THE GOOD LIFE

The phrase ‘heuristic play’ was a term coined by child psychologist Elinor Goldschmeid in the 80’s to describe the activity of babies and children as they play and explore the properties of objects from the real world. She was the creator of ‘treasure baskets’, a resource used frequently in nurseries, full of natural real objects for children to explore.

Heuristic play is about playing with real life, everyday objects and providing children with an opportunity for open-ended discovery.

We have taken this play type and have put ‘real’ objects in our rooms for children to explore. Let’s face it some of the pre-manufactured plastic toys don’t even look anything like the item they are supposed to be and how many times have presents been bought for children to find the toy left to one side and the part played with is the box that it came in!  We have found that children seem curious and engage in play with increased focus.  Real spanners, screwdrivers, pots, pans, cameras, keys, coins and food boxes are some of the items found in our resources. The dressing up clothing was changed to contain lengths of material and ‘real’ accessories such as snorkel, flippers, football boots and glasses. Gone were the pre-made ‘Spiderman’ and ‘Snow White’ costumes as children will often only ‘be’ these characters and the adults would without thinking comment on the predisposed character rather than letting the child explain who they were pretending to be. Children experimented with material, wrapping it around their bodies to be brides, mermaids, superheroes, worms! Children used their imagination and demonstrated their creativity. Staff found they could stand back giving children time to process thoughts and invite the adults into their play.

We also decided to reduce the plastic toys in the den room, reducing the cars, dolls and figures with the goal of removing them completely. Often children were found ‘holding’ toys to stop others from having them rather than playing with them. These toys seem to be the root cause of many arguments and some children would spend a lot of time disengaged until finding a ‘particular’ toy. By removing many of the toys it has meant that children need to use their senses and their imagination. Imagining takes us beyond what we know, into the future or into another world. We see alternatives and possibilities; we work out what we need to achieve our goals.

It has been a dream to go back to basics and re-connect children and staff with their environment. A little like the character Tom Good in the television programme ‘The Good Life’ who became disillusioned with life and opted out of societies expectations and become completely self-sufficient. With this in mind, we are going seasonal both inside and out! The current urgency to reduce our use of plastic has given us cause to rethink what we provide. In the den room we are using up the last of the pre-bought brightly coloured paints and plastic shimmer shower pieces. We have waved goodbye to glitter and the forest of paper. Instead we are making our own paints from natural resources found on site, painting on material which can be washed and re-used. We aim to make our own charcoal and forage to become more in tune with our environment and the seasons. For example, during forest school children have used the charcoal from the fire to draw images as part of a story telling activity and during the past months children and staff have been collecting pinecones ready to use at Christmas. Our children will remember and gain an understanding of time and changes over time, have a sense of ownership of resources and where things come from. They will be grounded and respect what we have and where it has come from rather than resources being another product bought in. Free Rangers has always been about the process rather than having something to take home. With this new direction we hope our children will have some ‘time out’ from the consumer driven society that we are currently in.

And with articles hitting the headlines regarding well-being that indicate a change in how we live needs to happen to promote a healthy mental state. A world where children and adults need time, time to stop and take a breath, to be bored, to not be on call every moment, to be quiet, thoughtful, joyful without the need for things, to be at one with the environment, to be content.

Here’s to living the good life.

Forest School in the Hive

Exploring the tree house.

I have been working at Free Rangers for the last 3 years and love that we are always evaluating everything we do to see how we can improve our practice to benefit the children. Up in the Hive we have an amazing outdoor space that we use every day. In this space we set up new and exciting activities that allow the children to explore natural resources. We especially love a good bug hunt. However, recently it occurred to me that as a Forest School nursery, what was stopping us opening that world up to the babies on a more regular basis? Upon evaluation it was evident that other than adapting the activities there was nothing standing in our way.

From that moment I was on a mission to create a forest school experience for the babies. After conversations with management I set up a meeting with Ed and we were on our way. Ed is our Forest School Manager who has always kept the babies involved, he would often shout over the fence “One, two, three, where are you?” and several of our older babies would smile and shout “Over here”.

