Explorers pedagogy
Welcome
Our aim is for you to feel at home and welcomed into our environment. We want you and your little one to feel like you are entering your second home. You will be greeted by warm, friendly faces upon arrival to the Explorers room. We will build your child’s independence and confidence by allowing them to be given a choice and provide flexibility for each child as an individual. In this room your child will be exploring the resources and be given the opportunity to to express themselves. It is important to us that your little one feels confident to explore their surroundings and use skills they develop to their full advantage.
How do we support your little one settling into our room?
Before your little one starts in the Explorers room, we will invite you in for some settling in sessions. Where both you and your child will be able to explore the environment and get to know the new surroundings. This time will be used to get to know both your little one and you as a family to build a positive relationship, to support your little one together. When getting to know your child, we will find out about family members/ pets, dislikes your child has, if they have any favourite toys/books/ rhymes, any allergies or food preferences. All of this will help us get to know all about your child and will allow the transition to be smooth and perfect for them as an individual.
Supporting your toddler with their emotions..
In the Explorers room your little one is always allowed to express their emotions. We will always be there to support your little one though their emotions and talk to them about how they’re feeling. Our approach is to talk to your little one and make them aware we are there when they are ready. If your little one is displaying or expressing emotions it is important to allow them to express it and talk them through the feeling, Frobel had a theory linked to self-regulation and he said, ‘it is important we do not tell a child they are ok, if they are upset or displaying sad emotions. This is because it does not allow children to understand their emotions as they are displaying sadness but being told they are ok; this causes a lot of confusion.’ We will communicate any positive emotions with your little one too and talk to them about happiness and excitement they display when playing.
Explorers - our toddler provision
What does a day look like in the Explorers room?
How do we ensure we meet the needs of YOUR child?
How do we ensure we meet the needs of YOUR child?
On arrival, your little one will always be greeted with warm, happy welcomes by their key workers.
We will ensure we find out all the important information from you, to ensure we meet their needs right from the get go.
Their morning will start with cuddles until they are settled and ready to go off and explore.
Once everyone has arrived the children have together time, the children sing their good morning song & they choose if they would like singing or story time.
The Explorers will then have time to explore and investigate their environment. Staff will have set up engagements for the children to meet their schemas and age and stage of development.
At 10:00am, it is snack time, your little one will enjoy a nutritious snack and choice of drink.
After snack, your little ones will venture outside and explore the natural world around them. The children will stay outside usually until it is lunchtime.
11:30am the children will enjoy story time together, to help regulate their bodies before lunch.
11:45am is Lunch time. We join the pre-school for lunch in the hall.
After lunch has finished some Explorers sleep after lunch time. For the children that don't sleep after lunch, we will have some quiet time - enjoying time with key workers - this may be reading, playing or cuddles. Some children will also go outside again.
2pm is snack time.
2:30pm - Most children will be awake now & we will all venture outside.
3:30pm - Together time, where we will share a story together before some of us go home.
4:00pm is high-tea time. Again in our room, we sit together and enjoy a high-tea to keep our tummies full before our tea at home later.
How do we ensure we meet the needs of YOUR child?
How do we ensure we meet the needs of YOUR child?
How do we ensure we meet the needs of YOUR child?
We are passionate about meeting the needs of each toddler; recognising that each child is different. Our toddler room staff will meet your child where they are at in their age and stage of development.
Working closely with our parents, allows us to gain a deeper understanding of each child.
Chldren's play will be observed by knowledgeable practitioners who can tailor their teaching to move your child's learning forward in every aspect. While meeting the interests and fascinations of each individual child.
Toddler age, is where lots of brain development is going on and children are learning about themselves and the world around them. We will ensure each day is filled with oppurtunities to support your children with these big learning milestones.
If your child still requires a sleep during the day, we will follow your child's routine and what they need, to not only support your child but you as a family.
Explorers - our toddler provision
Quality experiences
In the Explorers room we believe it is important for children to have a curious mind to enhance their learning. We set up a variety of invitations to play on a daily basis to spark the children’s interests. These invitations to play are a starting point for the children to explore, they have no set end result and the children are able to use their imagination and explore their ideas putting them at the centre of their learning. We were inspired by this method by theorist Te Wharki, he said that children need to learn and play both with and alongside others but still have that strong sense of themselves and play with their own imagination. It is important to us that the invitations of play have no limitations as it makes it unique to all of the children in on that day and it gives a variety of end results. This all helps to build your little one’s confidence to explore their ideas which will support them in later life.
It is also critical that children get the opportunity to explore the outdoor environment. as it allows them to develop respect for the living things within the environment around them. At Little Squirrels we are blessed with some lovely surroundings and it is important to us in the Explorers Room that the children get to explore these surroundings and really feel the benefit of our setting. It is important to us that our children develop an awareness of risks. As Frobel once said ‘Being in the outdoor environment allows children to be risk takers and self-assess their own play, then use this as a learning curve’
Meet our lovely ladies in the Explorers room...
(Photo coming soon)
Kim is our toddler room supervisor. Kim has been with us since 2017. She first started as our apprentice and has built her knowledge and skills as an early years practitioner.
Kim adores working with the toddlers; observing them closely to support their development while working closely with their families.
Rebekah joined us in 2024 and has many years of experience in all ages. Rebekah has a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of Early years and this reflects in her practice. Rebekah is nurturing and enjoys supporting children with developing their regulation skills.
Maria has been with us since 2018. Although Maria has experience in all ages, Toddler room is Maria's passion. She loves supporting the children's creativity and imagination through fun, sensory activities that sparks the children's imagination.