If you go down to the woods today...

Last week I got to spend a whole day outside playing in a forest in Doncaster!

I was at a conference called "If you go down to the woods today..." jointly hosted by Play England, Yorkshire Play and the Forestry Commission. It was an environmentally friendly event where all delegates were able to fully engage in nature play. Holding the whole conference outside reinforced the messages we are hearing from educationalist and play professionals alike, that being outside enhances children's development.

One of the workshops was delivered by Creeping Toad. As a voluntary helper on the day I was unable to attend the whole session, but one activity I saw is great for playful, nature-loving people of all ages, whether in a group setting or with the family. Apologies to Gordon MacLellan (aka Creeping Toad) for not presenting this activity in the creative, inspirational way he did but here goes:

• Sit outside and listen to nature, discuss what creatures may be around you right now
• Place a golf ball sized lump of clay or Plasticine on the end of a piece of string (approx 30cms)
• Spend 20 minutes exploring your environment gathering any natural objects you want and stick them into your clay to create your own natural creature

It was great to see all the delegates proudly walking round with their creation all day and in the well-known words of Blue Peter, here's one I made earlier... quite autumnal isn't it?!

Rebecca Johnson is Director of Play & Learning at Eureka!.

Learning through play

It is that time of year again - back to school, and for some it will be the first time.

Having worked in Early Years for many years I have seen frameworks and curricula come and go. Through my own practice and much reading, I know that young children don’t learn by listening to the teacher whilst sitting silently, bottoms on chairs. They learn through active engagement with their environment, through interaction with people - peers and adults.

The introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage in September 2008 has been a move in the right direction in ensuring all children under five are exposed to play based learning. (I know many nurseries and reception classes were already implementing a play based approach but many were not).

In 1935 Susan Isaacs, educational psychologist and advocate of learning through play said:

"We watch the nursery school child at play and accept this sort of activity at this age as normal and desirable. But too often the five and six year old is expected to cease play activities in school and begin lessons. Yet some educationalists would like all children under seven to enjoy nursery school conditions where play and living experiences are the accepted mode of learning."

I and the rest of the learning team at Eureka! believe this should be the accepted mode of learning (and that is certainly how we plan and deliver our school programmes) and it saddens me to see that in the 70 years since Susan made this comment, children have become subjected to more and more formality and tests.

Here's hoping Jim Rose's review of the primary curriculum will enable older children to learn through play too. His recommendations include giving teachers new advice on how to stimulate play based learning, which will be passed onto parents and smoothing the transition from early years to primary by extending and building upon active, play-based learning.

Rebecca Johnson is Director of Play & Learning at Eureka!