Stepping off the craft conveyor belt: Rethinking Christmas in the Early Years
First, let’s get things straight, I love Christmas and everything about it, the preparation, putting up the decorations, wrapping gifts, visiting Christmas markets. I love it, but I think we can all agree that it can also be a stressful time, so much to do and so little time to do it. If we feel like that then maybe the children in our settings do too.
Over the last year or so I and the Stronger Practice Hub team have really tried to promote a more child led approach to the early years experience. The “Revised EYFS”, “Development Matters” and websites such as “Help for Early Years Providers” or the “Early Years Evidence Store” are all urging us to step back, slow down and let children lead their own exploration and creativity. In general, I think this is working but, in the lead up to Christmas even the most laid-back childminder can get drawn back into the conveyor belt of Christmas crafts. You know the ones I mean, the handprint reindeer, the paper plate Santa and the doily angel. In this blog I’m going to think about why this is and consider how we can have the confidence to step away from the craft conveyor belt.