Olivia in the mud kitchen

Four year old girl playing outdoors, alone, in the mud kitchen. She is baking a cake with utensils, a baking tray and some mud. She puts it in the oven, uses the scales and mixes up her cakes. There is no adult interaction.

Good for looking at

• Messy play
• Mud kitchen
• Learning outdoors
• Solitary play
• Pretend play
• Object play
• Self-talk/private speech
• Effective provision - materials

Notice

• What cues can you see that show what the child is interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How the child is learning?
• Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• How does the environment and the materials provided support the children’s learning?