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Visiting a local Kindergarten lo explore outdoor learning

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During our recent trip to Denmark we were lucky enough to visit a local Kindergarten in Aabenraa. After we had the opportunity to explore the outside learning environment and forest we were lucky enough to discuss the purpose of their education. An area we all found interesting was how the focus of the environment was on the individual. The learning is led by the children's play and interests. For example the children had discovered a snake in the forest that morning and were busy creating snakes from woodland materials.

We later had the opportunity to meet with Simon Bodker Anderson from the local university to consider the importance of a child's self initiated play in outdoor spaces. Here we considered how the process of playing helps shape the child and leads to them having a good understanding of themselves. A very productive and thought provoking day!

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Play is learning - Exploring the 3 levels of difficulty in the cognitive zone

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"Play is for everyone ....not just kids"

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"Play is for everyone ....not just kids"

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We were lucky enough to visit Lego House to experience the importance of learning through play. The Lego Foundation has been working alongside educational establishments to highlight the importance of play as a process.

The play leader at Lego talked to use about the 5 characteristics of a playful experience. These included: meaningful outcomes, joy, iterative, actively engaging and socially interactive. We were then able to explore some of the exhibits that demonstrated these characteristics.

As a group, this lead to an in-depth discussion about how we can develop our own environments and curriculum to allow for playful learning to be incorporated.

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A presentation from a play leader at Lego House (Billund) 

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We were fortunate enough to meet with a play leader at the Lego House in Billund. She talked to us about the characteristics of playful learning. One thing that really got us thinking was the idea of the holistic skills for lifelong learning. In fact, the entire Lego House was built around this concept, giving us an experience to use each of the skills separated into different zones. Each zone had a focus on one of the holistic skills allowing you to really dive in deeper and explicitly use these skills with a purpose and making the learning meaningful. We later learnt how these skills were vital in the “bildung” of the individual, building the self to have the necessary skills to thrive in society. Play really has important skills for learning and for life!

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A playful learning tour around Lego House including a talk about the importance of creativity within learning through play.

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Useful podcasts for EYFS & KS1 learning.

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Useful podcasts for EYFS & KS1 learning.

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Early Years and KS1 Curriculum Podcast | Early Excellence

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Our Early Excellence podcasts are platforms for learning from leading professionals in Early Years and Key Stage 1 education. If you work in a school, nursery or preschool setting, the Early Excellence Podcasts will provide you with both practical advice for managing your school, setting or classroom, as well as thought-provoking content and insights about early childhood education.

Early Excellence Podcast Head-to-Head Podcast AVAILABLE NOW

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Listen to our Early Excellence Podcast | EEx Podcast

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Join the Early Excellence curriculum team as they discuss Early Years and KS1 best practice, resourcing your environment and up to date news, reviews and interviews in our new podcast.