Today’s guest blogger, Jane Evans, has specialist knowledge in a much under represented area of early years – trauma and domestic violence. She is the creator of the ‘Tuning In’ Parenting Beyond Trauma, Parenting Towards Harmony and Happiness Programmes, and the ‘Tuning In’ Beyond Trauma Training for professionals.

Statistics from the womensaid organisation are shocking:

At least 750,000 children a year witness domestic violence. (Department of Health, 2002).
In 75% to 90% of incidents of domestic violence, children are in the same or the next room.

This is a subject which desperately needs discussion.

I’m very excited that Jane has written this blog post to promote such discussion about the subject. Do add your comments!

Tend and nurture a child’s emotions and they will grow to reach for the sky.
by Jane Evans, Specialist Parenting & Behaviour Skills Consultancy

Reading Kathy’s article on Sustained shared thinking gave me an ‘aha’ moment.

It prompted me to think about all the children, and parents, I have worked with, over a 15-year period, who have lived through trauma. Those people who so badly needed someone who could spend the time to help them to find the tools to expand on their thinking. All children clearly would benefit from this, but the children I have known have experienced a variety of traumas in their short lives. Most of their experiences were of living with domestic violence and abuse, along with other forms of abuse and neglect.

As a Parenting Worker in a range of settings with families with complex needs, I often began my work with the main carer, usually a mother. I then did some 1:1 work with a child or children and used this to inform my work with the main carer. I observed first hand the effects of trauma on the child’s development and the complex pattern of attachment between the main carer and the child, and the ways in which this impacted on the child’s social and emotional understanding and skills – and this is where practitioners need to focus their skills.

Taking part in ‘sustained shared thinking’ with traumatised children needs an extension of most practitioners’ skills. Knowledge and understanding of the effects of trauma on:

• brain development and function
• impact on behaviour
• speech and language
• social and emotional skills

would need to be the foundation for this.

Why? Children who live with, or through, trauma rarely develop the ability to access and connect with their feelings. There is often very little input from their carers who are preoccupied by their own stress and trauma and may not be able to offer this.

Therefore, it is crucial to take time to start this journey with young children by gently suggesting feelings they may have or thoughts so as to put ‘pennies’ in the empty slot machine. Then, when they are asked, as they will be in life, how they feel about something they can ‘pay out’ with a response that they feel and understand. This in time will also give them the ability to empathise and understand that others have a mind and a set of feelings too.

Practitioners can gently suggest without jumping in too soon, “I saw what happened with you and Alfie, I wondered how you were feeling about it? (Pause for child to respond), I was thinking that maybe you felt anxious, sad, confused etc.?” Pennies are put in so they can later be ‘paid out’. Thinking can be expanded and built on once the child begins to feel that it is safe for them to look inwards as well as outwards. The practitioner is there to support them in doing this.

Traumatised children will often present as ‘falsely fierce’, fearless and overly confident. Life experience has taught them this is how to survive and it needs an attentive, focused practitioner to pick up the subtle signals they throw out that all is not as it seems. These children do not have the ability to think things through, but are often only able to react on impulses to survive, as that is what has got them this far in their difficult lives.

‘Sustained shared thinking’ seems to be the first step in offering a much needed ‘attachment figure’ to children who have lived through trauma and the importance of this is inestimable!

More insight into, and understanding of, how parenting is affected by trauma, such as domestic violence, can be found during my training in Bristol in September.
Click here for my Tuning In Beyond Trauma Training

click here for information about Colette Winters training

About Jane Evans:

I have extensive experience of direct work with parents, carers, children and professionals who have been faced with the effects of trauma, such as domestic violence and abuse, child safeguarding issues, substance dependency, homelessness, mental illness, learning difficulties, school non-attendance and loss.
The families and professionals taught me that a different approach to supporting parents and carers was needed and that it had to be about emotional intelligence and empathy so this has been the corner stone for the parenting programmes, professional’s training, 1:1 parenting and consultancy work which I now offer.
Email: janeevans61@hotamail.co.uk
Phone: 07946318404
Twitter:JaneEvans @janeparenting
http://parentingposttrauma.co.uk/Similar Posts:

• Sustained Shared Thinking – how important is it?
• Speech and Language and TV – what is the evidence?
• EYPs – what’s next for Continued Professional Development?
• More men in childcare
• A Teacher by Any Other Name

Children, trauma and sustained shared thinking is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals

I am very proud and pleased to have a guest blog today.

