3.3 How have others developed their practice?
Sharon Powell is a childminder in Kent with a provision called Little Willows ECEC. Little Willows ECEC has a strong outdoor play-based philosophy so that the children spend a lot of time in the garden or the local woodlands. Sharon’s intention is to provide an environment that meets the needs, curiosity and stages of development of each child in her care. She believes the type of environment she provides helps the children to grow in confidence so that they become independent in their learning.
Activity 3 How have others developed their practice?
In the following video clips, Sharon shares strategies she would offer to others to develop their provision.
In the first clip, Sharon talks about what opportunities the babies she looks after have to spend time outdoors.
Transcript
POLLY BOLSHAW: Hello. Hi, Sharon. Could you tell us a little bit about who you are?
SHARON POWELL: Oh, good morning. My name is Sharon Powell, and I'm an outstanding childminder. And I have a child-centred stroll outdoor play-based pedagogy within the early years.
POLLY BOLSHAW: Fantastic. Thank you very much. My first question for you is, what opportunities do babies have to spend time outdoors with you?
SHARON POWELL: Well, we have, first and foremost, all of the resources that I provide outside are all inclusive. So regardless to whether they're tiny babies up to four years, they all have the same opportunities.
I provide appropriate clothing for children so that they can go out in all weathers-- obviously weather permitting if it's a storm. So the setting, I have lots of areas for the children to investigate. I provide natural opportunities at ground level for babies or a manageable height. So I might have to help support them, hold their hand, lift them up to get to the resources.
And there's lots of loose parts play for physical development, critical thinking, and also for teamwork. Because quite often, the older children support the babies as well. So it's a bit of the Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development thrown in there. It's just in our everyday.
There's lots of loose parts play. For instance, small and large size cooking utensils for the mud kitchen. Real mud. Real food. Real fruit and vegetables. Wood and leaves. Lots of mixing going on. Lots of swirling and mark making. Fresh herbs and citrus fruit and water, for example. Large pebbles and seashells and a sandpit just to make it a little bit more natural.
The children-- we also have bird feeders. You may remember my wormery. So the worms are still alive. They're still doing really well. We also grow our own fruit and vegetables. And the children-- we also plant pollinating plants for insects as well. Which also encourages our mini-beasts. And we've also got a bee house as well, which is lovely.
Each day, we also just sit and listen and watch the environment. So it could be something like, oh, we saw a bird. Or how many birds are on the wire? Or oh, look at that tall tree. Can you see something on that tree? And it could be a butterfly or it could be a bird.
And looking at the sky as well, at the clouds, and the aeroplanes. And sometimes a helicopter might come by and we'll stand and watch and imagine where it's going or where it's been.
Also, with the outdoor learning, we might decide to draw or paint what we see as well. Which is always great fun. And I also have books that also support what we do as well. So there will be the birds with the bird sounds, how we grow things.
Another great opportunity is the children, when they grow their own seeds-- plant their own seeds for the vegetables, they do their own sunflowers every year. And the children then send photographs throughout the summer as their sunflowers get bigger. So we do the giant ones.
And there's definitely a competition to see who gets the tallest sunflower. So yeah, lots of things to do, and regardless as to whether they're babies or a four-year-old. So yeah.
POLLY BOLSHAW: Thank you very much. That's absolutely great. It sounds like the babies and young children in your provision have an absolutely fantastic time.
Sharon spoke about the wide range of experiences that young children have outside. Were there any in particular that resonated with you? Make a note in your Learning journal or the text box below.
Comment
You might have noticed that some of them are:
Spontaneous: It can be hard to predict what is going to happen outside. For instance, a bird or a bug may appear, or an aeroplane may fly overhead. Make the most of these unplanned encounters. At the same time, follow the babies’ lead. If they show a particular interest in something spontaneously, take time to support these.
Resource-free: Sharon spoke about taking opportunities to do things like simply watch the clouds in the sky, notice trees moving in the wind or spotting wildlife. These things do not require any resources or equipment, but just time outside. It may be tempting to think that these are activities that can only take place in fine weather, but remember that this is not the case.
