Children are ‘hard-wired’ to learn and they learn best by being active and autonomous – exploring, discovering, creating and taking risks, in other words, by playing. However, formal, subject specific lessons and a focus on data, targets and unrealistic expectations are causing young children to be bored and stressed and this is stifling their learning. Year One in Action reveals the remarkable progress children can make when they are allowed to pursue their own interests, ideas and challenges in a superb and enabling environment supported by responsive, skilled and empathic staff. Demonstrating how a child-led approach supports the development of purposeful, calm, confident and independent children, this book offers a unique month-by-month insight into the workings of a highly successful Year One class. It covers all aspects of practice from timetabling, adult roles and transitions to the organisation of the classroom and outside area. It tracks the events of each month in the year, paying close attention to the physical environment and the learning that is taking place. Interactions between staff and children are recognised as, and exploited as, teaching opportunities. Throughout the book, Anna Ephgrave gives the reasons behind each decision made. She also explains what the outcomes have been for the children, emphasising that a child-led approach, with planning in the moment, enables rich learning across the curriculum for all children within a meaningful context. Key features include: over 150 full colour photographs to illustrate practice; photocopiable pages of planning sheets, record keeping sheets and sample letters to parents examples of individual learning journeys and planning in the moment; guidance on what to look for when assessing children’s progress; advice on risk/benefit assessments; suggestions for managing transitions and minimising stress. The achievements of these children have been remarkable and they have remained the enthusiastic, independent, happy and unique individuals that they were when they came into Year One. Written by a leading consultant teacher, this book will inspire teachers to be brave and do what is right for children – let them take the lead, trust that they want to learn and above all let them play!

Children learn best when they follow their own interests. They have a natural desire to explore, communicate, create and learn. Anna Ephgrave has developed her practice to ensure this is possible. Children thrive when a setting is organised and managed by the adults, but led by the children. They learn and develop if they are in a stimulating environment which is carefully organised and when observations are used to support their "next steps". They take risks and surpass expectations when they have clear routines and boundaries, combined with a supportive staff and an enabling environment. The Reception Year in Action offers a unique insight into the workings of a highly successful reception class as it progresses through a complete academic year. Covering all aspects of working with young children, the book clearly explains how the classroom and garden are organised and the boundaries that are in place to keep children safe, happy and free to explore and learn. It then sets out the examples of learning and development that occurred during each month, as well as any surprises, activities and examples of "next steps" that came about as a result of events. At each stage Anna Ephgrave gives the reason behind the decisions and shows what the outcomes have been for the children. Key features include: explanation of a system of spontaneous planning detailed advice on how to use different environments to support play and learning guidance on the role of the adult and working with parents ways to support children’s individual interests, cirumstances and talents including those with special needs and English as an additional language photocopiable pages of planning sheets, record keeping sheets, sample letters to parents and role play resources over 150 full-colour photographs to illustrate practice list of resources and materials examples of recorded observations and planning for next steps foreword by Helen Bilton. This book aims to inspire teachers by giving them the practical ideas, and evidence of success, to work in a way that is rewarding, manageable and, above all, best for the children in their care.

Child-led learning in the early years allows children to thrive while making accelerated progress. Young children learn and develop best when they are in a stimulating environment which is carefully organised and equipped to meet their needs, interests and stages of development, and where each child’s progress is carefully observed, managed and enhanced by adults who engage and interact with them to support them in making outstanding progress. Demonstrating how a child-led approach supports the development of purposeful, calm, confident and independent children, The Nursery Year in Action offers a unique month-by-month overview of the workings of an outstanding Nursery setting. The book covers all aspects of practice from the organisation of the classroom and garden and the rationale behind this to the routines and boundaries that ensure children are safe, happy and therefore able to explore and learn. It tracks the events of each month in the year paying particular attention to the environment, the role of the adult, links with parents, children’s individual needs and the key areas of learning and development. Throughout the book Anna Ephgrave gives the reason behind each decision and shows what the outcomes have been for the children, emphasising that a child-led approach, with planning in the moment can meet the requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage and the individual needs of the children. Key features include: Over 150 full colour photographs to illustrate practice Photocopiable pages of planning sheets, record keeping sheets, sample letters to parents and play resources also available for download List of resources and materials Examples of individual learning journeys and planning in the moment for groups Guidance on what to look for when assessing children’s progress Advice on risk/benefit assessments Suggestions for managing transitions and minimising stress Written by a leading consultant teacher whose Early Years’ department has achieved "Outstanding" at four consecutive Ofsted inspections, this book provides practitioners with the practical ideas to work with confidence in a way that is rewarding, manageable and, above all, creates a happy, relaxed learning environment for children.