I first met Alistair Bryce-Clegg when I asked him to come and ‘close’ our annual North West EYP Conference. He was amazing that day – and has been amazing our EYPs in the North West ever since! If you ever have the opportunity to hear Alistair at a Conference, I would strongly recommend you do so. Inspirational and irreverent in equal measure, and with loads of practical, cheap and useful ideas.

Which brings us to the blog. Alistair has very kindly shared this blog with me, which originally appeared on his site in February. You can find it at www.abcdoes.com He has also written a number of books, which you can find on Amazon or through your local independent book seller.

I hope you are as inspired as I was on reading these ideas. Enjoy!

Activity Ideas – Squish Squash and Squeeze

By Alistair Bryce-Clegg

It was meant to be a rare day off but it seems that the printing press waits for no man and I had to get my photoshoot sorted out for the next ’50 Fantastic Things’ book.

I have to say a HUGE thank you to Jo and all of the team at Penguins Pre-School in Timperley who were super organised and super helpful and made the shoot run like a dream.

Here are a few of the things that we did…

BAGS OF FUN

Mix some food colouring with water in a pot
Put 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the bottom of your plastic bag
Then add 4 tablespoons of coloured water
WAIT (and see what happens)
Add 4 tablespoons of golden syrup to the bag.
WAIT
Zip up the bag and let the children squish.

THINGS IN JELLY

I know that jelly is a regular favourite but it never fails to get great results. We tried putting jelly into various other containers of different sizes, ice cube trays, freezer bags and even a rubber glove, which made for a very squshy hand shake! In the pots of jelly, I asked Jo and the team to add other ‘items’ for the children to look at and fish out. These caused a great deal of interest.

GET STUCK IN!

You can use this idea in SO many ways. It works equally well on a large or small scale.

All you do is to cover a surface (in this case a table) with sticky backed plastic. MAKE SURE THE STICKY SIDE IS UP! You can secure it underneath the table with tape.

Then let the children stick various items onto it to make patterns. They are always fascinated by sticking their hands to it and feeling the resistance as they pull them away.

PINK SLME

Dead easy and really effective…

Pink marshmallows in a bowl. Squirt of washing up liquid. Whizz in the microwave until they begin to melt. Cool a bit so as not to burn any fingers. That’s it!

If you use white marsh mallows you can add food colouring to change the colour of your slime.

BREAD + PVA MODELLING DOUGH

Hours of fun… White bread, grated or crumbled into a bowl. Add PVA glue a teaspoonful at a time, mixing with your fingers. When the mixture becomes slightly tacky (not sticky), then it is ready. You can model with it and then leave it to air dry.

If you use flour and water paste instead of PVA you can leave your models out for the birds to eat!

RAINBOW GLOOP!

The secret to this one is baby wipes!

Mix your gloop (or goop) as usual in a builders tray. Then paint it with food colouring. The best way to do this is to dip the corner of a baby wipe into the food colouring and then hold the clean bit.

That way you can dip and drag your wipe without getting stained fingers.

Once you have made your picture then play in it.

WARM TAPIOCA

Cook as per the instructions. Add colour if you fancy it. Squish whilst warm!

MEGA BUBBLES

Just soap flakes, water and a whisk!

WHAT ON EARTH?

What do you think this squashable landscape it made out of?

The answer is Vaseline! Scoop it out onto a glass plate or mirror then put it into the freezer over night. Take it out as you are about to use it. The Vaseline and the plate will have frosted over and stiffened up giving it a completely different texture.

If you want to make your Vaseline creation extra frosty then mist it with a water spray before you freeze it.

Hope that was a little bit of Thursday night inspiration! It was hard work, but great fun.

Alistair

P.S. Don’t forget to check for food and skin allergies when you are doing any messy play!

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a0134863096e6970c0168e7ddb328970cSimilar Posts:

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Squish, Squash and Squeeze – from Alistair Bryce-Clegg is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals

My name is Rosie and I live with my best friend Daisy at an amazing nursery.

We only arrived a few weeks ago, but we already have lots of friends, both children and their parents. Everyone seems to be interested in us, and it seems to be a great way to start a conversation with a parent.

