We find uses for everything! Filling tights with sand The children scooped, filled and watched the tights stretch and bounce and become very heavy. Then they pulled them across the room using their strong arms. Lots of problem solving as they worked out the best way to do it “We can use the hook to hold them” suggested 1 boy as he attached it to the pallet…….. now why didn’t we think of that! #theirplaytheirway #sandplay #earlyyears #earlyyearsideas #eytagteam #earlyyearsplayshare #nurseryinspiration #eyfsproblemsolving #sensoryplay #teachersofinstagram #maintainednurseryschool #barnetearlyyearsalliance

The ‘Key’ 🔑 to our children’s learning is offering them opportunities that interest,motivate, excite and intrigue This #tuffspot of keys caused lots of excitement and learning and it was interesting to see the direction these ideas went All the children had their own ideas 🔑 Comparing sizes 🔑 Looking at the colours 🔑 Counting 🔑 Collecting 🔑 making music 🔑 Imagining 🔑 Magic keys 🔑 shiny keys 🔑 giant keys At the end of the session most of the keys had disappeared into other areas and in pockets ! So we all went on a key hunt ! 🔑 If we offer these learning opportunities we are opening the door to a world of discovery ….. #cosytuffspot #theirplaytheirway #thrillwillskill #earlyyearslearning #loosepartsplay #childledlearning #earlyyears #eytagteam #bemoreearlyyears #earlychildhoodeducation #themagicofchildren #maintainednurseryschool #barnetearlyyearsalliance

Joining in with @cosy direct weekend challenge @cosyclubideas Create a flag to celebrate the euros using loose parts @cosydirect have some amazing resources available for this play which we use in our continuous provision every day We love loose parts play as it’s such a wonderful open ended activity with no planned or fixed outcome. An opportunity to be imaginative and creative. It’s also very relaxing ! As it’s the weekend we are using what we have at home - pasta to create our England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 flag. What loose parts can you find around your house ? #cosychallenge #cosyclubideas #looseparts #learningthroughplay #earlyyearsprovision #continuousprovision #earlyyearseducation #eyfs #homelearning #nurseryeducation #maintainednurseryschool #barnetearlyyearsalliance

We are patiently waiting for out caterpillars to turn into butterflies. We have been finding out all about the life cycle of a butterfly 🦋. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” story has been very popular. Children have been retelling the story and making props. We set up pictures for them to cut out to make their props with glue, scissors, straws and lollipop sticks . Some of our children wanted to draw their own props from the story and label them. They attempted letters and used their phonic knowledge to sound out the intial sound in each word. Later on the props were used for a puppet show. Again this was completely led by the children. No puppet theatre in sight just a small easel to hide behind’ covered by some artificial grass!!! #theirplaytheirway #theveryhungrycaterpillar #lifecylcleofabutterfly #storyprops #languageinplay #imaginaryplay #storyoftheweek #havingtheirownideas #literacy #phonics #markmaking #eyfsimaginativeplay #finemotorskills #puppetshow #puppetmaking #eyfsnursery #eytagteam #maintainednurseryschools #barnetearlyyearsalliance

Come on England ⚽️ Today we made some supporters sticks to cheer on England ! The children painted sticks white,wrapped coloured wool around them and stuck strips of tissue paper on the end. Stick wrapping is a great activity to get those little fingers moving and arm muscles working. Let’s hope they help us score some goals tonight! #stickwrapping #forestschoolideas #finemotoractivities #funkyfingers #earlyyearsideas #comeonengland #eytagteam #maintainednurseryschools #barnetearlyearsalliance

Our terrific twos homemade pond was a success!!! 🐸🐸 The children were so excited to welcome two little froglets.  The children have been caring for them and observing the changes over the last few weeks. Check out our previous post to see how we made our homemade pond. #selflove_shoutout #frogs #froglet #earlyyears #outdoorlearning #twoyearoldlearning #lifecycles #eyfsoutdoor #recycledtyres #maintainednursery #barnetearlyyearsalliance #eytagteam

The Terrific Twos taking part in footprint painting. They felt the paint squish through their toes and then created fantastic footprint patterns in fabric. They talked about the paint being “slippery, cold, and squishy”. The children, walked, stomped and jumped. Some chose to use their hands and feet!! #theirplaytheirway #terrictwos #exploringpaint #earlyyears #invitationtoplay #earlyyearsideas #nurseryinspiration #outdoorplay

Making marks in the paint, using big movements with their arms and exploring the texture.“It’s so smooth, it feels nice, look at my hands, I’m making scratches in the paint”. We also added brushes and combs to make different patterns in the paint. To finish off #theirplaytheirway making handprints on the big paper. #grossmotorskills #earlywriting #exploration #painting #textures #sensoryplay #playingtogether #earlyyearsideas #ealyyearseducation #maintainednurseryschools #eytagteam

Our BEYA Nurseries @stmargaretsnurserybarnet @hampden_way_nursery @brookhillnursery are places of possibilities Where all our childrens play is valued. We observe to understand our children and we love seeing how they have their own ideas That is where our hashtag #theirplaytheirway derived from. We would love you to join in and share your “their play their way” posts with us using our hashtag We will share our favourites each week to our stories Share this to your page, stories and tag us Lets spread the joy of child led learning #theirplaytheirway #childledlearning #thisisearlyyears #eyfs #earlyyears #themagicofchildren #letthemplay #childledplay #learningthroughplay #eytagteam #maintainednurseryschool #barnetearlyyearsalliance

Fantastic child led play in our ‘Deconstructed Role Play Area’ #theirplaytheirway. It’s a place where the children use their imagination to turn open-ended resources into their own play experiences that is meaningful to them. Yesterday A child independently made her own props to support her role play. “It’s my house I need a tv and a remote control ”. She used different sized boxes, pens, glue and paper to make her props. She then placed the babies in front of the tv so they could watch their programs together. We are so glad we set up this area in our classroom thank you to @abcdoes for providing an outstanding online training on Deconstructed Role Play. If you haven’t already read our blog on how it all started please check it out on the abcdoes website. #deconstructedroleplay #openendedplay #openendedresources #imagination #ownexperience #roleplay #nursery #eyfs #abcdoestraining

We rarely post faces of our children but with the parents permission we decided the hammock picture was perfect to sum up a wonderful day of forest school play💚 🍃 Our large outdoor space gives us opportunities to celebrate the beautiful outdoors and we often engage in forest school activities to support this 🍃 We have cleared an area for den building and we have space to store resources for our children to independently access 🍃 Today we spent time building dens together and hanging a hammock which proved to be a challenge ! 🍃 Someone even attempted a den in a tree ! 🍃 These activities give our children opportunities to problem solve, take risks,work as a team, negotiate, cooperate and use their physical skills and creativity to make a safe space where they can relax with each other and take in their natural surroundings 🍃 A perfect feel good Friday activity 💚 #forestschoolideas #theirplaytheirway #bemoreearlyyears #denbuilding #outdoorplay #natureplayalong #childsplay #eyfs #earlyyears #eytagteam #maintainednurseryschool #barnetearlyyearsalliance

Cooling down on a hot day in our homemade padding pool using blocks and tarpaulin. #tarpaulin #swimming #paddlingpool #summerdays #outdoorplay #earlyyears #earlyyearsfun #paddling #waterplay #theirplaytheirway #letsplay_summer