Forest School sessions have risen in popularity in recent years, with many nurseries and pre-schools offering them as part of their regular programme of activities. This new title in the best-selling 100 ideas series is filled with easy-to-implement ideas for introducing Forest School activities and concepts into each day, without putting pressure on the practitioners' time or the setting's budget. 100 Ideas for Early Years Practitioners: Forest School promotes the use of natural resources and the environment, as well as encouraging and instigating child-led learning and play. It addresses health and safety in the outdoor classroom, discusses issues and myths surrounding Forest School, and explores how integrating it into early years settings and provision can enhance children's learning as well as developing a range of 'soft skills' such as self-confidence, working with others, sharing, problem solving, empathy and respect for self, others and their environment.

Children benefit hugely from regular, frequent and progressive outdoor play, and it should therefore be an integral part of their early education. This addition to the 100 ideas series offers early years practitioners easy-to-implement outdoor play activities and practical advice on managing and evaluating your provision. Dip in and out of the ideas which range in complexity, from 'getting started' activities for practitioners who are inexperienced or less confident about outdoor play, to more challenging strategies for those who have used Forest School ideas. Julie Mountain's wealth of knowledge and abundance of creativity and enthusiasm shines through with activities involving mark making, storytelling, communicating, exploration, maths and mud! In addition, there are guest ideas from outdoor play experts Kierna Corr, Felicity Robinson, Lesley Romanoff, Juliet Robertson, Lily Horseman and Mary Jackson and an extensive further reading section. The ideas in this book will inspire you to get outside and make the most of your outdoor space however big or small it is and whatever the weather decides to throw at you! INCLUDES Teaching tips - Taking it further ideas - Ideas for involving parents - Bonus ideas

Outdoor learning continues to play an essential role in early years education, and this new edition of a bestselling book explores how the Forest School approach can be easily and effectively incorporated into early years practice. Expanding on aspects of Forest School teaching, and drawing on new developments and policy changes within the field, this new edition also includes: - a new chapter on working with parents - greater coverage of the 0-2 age range - new case studies to aid learning - coverage of international approaches to Forest School Yet again Sara Knight delivers an inspirational text for all those working in or studying early years education and care. Sara Knight is an experienced early years educator and Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. She is a trained Forest School practitioner and author of Forest Schools For All and Risk and Adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play (both published by SAGE).

100 Ideas for Early Years Practitioners: Observation, Assessment & Planning is not only filled with easy to implement and practical ideas for the early years classroom, but it also demonstrates why assessment is an important formative tool to help further children's learning. In this book, early years expert and experienced author Marianne Sargent explains the cycle of observation, assessment and planning with advice on how to carry out different types of observation, guidance on how to make effective use of observations to assess children's knowledge and understanding, and explanations for how to use this information to inform future planning. The book also offers ideas on how to carry out summative assessments - as well as how to organise assessment information for reporting purposes. With the ever-increasing focus on observation, assessment and planning in the early years, this book is a must-have for all practitioners looking to effectively introduce all three into their setting while still ensuring the children in their care are in an environment where they can be confident, feel supported and still have fun as they grow and learn.

Do you want to create exciting outdoor experiences for children? Are you looking for guidance on how to incorporate the wilder and riskier elements of outdoor play into your planning? This book will give you the confidence to offer the children in your setting adventurous and challenging outdoor activities, as well as ways to utilise natural resources to their best advantage. There is clear, practical advice on what you need to do, which is underpinned by the theory that supports the benefits of this approach. Examples from settings are included, to illustrate best practice and to show how things can be achieved. Issues considered include: - being outside in ′bad′ weather - the importance of risk-taking - the benefits of rough and tumble play - observing and assessing children in this mode - how these experiences improve children′s learning - explaining activities to parents, colleagues and managers - ensuring health and safety requirements are met - the role of the adult in facilitating these experiences. Suitable for all students and practitioners working with young children from Birth to 8 , this book will not only give you ideas for outdoor play but also help you understand exactly what you are doing, why it is educationally sound and developmentally important for children, and where it connects with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in England, the Foundation Phase (FP) in Wales and the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland. Sara Knight is an experienced early years educator and Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. She is a trained Forest School practitioner and author of Forest Schools and Outdoor Learning in the Early Years.

100 Ideas for Early Years Practitioners: Observation, Assessment & Planning is not only filled with easy to implement and practical ideas for the early years classroom, but it also demonstrates why assessment is an important formative tool to help further children's learning. In this book, early years expert and experienced author Marianne Sargent explains the cycle of observation, assessment and planning with advice on how to carry out different types of observation, guidance on how to make effective use of observations to assess children's knowledge and understanding, and explanations for how to use this information to inform future planning. The book also offers ideas on how to carry out summative assessments - as well as how to organise assessment information for reporting purposes. With the ever-increasing focus on observation, assessment and planning in the early years, this book is a must-have for all practitioners looking to effectively introduce all three into their setting while still ensuring the children in their care are in an environment where they can be confident, feel supported and still have fun as they grow and learn.

The outdoor environment is now an integral part of many early years settings and schools, but is it being used to its full potential? Providing extensive, challenging and ever-changing outdoor play experiences is an essential and valuable aspect of early years education. This book offers comprehensive guidance on how the outdoor environment can be used to teach and challenge all children across a range of settings drawing on forest school practice. Following a month-by-month format, each chapter provides a selection of theme-related play experiences alongside planning and evaluations of how the ideas described were carried out, and reveals the impact that they had on the children. Including detailed information on the role of the adult, the environment, planning and using children’s interests to guide their learning and development, the book features: over 100 full-colour photographs to illustrate practice diary entries that reflect how the planning was delivered, what changes were made and how aspects of learning were recorded and assessed examples of practice as well as comprehensive resource lists and safety guidelines links to indoor play and opportunities at home. Written by a leading authority on forest school practice and full of practical ideas that can be adapted to suit individual children’s needs, this book aims to inspire practitioners to make the most of the outdoor environment throughout the year.