Encouraging excellence in Early years
…Empowering practice, pedagogy and provision, enabling reflection and reflexive practice, based upon a greater understanding of research which enables unique children (0-5+) to thrive and learn.
EEY has a passion for empowering practitioners, teachers and educators
Enabling professional development opportunities, for all those working with young children, through excellent Early Years CPD, focussed on key research, play, neuroscience and child development as the basis for academic learning and thriving.. Those working with the under 5’s through excellent Early Years CPD opportunities focussed on research, play and child development as the basis for learning and thriving.
Run by Early Years Teacher, Associate Lecturer (FdA / BA (Hons) Early Childhood studies),Education Assessor (NCFE L3) and Early Years Trainer Hannah O’Donnell (BA (Hons) Psych, EYTS, PGDip – Dist (Early Years), MA – Early Years (Dist). Empowering Early Years aims to provide relevant, practical, cost-effective, high-quality Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training in key areas of child development, play-based learning and Early Years Educational practice, through online workshops, in-setting professional training and follow up mentoring or planning support for all those working professionally with young children.
EEY further aims to support parents in their key understanding of early brain development, play and allowing children to thrive and learn – through easy to understand developmental research into practice, play ideas and related understanding of how these link to later academic and life outcomes.
More about Hannah…
‘I’m passionate about showing that play IS learning and demonstrating the key links between enabling effective growth and development opportunities for young children through play and their subsequent achievement of their potential, later happiness, sense of security, love of life and engagement with education.
I also want to give practical, research- based ideas for reflection within practice, provision and pedagogy, which relate to recent child development, education and scientific research, in an effort to help all children thrive within their settings and schools.
I aim to give simple explanations of key complex ideas which can enable practitioners to develop their triple loop thinking and underpin their excellent practice.
Moreover, I want to help enable practitioners in their developing early years practice – with knowledge, ideas and reflection, through cost-effective CPD training opportunities, centred around the uniquely developing child.
Empowering Early Years Support
Information
Early Years Teacher/ Trainer& parent! Passionate about play for 0-5 age group as well as linking new practical ideas to recent child development, education and scientific research. Aiming for play to be cheap, fun and wanting to empower parents and practitioners with knowledge about how young children learn and develop effectively through being engaged in high quality play & fun!
Excellent resources from the OT toolbox to support heavy work ideas for children....essential for supporting sensory integration and proprioception especially...with brain/ muscle connection.
Proprioceptive inputs/ opps are often needed when children struggle with sensory issues, where they are hypo or hyper sensitive...and then definitely need gentle, repeated exposure to these activity options.Pushing, pulling, jumping, lifting...there are many ways to add heavy work as a calming proprioceptive input! Here is what you need to know about heavy work: www.theottoolbox.com/heavy-work-activities
Try these pushing activities to add heavy work input:
Wall push ups
Chair push ups
Pushing a box across a room
Pushing a full laundry basket (and then carrying it back!)
Push a therapy ball into the wall
Wheelbarrow walks (holding someone's legs)
What can you add to this list? www.theottoolbox.com/heavy-work-activities ... See MoreSee Less
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A reminder that if we don't promote accessible ( cognitively more than physically) , developmentally appropriate challenges in our play provision and through our practice, then we may alienate and unknowingly impede a child's healthy and happy growth through learning.
Unique care matters.
Unique needs matters
Gentle challenge matters
All developmental journeys are different
Many factors can affect a child's perception of the challenges faced on a daily basis and are dynamic, including stress , adversity, unmet need, tiredness, hunger etc.
Empoweringearlyyears #empoweringearlyyears
Earlyeducation
Early childhood
Earlyyears #earlychildhoodeducation #earlyyears #earlyyearsplay #earlyyearspractitioner #earlyyearscurriculum #earlyyearsteacher #earlyyears ... See MoreSee Less
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UNDERSTANDING the energy is takes from a neurodiverse child, a child struggling with Trauma, hunger and poverty, insecure attachments and ACES, plus those with any unmet needs and multiple every day stressors, in order to function daily within a neurotypical or un accomodating/ uncaring world is KEY to understanding why so many children struggle with regulation skills and go into fight, flight and freeze mode.
Adding to this,SLEEP, NUTRITION, LESS SCREEN TIME and POSITIVE ATTACHMENTS, plus MOVEMENT are essential to children to allow healthy brain development and support higher level SR skills development, alongside adults who care, nurture and provide opportunities and modelling for these key kills to develop.
Useful to remember the BUSYNESS of modern life and the toll this takes on children, hence why we may see more extreme behaviours and overwhelm, leading to dysregulation, upset and longer term poor MH.
Re posted from St Stuart SHANKER, www.self-reg.ca
#Stress is everywhere & stress can be ➖ and ➕.