The growing pains of a startup’s initial year in business require a keen awareness of uncertainties and a willingness to adapt in order to survive. Today’s new founders greatly benefit from taking a behind-the-scenes look at successful companies such as Etsy, HotelTonight, Fiverr, and more in regards to how they overcame the challenges of their first year. Startups in Action is your curated source for critical insights and inspiration from those who have been there before. This book documents the month-to-month journeys of these companies in their first year, zeroing in on key decisions that helped them recover from missteps, and adapt to complications, to eventually grow and succeed. Were the founders full-time from the beginning? How long did it take them to build a working prototype? How many end-users did they have in the first year? The answers to these questions are of interest to those who are just starting out and want to learn by example. Collected from interviews with the founders themselves, author JP Silva answers these questions and reveals how each of the startups charted their paths to success. Startups in Action is equal parts inspirational and practical, providing guidance through a foundation of relatability to help cope with situations and surprises experienced during a startup’s first year. Startup discourse is rife with myths and oversimplification. Cut through the noise and learn the events, actions, and counteractions only attainable from the founders themselves. As more and more aspiring entrepreneurs are about to start their journeys, the value of knowledge about difficult choices and obstacles that companies face in their first year is critical. With Startups in Action, you will benefit from the invaluable knowledge of experience and be prepared to face the challenges of building a successful startup. What You Will Learn Acquire critical insights from the most successful startups, easily available and collated in one bookCompare and contrast the first year journey of your startup with that of giants such as Etsy, StubHub, Fiverr, and moreLearn how to build better startups by understanding what you should or should not do Who This Book Is For This book is for new and aspiring founders, and those curious to learn about the journeys of successful startups.

Young children live in the here and now. If adults are to make a real difference to their learning they need to seize the moments when children first show curiosity, and support their next steps immediately. This book embraces the concept of planning "in the moment" and emphasises the critical role of the adult in promoting child-led learning, giving early years practitioners the confidence and insight to work and plan in the moment, and enabling the children in their care to live, learn, play and develop in the here and now. Planning in the Moment with Young Children maintains a strong link to practice, providing numerous examples of how practitioners can integrate spontaneous planning and rich adult–child interactions into their everyday practice and early years curricula. From timetabling to setting clear rules, creating enabling environments, keeping records and making use of a variety of materials, the book demonstrates the multitude of ways in which practitioners can encourage child autonomy and respond to the unique needs of each child. Examples from practice are rooted in theory, fully contextualised, and exemplified by original documentation sourced from the author’s own experiences and from a wide variety of settings. Key features include: over 180 full colour photographs to illustrate practice; photocopiable pages including planning sheets, documentation and activity sheets; advice on working with parents, individual children and groups; tailored guidance on working with children at different stages of development from birth to age 6 years; relevance to a range of settings, including childminders, pre-schools, nurseries and schools. When children are allowed to select where, with what, and how to play, they are truly invested in their play, they become deeply involved and make dramatic progress. This book is an outstanding testament to a responsive and child-led way of working in early years environments. Practitioners will be guided, inspired and supported to work spontaneously and reactively – planning as they go and celebrating the results!

