Winter Small World: Bring The Enchantment

As winter approaches I wanted to share some thoughts and inspiration on the different ways you can create enchantment and magic in your play.

I do believe there should be an element of beautifulness in your play. If you don't want to go and play there and learn more than neither will the children. That's why when I set areas up I like to pay attention to the details I create. Adding in mirrors for a different perspective, considering the opportunity to add light, different textures to stimulate the senses and elements of nature. I like to include open ended resources and books that allow the learning to take the direction the child desires. I put the time into creating something that will have impact on the children's learning and development. That's why I don't do reams of forward planning and masses of paperwork and instead put this time into the environment (but that's a whole different blog post!).

Now I think that it's  important to note here that the child matters! For one minute i'm not suggesting that you re-create play scenes that you've seen here and on other sites for your children without exploring the need for why you need it in your provision. 

So I want you to remember this; Everything we put into our environment should link back to the child. I often encourage those I work with to stand back and unpick their learning environment through the lense of the child.

1. Does a provocation you've set up link to the interests the child has demonstrated (or questions they's wondered) ands this gives them the opportunity to explore further?

2. Or does your knowledge of the child understand that they need more opportunities to practice a particular skill? 

Lastly, if we say no to the top two options ask;

3. Is that part of my continuous every day provision that allows children to become independent learners?

If you can't say yes to any of these questions then it's most likely that this has been set up for the good of the educator. 

I know that it's become a very popular social media trend to follow along with challenges whereby there would be a particular item to post a provocation around on a set day and then use a hashtag to show you had done it.  There are so many different themed ones around but an example would be a Christmas challenge where you might post a #christmasstocking and that day in your provision you would have a stocking activity or provocation set up.

We have to be really careful here that we are not commercialising children's play or creating a learning environment to grow our instagram followers. Instead lets collect these ideas, even save a board of ideas on pinterest around the theme of a 'a Christmas stocking' that you can refer back to for ideas when the time is right and the children show an interest in this. Or for when you want to teach a skill of sewing to support the children's fine motor development and a stocking seems like a perfect way. 

I've worked with educators in the past who have missed crucial child led learning opportunities...some true A- Ha moments of child led joy...because they've been so consumed in re-creating something the children have no interest in, can't see the connection it has to them and it's been done for the adult. 

I remember one particular Christmas a school I worked with had left some blank Christmas cards in the home corner for the children to practice writing in context in their play. One little boy, a reluctant writer, chose to sit at the kitchen table in the home corner and write his name on the cards. Just like he had observed his mum doing at home. Meanwhile at the other side of the classroom the teacher was busy building a pre-cut cardboard igloo role play area with her TA. The teacher had seen the idea on pinterest and thought it would be great to put up in the classroom. She could even get some photos of it and join in the winter tree Christmas play challenge on instagram. The walls in the area were backed with samples of metallic foil wallpaper with trees on, fairy lights were added, polar animals were found and a campfire was even created. The area looked amazing, but while all of this had happened the educators had missed the wonderful moments of child led learning happening in the home corner. A child playing with his experiences and seeing writing as purposeful. Wouldn't this have been a moment of learning to celebrate? Just imagine how infectious of a writing opportunity it could have been for the teacher to write a card back to the boy? But this was missed...because here the adults agenda was seen as more important. 

Take the photo below of some wooden small world characters in a hat. This was set up as a provocation after the educator saw many of her nursery children taking enjoyment out of transporting toys around the room in different bags, pockets and baskets. This led on to the reading of the story The Mitten where there was the discussion of carrying things in our hands (or gloves). This provocation responded to the children's questions of 'what else can hold our favourite things.'

To find out more ideas on how to make winter enchanting and magical for the children download the free guide and hygge advent calendar here.