Books in the 50 Fantastic Ideas series

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.

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 love constructing models and other objects, and working with found and recycled materials has a firm and continuing place in the early years, encouraging children to be imaginative and creative as they practice their skills in joining, wrapping, bending and cutting. These materials that are often free or low cost, are available everywhere, waiting for imaginative practitioners to find and use them. This book gives you 50 ideas for using free, cheap and recycled materials in your setting, both for creative and independent play and for specific projects. The resources suggested are all easily available, and the ideas are only starters for the continuing interest children have in this sort of work.

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.

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 are naturally drawn to making marks. Long before they pick up a pencil or a paintbrush, they will experiment with making marks using hands, fingers, feet etc. as well as various found objects that they come across in day-to-day life. For children to become really confident and secure mark makers we need to provide them with lots of different opportunities with a variety of exciting mark making resources in many different contexts. Alistair Bryce-Clegg has collected together a whole host of ideas for different mark making utensils, as well as exploring numerous substances and surfaces that children can make marks on. Some of the ideas will support children to create their own 'masterpieces' while others will encourage them to make marks with other children in a group. As with all Alistair's ideas, 'engaging children' comes top of his list as when children are engaged they make the biggest steps forward on the road to writing and have the most fun!

_______________ 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._______________The tuff tray is a staple resource in Early Years settings that supports many different styles of learning and play, and offers lots of opportunities to introduce early mathematics. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Tuff Tray Mathematics is filled with fun, creative and inspiring ideas for exploring mathematical concepts using tuff trays, including size, shape, capacity, quantity, distance, volume and numbers. From exploring time with ice cubes to cutting shapes out of tortilla wraps, Sally Wright presents opportunities for mathematical learning objectives to be met in an exciting and creative way.

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.50 Fantastic Ideas for Getting Children Active is filled with simple and accessible ideas to make physical activity an enjoyable and meaningful part of daily life in the Early Years.Young children's physical and mental development, health and wellbeing can be significantly improved by regular physical activity, from tummy time that informs crawling to walking, and sitting still that impacts on fluent handwriting. Dr Lala Manners uses her wealth of experience to present 50 ideas to engage with young children physically in a positive way and get them active, from Scrabble and Stand where toddlers lift themselves up to standing as quickly as possible to Duvet Tunnels where children commando crawl under a sheet. Many of the ideas in this book can be used both indoors and outdoors and all of them involve using easily-accessible or free-to-source materials that can be found at home and in Early Years settings.

_______________ 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.Teach children to reduce, reuse, recycle, repair and be respectful with 50 fun activities for encouraging environmental sustainability. From making planters and bird feeders to creating natural paints or even bringing broken crayons back to life, these original ideas encourage children and practitioners to see the potential for creativity and fun using and reusing everyday, easy-to-source items, some of which might have otherwise gone to waste.Enhance children's creativity, cognitive development and motor skills through indoor and outdoor activities that are enjoyable, educational and environmentally friendly. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Sustainability encourages children to be considerate and responsible, paving the way for a positive lifelong attitude towards the environment. June O'Sullivan and Nick Corlett bring their expertise from the London Early Years Foundation to this must-have collection of inspiring, sustainability-focused activities.

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.50 Fantastic Ideas for Exploring Shape and Pattern features activities and games filled with rich contexts for learning and discussion, as well as fun opportunities for consolidation and problem-solving.Alison Hutchison draws on her wealth of experience to present ideas in line with the Early Learning Goals for investigating shape and pattern in the world around us. She focuses on helping young children to make connections and develop language, knowledge and understanding of shape and pattern. Whether children build with fabric blocks to create patterns or explore symmetry while playing with natural materials, the easy-to-prepare activities in this book facilitate engaging learning opportunities for children's ideas and interests to be explored.

