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Heuristic Play: a simple guide

Kathy Brodie — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:29:32 +0000

Heuristic Play

What is Heuristic play?

When babies start to walk and become more independent they need an environment of discovery and investigation – Heuristic comes from ‘eureka’. This is the time when children will spend 30 minutes or more concentrating on seemingly random play. They like to post, hide, slide, pour, fill, put on, in and under.

Kathy Sylva and Jerome Bruner associated this concentration of play with cognitive development and educational progress. As practitioners we need to provide the environment and materials for children to be able to do this.

The environment

A clear space should be used, with all other toys and distractions put away. About an hour is needed (including putting out and clearing away). At least one member of staff should be fully dedicated to looking after this group of children. This is a great time to take photos and make observations. The time should preferably clear of distraction for adults as well.

An additional benefit is that whilst the toddlers are occupied with their play, other practitioners are released to settle in new babies or catch up on paperwork.

The resources

The resources don’t need to cost a fortune. You may have most of the items already in the nursery. And be creative. For example, if you are lucky enough to live near the leather museum in Walsall, you can obtain scraps of leather for free (and have the museum tour!). The resources should be kept in draw string bags with wide mouths so children can easily help to put the resources away. They should be kept in a special place and only brought out a few times each week. Just as with treasure baskets, the resources are limitless, but below are some examples:

Woollen pompoms
Small bags
Bags of fresh herbs (thanks to Walsall Early Years practitioners for this great suggestion)
Range of boxes that will slot inside each other
Tubes which will slide inside each other (inside of foil tubes, kitchen rolls, cling films etc)
Strips of materials with different textures
Items with slots or holes (spatulas, rings)
Jar tops
Shells
Corks
Hair rollers of different sizes
Chains of various sizes and shapes
Variety of tins (with safe tops) such as golden syrup tins, biscuit tins

The items should be selected for their sensory properties, so natural materials are preferable. Smooth plastic, which gives very little sensory feedback, should be avoided.

A word on health and safety

Obviously as a practitioner you are not going to place your children in harm’s way. Some of these objects may be considered to be potentially dangerous, particularly for babies who are still putting things in their mouths. You know your children and what you would be happy for them to experience. You know which ones will always chew first, ask questions later, or see any object as a weapon! This is entirely at your discretion.

Items should be cleaned regularly and thrown away if broken or considered dangerous.

References

Goldschmeid, E and Jackson S, (1994) People Under Three young children in day care Routledge Oxon pages 128 to 141. This is the text on treasure baskets and Heuristic play, as well as key person and second year of life. Heuristic play is covered in much more detail with examples.

Hughes, A (2006) Developing Play for the Under 3s, treasure baskets and heuristic play, David Fulton Ltd Oxon. Just a small book, but practical with lots of ideas and a section on language on page 76. If you fancy buying just one, this would probably be your best value for money in terms of being immediately useful. The RRP is £14.99.

Nutbrown, C and Page, J (2008) Working with babies and children from birth to three SAGE London Page 155. This is a lovely section about heuristic play, with a great example of how it can work, and ideas for practice.Similar Posts:

Heuristic Play: a simple guide is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals

Treasure Baskets

Kathy Brodie — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:27:22 +0000

General Rule: No Plastic!

Children need to experience the sensation of touch. In this day and age most toys are plastic – smooth and uniform. How do you know what prickly means if you’ve never felt it? It is our responsibility as practitioners to give the children these experiences, in a safe, controlled environment. The treasure basket is full of sensations for the baby, from cold and heavy to wooden or shiny. Our role is to provide the experience and support the learning.

How to use the treasure basket

Have the babies sat comfortably in a circle, with support if they aren’t sitting confidently by themselves. The practitioners sit behind the babies, ready to intervene if necessary. Your role is to sit back and watch.

The treasure basket is put in the middle of the circle, so the babies can reach inside it easily. Allow them to explore each item. A baby may choose just to play with one, or may look at every item.

Sit back and watch.

Practitioners should be watching, but not talking. This is a fabulous time to make observations for profiles/learning journeys and taking photos. Allow plenty of time for the babies to investigate the whole basket. This could be 45 minutes or an hour! If you feel that something is dangerous then intervene.

A word on health and safety

Items should be cleaned regularly and thrown away if broken or considered dangerous.

Treasure baskets should be treated with respect. They are best used maybe a couple of times a week, no more. This means the babies stay interested each time. You could also have several different baskets, with a theme such as shiny or wooden.

The Contents of the Treasure Basket

Items you might like to use for treasure baskets:
Natural:
Fir cones
Pebbles (large)
Shells
Large chestnuts and shells
Pumice
Corks
Loofah
Sponge
Apples
Oranges
Lemons
Driftwood

Wooden:

Spoons
Natural block
Egg cup
Coaster
Bowl
Raffia ornaments
Pastry brush
Pegs

Metal:

Bunch of measuring spoons
Tea strainer
Chains (different sizes and textures)
Large empty tin
Small saucepan
Whisk
Bells
Bowl

Others

Natural brushes
Leather goods
Fabrics of all sorts – include ribbon, lace, velvet
Ceramic balls
Furry items
Rubber
Balls – tennis, golf
Thick glass – ashtray, candle holder
Mats
curlers

Smelly bags eg lavender, cloves, cinnamon

These are just a few ideas. Once you start going round your home and nursery you will see lots of things you can use. The kitchen is usually full of ‘treasures’, from ladles to wood spoons to pastry brushes.

You do not need to spend a fortune. Your biggest outlay may be the basket. Mine cost £8 from Au Naturale. The rest could be potentially free. Ask your parents, look for safe objects in the £1 shop.

References

Featherstone, S (2002) The little book of Treasure Baskets Featherstone Education Ltd
Goldschmeid, E and Jackson, S (1994) people under three – young children in day care Routledge, Oxon
Hughes, A (2006) Developing play for the under 3’s – the treasure basket and heuristic play David Fulton Publishers, Oxon

Websites

http://www.peep.org.uk/standard.asp?id=300 Peers Early Education Partner (PEEP) group was established in 1995.
It is an early learning intervention, which aims to contribute towards improving the life chances of children, particularly in disadvantaged areas. It concentrates on supporting parents/carers to develop three particular aspects of learning with their children:

literacy and numeracy
self-esteem
learning dispositions

It has some great ideas in general and the page on treasure baskets is very practical

http://www.contentedchild.co.uk/howtouse.htm The contented child site has lots of useful ideas and comments. You can buy baskets from them as well (£30 – £50)
http://www.earlyexcellence.com/u3s/treasure_basket_collections.html?gclid=CNCsxMe27J0CFYwA4wodAkjwLA Buy the treasure basket complete (£75)
http://www.playtoz.co.uk/ You can customise your basket (£55 for small basket)Similar Posts:

Treasure Baskets is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals