When Is an Activity Finished?
At first glance it was just a floor puzzle. Looking back, it became something much more. One day this week, we spent over an hour completing a large Peppa...
Oranges, Whiteboards and Keeping Mathematics Simple
Starting with a story… This week reminded me again how much mathematics can emerge from the simplest of resources. Our planned curriculum book was Baby Goes to Market. As...
When Print Becomes Visual Wallpaper 📜
ðŸ’Imagine you are two years old… You walk into your early years setting and everywhere around you are labels, banners, instructions and invitations to play. But you cannot yet...
A Simple Curriculum Thread: Revisiting Growth Through Story, Play and Making…
Jasper’s Beanstalk At Little Explorers, a shared story often becomes the thread that holds the week together. This week, Jasper’s Beanstalk gave us a clear starting point for exploring...
🪨 When a Story Escapes the Book: The Grumpy Old Stone at Little Explorers
At Little Explorers, shared stories often become much more than a reading activity. When time is taken to stay with a text, children begin to notice details, ask questions...
The Four Guiding Principles of the EYFS: Why They Matter More Than We Sometimes Realise.
The Four Guiding Principles of the EYFS: Why They Matter More Than We Sometimes Realise. I still remember sitting in a secondary school hall in 2008 during early EYFS...
When We Stopped Looking for the Camera and Let Learning Take Over…
When the camera went quiet, the learning got louder. This month, we made a deliberate decision to step back from routine photography. Not because photographs are wrong, and not...
Curriculum in the Ordinary: Measuring Impact Through What Children Do, Say and Remember
At Little Explorers, we continually evaluate our curriculum through its impact. Our practice has always been rooted in strong relationships, responsive teaching and high expectations; however, more recently, we...
Reflecting on What Children Need: How Simple, Responsive Days Are Shaping Our Practice
Looking Inwards at Our Practice. Over recent months, we have been reflecting deeply on what our children truly need in this post-Covid landscape. Like many early years settings, we...
Soup, Curiosity, and the Power of Responsive Teaching
Soup, Curiosity, and the Power of Responsive Teaching   At Little Explorers, our curriculum grows from meaningful, real-world experiences that respond to what children say, do, and notice in...