Heidi looks at book about thunder Scroll to learning area

Two year old Heidi as just been out in the garden at nursery when there was a thunderstorm. She was frightened and the other children and adults have been helping to make her feel better. She’s chosen a book to share with the practitioner.

Good for looking at

• Sustained shared thinking
• Communication and language development
• Helping children over come fears

Two year old Heidi as just been out in the garden at nursery when there was a thunderstorm. She was frightened and the other children and adults have been helping to make her feel better. She’s chosen a book to share with the practitioner.

Notice

• What cues can you see that shows what Heidi is interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How is Heidi learning? Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• In what ways the adult supporting Heidi’s learning?

Reflect

What are your thoughts about:

• The value of this type of interaction for Heidi?
• The role of the adult in this interaction – how did the adult support Heidi?
• The importance of the choice of book for Heidi?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Support Heidi’s understanding of the world and calm her fears about thunder?
• Extend Heidi’s learning – emotions are intrinsically linked to learning and feeling scared at nursery after the storm could be a powerful experience for Heidi which could be remembered as a fearful or a powerful learning experience. How could you develop her understanding further?
• Model reading skills for young children and show how useful they are?
• Could you talk about your own fears and how you over came them?

What next:

• Do you need to encourage more of this kind of caring, supportive, interaction for all of the children in your setting
• Do you need to make changes to make spaces inviting for sharing books together?
• Do you know enough about the value of allowing children to share books in a relaxed warm environment? How do you manage this in your setting?