Ed introduced me to the vast but necessary amount of risk assessments and activity planning, and we talked in length about how and what we had to adapt to make the forest school safe for the babies. We decided to do two groups a day, each with 6 children, focusing mainly on the children moving to the Burrow in the new term. However, each time we would take a selection of walking and non-walking children so everyone is included.

And now here we are, coming to the end of our first week of baby forest school.

For our first week of forest school we enjoyed a picnic snack outside in the forest school area.

Then we sung and marched our way up to the top car park where all the blackberries were. The children have been learning how to safely pick berries without getting hurt, and have really relished the independence of picking their very own berries.

Then the children helped crush all the berries…

…to make beautiful pictures.

Finishing with some fun in the willow tunnels and tree house.

The babies and the staff have loved the experience and the feedback from families has been amazing. I’m looking forward to creating more fun and exciting forest school opportunities for the babies and am excited to see how it benefits the children.

Bringing the Outside in

As an Atelier based in a Forest School nursery, we aim to create an environment where children can use nature and natural objects as provocation for exploration and learning. To do this we bring the outside in by providing our children with sticks, stones, pine cones and shells, as well as raw materials such as soil, sand and clay.

FINDING INSPIRATION IN NATURE

We begin our Atelier sessions by taking a walk around the yard, before heading inside to get creative. Spending time in the fresh air not only helps the children to use up any extra energy, but also provides them with inspiration as they look around at the wide range of colours and shapes that the outside world has to offer. We stop to closely inspect the flowers and insects along the way and encourage the children to talk about the things that they see. When our free rangers find natural and interesting objects on these walks, they take them back to the Atelier to use in their own creative ways – literally bringing the outside in.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM PAINTING STICKS AND STONES

Sticks and stones have been collected and brought back to be painted. It’s quite tricky to paint a large stick with many small branches, as this requires a steady hand and good hand eye co-ordination, as many of our children have demonstrated. Painting on 3D surfaces, such as the large stones, also requires a different technique and often a different angle or grip upon the paintbrushes. As well as paint, some children have spread glue over their found natural objects, which when dry has been found to create a new shiny surface.

DANDELION PAINTBRUSHES

When out on our walk, some children were drawn to the bright yellow heads of the dandelions growing within the grassy areas. After picking a few, (obviously leaving lots for the bees and other insects!), we brought them back and used them to paint with – a brilliant natural paintbrush! One of our older children showed huge focus and concentration as she glued dandelions in a row across a piece of paper. She then painted a scene around her dandelions. When speaking to her about her painting she said,

“I’m making my garden”

This is a lovely example of how children use nature as a starting point (provocation) and then use their own imaginations to create something beautiful.

I’m looking forward to planning more creative activities outside to see what our children’s imaginations will do with the natural things that they see and find.

Lucy

In the Den

Separation Anxiety: How to help you and your child settle into nursery life

Leaving your child for the first time, in a new situation or environment can be hard.

Even when we are used to leaving our little one with grandparents or at childcare, new situations keep popping up; like the first visit to a friend’s house or a school trip.

The anxiety we feel, not just emotionally but physically too and our early experiences of separation lay a foundation for how we cope with these moments as they appear throughout life.

At Free Rangers we always have new families joining and so supporting parents and children through the first few weeks and even months of settling into their new routine is part of everyday life for us. It is important to know that every child and parent deals with separation differently however, there are some strategies that might help the transition.

Some families may not need to employ any strategies and others might need to search and try out a few things to help their child cope positively with these challenges.

Importantly I want to reassure everyone that separation anxiety is a normal behaviour and is a wonderful expression of the bond you and your child share. In most cases extreme separation anxiety only lasts a short time and soon parents and children will have built up confidence and resilience to deal with their anxieties.

Tips to help your child

Preparation is Key

Firstly preparation for your child is key and this will need to be relevant to your child’s age. For young babies, practise leaving them with grandparents or a friend for very short periods of time, this could be to pop to the shops or take a leisurely bath (who remembers those?!). Be sure to say goodbye and give them a kiss, informing them you will be back.  For younger babies who are breastfed, thought will need to be given towards how they will be fed when they are away from you. You will be surprised how many breastfed babies arrive at nursery unwilling to take a bottle or beaker, yet still make the transition quickly on to a bottle, sippy cup or beaker. For older children preparation could be telling them about the nursery, looking at pictures together and buying a nursery bag ready for their next adventure. 