Every time we experience stress our bodies burn energy to keep internal functions running efficiently. #SelfRegulation refers to how we manage the stress in our lives. Knowing #ShankerSelfReg is the key. 🔑 ... See MoreSee Less
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HAPPY January!
A really useful infographic(credit on pic) showing circles of wellbeing, which can easily be used with young children to start a conversation to support positive Mental health, PSED skills and emotional intelligence,empathy, community and speaking up for own rights, finding autonomy in the world and ensuring responsibility for own wellbeing.
A powerful start!
Apply this to them identifying, understanding (ME) what they like to do, enjoy to relax, feel safe, to regulate when anxious and be happy...PLUS prioritising this daily.
Then thinking about other's wellbeing and how THEY affect this- looking out for friends, being kind, sharing, taking turns, asking others how they are, sharing joy and fun...
Plus, how this all links to COMMUNITY and a sense of wellbeing in the setting/ school and wider community...How do we care for other's wellbeing and ensure we are CITIZENS standing up for rights and sharing wellbeing as a priority? Above the individual...respecting others and their right to a sense of wellbeing! ... See MoreSee Less
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Amazing post from ILS showing how sensory information is processed in a hierarchical way, in conjunction with the brain as part of learning (& linked to Maslow's hierarchy of base needs).
It shows the most meaningful experiences children have as part of their learning are playful, multi sensory, relevant to them, involve role play and practical elements to explore and understand the world.
SO important to remember when we are supporting children with healthy brain development and learning through play...that learning happens in very different ways, dependent on how brain systems are working together across the hemispheres to process information through the senses and integrate this into more complex ideas and concept...like letter recognition etc ... See MoreSee Less
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Last chance places at 'Utilising loose parts to enable learning' , online. WEDS 30th Nov 2023, 7pm -8.30pm.
Looking at research, enabling healthy brains, skills, STEAM and more! Inside and out, small and large scale!
See here, £20 per delegate inc course notes and cpd certificate!
www.eventbrite.com/cc/empowering-early-years-cpd-training-141939?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=...
See event brite EEY collection ... See MoreSee Less
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A great info graphic from the OT toolbox about EF skills and difficulties young children may have as they develop these and how this conflicts with the daily demands of TRANSITIONS (school day start,tasks or playtime, lunch time, going to a different parent after school, new school class et ,new teacher, come off ipad etc.)
Meaning that often, transition causes overwhelm and dysregulation, with under developed EF skills, signifying for the child:
* Fight, flight or freeze behaviours - anger, lashing it, upset, stress responses,resistance and defiance, fear, lack of engagement etc.
* An inability to draw on resilience or perseverance at that moment, even if show previously.
* Complete overwhelm and thus lack of working memory to draw on.
* lack of problem solving ability, ordering or decision making skill access at that time.
EF skill difficulties may exist for young (& older children/ teens+ in a part of the brain not fully formed until 22y), when anyone is under stress/ trauma, for those who may not have the opportunity to develop these skills through nurturing and secure attachment environments (at risk children and CIC etc), children with SEN - esp ASD and ADHD/ADD also.
EF skills are higher level cognitive skills that support working memory, self regulation, problem solving, metacognition, ordering etc and are essential to better outcomes.
Thus,in order to recognise the impact of transitions on children, we must be aware of those who may especially struggle with these...and who may be inadvertently placed under greater stress, causing dysrehulation and FFF responses, in order to alleviate this for them and allow them to thrive,anticipate, gain support and help and grow!
Source: The OT toolbox ... See MoreSee Less
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So VERY true and important to look at all children's behaviour through a 'stress lens' (advocated by Dr Stuart Shanker in his work)
Being ' stress detectives', helps us support, understand and empower them in all that they do for life and learning.
Developing self regulation skills and coping mechanisms , through feeling heard, accepted and empowered, along with with emotional intelligence skills, positively influences their wellbeing and outcomes for life.
** NB** LAST minute spaces left for Understanding Self regulation skills BASICS, why relational approaches work ONLINE CPD TOMORROW!,
Mon 30th Oct, 7pm UK time, £20 pp Inc notes and CPD cert, plus reflective pack...
Via eventbrite :
www.eventbrite.com/cc/empowering-early-years-cpd-training-141939?aff=eand ... See MoreSee Less
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The vagus nerve connects the brain to the stomach and is the source of huge research owing to the amount of neurotransmitters in the stomach... why we rely on 'gut instincts', get gastric illness when stressed and so many other aspects are revealed related to MH and positive gut health / negative effects etc ....
These are some GREAT ways to impact the vagus nerve and support children in this developing link between gut health, processing stress and MH/ wellbeing...
m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10217678513169035&id=1065863584 ... See MoreSee Less
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