Making the Most of Reclaimed and Natural Materials

Description

Reclaimed and natural materials, in all their variety of colours, shapes, sizes, textures and origins, are fascinating and intriguing to children of all ages! This book has been specifically written to celebrate the wonderful ideas and theories that babies and young children demonstrate on a daily basis, as they play and explore the world around them. Each of the scenarios in this book, accompanied by stunning full colour photographs, shows how the use of reclaimed and natural materials can support play and active learning, exploration and investigation and creativity and critical thinking across the six areas of learning of the Early Years Foudation Stage. Through easily understood text and colour photographs, this book provides both photographic and written support for early years professionals wishing to develop their understanding of: - the role of the creative practitioner - a creative learning environment - child-initiated and adult- led experiences - the value of open- ended resources - the use of photographs in observational assessment

Linda Thornton has over thirty years experience in education as a teacher, headteacher, adviser and lead officer for early years. She is passionate about developing children's thinking and learning, valuing creative learning environments and encouraging educators to think about the 'why' as well as the 'how' in their approach to teaching. Linda is a director of alc associates and currently provides consultancy and training for local authorities across the UK. Pat Brunton's background as a research scientist has led to her interest in the idea of babies and young children as researchers, and to recognising the value of involving families in their children's learning through science and technology. She has extensive experience of the early years field and provides training for a wide variety of audiences including school governors, teachers, early years and childcare practitioners and children's centre professionals.