Wondrous
Stay & Play Sessions

Come and play at The Wondrous Acre Wood.
Sessions hoping to launch Spring 2027.

November’s books, linked to Chapters 9-12 written by myself, and the overarching ‘Wondrous’ themes for the month:
🌙 Night & Day/Nocturnal & Diurnal
🦔 Adaptation & Hibernation
🍄 Fungi & The Hidden World Underground
🌲Trees, Bark & Roots

Our favourites so far have been:
• Little Witch Hazel by @phoebewahl
• Little Anthology of Fungi @dkbooks
• Little Tree & The Wood Wide Web @ivykidsbooks
& a returning favourite:
• Children of the Forest by @elsabeskow_official

These are the first picks from my own book collection & our first library trip. I’m sure over the month we’ll discover or find more titles, that I’ll add to this month’s blog post of book recommendations 🤎

Have you got any linked to these themes that you love? Share them below 👇🏽

#wondrouschildhood #bookrecommendations #kidsbooks #naturebooks #storyledcurriculum

Children learn from seeing, doing, being, experiencing, witnessing… they’re absorbing information, learning, understanding and knowledge all the time. And they do this unconsciously in the earliest years of childhood.

This is why, during those early childhood years of birth-7, it is imperative that we keep not only their body safe and protected, but also their brain and their heart.

Everything, everyday has an impact on their future growth and development. It’s our primary job to ensure that those impacts are as positive as they can be, as often as they can be. Whether this is through ourselves being good models, family members, friends, stories, experiences, places we visit or spend time in, play resources… these all things to consider when wanting to support our children’s development in a meaningful and mindful way.

What do you think? 💭

#earlychildhooddevelopment #earlychildhood #wondrouschildhood #childdevelopment #slowchildhood

Here’s what’s been on Mr 2’s themed shelves this month.

He also has access to:
• Creative Shelves
• Interest-led Shelves
• Open-Ended Shelves + additional open ended resources.

By having the different shelves, I feel he gets a really good balance in his play, alongside the experiences and opportunities I always ensure he has each month ✨

Want to see what’s on the other shelves, as well as all the developmental insights and how tos for the activities on these themed shelves? Comment SHELVES 🌿🌈

Ps: Mr 5 is welcome to access any of these shelves too, and does. He also has his own toys suitable for his stage in cupboards or his bedroom that can be brought out and down into the playspace.

#wondrouschildhood #playroom #toddleractivity #toddlerplay #earlychildhooddevelopment

Roll, Subitise, Group 🎲

A key objective in Early Years maths is that children begin to learn how to subitise - which means being able to ‘see’ how many a group of objects is without counting. For us as adults, we see 4 on a dice and know it’s 4 without counting, we see 3 traffic light colours and know there’s 3 without counting. That’s subitising, and it’s a really important skill for children to learn during early childhood.

This game is great for children who have already started building that skill.
Roll the dice.
Look at the number.
Group together that many dots without having to individually count them.

Mr 5 and I have been working on this skill from around 3 years old, so it’s something he’s quite adept at, especially when the objects/dots are in regular formations. With these dots being randomly spaced, it adds a little more challenge.

I’ll be sharing more of this ‘quick play-based learning ideas’ that all help boost confidence and fluency, no matter what learning pathway children are on. So make sure you’re following along ➡️

(You can play this as a careful counting an activity too, if your child isn’t quite ready for subitising. They simply accurately count the dots instead!)

#eyfsmaths #earlyyearsmaths #earlychildhooddevelopment #playbasedlearning #homeschooling

There’s ways to keep this time of year magical and rooted in nature & the season, instead of scary or spooky… and here are some of the ways we’re doing it 🍂✨🎃

Join me in doing things ‘The Wondrous Way’ - finding the wonder & joy in childhood, everyday, and protecting that for as long as possible ✨

#enchantingautumn #wondrouschildhood #natureplay #outdoorplay #autumnplay

Let this be the start of an Enchanting Autumn week for you all ✨🎃🍂🌳

Chapter 8 is live now and open & FREE for all to access!

With it being half term, I know that Mr 5 is having the best time being able to have time to do all of the Wondrous Enrichment activities that go alongside this chapter with me… so I’d love that for everyone else too ✨

Halloween isn’t for everyone, but instead we can celebrate the season and add our own sprinkle of magic into it too 🌿✨

Read to Meet Rune - the youngest of The Yew Folk. He’s got himself tangled in Pip’s pumpkin vines & needs a bit of help!

Comment CHAPTER for the link to read 🎃

#talesofthewondrousacrewood #wondrouschildhood #wondrouscurriculum #storyledcurriculum #naturebasedlearning

The trees are looking glorious with their autumn colours, but as the wind & rain pick up, more and more leaves are falling 🍂🍃🍁

Here’s a selection of play-based learning ideas we enjoyed whilst Mr 5 was on ‘The Young Oak Pathway’ - the stage of development typically occurring between the ages of 3 and 5 years.

Comment LEAVES to get the link to my new blog post once it’s released, where I’ve outlined the WHAT, WHY, WHEN & HOW of each activity, so that you understand not only how to do each one, but also why they’re purposeful and developmentally beneficial.

#autumnplay #playbasedlearning #preschoolactivity #homeschoolpreschool #wondrouschildhood

Have you got a child who’s just started school this academic year? What do your after schools look like?

For ours, this is it. Time to decompress. Time to re-regulate. Time to connect.

We don’t do any clubs during the week, except for his swimming lesson. He does football on a Saturday morning. But otherwise, all of the time outside of school is protected for play, for family and for simply being.

The mummy & teacher inside me is itching to know what he’s been up to all day! I desperately miss being the main person witnessing his everyday and his experiences… but, I wait. He doesn’t need that. And I have to learn to not need that too, and sit with a bit of not knowing 🙈!

I cherish my time to connect with him before and after school, and at the weekends ❤️ and I absolutely have ideas and activities that I can do with him to support the learning he’s doing in school, and the things he’s interested in at home. But for now, I wait. There isn’t any rush. The right time for that will come.

The best thing I can do at the moment to support his development, is to look after his nervous system, his mind and his body ✨

#earlychildhooddevelopment #startingschool #childdevelopment #wondrouschildhood #parenting

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Wondrous Stay & Play Sessions

Come and play at The Wondrous Acre Wood. Sessions hoping to launch Spring 2027.

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Wondrous
Stay & Play Sessions

Come and play at The Wondrous Acre Wood.
Sessions hoping to launch Spring 2027.