_______________ 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.There's no better way to get children moving, laughing and learning than with songs and dance, but sometimes it can feel like you've exhausted your rhyme repertoire or simply run out of musical steam. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Songs and Rhymes offers a mixture of traditional favourites, fresh alternatives to well-known rhymes, action songs, original rhythms and funny verse that will have everyone giggling. All activities include suggestions for actions and dances and tips for incorporating songs and rhymes into other areas of children's learning.Adults will feel confident singing and moving to music with children, whether one-to-one or in groups, and children will love the repetition, rhymes and rhythmic movements of these activities. Drawing on developmental research to compile the very best musical activities, this book will boost practitioners' confidence and improve children's cognitive abilities and movement skills.

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. Every year, an increasing number of children enter the Early Years setting either new to English or with English as an additional language (EAL), which can be daunting, not just for the child but for the practitioner too. How can Early Years practitioners ensure that the right support is in place for the child and themselves?What practical ideas can be used successfully to enrich an EAL child's understanding of a new language, while, at the same time, allowing that child to bond with their peers? 50 Fantastic Ideas for Children with EAL is an invaluable resource to help integrate children with EAL into the classroom with fresh, exciting and engaging activities that are easy to resource, require little preparation and are fun to carry out. The activities include simple speak-and-repeat games, visual ideas to support learning new words and phrases and activities that evoke feelings of being at home, allowing the children to feel welcomed and part of the school's diverse community. Traditional games are also featured to help children with EAL play with their peers, as well as feel that they can contribute to the learning of others. Perfect for promoting inclusion and self-esteem, 50 Fantastic Ideas for Children with EAL is ideal for supporting children as they navigate the ups and downs of having English as an additional language.

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.

There has always been emphasis placed on personal, social and emotional education, particularly in the Early Years. Emotionally resilient children are well equipped to deal with the challenges they may face, and this resilience reflects a range of skills, strengths and characteristics acquired and refined throughout one's life. Over the last ten years, Jillian Harrison-Longworth has planned and delivered a wide range of short but focused activities that can be used to develop aspects of emotional resilience across five key areas: confidence, self-image, self-esteem, perseverance and cooperation. This book contains refined activities for each of these crucial sections that most commonly arise in schools and settings.50 Fantastic Ideas for Developing Emotional Resilience provides short but snappy practical activities as starting points for practitioners to develop emotional resilience in the children they work with.

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.Jamie Victoria Barnes, creator of The Childcare Guru, uses her wealth of knowledge to present an invaluable resource filled with activities that spark creativity and encourage development and learning in a natural environment, perfect for helping young children enjoy a healthy and balanced lifestyle.The benefits of rich outdoor learning experiences are second to none. Outdoor learning offers holistic development for every child and in a fast-paced world heavily focussed on technology, forest schools provide a stimulating and relaxed environment to learn in, away from time pressures and electric devices. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Forest School presents full-colour photographs and easy-to-follow activities from Forest School TV to natural art self-portraits to get young children outside and reconnecting with the natural world, supporting their emotional and spiritual wellbeing.With over 40 books in the 50 Fantastic Ideas series there's something for everyone - whether you're a practitioner looking for new ideas or you want to try out a popular well-loved activity with a new twist. Each book offers a wide range of fun and creative activities to carry out with children aged 0 - 5 years, with lists of resources, step-by-step instructions and information about the benefits for children.

_______________ 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.50 Fantastic Ideas for Supporting Children's Wellbeing is filled with activities to calm busy minds and bodies and develop young children's self-esteem through engagement with their senses, nature and the world around them.With the ever-increasing pressures on children and teachers in schools for results and academic success, the desire for time and space for young children in the Early Years to calm their minds and bodies and tune into the natural environment is growing. Rebecca Gordine presents 50 ideas to address this and nurture young children's concept of self and wellbeing, from playing with warm noodles and making a healthy soup recipe, to tuning into nature by listening to bird songs, and creating a singing show.

_______________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.Introducing mindfulness in Early Years settings equips young children with life-long skills that develop as they mature. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Mindfulness features a range of activities that enable children to build awareness of their emotions, focus on the present and empathise more easily with others.From ideas to manage distractions to games for independence, this collection of ideas includes colourful photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, making it a fantastic resources to bring mindfulness into the Early Years.

