@lostbee.bsky.social
Early years education, gardener, reader
Sad to hear of the loss of #AllanAhlbergRIP
His poetry books “Please Mrs Butler” “Heard it in the Playground” were actual life-savers when I started teaching. Having children I realised how wonderful his picturebooks and stories were. A great children’s writer and a big loss.
Debunking edu-myths: “In Reception and Year One, composition is less relevant”
writing4pleasure.com/2025/07/21/d...
Are our systems truly meeting the needs of our youngest children, or are they shaped by policy, convenience & funding?
Where is the child in all this?
They need love.
They need play.
They need people who understand children, not data.
#WhereIsTheChild #EarlyYears #PlayMatters
Yesterday I started a thorough critique of “The writing framework". It’s 150 pages long and there are only 2 very superficial mentions of gross motor skills that I can find. Not a single mention of embodied cognition. A shockingly poor and potentially dangerous omission at a time when we know more
17.07.2025 05:50 — 👍 59 🔁 23 💬 8 📌 6600 signatures
We’re calling for a balanced, evidence-informed early years policy that puts children’s rights, play and expertise at the ❤️of practice.
📣 Please sign and share widely across your networks, the more voices, the stronger the message.
forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/Respon...
🧵 Based on 15 years teaching, training teachers & having sons who've had 10+ teachers, the most important factors of an effective primary school teacher are:
* Warmth
* Enjoying the company of children
* Playfulness
* Clear, fair boundaries
Let me tell you why...
tbpottery.co.uk is at the Island Centre in St Ives until 4pm, along with several other makers, all local to SW Cornwall. Beautiful and functional pottery.🏺
RTs always appreciated by these little local artists
10/ 🧵 Read the full article:
For a deeper dive into this approach and its benefits, check out the full article here:
🔗 writing4pleasure.com/2024/07/19/d...
Poster supporting the BookTrust/Children's Laureate Reading Rights campaign, with illustration by Chris Riddell of a reader with books
Reading with children changes their lives forever, and EVERY SINGLE CHILD is entitled to this right! That's why I support the #ReadingRights campaign. The full report is out today from @booktrust.org.uk & @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social: please read & share!
www.booktrust.org.uk/about-us/rea...
I was unable to work between December & April due to a breakdown. Every single RT here helps put my creative & mental health workshops in front of more eyes & helps me get back on my feet financially. It would help *so* much if you could RT my workshop below if you have a few seconds. Thankyou 🌿
19.05.2025 20:00 — 👍 166 🔁 128 💬 5 📌 1
My spring greetings card collection-6 designs I created using spring garden flowers & other nature finds- available in my Etsy shop
An autumnal collection of nature finds including seedheads, sycamore keys, pebbles, shells, feathers & pincecones on a watercolour paper background
A collection of garden and common hedgerow finds from September in Norfolk, 2021
Garden floral finds from May 2019 on a black chipped enamel background
I open my Etsy shop for my limited edition signed art prints just 2-3 times a year.
I design my botanical photos using recent research so they dial down the fight or flight response in your brain when you look at them.
I'll be closing my shop again on Sunday evening:
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/silv...
Great thread.
04.05.2025 12:59 — 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0What does being ‘Reception Ready’ really mean?
The Department for Education has recently shared its version of school readiness, including brushing teeth, catching a ball, and being toilet trained.
While life skills matter, Early Years Reviews wanted to reframe the narrative.
#Schoolready
Copy of my latest book on a wooden table. The front cover is black with multi coloured fingerprints.
It's publication day for me today! The Ultimate Guide to Adaptive Teaching is available in all good book shops. #EduSky
10.04.2025 05:56 — 👍 68 🔁 11 💬 7 📌 4
A collection of handmade Victorian ink bottles
A tiny posy of fresh flowers in a cobalt blue Victorian ink bottle
A tiny posy of blue & purple spring flowers in a cobalt blue Victorian ink bottle
The front cover design of a booklet I've written on how making a tiny posy in a beautiful little antique bottle will improve your mental health, along with a brief guide to/history of Victorian ink bottles.