The nursery owners have built a massive outdoor pen especially so the children can come into the run, with an adult, and stroke us. I love it when the toddlers give me a brush with the soft brush, but Daisy likes the babies tickling behind her ears better. We both like being fed fresh scraps of cabbage and carrot that the children bring from home, proudly carried by the children and creating interest from the parents about what’s happening at nursery.

I heard one of the mums say they had to sign a letter about allergies and getting permission to pet us – but honestly they would have difficulty stopping the children caring for us and being so gentle. I’d never played with babies before, but now I know they aren’t going to hurt me and they aren’t too scary, I really enjoy having them there.

In fact, one toddler was worried about her new baby sibling, but since looking after us she has been much more caring and understanding about new additions to the family. She even has some cuddly toy rabbits at home that she looks after.

Sometimes it does get a bit boring. We do like to be underground sometimes. But in one corner of the pen there has been some digging today. I think the children are looking for worms, but Daisy thinks our owner is putting in some pipes and underground runs for us. That would be fun!

Last weekend we woke up in the shed (which is our home next to the pen) to find a small flap that we could get through all by ourselves, with no one having to come and open the door for us. It was exhilarating to be able to go outside whenever we fancied – sometimes just to sniff the air and come back in, but sometimes to run and jump and enjoy the weather. Of course this means we can also scamper back in whenever the rain starts or if we get cold. I could think of nothing nicer than being able to decide for ourselves when to go out and when to come in.

I like the wind and the feel of the rain on my nose, the smell of the damp earth and the crisp frost on the grass, jumping over the puddles and watching the clouds whip across the sky. Daisy prefers the warm sun on her fur, the scent of summer flowers and the sound of birds chirping, the warm calm of the evening and the gentle first light. Being able to go indoors and outdoors when we like means we can both enjoy our favourite things. It has made us feel very confident and even made us want to explore more!

Daisy and I love having free flow play, but even more than that, we love all the care and nurturing we get from our children and grown ups.

Image by RoboboboboSimilar Posts:

• A Teacher by Any Other Name
• Treasure Baskets
• Squish, Squash and Squeeze – from Alistair Bryce-Clegg
• How Children Learn Book 1 by Linda Pound and Kathy Hughes
• Lost boy – what would you do?

Rabbit free flow play is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals

The EPPE report (Sylva et al. 2004) concluded that the best quality settings had a graduate led workforce.

The Graduate Leader Fund (or Transformation Fund) was set up in 2006 to support settings in achieving this aim. The idea was that settings could ‘home grow’ a graduate, by supporting their studies at University, whilst still working in the setting, or to assist a setting to recruit a graduate.

This would then enable graduates to go on achieve to the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) – the gold standard.

But has spending all this money (£555 million) achieved anything in the last 5 years?

In July 2011, the Department for Education (DfE) released the Evaluation of the Graduate Leader Fund, researched by an eminent team and supported by the CWDC, Oxford University and the National Centre for Social Research.

Because the EYPS is still in its infancy (although there are now 7,500 EYPs), the research has used EYPs who have achieved the Status for 6 to 24 months. The two main questions to be investigated were:

• Does having an Early Years Professional improve quality?
• If so, which aspects of practice (and of quality) are most closely associated with EYP status?

(Evaluation of the Graduate Leader Fund p. 16)

I’ve done a couple of small scale research projects to explore the same questions and have found it incredibly difficult to unravel the Status from the person (see ‘Value your EYP’ on this website).

Similarly it is impossible to ignore the environment in which the EYPs work, physical and emotional. If there is already an ethos of implementing improvements, an openness to changes and a strong team, then the EYP stands a much better chance of making a positive contribution.

In the Evaluation of the Graduate Leader Fund, Mathers et al. have chosen to use the ITERS-R, ECERS-E and ECERS-R Environmental assessment tools (available from Amazon) which neatly side steps some of the issues.

These are a method of quantifying the quality of the setting and one that I always recommend to settings who know that there is something not ‘quite right’ but can’t put their finger on it. These audit tools enable practitioners to put a fine tooth comb through their practice and environment to identify which parts are functioning well and which need closer monitoring.

There are a myriad of findings and analysis from all the information gathered over the two year life of the project, which have been categorised into – The impact of gaining EYPS; Other predictors of quality; Improving practice in settings; Factors affecting improvements and Parents’ views of improvements, qualifications and their involvement in their child’s learning.