In the original book – Continuous Provision, Alistair Bryce-Clegg covered what effective continuous provision should look like and how practitioners could achieve it by linking their provision directly to assessment. This new title: The Skills, demonstrates that in every area of continuous provision (like sand, water, role play, small world etc) there are 'pure' skills that children can only learn in that area and there are 'facilitative' skills that children can learn through that area. Each of these 'pure' and 'facilitative' skills needs to be acknowledged, assessed and taught and this is the premise of this new title. In The Skill of Continuous Provision Alistair: Revisits (briefly) the principles of effective continuous provision Looks at each area of continuous provision in turn and identifies a range of 'pure' and 'facilitative' skills Shows how the provision itself (resources) should be leveled 'top', 'middle' and 'emergent' to meet the development needs of all children irrespective of how old they are. Gives some comprehensive examples of how to break those skills down into top, middle, emergent e.g. in 'Paint' he identifies skills that children need to learn when using paint like texturising, application, printing etc. He then takes each of those skills individually and show how a skill like printing could be broken down into three broad stages. Asks and answers questions like: What would really basic, lower level printing look like? What sort of resources would facilitate effective learning in this area of development? By the end of the book the practitioner should have a really practical guide to differentiated skill development in continuous provision.

Children are most engaged – and therefore learn best – when they are following their own interests. In this book, Anna Ephgrave shows how her acclaimed ‘planning in the moment’ approach can be used with two and three year olds with dramatic results for both children and staff. It reveals the impact that free-flowing, child-initiated play has on very young children’s wellbeing, making them feel safe, secure and consequently helping them to be fully engaged in their learning. The first part of the book clearly explains the principles of child-initiated play and demonstrates how practitioners can create the best possible environment for very young children, also looking at the resources and practices that need to be in place for them to flourish. There is detailed guidance on the role of the practitioner, including how adults should observe children’s play, before deciding how – or if – to interact in that moment to ensure that each interaction moves learning forward and supports the child’s unique development. The second part of the book tracks some of the events from each month in the toddler room of an outstanding preschool, following a cohort of children through a year, to show how the setting moved from topic-based, adult-led activities to a fully child-led way of working. Key features include: Over 350 full colour photos to illustrate practice Specific guidance on using the ‘in the moment’ approach with all children, including those with additional needs Advice on working with parents, individual children and groups Examples of individual learning journeys Photocopiable templates of ‘focus-child’ sheets Covering all aspects of practice from the organization of the room and outdoor environment to the routines and boundaries that ensure children are safe and happy, this book is essential reading for anyone who works with two and three year olds.

The stunning beginning to an epic hardcover trilogy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts weaves an enthralling saga of suspense, survival, and the journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives...

One ordinary morning, Erin Moran McCormick tripped over rolled-up posters that had been gathering dust on her floor and her life would never be the same. In that one moment, she decided she wasn't going to live her life on hold - always waiting and not living. Her "Year of Action" was born. This book chronicles her journey from her undergrad days washing dishes at Smith College and scrounging for subway fare in Boston to taking action and following her dreams. She quit her job and bought a one-way ticket to Europe, travelled on her own and had an apartment overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Her journey continues later in life where as the breadwinner and mother of two, she had the courage to quit a toxic job on her 50th birthday in the worst economy in recent history - and she and her family have never been happier. Her everyday adventures (the good, the bad and the embarrassing), practical advice and "Action Steps" will show you the secrets of how to see the moments in your life, start believing in the possibilities, and inspire you to take a little step - and then another one - to create your BIG, fabulous life. ---- ""Wanna buy some stamps? Erin has it figured out - this is the big show, not a tryout. What, precisely, are you waiting for? She was amazing when I worked with her 25 years ago and she's still making a ruckus."" -- Seth Godin, Author, Linchpin ""Enjoyable and effective You'll be inspired to start taking little steps & amazed at the big changes they bring. Take your first step right now & pick up this book "" -- Rita Foley, Author, Reboot Your Life

Only the strongest survive ... most of the timeRaven may be a shifter, but she's always felt separate from her wolf. She never knew it should be different. Then, a stranger shows up in her hometown, turning her world upside down and recruiting her for the elite Bloodshed Academy. Everything she's ever known gets challenged, and Raven finds herself in impossible situations. Making matters worse is the fact that one of the strongest alphas at school catches her eye. And he makes her feel things she doesn't understand. The school may only recruit the best of the best, the strongest in their world, but there's something more about Raven. When push comes to shove, she has to decide if she's willing to fight for what she's come to love ... or run from a life she can't quite accept.