Have you ever noticed children stood around a table full of trains and tracks and how engaged they are in play?

Over the years when my eldest children were small I remember spending hours putting toys in separate labelled boxes, kept apart for play.

• How do you feel about mixed playdough colours?

• A Christmas tree with mixed colours?

• Do you rearrange when the children are in bed?

Story sacks & treasure baskets have been popular for some time.  The curiosity approach, Hygge and heuristic play are becoming part of childcare education settings more and more.  Tuff trays and the flisat filled with toys have also been favoured too.

Now go back to that train track and picture this small world set up with tunnels, trees, animals, bridges, rainbows, people, buildings and sand.

Picture a toy kitchen with plates and cakes. Now add to that chefs hat, aprons, utensils, menus, rolling pins, realistic stone foods and trays.

A mud kitchen or sand pit with sand and buckets, add to that funnels, jugs, water (its ok to mix it) pipettes, vehicles, dinosaur and fossil play stones.

A Child's world they can create and build using all the areas of learning - open ended play - a holistic way of learning.

My youngest child was described as inquisitive, a character, with a mischievous side.  He has grown into a resourceful young man, ambitious.  He is creative, knowledgeable and has can do (won’t be beaten) attitude.

As a child nick named (light heartedly) ‘spaghetti arms’ because he couldn’t help touching everything whever we went.  He learned best through playing and exploring, touching, smelling and moving things - using his senses to explore his world.  I always dreamed of home schooling him or sending him to a Waldorfsteiner or Montessori aligned school. During Covid lockdown he thrived when learning at home and later we found a fantastic college for that taught in a way that suited his needs. Moving on in his career he is now a trainee engineer.