With the increased focus on children's language in Early Years education, poetry can be a valuable tool in enhancing speaking, listening and communication. This book provides parents and practitioners with a guide on how and where to start with using poetry with children. Combined with practical suggestions on finding and using poems with children of differing ages and language ability, it also offers advice on how to encourage children to create and develop their own poems. Exploring Poetry with Young Children includes an anthology of a wide range of poems to use with children based on their everyday experiences, ensuring that adults can enhance the learning experience as it happens and enrich the language development of the children in their care. Divided into two parts, this book covers: the nature of poetry and why it can be such important part of our well-being; ways of using and sharing poetry with babies and toddlers; how to share poetry with children as they become confident users of language; the rhyming aspects of verse and ways in which these can be used to develop children's phonic awareness; the importance of establishing a poetic awareness in young children. This will be an essential guide for all Early Years practitioners, students and parents who are interested in using poetry to develop the speaking, listening and communication skills of young children.

'If outdoor activities with young children have always baffled you, then this is the book for you. Practical in style and structure, it has an accessible approach which is based in the best early years practice and provides plenty of challenges and new ideas. It is a must have for your early years setting.' - Kathryn Solly, Headteacher at Chelsea Open Air Nursery School and Children's Centre, UK A garden can be a magical place for young children and offers them rich and engaging learning experiences as they interact with a variety of plants and wildlife throughout the year. This book guides you through the process of creating a garden, however small, for young children. It looks at the impact a garden area can have on children's overall development and the benefits of using natural materials as learning tools. Full of practical advice on how to design, develop resource and use a garden area, this book brings together: advice on planning a garden and how to get children, parents and the local community involved ideas for settings with limited space ideas for different spaces including a wildlife space, a woodland space, a digging area, sand and water spaces and a growing area suggestions of plants, flowers and crops to grow with very young children information about the wildlife children may discover a calendar guide to activities and garden planning throughout the year ways to encourage children to develop a sense of awareness of the importance of conservation and sustainability guidance on health and safety clear links with EYFS to show how a garden supports the areas of learning and development. Written for all early years practitioners, this book is the definitive guide for those looking to further enhance their outdoor environment and fulfil the potential learning opportunities that a garden can provide.

Outdoor learning and play experiences are an essential part of young children's development. The importance of offering children first-hand experience of the natural world becomes more urgent as research evidence demonstrates the benefits of becoming physically and emotionally involved with the natural world. Outdoor Learning through the Seasons shows how we can encourage young children to engage with nature on a daily basis throughout the year. Using the four seasons as a framework, it supports adults to develop their own awareness of the world around them and feel confident about taking children outside every day. There are suggestions for caring for gardens and wildlife through the year, and ideas to brighten grey winter days, enjoy the summer sunshine or explore in the snow. Now featuring full-colour photographs throughout, this new edition has been updated to include references to recent research, new material on Forest Schools, discussion questions for practitioners and in-depth case studies of learning in action. Features include: Ideas for all seasons, weather conditions and working with the four elements: earth, air, water and fire Guidance on fulfilling the learning requirements of EYFS and the Characteristics of Effective Learning Advice on working with parents and the role of adults Practical tips and suggestions of how to make the most of a small space or how to re-plan an existing space Useful reference lists of further resources including stories, poems and websites This practical book is essential reading for all those looking to provide rich and stimulating outdoor learning and play provision for children in early years settings on a daily basis and for parents and carers wishing to get the most of time outdoors with their children.

A daughter's life is changed on discovering her adoptive father is in fact her true father; in her imagination, an elderly woman removes the blue mantle from a plaster statue of the Virgin Mary, and is delighted to find black lace underneath; a senior academic, about to deliver a lecture to his students, is unsettled by memories of a passionate affair. These spare, elegant, disconcerting stories swerve between the long perspectives of memory and the abrupt questions of children running free: 'Where does the world go when I am dead?' Marjorie Ann Watts, the author of a series of books for children, brings to the ambiguities of adult relationships, and the fault-lines between generations, a rare and sharp-witted understanding of how the past remains forever embedded in the present'