Developing knowledge of the natural world: Some of the activities that Sharon provides at her setting, like planting seeds, growing fruit and managing a wormery will support children’s knowledge of the natural world. It may be overwhelming to think that you have to do all of these things in your provision but you can start small, for instance encouraging each child to plant a sunflower seed in spring time.
In the next clip, Sharon was asked what she thinks that babies and young children get from their outdoor experiences with her.
Transcript
POLLY BOLSHAW: I'm interested to know, what do you think that the babies and young children get out of being outdoors in their outdoor experiences with you?
SHARON POWELL: To be honest with you, I think from a family perspective, the parents quite often like the idea that they come to me to get messy. I'm not saying all parents. I know that's not the right term, but a lot of parents don't like the messy play, whereas they can do that here because I've got the facilities to do it.
I feel that with these experiences, it supports the next generation to become naturally connected with nature and to experiment with the wonderment of going beyond the walls of the setting and provides children with enabling environments in which to learn.
Learning outdoors encourages a lifelong activity style and enhances the development of fine and gross motor skills, and the children usually demonstrate high levels of busyness and fun whilst engaging with their peers and myself when outdoors. It's just a wonderful experience for them, really. And they can't wait to get outside.
So that's usually after snack time, when are we going, where do we go? So yeah. And every day, I might put like subtle little differences in, just to grab their interest. And they're really good, actually, of making suggestions too, can we add, can we have-- and yeah.
Did you make a note of the benefits she spoke about; which do you think are the most important – and why?
Discussion
Sharon spoke about several benefits for babies and young children to be outdoors, including:
- supporting them to become naturally connected with nature
- encouraging them to have a lifelong active lifestyle
- enhancing the development of their fine and gross motor skills
- demonstrating high levels of busyness and fun.
In the final clip, Sharon talks about what tips she would offer other practitioners to help develop their outdoor provision for babies.
Transcript
POLLY BOLSHAW: And finally, my last question for you is, what tips would you offer to other practitioners to help develop their outdoor provision for babies?
SHARON POWELL: So really and truly, the first thing is not to be scared to engage. With little ones being - getting dirty and putting the odd bit of grass, or even picking up an insect or something, or a stone, let the children explore those things. Obviously, you do have to be mindful of supervising that age group closely, because babies, obviously, their sensory are so high that most things go in their mouth anyway. So we do have to be mindful of that.
But I feel that it's a significant meaningful experience for children to explore outdoors, for yourself as well. Because by being led by the child and also what nature has to offer in the moment as well, so people quite often be out there and think, oh, I wasn't expecting that to happen today. And there's new things that come along, especially when children are learning for the first time. And outdoor experiences support the development of wellbeing through really high-quality play.
That is provided by highly skilled practitioners that aren't afraid to experiment alongside the children and ensure regular opportunities for outdoors and ideally in the every day. And obviously, not during-- as I said before, with the weather conditions being bad, and also to be sure to connect with other outdoor people that are passionate about the outdoors. Because I'm part of an outdoor learning collaboration. And we share best practice and ideas. And that is just so valuable. And yeah, that would be my best advice really.
And obviously, research, research should never go away. When you stop your studies, just keep going. I finished my masters four years ago, and I was hooked. And I will carry on. If I find-- if I'm puzzled by something, I will go and find it out. Or if I need advice or something or need new learning, I will go and explore it.
What stood out to you about the tips Sharon offers?
Discussion
You might have noticed how Sharon recommended doing these two things:
- Be part of a community: Finding and talking to other practitioners who are keen to develop their outdoor provision can help give you ideas for your own setting and encourage you to share your knowledge with others.
- Continue to find things out: Never fall into the trap of thinking that you know everything already. Talking to others, reading and embarking on study can help you learn more about how to develop your outdoor provision and work out what is going to work best for you and your setting.