I was particularly drawn to the impact of gaining the EYP Status, the key findings of which were that:

• Gains were seen in overall quality
• EYPS provided ‘added value’ over and above gaining a graduate in terms of overall quality
• Improvements related most strongly to direct work with children, such as support for learning, communication and individual needs
• EYPs were more influential on the quality of practice in their own rooms than on quality across the whole setting.
• There was little evidence that EYPs improved the quality of provision for younger children (birth to 30 months)

(pages 6 and 7 – Executive Summary)

In addition, it was found that few EYPs were working in baby rooms, which mirrors my own experiences with EYPs. It seems to be felt that EYPs are best used in pre-school. Maybe because they will be expected to talk to teachers, write leaving reports or liaise with multi-professional teams?

I would suggest this is an area ripe for research and discussion with settings. If this can be analysed successfully then EYPs may be used more effectively and efficiently in settings.

EYP networks have plenty of support in the Report: “EYPs valued having access to continuing professional development opportunities through EYP networks established within LAs. These networks provided the opportunity … to share best practice. Networks also provided additional training, for example on specific elements of provision.” (page 99) and “Local networks were seen as a valuable resource for training and for keeping up to date with new developments” (page 100) and “EYPs identified both CPD and the role of EYP networks as key facilitators for ongoing development.” (page 106).

This is very encouraging. Currently networks are struggling for funding and EYPs are having to justify their time away from the settings. This research clearly shows how valuable the benefits are.

In conclusion, I would strongly recommend anyone in childcare to access the report on the DfE website because I have only picked out a very few of the findings and their possible implications here. The report is thorough, interesting and very relevant – just as you would expect from these authors.

Now let’s hope the Coalition Government take the time to read and understand it.

References

Sylva, K. Melhuish, E. Sammons, P. Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Taggard, B. (2004) The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Final Report A Longitudinal Study Funded by the DfES 1997-2004

Mathers, S. Ranns, H, Karemaker, A. Moody, A, Sylva, K, Graham, J, and Siraj-Blatchford I. (2011) Evaluation of the Graduate Leader Fund Final report. Research Report DFE-RR144

Image by JennySimilar Posts:

• Value your EYP
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• A Teacher by Any Other Name
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A Glimmer of Hope for EYPs is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals

Schemas are one of those things that divide practitioners, like fairies at the bottom of the garden. You either believe in them and are in absolute awe at how amazing they are, or you just don’t believe they exist. It’s really interesting when you discuss this with people and it’s extra exciting when a ‘non-believer’ suddenly says “That describes my key child exactly!!”

But first of all, let’s explore what a schema is. Athey (2007) defines schema as ‘patterns of behaviour and thinking in children that exist underneath the surface feature of various contents, contexts and specific experience’ (page 5). Nutbrown (2006) extends this to patterns of ‘action and behaviour’ (page 10). Schema are the repeated actions of children exhibited during their play, drawings, 3D modelling, movement and speech.

For example, for a child with a transporting schema, carrying (transporting) objects is the most important or engaging part of their play. Typically, a ‘transporter’ will pack everything into bags, prams or buckets and carry them around the setting. Sand play may consist of carrying the sand to the water tray. The bikes outdoors will be used to transport toys.

There are many different identified schema. Athey (2007) describes 10 graphic, 11 space and 9 dynamic schema (page 62) which vary from transporter to going through a boundary. She identified these through prolonged and in depth research of children over a period of 5 years, with a skilled team of researchers. So far, so good.

But why hasn’t everybody else spotted these and made the connections? As Athey comments (page 7) this hasn’t arisen from ‘common sense’, it is the result of research and pedagogy. These are the sort of things that you need to learn about and understand so you can see them hidden in the children’s play. Often during courses, as I am explaining the sorts of things a child with a strong schema may do, a practitioner or parent says, in surprise, “But that’s exactly what my child does! We’ve never really understood why” or “that has never made sense before, but now it seems so obvious!”

Once identified, the practitioner can use that knowledge to select activities and experiences which will engage the child. For example, if a practitioner wishes to engage a ‘transporter’ in some mathematical development, then counting toys into a pram, pushing them to the other side of the room and counting the toys out again is likely to be an engaging game. A child with a rotational schema will be intrigued by bike wheels, windmills and spirographs. By really tuning into the types of things that highly motivate a child, the most suitable sort of experiences, which support the child’s development, can be provided. A very practical book to use for activity ideas is Again! Again! by Sally Featherstone (2008), which gives lots of ideas for schematic play in each of the areas in a setting, such as water, sand, outdoors etc.