Tmrw evening at 8 I'll be opening my Etsy for a limited no. of Victorian ink bottle posy kits designed to👇 anxiety while you make something lovely.
Contents:
Victorian ink bottle
booklet:neuroscience of improving mental health with creative activity
tiny dried flower posy.
A RT would help so much🌿
👇🏼Our work here at the Early Childhood Mathemarics Group - fab series on a very important aspect of #earlymaths
Please share ! 👏🏼👏🏼
"Most of us see schools as a place for learning (because they are). But Covid has taught us that their function in socialisation is perhaps as important in creating young humans capable of navigating our complex social world." A brilliant read.
24.03.2025 06:48 — 👍 16 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0🎈
17.03.2025 09:30 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0The full document ‘Play Matters,’ with a foreword by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social will be available free online from tomorrow.
17.03.2025 09:08 — 👍 11 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0If Labour genuinely want schools to be more inclusive then they need to find ways to encourage flexibility and a focus on meeting needs over 'driving standards'. A system that encourages competitive attitudes between settings is not one that also encourages inclusion.
15.03.2025 09:33 — 👍 45 🔁 6 💬 5 📌 1
Remembering Dunblane today.
13.03.2025 08:15 — 👍 16 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0Every Biff, Kipper, Chip, Floppy and the gang's episodes all the the one place. The children get so much more invested in the characters of this reading scheme once they've seen them on the telly!
Also a live action version on CBeebies but the children prefer this!
You don’t help for a “Thankyou” or for it to be paid back you help because it’s the right thing to do.
02.03.2025 11:03 — 👍 468 🔁 49 💬 15 📌 3As spring approaches, why not give birds a helping hand by leaving out nesting materials?
Piles of twigs, moss & grass cuttings, or natural wool all go down well with busy nest builders! 🍃
‘Why should we read aloud in class?’
“The teacher reading aloud and expertly modelling fluency (pace, expression, volume etc.) is likely a better bet than selecting underpractised pupils to read.”
alexquigley.co.uk/who-should-r...
www.early-years-reviews.com/play-matters
We have some news. An update. You are not going to want to miss this.
Play Matters will be out on March 18th 2025 🥳🥳🥳🥳
“Play Matters” – A Groundbreaking Free Guide to Champion the Power of Play in Early Childhood.
#PlayMatters
Tomorrow millions of flowers will be shared for #ValentinesDay & by end of month (sorry, party-pooper alert) they'll all be in the bin.
If your beloved loves #wildflowers, why not give them the gift of BSBI membership, so they can support our wonderful wildflowers for a whole year!
bsbi.org/join-us
A collage of four close-up photographs of hellebore flowers in various stages of bloom. The top-left image features a large, pale pink flower with delicate purple speckles and a bright yellow-green center. The top-right shows a stem with pinkish-red buds and partially opened flowers surrounded by green leaves. The bottom-left displays a creamy white, cup-shaped bloom with prominent yellow stamens and hints of pink at the center. The bottom-right image highlights a white flower with striking dark red speckles radiating from the center, standing against a blurred background. All images showcase vibrant details with natural lighting.
The February weather continues to be cold and grey this morning, so here are some lovely hellebore #flowers to brighten up your day, and give you some #MondayMotivation!
10.02.2025 09:50 — 👍 111 🔁 12 💬 2 📌 0‘Birth to Five Matters’ is the go-to **free** document for the EYFS sector & anyone that needs to know about #earlyyears.
Written by a huge team of experts, it emphasises play and developmentally appropriate practice.
Have a furkle: birthto5matters.org.uk/wp-content/u...
A cluster of delicate Snowdrops rise up, their pure white petals just beginning to unfurl. Against the blurred backdrop of a woodland floor, they push through the leaf litter, a quiet but determined sign that winter’s grip is loosening. The soft sunlight catches their slender green stems, a gentle hint that change is on the horizon.
Snowdrops pushing through, woodpeckers drumming, and the light stretching a little longer each day. Winter is loosening its grip...slowly, subtly.
Have you noticed any changes in nature recently? ☀️
#ThoughtfulThursday
