Blog

Developing Cultural Capital in the Early Years

We are incredibly lucky to have a guest blog this week from Chloe Grey (AKA Miss Grey and Play).

Chloe studied her early years PGCE in Leeds and has since taught in Reception, Year 1 and Nursery in a range of schools. She has also worked as a nanny and spent time in schools in Australia and New Zealand including Montessori Settings. Chloe is currently studying for my Masters in Education and teaching in a school Nursery.

What is cultural capital?

Cultural capital is a term coined by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. He discussed ‘field’ as being like the cultural environment and ‘habitus’ as being the skills and attributes we possess relating to these cultural norms and values. This has been applied to education with the idea that some children would have had more culturally diverse experiences that may put them at an advantage. Ofsted have used the term in the new inspection framework e.g.“...

We are so incredibly lucky this week to be joined by the highly creative Zoë a Reception Lead Teacher. We are going to be looking at how we can resource to create curiosity, intrigue and excitement and then use this as a hook to deepen levels of learning. 

Finding the perfect items to enhance my Reception setting has been a labour of love and turned into a real passion and perhaps a little bit of an obsession! I scour the second hand venues and sales, charity shops, local selling pages and car boot sales as well as eBay, Wish, Amazon. Wherever I am I consider how I can use these items to enhance my provision; to bring an element of wonder,  to create an aspect of curiosity that goes beyond picking something up for the first time. This intrigue will fuel imagination,  invite a friend along for the journey,  transform into something completely new or take them to a once uninhabited place. Sometimes it is an unbelievable bargain that cannot be passed up...

I'm blown away with how many of you have got in touch over the last week to share some of your photos of how you've made changes to you setting after taking part in my Hygge in Early Years Accreditation or after reading my book. 

We will be covering some of the fabulous transformations over the next few months on our blog but also in our new magazine Hygge in the Early Years.

Here is a little preview of how Daisy Chain nursery have added foliage to their sand area and made it feel more inviting....

Chloe and Bridgit at Pebbles Childcare have also made some changes to their provision....

Before

After

Grass Roots Day Nursery have been tuning into opportunities to ignite all of the senses...a key feature of hygge...

•  What high quality in staff means

•  How you can reach a wider audience through your advertising 

•  Top tips for the interview process

Find out more in the Hygge in Early Years Accreditation here 

I'm just so excited to share with you the valuable insight of Nursery Owner and Lecturer Laura Sanders on the success of building Intergenerational Play in her setting. 

One of my most fond memories of visiting my Great Aunties were their immaculately placed silver mirrors and brushes on a dressing table, with their pearl necklaces hidden away – too special for sight.  The concept of an outdoor toilet was mind-blowing, as was the fact the Robinson family – a family of 12 children had all grown up in the four walls of a three bedroomed terraced house for over 127 years.  Being a little girl, in sandals and a dress that twirled in the wind in their cobbled garden –with no grass, leaves a memory, a feeling. It forms part of my pedagogy.

I struggle to remember conversations or play. I remember being too scared to speak. Being around a generation that was almost 90 years older had no significance at that point.  The words...

A good motivational quote always fills with me positivity to start the day.

 Here are some of my favourite Hygge inspired quotes. 

 “Just living isn't enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." -Hans Christian Anderson” ― Louisa Thomsen Brits, The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. -Simone Weil” ― Louisa Thomsen Brits, The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

“You cannot buy the right atmosphere or a sense of togetherness. You cannot hygge if you are in a hurry or stressed out, and the art of creating intimacy cannot be bought by anything but time, interest and engagement in the people around you.” ― Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well

“Craft makes our...

How do you resource opportunities for small world play? 

 As an early years teacher I would ensure I had small world opportunities in every area of provision. For instance adding small world creatures and loose parts to my malleable area and observe how children make their own props for imaginative story telling. My maths area would also offer challenges around a small world problem in KS1 provision. ‘Like the pirates have found some coins and have to make a total of 20 for Captain Blackbeard by adding coins together.’

 Here are some of my top ingredients for resources and organisation; 

• Offer small world and block play together.  
• Add collections of loose parts to encourage creativity and imaginative story telling. See right brained mom for ideas.  
• Foliage- real and artificial  
• Add a light element; projectors, light box, rope lights and fairy lights.  
• Take small world outside and use natural settings  
• Mirrors  ...

Telling stories always gives me that higgle feeling of joy and being cosy. 

My book recommendations 

• How to Catch a Star 
• Four Seasons in One Day 
• The Snowman 
• Lost Words 
• I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree - A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year: National Trust 

Classic books 

• Not now Bernard 
• Where the wild things are 
• Hansel and Gretel 
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears 
• Gruffalo 
• Bear Hunt 
• Little Red Riding Hood 
• Dear Zoo 
• Mr Gumpys Outing 
• Whatever Next 
• Peace at Last

Ideas to support practice 

• Get outside to story tell 
• Listen to music and move to the story it creates (Four Seasons in One Day) 
• Tell a story with just props 
• Tell a story in the forest 
• Tell a story with a torch in the dark 
• Tell a story through movement (Going on a Bear Hunt) 
• Link your small world area to a story. 
• Hold a bedtime story night...