Can I Go and Play Now?: Rethinking the Early Years

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The author explores how he ensures that, in his Early Years setting, continuous provision enables children. There is a narrative that children’s progress has to be endlessly tracked and monitored and this has led to a huge swathe of spreadsheet-ism and the marketisation of education which in turn has shaped children’s early learning experiences into a ‘rush and push’ for early academics and ‘success’. He shares his Early Years pedagogy through the '3Ms' and explains how to apply these in the classroom. Of course this requires change, both in our professional practice as well as in government written curriculum but Greg will guide you through how to work alongside the latter. A very experienced Early Years teacher has gone back to the drawing board, questioned all of the status-quo ‘that’s how things have always been done’ and has built an alternative set of principles.

The book itself has attracted lots of praise and people tell me that it has helped them reinvigorate their career, or has enabled them to see that they need to embrace play more. Drawing Club is a true adventure and perfect for Reception and Year 1, though it can be adapted for Nursery and even as intervention in KS2.Love how the magic of make-believe and co-play has spiralled outwards following my talk at BSME - British Schools in the Middle East EY conference. Also I believe the emphasis was on the word ‘how’ as he then went on to explain further, in terms of mind shifts in perception of ourselves and our role. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The passion for play shines through in the authors words, inspirational; and important when considering the best time to engage in play, when to step back and let it unfold and how to develop play in your setting through a quality enabling environment. He is also the creator of the Message Centre, Drawing Club, and Play Projects, as well as the delightful Play School TV, an exploration of the power of make-believe based on his approach to outdoor play, Adventure Island – a wonderful way to open up a world of creativity, language, story and joy: education done with children, not to them.

In this book, Greg Bottrill explores how he ensures that, in his Early Years setting, continuous provision enables children. When asked about their actions, the child replied with excitement, "I am feeding the monster all the stories. It’s a subtle shift but can be a really powerful one since children begin to see that we value their thinking and their explorations and more importantly that we are part of them, that we are in the World of Good Things together. The World of Good Things awaits, you just need to let go of the idea that children have to perform and complete your tasks to prove they know something, and begin to have faith in childhood and if you can hear the ‘song of play’ coming through the door before you know it you’ll be in the World of Good Things too – it really is an extraordinary place. Despite the ongoing situation with Covid-19 it is essential that we maintain the security of our systems.Greg reminded us that children (and adults) love to adventure and that, in setting up our possibilities for adventure and imagination, we must not overlook early childhood schemas. Out of all the wonderful nuggets that Greg Bottrill left us with yesterday at the Early Years Conference, my favourite was this question for all educators and settings to consider. There is a door that stands in front of all educators and this door leads to the magic of children – it’s where authentic creativity, collaboration, curiosity, story dreaming and joy live.

I look forward to continuing to incorporate these incredible tools and suggestions into our learning opportunities.We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.