The Benefits of Routine

Secondly routine is important for young children. Think about how their week will look, who will be taking them to nursery and picking them up, are they at more than one place during the week (for example two settings) or with grandparents one day. Think about the routine and try to ensure it works so that you can be consistent. For younger babies the routine alone will be something they become familiar with however, for older children you could use photos (a visual timetable) on the fridge to let your child know where they will be spending their day or use a uniform to indicate a nursery day. If your child struggles with the unknown think about a visual way to support their understanding.

Finally drop off is a key time for children and parents who are dealing with separation anxiety. It is important to keep the routine the same and keep goodbyes quick and consistent. This process may involve finding a peg, having a big cuddle and kiss before a comment such as “see you after lunchtime” or “nanny will pick you up later”, for others this will just be a quick kiss and a hand over to a member of staff. In nursery be assured that for these children we will also have a routine, this may be to go to the book corner or find a favourite toy, all of this helps to settle the child and make them feel secure and comfortable. We also say to parents or carers to call in and check up on how their child has settled, so that we can monitor the time it takes a child to become calm and engaged in play and learning.

Acknowledging and Sharing Feelings

It is useful for parents to know that older children may talk about their anxieties at home and make comments such as “I miss you when I am at nursery” or “I don’t want to go to nursery.” For these children it is important to acknowledge their feelings and reassure them that it’s okay to feel sad or worried and miss mummy and daddy when they are not there. It is nice for parents to share their feelings too, being mindful to keep language age appropriate. Avoid asking too many questions or offering possible reasons for why your child may be upset.

Transitional Objects

For many children the above recommendations will successfully meet their needs however, some children may need something more, even for a short period of time and this is where a transitional object is hugely beneficial. Many younger children will have a dummy, blanket or special toy that can comfort them. If they don’t, a scarf (that has been worn by a parent) or a blanket that smells like home is always a good choice. For older children the ‘object’ doesn’t always need to be a physical thing, it could be a kiss in the hand to save for later or a huge hug to make sure children are ‘full’ of hugs before the parent leaves. Whatever the object may be, ensure it is consistent and made clear to the child, and the adult who is caring for them, so they can refer to it should they need too.

Bedtime Stories

There are many bedtime story books that focus on common anxieties that children might experience. Cuddled up in bed, feeling safe, is a really good time to explore your child’s feelings and thoughts and through the medium of a book makes opening up discussion feel more normal. We’d recommend Cheeky Worries by Dr Patrick Davey and Dr Anna Smith to help children accept and understand their thoughts and feelings.

Tips to help you

Separation anxiety does not just impact on children, for some families the children are fine and settle well and it is in fact the parent that struggles to leave their child. To help you leave your child it is useful if you are able to understand their behaviours and be reassured that this is just normal behaviour for their age and stage.

Babies often cry as they have just started to understand ‘object permanence’ and so now know that when you leave you have actually gone. For most young babies once they learn that you will in fact return, they become more settled and make a bond with another caregiver who they know will keep them safe and ensure they have everything they need and nurture their interests. It is also common for nonverbal babies to cry when they see their parent, even when they have been content all day. This is often because they are overwhelmed by emotion upon your return and they are happy to see you.

For toddlers, their developing independence makes them more aware of being separated from their special people. Toddlers can give us some of the most impressive and spectacular tantrums when their parents leave, however they are often the age group that can be easily distracted with objects of interest long enough to engage and steer them on to more solid territory. Once calm toddlers also benefit from clear language and reminders about who will pick them up and when, so that they start to gain a greater understanding and feel safe within their new setting. They can also be comforted with hugs from a trusted adult.

Pre-schoolers are an interesting group as by this age they have learnt the impact of their actions on their parents, and often they can subconsciously play on this. We talk a lot about children ‘doing it for parents benefit’ and this is certainly the case for this age group. This is the age where consistency is key as a well settled child can again show signs of anxiety if the responses from their parents change.