However, it should be noted that not every child has strong schemas, some children may only display schematic play for a short period of time before moving onto another schema or some children may never display schematic play. Which is where the non-believers come in. If you have never had a key child with a strong schema then it is quite far fetched to believe that, for example, a very young child can make ‘rotational’ connections in his or her drawings, movement outside and preferred toys. But once you have worked with such a child you start to see schema everywhere. In fact, you can start to see it in adults too!

Just like fairies at the bottom of the garden, once there is proof there in front of you, it is difficult to deny. Unlike the fairies, schemas definitely exist and are incredibly useful for supporting child development.

References
Athey, C (2007) Extending Thought in Young Children (2nd Ed) London: PCP
Featherstone, S. (2008) Again! Again! Understanding schema in young children Featherstone Education
Nutbrown, C. (2006) Threads of Thinking London: SageSimilar Posts:

• Schema booklet
• Fabulous Resources
• Extending Thought in Young Children by Chris Athey
• Treasure Baskets
• The Curiosity Cycle by Jonathan Mugan

Schema and Fairies is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals

An interesting article caught my eye this week, based around a mother’s conversion to the EYFS.

There a few things which also raised an eyebrow – “every setting in the country” should be “the majority of settings England”, for example. But the sentence which really intrigued me was that children should be allowed to be children and not “endure a continuous stream of observations and assessments”. The word that was particularly discordant was “endure”. In my experience most young children thoroughly enjoy having an interested and motivated adult watching and taking part in their play. There are many adults who enjoy being a part of children’s lives, which naturally involves noting the children’s likes and dislikes.

So where does the “endure” or suffering come from? One explanation could be that the process of observations and assessment hasn’t been made clear. The dictionary tells us assessment is an evaluation or judgement. This doesn’t mean we restrict children’s freedom or play or natural inquisitiveness. A good practitioner will give the children all these opportunities and then take the lead from them to extend their interests – or evaluate, ‘assess’ their play.

The assessment is not about labelling or pigeon holing children. However, if a practitioner can spot schematic play (for example), then this can help support the child’s interests and learning in a way that is the best for the child. Or, put another way, really understands what makes that child tick. Who wouldn’t want that?

When first looking at the EYFS (2008) it may seem to be artificially contrived statements about children just doing what children do best – being themselves. But these have been crafted by skilled and respected educators in the childcare industry, based on some of the most in depth research in Europe (Effective Provision of Preschool Education, 2003). The strength of the document is that it takes the child’s incredibly complex patterns of learning and makes them accessible, makes it look easy, even. This ensures that the ‘assessments’ we make about children are relevant and accurate.

The EYFS (2008) does have many ‘categories’, against which assessments are made. (It will be interesting to see how the EYFS review, due out at the end of March 2011, will rearrange these.) But the fact remains that, somehow, you have to detail how children develop and learn. If you don’t, how do you know if their development is within ‘normal’ limits? How do you evidence Special Educational Needs, for example? Or gifted and talented? Without having this information you may not be providing the very best for the children in your care.

Assessment isn’t about sitting children down to be tested or labelled. It is about taking an interest in their development, and then using this to give them an enjoyable and challenging childhood.

References:
Early Years Foundation Stage, EYFS (2008) DCSF http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears
EPPE (2003) http://eppe.ioe.ac.uk/

Similar Posts:

• The EYFS review – part one – much ado about nothing?
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• Are you a Sparkly Thinker?

What does Assessment mean? is a post from: Kathy Brodie: Early Years Training Courses and Coaching for Early Years Professionals

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:

• Treasure Baskets
• Squish, Squash and Squeeze – from Alistair Bryce-Clegg
• Sources of free information for Early Years Practitioners
• Fabulous Resources
• Rabbit free flow play

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

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

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.

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:

• Heuristic Play: a simple guide
• Squish, Squash and Squeeze – from Alistair Bryce-Clegg
• What does Assessment mean?
• Reflective Practice and the EYP
• Cultivating creativity in babies, toddlers and young children by Tina Bruce

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