This accessible guide will inform, prompt and inspire practitioners as they develop their own creativity and seize the rich opportunities offered by outdoor environments to cultivate and encourage the creative skills of the young children in their care. Including information on Forest School, Developing Creativity and Curiosity Outdoors builds on theories of creative learning and development, and offers a wealth of ideas and activities for application in a range of outdoor settings. From designing and building structures, to making music and exploring colour, shape and pattern, this book illustrates how engagement in and with the natural world might extend children's creative development, encouraging them to speak, listen, move freely, play and learn. Case studies demonstrate good practice and each chapter concludes with questions, encouraging the reader to reflect on and develop their own practice. Practical ideas can be adapted for use in more urban environments, and further reading, online resources and lists of suppliers make Developing Creativity and Curiosity Outdoors an essential resource for those looking to maximise the natural curiosity of children. This book will give early years practitioners and students the confidence and knowledge they need to embark on an exciting journey of outdoor discovery with young children.

This accessible guide will inform, prompt and inspire practitioners as they develop their own creativity and seize the rich opportunities offered by outdoor environments to cultivate and encourage the creative skills of the young children in their care. Including information on Forest School, Developing Creativity and Curiosity Outdoors builds on theories of creative learning and development, and offers a wealth of ideas and activities for application in a range of outdoor settings. From designing and building structures, to making music and exploring colour, shape and pattern, this book illustrates how engagement in and with the natural world might extend children's creative development, encouraging them to speak, listen, move freely, play and learn. Case studies demonstrate good practice and each chapter concludes with questions, encouraging the reader to reflect on and develop their own practice. Practical ideas can be adapted for use in more urban environments, and further reading, online resources and lists of suppliers make Developing Creativity and Curiosity Outdoors an essential resource for those looking to maximise the natural curiosity of children. This book will give early years practitioners and students the confidence and knowledge they need to embark on an exciting journey of outdoor discovery with young children.

Outdoor learning and play experiences are an essential part of young children's development. The importance of offering children first-hand experience of the natural world becomes more urgent as research evidence demonstrates the benefits of becoming physically and emotionally involved with the natural world. Outdoor Learning through the Seasons shows how we can encourage young children to engage with nature on a daily basis throughout the year. Using the four seasons as a framework, it supports adults to develop their own awareness of the world around them and feel confident about taking children outside every day. There are suggestions for caring for gardens and wildlife through the year, and ideas to brighten grey winter days, enjoy the summer sunshine or explore in the snow. Now featuring full-colour photographs throughout, this new edition has been updated to include references to recent research, new material on Forest Schools, discussion questions for practitioners and in-depth case studies of learning in action. Features include: Ideas for all seasons, weather conditions and working with the four elements: earth, air, water and fire Guidance on fulfilling the learning requirements of EYFS and the Characteristics of Effective Learning Advice on working with parents and the role of adults Practical tips and suggestions of how to make the most of a small space or how to re-plan an existing space Useful reference lists of further resources including stories, poems and websites This practical book is essential reading for all those looking to provide rich and stimulating outdoor learning and play provision for children in early years settings on a daily basis and for parents and carers wishing to get the most of time outdoors with their children.

Anne Watts grew up in a small village in north Wales in the 1940s. Inspired by school geography lessons that told of far-off lands, she broke out of the conventional options open to women in post-war Britain, defying her Merchant Navy father's dated views. She trained as a nurse and midwife, joined the Save the Children Fund, and was posted to Vietnam in 1967. One of only three British nurses in the region, Anne was faced with a vision of hell that her training at Manchester's Royal Infirmary had barely prepared her for. Thrown in at the deep end, she witnessed the random cruelty of warfare, nursing injured and orphaned children and caring for wounded and dying servicemen. She went on to take her skills to the victims of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, to Lebanon during the Israeli occupation, and Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. Over some forty-five years Anne has brought her courage and compassion to those most in need of help. Woven into this vivid, compelling memoir is perhaps the most moving story of all - how Anne's idyllic childhood was shattered by a shocking family tragedy when she was 10 years old. A tragedy that was to shape her destiny.

