When given soil, clay or mud to play with, most children are instinctively motivated to explore and experiment. Mud, soil and clay are naturally open-ended, stimulating children to investigate possibilities, look for reasons and think of ideas. They are cheap and easy to source or access, simple to transform to suit any age group or activity, can be mixed with other materials, given a rich sensory experience via visual texture, deep colour, rich smell and tactile feel. As with the other 50 fantastic ideas books, this book will feature 50 inventive ideas for busy early years practitioners, advising them in a straightforward way about how to find, present and use easily accessible materials in a range of exciting and unusual ways.

_______________ The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. _______________ A collection of 50 fun and effective activities to help explore and bring to life themes around farming and food production. The ideas in this book will develop a child's confidence, curiosity and connection with the land that sustains them and supports their development within the Early Learning Framework, including new vocabulary, mathematical skills, development of fine motor skills and making healthy food choices. Activities such as 'explore fruit browning,' 'balloon sheep sheering' and 'discover your dinner plate' provide real-life connections to the farm-to-fork journey. The programme, designed by experts from the Country Trust, the UK's leading agricultural education charity, offers a framework through which to explore health, cooking, growing, animals, ethics, care for the environment, nature and much more. The sensory and wide-ranging connections of the farm nurture their relationship with nature and provide benefits for their mental and physical health. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Farm Activities can be used to provide inspiration for a farm theme in the classroom, for activities to complement a class growing project, to introduce ways to use food, farming or natural themes to strengthen aspects of the curriculum, or to support a farm visit. This book will show practitioners how to make exploring every aspect of a farm-to-fork journey a fun and foundational part of any setting.

50 Fantastic Ideas for Science Outdoors is full of play based ideas for exploring both the natural and man-made world within a child centered learning environment.

This book supports early years professional to make a play-based curriculum work in practice.

Fully updated to reflect the current status and understandings regarding outdoor provision within early childhood education frameworks across the UK, this new edition shows early years practitioners how to get the very best from outdoor play and learning for the enjoyment, health and education of young children up to age seven. This invaluable resource gives sound practical guidance for providing: play with water, sand and other natural materials; experiences with plants, growing and living things; movement and physical play; construction, imaginative and creative play; and explorations into the locality and community just beyond your garden. This full-colour third edition has been further developed to act as a comprehensive source book of relevant materials, books and resources supporting the core ingredients of high-quality outdoor provision, while each chapter also includes extensive collections of children’s picture books relating to the themes within each chapter. Playing and Learning Outdoors has become the essential practical guide to excellence in outdoor provision and pedagogy for all early years services. This lively, inspiring and accessible book will help every educator to develop truly successful and satisfying approach to learning through play outdoors for every child.

The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Children have a natural curiosity towards real life procedures and being involved in cooking and all of its preparation activities has proven to stimulate young minds throughout history. By preparing simple meals together from scratch, children will naturally develop the love of good, healthy food, whilst it can also tackle the issue of fussy eaters, who are far more likely to try something they've prepared themselves. Based on Judit's sound practice as a qualified teacher and baker, having taken part in local and national conferences, she has gathered together a varied collection of activity ideas around cooking and baking from different cultures, with some added simple recipes too.

Anyone who likes to play in mud, playdough, papier-mache and similar mediums will love this book of over 125 clays, doughs, and modeling mixtures you can make yourself. The first chapter alone has 31 playdough recipes! Mudworks uses common household materials and requires no expertise. Ideal for fun or serious art for all ages, for home, school, or childcare. Also available in a bilingual Spanish and English version in eBook format, "Mudworks Bilingual". 1990 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award 1990 American Library Association (ALA) Starred Review 1995 ALA "Best of the Best" Books & Media for Children