With snowdrops and other signs of spring appearing in the garden it is lovely to see friendships and imaginations begin to flourish too.
Indeed the environment plays a vital role in children's learning and development. According to Loris Malaguzzi "there are three teachers of children: adults, other children and their physical environment". The environment can influence children on a daily basis and provides a wealth of learning opportunities that encourage them to explore, discover and problem solve on their own.
When we set up our pre-school environment we take into consideration children's interests and experiences which means our setting is continuously evolving. Every day is different and it is exciting to see what the children do with the available resources both inside and out.
Over the past few weeks we have seen how the "third teacher" has been at work. We have been on bug hunts and discovered slug eggs! The various sawn logs and milk crates were ideal components to add to our obstacle course. For those that found the new course a bit challenging there was a helping hand on standby. And who knew that we would end up creating a mini version of the solar system!