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.Developing a secure understanding of number in the Early Years is key to ensuring number confidence for future stages of learning. A wide variety of meaningful hands-on experiences are required to develop a child's deep understanding of number. 50 Fantastic Ideas for Exploring Number presents ideas that are all about doing - to not only stimulate the senses, but to also provoke thinking and talking, allow questions to be asked, and ensure that links are made between number concepts and the real world. The ideas require little preparation beforehand, can be used by practitioners without any specific expertise in teaching early number, and include easy-to-source materials. Each area of early number sense is covered from adding on and taking away to number stories, identifying and writing numbers.Alison Hutchison draws on her wealth of experience to present 50 ideas and experiences that make numbers fun and accessible so that, as they explore and investigate, children are fully engaged partners in their learning at this crucial early stage of their number journey.

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.Circle time stimulates learning in all areas of development - from the improvement of social skills and positive relationships to encouraging children to listen to each other within a caring and respectful environment. Judith Harries brings together creative ideas for circle time where learning can be shared and music and drama can be enjoyed.The book includes circle time activities and games that cover all of the Early Learning Goals through the sharing of thoughts, feelings and experiences. It can also be used across the curriculum, including helping children with literacy and mathematics through phonics and number games. This timeless collection of ideas featuring colourful and fun photography is a fantastic resource with many new activities for circle time, as well as some old favourites.

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.Block play stimulates learning in all areas of development: intellectual, physical, social, emotional and communication as well as early maths and literacy. In this book, experienced author and practitioner Judit Horvath has put together a variety of exciting and challenging ideas that cover them all.Some activities include cheap, easily sourced props such as play dough, pebbles, fairy lights and flowers to capture the children's imaginations, while others prompt more challenging block play to encourage the development and understanding of complex patterns, such as classifying, sequencing, counting, fractions and problem solving.This creative collection of ideas featuring colourful and fun photography is a fantastic resource for incorporating successful and exciting block play into your setting.

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.Messy play is at the heart of the early years curriculum, supporting creativity and imagination, and giving children opportunities to experiment with tactile materials. This book offers 50 ideas for using natural resources, simple household items and recycled resources for low cost inspiration. Practitioners and teachers in the early years are always looking for new ideas for messy and 'hands-on' play, and this book will give children many opportunities for exploration and investigation through sensory play.

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.Important dates and occasions are often marked with a variety of celebrations and festivals. These occasions are also important markers for children in the passing of time and repeated experience. In Early Years education the best time to talk about a celebration or festival is often after it has occurred rather than before it happens.This is because many young children don't have a strong memory or understanding of something that occurred a year ago. So the closer they are to the experience, the richer their learning can be.In this colourful new book by Alistair Bryce-Clegg there are activities that cover:ChristmasDiwaliEasterHanukkahChinese New YearHalloweenBonfire NightEach activity encourages the children to learn about a particular celebration or festival and also to acquire new skills or techniques. Each of these skills and techniques can be taught on their own, or linked to other activity ideas that you (or the children) might have. The list of celebrations and festivals that are covered is by no means exhaustive, but the activities are flexible enough to allow practitioners to keep their core content and apply a different theme.They are limited only by your imagination.!

_______________ 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.Outdoors is a great space to enhance and extend children's learning. There are lots of children who have a natural affinity with the outdoors and use it as their preferred learning space. As adults supporting children's learning, it is important to support the investigation of their outdoor environment, but also that learning is taken into those spaces and delivered to children in the most engaging way that it can be. What you can (almost) always guarantee is children's enthusiasm to take their learning outdoors, what you can't always guarantee is the weather!In 50 Fantastic Ideas for Outdoor All Year Round Alistair has created 50 ideas that will get children and practitioners outside and learning come rain, snow, wind or sunshine! All of the activities have got their own central skill that can then be adapted to fit the interests of the children or each setting's own particular outdoor environment.So, whether your setting's outdoor space is a back garden, a small yard or large playground there will be activities that can be used and that will inspire young learners.