Making the Most of Reclaimed and Natural Materials
Reclaimed and natural materials, in all their variety of colours,
shapes, sizes, textures and origins, are fascinating and intriguing to
children of all ages! This book has been specifically written to
celebrate the wonderful ideas and theories that babies and young
children demonstrate on a daily basis, as they play and explore the
world around them.
Each of the scenarios in this book, accompanied by stunning full colour photographs, shows how the use of reclaimed and natural materials can support play and active learning, exploration and investigation and creativity and critical thinking across the six areas of learning of the Early Years Foudation Stage.
Through easily understood text and colour photographs, this book provides both photographic and written support for early years professionals wishing to develop their understanding of:
- the role of the creative practitioner
- a creative learning environment
- child-initiated and adult- led experiences
- the value of open- ended resources
- the use of photographs in observational assessment
Linda Thornton has over thirty years experience in education as a
teacher, headteacher, adviser and lead officer for early years. She is
passionate about developing children's thinking and learning, valuing
creative learning environments and encouraging educators to think about
the ‘why' as well as the ‘how' in their approach to teaching. Linda is
a director of alc associates and currently provides consultancy and
training for local authorities across the UK.
Pat Brunton's background as a research scientist has led to her
interest in the idea of babies and young children as researchers, and
to recognising the value of involving families in their children's
learning through science and technology. She has extensive
experience of the early years field and provides training for a wide
variety of audiences including school governors, teachers, early years
and childcare practitioners and children's centre professionals.