Early Childhood Practice by Bruce, Tina;

Short description:

Best-selling author Tina Bruce on Froebel in contemporary settings and the relevance today of this practice

Long description:

Nursery World Awards 2012 winner!

This stimulating book brings together contributions from distinguished practitioners, who demonstrate how they have used educational methods advocated by Froebel in contemporary settings. Stressing the importance of outdoor play, they explore the Froebelian principles of:

-Play

-Learning through firsthand experience

-Parent partnership and community in early childhood

-Practitioners supporting children's interests and learning

-Finger rhymes and action songs

-Movement

-The garden and forests

-Wooden blockplay

-Use of clay, paint, junk modelling, construction kits

The book emphasises how learning and the application of knowledge become possible through play. It contrasts the Froebel approach with the methods such as Montessori, Steiner and recent approaches to play such as post-Modern 'playfulness'. This book is relevant to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Early Childhood Education, as well as students following QTS and EYPS, PGCE, CPD and BEd courses.

Tina Bruce CBE is an Honorary Visiting Professor in Early Childhood at the University of Roehampton.

'Part of the emotional appeal of Froebel is that he is keen to allow children to be children. He enforces their natural curiosity, the innocent joy and fun of play, the desire to learn and to be creative'
- Councillor Marilyn MacLaren

'This is an important book. The close-knit Froebel network provides a marvellous example of how practitioners in the early years can be inspired by tradition without becoming old-fashioned. Froebel's principles and practices were radical for their time, and changed education forever: this book powerfully brings them up to the minute, reminding us of their continued relevance'
- Julian Grenier, Early Years Adviser, Tower Hamlets

'If you would like to be inspired by tradition, without becoming 'old fashioned', and you believe in children truly being allowed to be children, then this terrific book full of fantastic Froebelian principles is just right for you!'
Martine Horvath, Early Years Educator

'It’s the perfect time to welcome this new book, with its strong emphasis on play and on the outdoors – both central to Froebel’s philosophy and to children’s well-being today'
-Community Playthings

'The importance of this book was recognised when it won Nursery World's Staff Resources award earlier this year'
- Nursery World

Table of Contents:

The Whole Child - Tina Bruce
Family, Community and the Wider World - Tina Bruce
The Changing of the Seasons in the Child Garden - Stella Brown
Adventurous and Challenging Play Outdoors - Helen Tovey
Offering Children First Hand Experiences through Forest School: Relating to and Learning about Nature - Lynn McNair
The Time-Honoured Froebelian Tradition of Learning out of Doors - Jane Read
Family Songs in the Froebelian Tradition - Maureen Baker
The Importance of Hand and Finger Rhymes: A Froebelian Approach to Early Literacy - Jenny Spratt
Froebel's Mother Songs Today - Marjorie Ouvry
Gifts and Occupations: Froebel's Gifts (Wooden Block Play) and Occupations (Construction and Workshop Experiences) Today - Jane Whinnett
Froebelian Methods in the Modern World: A Case of Cooking - Chris McCormick
Bringing together Froebelian Principles and Practices - Tina Bruce