Remember that separation anxiety is a normal, arguably healthy, behaviour and although it can be hard to witness, we want to work with you to provide your children with the emotional resilience that will enable them to cope with situations of stress and manage these periods throughout their life successfully due to the foundations laid when they are young.

Sean Williams comes to Free Rangers HQ

Recently Free Rangers hosted Sean Williams AKA @seaninthewoods a Michelin trained chef with a passion for delicious outdoor cooking and creating a relaxed, sociable vibe around a fire.

Sean shared his story, explaining how his experience in world renowned restaurants provided him with incredible skill but at the same time lacked the qualities around sharing food that motivated him the most; intimacy, chat, sharing ideas and thoughts and making the process of cooking and eating much bigger than the product itself.

As the morning unravelled and the mist lifted, we all stretched and cooked our own flatbreads, understanding the look of the embers and the temperature necessary to cook straight on hot coals.

We all spoke and chatted more freely as this hands-on approach to a meal facilitated interacting with more people, not those just sat next to you. Children tried and tested this unusual way of cooking and these sometimes harsh critics even gave the spelt flat breads their seal of approval.

Sean has bought his own woodland and is soon to embark on establishing a retreat style cooking experience for guests, in Surrey, who are looking to reconnect with cooking and the great outdoors.

Many of you who attended were asking after the recipes and Sean has kindly sent them though, please do give them a go over the spring and summer and show us how you get on.

Fundraising to Build a School at Free Rangers

Finally, Free Rangers would like to thank Sean for venturing down to the West Country and offering his time and expertise for free. We explained our vision to extend our setting to offer Forest School to older children as a form of mainstream education and it turns out we shared many of the same thoughts and feelings about how education should be for younger children that Sean very kindly supported the day, despite a very hectic schedule.

We have raised over £200 pounds, and although this won’t build a school tomorrow, it will fan the flames and continue to make our desire to create a learning environment that our younger Free Rangers can move on to. Furthermore it is so heartening to know that industry experts from all walks of life are motivated to join the discussion surrounding education and make an impact for the good of future generations.

If you would like to chat all things outdoor and early years education and stay up to date with future events at Free Rangers, then please do follow us on Instagram and Facebook; @freerangersnursery. 

All these recipes are better cooked directly on to beech wood fire embers, but all can be cooked on a hot frying pan or on a pizza stone in an oven. 

Flatbreads

Ingredients:

350g Organic white Spelt flour

350g Organic bakers blend spelt

200g sourdough starter – if you haven’t got sourdough you can use 1 instant sachet yeast

Pinch of salt

25ml olive oil

50ml milk

360ml water

Method: 

Warm the water, milk and olive oil to about 37 degrees.

Add the sourdough or yeast and leave for about 30 minutes.

Then mix all ingredients together and kneed into a smooth ball this may take about 5 minutes.  

Leave to prove in a warm place and cover with a tea towel or cling film.

Once the bread has doubled in size you can then make into balls and leave again for about 30 minutes.

You can use these breads and flatbreads like we did together or you can even add toppings and use as a pizza base.  

You can also substitute the Sharpham park flour for a ‘00’ pizza flour.  

Garlic Butter

Ingredients:

Handful of wild garlic

One block of butter

Pinch of salt

Method:

Melt the butter to about 75 degrees then put in a blender with the garlic.

The liquid will then go very green after about 3 mins it should all be once consistency.

Pour over into a bowl with another bowl underneath full of ice.

Keep stirring until the butter is cold.

Baba Ganoush

Ingredients:

6 aubergines

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 white onion

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp tahini

1 lemon juice

300ml olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method:

Cook the aubergine until they are complete soft.

While the aubergine are cooking in a sauce pan fry the onion until soft and golden

When the onion is cooked add the cumin and continue cooking until you can smell the sweet aroma from the spice.

Add the tomato puree and cook for a further 3 minutes then add half the olive oil.

When the aubergine are done blend everything together and then season.

To find out more about Sean visit his website:

www.seaninthewoods.co.uk

 and follow him on Instagram:

@seaninthewoods

Thoughts from a Danish Student

Introducing Di, short for Diana. 

Di is here with us for 6 months as part of a Danish degree course in Early Year’s Education.

