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  Development matters Look, listen and note Effective practice Planning and resourcing
Being Creative - Responding to Experiences, Expressing and Communicating Ideas
 
  • Respond to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel.
 
  • Young children's favourite materials, music, lights and aromas.
 
  • Maintain the calm atmosphere of a light room or area by playing quiet music so that young children can rest from stimulation for short periods.
 
  • Vary sensory experiences by placing herbs such as basil, parsley or sage in muslin bags for babies to squeeze or catch with their fingers.
Exploring Media and Materials
 
  • Explore and experiment with a range of media using whole body.




Exploring cornflour and paint - In a nursery, a young toddler is deeply involved in exploring cornflour, then joins another child and the practitioner in exploring the paint.[transcript]

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Video

 
  • What babies like to make marks in and the tools they use to make them.
  • How babies move their whole bodies as they explore media.
 
  • Encourage babies to make marks and to squeeze and feel media such as paint, gloop (cornflour and water), dough and bubbles.
 
  • Place big sheets of plastic or paper on the floor so that babies can be near or crawl on to it to make marks, or add materials using large motor movements, sprinkling, throwing or spreading paint, glue, torn paper or other materials.
Creating Music and Dance
 
  • Move their whole bodies to sounds they enjoy, such as music or a regular beat.
 
  • The different ways babies move in response to sounds, for example, patting the floor when on their tummy, flexing and relaxing their legs, or opening and closing their palms.
 
  • Imitate familiar sounds such as 'quack, quack', encouraging the baby to join in.
 
  • Have a range of puppets that can glide along the table, or dance around on the end of a fist in time to some lively music.
Developing Imagination and Imaginative Play
 
  • Enjoy making noises or movements spontaneously.
 
  • The way a young baby may join in with you, moving their head or making sounds as you say, for example, "The dog went woof, woof".
 
  • Make exaggerated facial movements when you tell a story or join in pretend play, so that young babies notice changes in your body language.
 
  • Use your face as a resource when you play pretend games.