With the increased focus on children's language in Early Years education, poetry can be a valuable tool in enhancing speaking, listening and communication. This book provides parents and practitioners with a guide on how and where to start with using poetry with children. Combined with practical suggestions on finding and using poems with children of differing ages and language ability, it also offers advice on how to encourage children to create and develop their own poems. Exploring Poetry with Young Children includes an anthology of a wide range of poems to use with children based on their everyday experiences, ensuring that adults can enhance the learning experience as it happens and enrich the language development of the children in their care. Divided into two parts, this book covers: the nature of poetry and why it can be such important part of our well-being; ways of using and sharing poetry with babies and toddlers; how to share poetry with children as they become confident users of language; the rhyming aspects of verse and ways in which these can be used to develop children's phonic awareness; the importance of establishing a poetic awareness in young children. This will be an essential guide for all Early Years practitioners, students and parents who are interested in using poetry to develop the speaking, listening and communication skills of young children.

CLEVER POLLY AND THE STUPID WOLF by Catherine Storr has delighted generations of young children. Twelve stories written for the author's daughter, who was scared of the wolf under the bed! Drawing occasionally on well-known fairy tales, and skilfully blending fantasy and reality, these stories are bursting with humour, originality and charm. And Polly, not scared at all, outwits the wolf on each and every occasion! Also in A Puffin Book, the sequel: POLLY AND THE WOLF AGAIN.

My Devotional is a all category of feelings from our everyday life. It helps when someone can help us say what is in our heart and get an understanding. Pouring out your soul helps us to get closer to the Lord. We are able to move on.

"What are you going to do now?" my teacher colleagues asked, as I packed away my things after my retirement party. I replied, "I might like to write a book"- never guessing that the subject of the book was going to be - bowel cancer. It was only three days later that I received my diagnosis. "How does it feel?" (reflections on a year in the life of one woman following a diagnosis of bowel cancer), is a moving story of Ann's battle with bowel cancer, through surgery and chemotherapy. It includes a journal which describes the day to day ups and downs of illness; and also an anthology of pictures and poems through which Ann expresses her inner journey. This book will provide encouragement to all who suffer from cancer. Ann's story is told with honesty and directness and this book expresses well the complexities of the cancer experience. Ann's reflections lift the spirit and offer a glimpse of the spiritual meaning found in the simple things of life, which become all the more precious at times of crisis.

Exploring Values Through Multimedia, Literature and Literacy Events was written by teachers and educational researchers for classrooms and schools interested in developing learning communities that develop critical and compassionate future citizens. Through the use of specific multimedia, literature and literacy events, this book presents numerous ways for classroom teachers and schools to promote respectful, responsible, caring, and sharing students in a democratic society. Beginning with Plato's message that we cannot let the formation of good citizens to chance, Exploring Values Through Multimedia, Literature and Literacy Events takes the reader through a brief history of character education and moral development and a summary of multimedia's impact on our lives. The chapters that follow are devoted to teacher tested classroom and school programs, activities, and resources for the understanding of diverse human perspectives. Included in several chapters are the unique ways classes might analyze how and why information is presented in the media.Due to the constant media bombardment on our lives, the goal if this volume is to support our students as they discern the meanings of truth and justice.

If outdoor activities with young children have always baffled you, then this is the book for you. Practical in style and structure, it has an accessible approach which is based in the best early years practice and provides plenty of challenges and new ideas. It is a must have for your early years setting. - Kathryn Solly, Headteacher at Chelsea Open Air Nursery School and Children s Centre, UK

A garden can be a magical place for young children and offers them rich and engaging learning experiences as they interact with a variety of plants and wildlife throughout the year. This book guides you through the process of creating a garden, however small, for young children. It looks at the impact a garden area can have on children s overall development and the benefits of using natural materials as learning tools.

Full of practical advice on how to design, develop resource and use a garden area, this book brings together:

• advice on planning a garden and how to get children, parents and the local community involved
• ideas for settings with limited space
• ideas for different spaces including a wildlife space, a woodland space, a digging area, sand and water spaces and a growing area
• suggestions of plants, flowers and crops to grow with very young children
• information about the wildlife children may discover
• a calendar guide to activities and garden planning throughout the year
• ways to encourage children to develop a sense of awareness of the importance of conservation and sustainability
• guidance on health and safety
• clear links with EYFS to show how a garden supports the areas of learning and development.

Written for all early years practitioners, this book is the definitive guide for those looking to further enhance their outdoor environment and fulfil the potential learning opportunities that a garden can provide.