Fire circle time is great for developing communication and listening skills, and we use this time to introduce and reinforce other areas of learning, too,’ Emma Harwood, co-founder and co-director at Dandelion Education told me. ‘We might use phonic clues to support children to work out what's in the day's Mystery Box; we immerse children in text as we tell or read the same story every day over a couple of weeks. Even our youngest are involved in our lunchtime Philosophy for Children discussions.’
There are many reasons for developing a high-quality outdoor space for young children, but arguably the main one is to ensure children are able to access a rich and compelling play-based curriculum throughout the setting. At each of the award-winning settings I observed evidence of a robust curriculum offer: for me, a truly enabling outdoor environment gives children endless opportunities for STEM learning – or better still, STEAM (the A stands for Arts).
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
