Training Talk - Be curious

Nurseries are increasingly following theories that children are better off playing with natural resources than plastic toys. In the Midlands, two nursery directors are leading such change under the banner of The Curiosity Approach. All 25 Kloisters Kindergarten in Rochester staff attended a The Curiosity Approach conference in October.

Co-founders Lyndsey Hellyn and Stephanie Bennett began by explaining early years settings should be like another home environment. Children find authentic resources, such as a teapot, more interesting than smaller, plastic replicas, they said.

‘It’s the bits and pieces we don’t usually let children play with that they want to play with,’ says senior supervisor and room leader April Jones, who attended the training. ‘They want to be like us – they like to put our shoes on and play with saucepans.’

Kloisters is introducing new resources gradually for safety reasons. Once children realise they need to respect more fragile resources, the hope is they will stop throwing them.

During the session, the founders encouraged the audience to discuss ideas, and also set up resources, such as an old suitcase with real clothes and shoes, for children to explore. As well as training, there is a 12-month programme to accredit settings.

Ms Jones particularly enjoys the term ‘provocation’ – a way of describing how an activity provokes a child’s interests. ‘It’s something we do anyway but it’s nice to have a word,’ she says. ‘If we were to speak to Ofsted, we could explain why we’re doing something.’

Ms Jones plans for the setting to follow more children’s provocations in future. For example, if a child likes playing with cars, they will encourage them to build a garage themselves with wood and rocks. ‘That encourages their maths skills and exploring different materials,’ she says.

https://www.thecuriosityapproach.com