Sally Featherstone Books

What are schemas and why do they matter? Again! Again! provides an introduction to understanding and supporting schemas and schema play in young children. Practitioners will find an overview of schemas with guidance on where they fit within the EYFS. There are examples of schemas, with illustrations and descriptions of common behaviour patterns, and these are set within the general context of child development. The intention is to help early years practitioners identify schemas and to understand both how important they are and the vital role they play in the growing child's learning. The aim is to help the reader understand how they can develop, plan and resource activities which support children's learning through experiment and play.

This book starts you off on the serious job of investigating materials, processes, objects and events. Investigation is a key scientific skill and this book enables you to support young investigators.

Why is it that, when children play, some behave like butterflies, flitting around among the flowers of the activities on offer, landing for a moment before moving on to the next attractive flower (activity) while others behave with the single minded concentration of bees?As children grow and learn, they acquire skills through play and practical activities. This recently acquired learning is tenuous and is secured through practice, repeating the skills in different contexts, with different people. Only then will learning be 'hard wired' for life. It is now evident that where children are able to select resources, play companions and activities for themselves, they can practise emerging skills and concepts by selecting the resources they need and using them in ways which are unique to them.This book, written by a group of experts in early years practice, explores the place and purpose of child-intitiated learning in high quality early years practice. Child-initiated learning is a key feature of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

This book gives ideas for introducing and extending experiences of sound and music for babies and young children. Each page spread contains a range of experiences and a selection of ideas for each of the four developmental stages of the Birth to Three Matters Framework.

Children learn best by doing, making, singing and exploring. This Little Book is jam packed with activites of all kinds for exploring phonics, with a seperate collection for each letter of the alphabet.

Independent learning and child-initiated activities are at the heart of early learning. With these principles in mind, practitioners are working hard to support independence and a 'can do' attitude and this book aims to support that work. The wealth of ideas will help you to develop an environment where independent learning is celebrated and where children take responsibility for planing and organising their own activities. Hundreds of ways you can support independent learning are outlined, including an ICT strand running throughout to ensure an up-to-date approach to the range of experiences you are offering. Case studies in each chapter highlight how to implement good practice in your setting.

Hundreds of ideas for role play, grouped so you and the children can incorporate linked themes into your setting and develop role play in more than one place. Resources, vocabulary lists, literacy and numeracy links are provided for each situation.

Following the success of the Little Book of Investigations, this book goes one step further in size, scale and scope. It covers explorations indoors, outside and in the local community, from the water in the tap, the dust on the floor, the mud in the garden, to exploring connections, constructions and other early technological experiments. The natural world, minibeasts, weather, growth, change over time and making changes to materials and the environment are included in this easy to use book. The inventive activities will all also provide opportunities for children to sustain their thinking with other children and adults while using the skills of observation and experiment.

The 50 Fantastic Things series is a no nonsense, ideas bank ...no frills, just 50 examples of great ideas already in practice! Ideal for the busy practitioner they offer a `dip in' approach to accessing ideas that they may not have thought of. Simple inspiring ideas is just what they need to reignite their enthusiasm.

How to Use Work Group Supervision to Improve Early Years Practice presents a new model for supervision as a collaborative process, and explores how this process can benefit practitioners at all stages in their career to reflect on and improve their own practice. Supported by detailed case studies which contextualise Work Group Supervision, Louis offers practical support which will help practitioners develop their knowledge and skills, and to work together to develop a shared understanding and more successful practice.Louis covers a range of insightful topics to help practitioners utilise the Work Group Supervision method to improve their practice, including:What Work Group Supervision is and how it can help practitionersHow to develop self-understanding and professional practiceTheories on child observation, and using observation to tune into childrenThe importance of respectful interactions as a leader and among peers How to Use Work Group Supervision to Improve Early Years Practice is ideal for Early Years practitioners and teachers, managers of Early Years settings and students on courses for leadership in Early Childhood settings.