She wanted to write a blog post to introduce herself and her motivations behind why she has chosen to pursue a career in Early Years.

Di is currently based in the Den, but can also be found across all rooms of Free Rangers.

Everyone say hi to Di!

Hi, I'm Diana, and I’m a Danish student here at Free Rangers for 6 months. I am one of those who have chosen to take a half-year placements abroad. I am very excited about the opportunity to be here and hopefully learn a lot. I think it’s an important work for the whole community. How we, as role models, can develop and educate these children who will grow up to become active citizens of the great community.

MY CHILDHOOD

Another reason why I have chosen to work with this area pulls traces back to my own childhood, where I myself fought with my own self-esteem and self-confidence.

Why would anyone waste their time on me?

Why am I always being so stupid and always appear out so awkward and almost impossible to have a normal conversation with?

Why am I not like the others?

It was just some of the questions I always asked myself being young….

I had a kind of a rough childhood and experienced a lot of bullying, some of it because of growing up in a family that didn’t have much money. My mother was at home trying to get it all together in her best possible way. But with a grumpy father in the house drinking too much, it could be difficult to make the economy fit and creating a safe environment for us. I therefore spent most of the time on my own, since I didn’t feel I belonged anywhere. I've always had a feeling of being in the way and not being good enough for what I was doing.

The feeling inside being useless has been strengthened all the way through my life, mostly it is by others' comments about things I do, words will always hit me hard and I still sometimes have to think extra if it’s just for fun. Because I have heard all these words before while growing up, and back then it was not for fun or joking around. When I think back, the hardest was from my mathematics teacher who almost thought it was fun that someone could be so stupid to solve mathematical tasks. So I was always pointed out and had to solve them by the board. - It took me time to understand he was being a bully instead of being a supporting teacher. 

WHY I WISH I HAD GONE TO NURSERY

So how did it even come to that point I had a hard time in school and wasn’t confident? My own conclusion is, that it was because of I never gone to any type of child day-care and always been at my mother's home until the day I started school. Therefore in the beginning of my childhood, I have not learned the same social skills as my classmates. And of course the fact that I had an old school teacher who failed to support me. I am sure that safe surroundings, support and the learning of social skills from a good teacher are a major factor in a child's life.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHALLENGING YOURSELF

It has taken me many years to become who I am today and the ability to socialize with others. I am now at a place in my life where it's time for me to get new experience and I find it exciting to get out on my own feet and learn to navigate in new situations. In my placement here at Free Rangers I will learn about new methods and get an insight into other ways of doing things. At the same time, being here is giving me a new knowledge about myself, and Iearning about a new and different culture than I am used to.

I think it is a good thing for me and a good challenge, trying to start from scratch with the building of new personal and professional relationships, and then it’s even in a language I’m not used to speak daily.

So with my own childhood in mind is it one of the reasons I feel dedicated to this area. I want the best for all children and in somehow achieve success in life. Not everyone needs to be good at mathematics. Because as Howard Gardner says:

“It is not about how smart you are; it is about HOW you’re smart”

I know that I can't change the whole world, but by being here, I can get knowledge about the world, that I can use to make a difference for someone else in their journey through life.

Can a child's diet affect their behaviour?

As a parent myself I always notice the instant effect of some foods and drinks on my children's behaviour. (Never again will a Fruit Shoot pass their lips!)

But what is the latest research saying?

Instinctively we feel that sugar almost instantly turns our children into Tasmanian Devil style lunatics who run around and ping off all the furniture. But physicians say there is no scientific evidence to co-oberate our theories. 

One line of thought is that adrenaline is released upon sugar consumption (particularly highly refined sugars) more quickly in children than in adults, meaning behaviour, in the form of hyperactivity will result. But more recently, a link has shown between healthy guts, healthy minds and positive behaviours.

This article explains how this relationship works:

Healthy Guts

So whether you're a finger licker or a bowl scraper, at Free Rangers we always strive to provide the children with unrefined sugars, leafy greens and food that will promote gut health and a balanced diet. As research grows, it seems we really should listen to our "gut instinct" when it comes to what we should be trying to feed our children.