Provide a range of large play equipment that can be used in different ways, such as boxes, ladders, 'A' frames and barrels.
Plan time for children to experiment with equipment and to practise their skills.
Undertake risk assessment and provide safe spaces where children can move freely. Create 'zones' for some activities and explain safety to children and parents.
Plan to respect individual progress and preoccupations. Allow time for exploration and for children to practise movements they choose.
Provide real and role-play opportunities for children to create pathways, for example, road layouts, 'taking the pushchair to the home corner' or 'going on a picnic'.
Provide CD and tape players, scarves, streamers and musical instruments so that children can respond spontaneously to music.
Plan activities that involve moving and stopping, such as musical bumps.
Health and Bodily Awareness
Ensure children's safety, while not unduly inhibiting their risk-taking.
Display a colourful daily menu showing healthy meals and snacks and discuss choices with the children, reminding them, for example, that they tried something previously and might like to try it again.
Be aware of eating habits at home and of the different ways people eat their food. For example, some families use hands to eat and some cultures strongly discourage the use of the left hand for eating.
Using Equipment and Materials
Resource the home play area with cooking utensils and babies' clothes so that children can handle tools and materials meaningfully in their imaginative play.
Provide 'tool boxes' containing things that make marks, so that children can explore their use both indoors and outdoors.
Acknowledgements
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00012-2007CDO-EN