors by planning activities like nature walks where we touch and talk about natural objects. As the children get older activities like this are developed further, for example we go on a nature treasure hunt with a sheet where the children have to find different numbers of specific things such as three green leaves, two sticks, one fir cone etc. We then use some of the things we find to make a collage or do some printing.

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We visit a number of different groups and activities where the children can interact with other others such as Play & Learn at the Sure Start Centre, the Toy Library and Rushmoor Gym.

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I always welcome parents involvement and I encourage honest and open feedback.​