Thursday 26 May 2011

Are the choices children make when playing nature or nurture?

Last week I was asked to speak on Radio York about whether boys and girls toys are different because of the way children want to play or the way they are nurtured. Well, my first comment was, what is a boys toy and what is a girls toy?
Having worked with young children for over 20 years and being a mother I do think there is a element of nature to the games children play but I also believe that there is a very strong influence from society.  From as young as 2 children are able to recognise differences in gender and already begin to allocate roles to those genders.
If you walk into many large toyshops and supermarkets today you will come across pink aisles/areas full of toys that enable girls to act out caring roles. Then you have the other areas with action toys and scientific equipment marketed at boys. Watch adverts on children’s TV and you’ll  see girls caring, boys being adventurous, parents  in stereotypic  gender roles. By aiming products at a specific gender they do reinforce the expected gender role, imprinting expectations of a domestic role for girls whilst their male counterparts are being equipped for much more diverse occupations. One large retailer said “When it comes to things like illustrations on product packaging, we are very much at the mercy of our suppliers” Is this acceptable or a copout?
A boy does some cooking in the Living and Working Together gallery
At Eureka!, as in all children’s museums, we  recognise the need to use the foremost years of a child’s life to set the foundations of equality and enable them to respect and value diversity. We ensure we provide positive images of people of both genders reflecting daily life, we create spaces where all children should feel welcome. 
Does it matter? The news is full of good news about how well girls are doing in education, getting more jobs in previously male dominated sectors and a recent study has revealed that when it comes to work and family, men and women are more alike than different. This finding conflicts with a widely held assumption that male identity is rooted in work whereas women place a higher priority on personal/family life. 
Nature? Nurture? It doesn’t matter? What are your thoughts? 

Rebecca Johnson is Play and Learning Director at Eureka! 

Friday 20 May 2011

Baby-Led Weaning

When any child starts at the Nursery we take some time to talk to parents and understand the child’s habits and routines. When we spoke to Leni’s Mum on her initial pre-visit we were intrigued to hear that Leni was going through the process of Baby-Led Weaning. We had heard of the technique but had never come across anyone who actually used the method.

As this was completely different to our training and experience we were initially worried that Leni would choke but her mum re-assured us and provided literature for us to understand the process properly. The most valuable resource being Gill Rapley’s book ‘Baby-Led Weaning’. To us the theory completely makes sense - if babies are in control of what goes into their mouths they can control the volume of food in their mouths and are less likely to choke. Babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew and they do not develop the ability to chew, until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. So by forcing food into a child’s mouth at a pace that they aren’t comfortable with, you could cause choking, which Baby-Led Weaning avoids.

Leni is given her food in a bowl, and broken into pieces, which she will either put on a spoon herself, or she will select the food with her hands and put it to her mouth. There is no need to cut pieces up too much as the bigger they are the better they are to grip.


She chooses what she will eat, decides what foods she does and doesn’t like and also decides how much she eats. Leni can’t talk yet, so she generally uses non-verbal communication to let us know when she wants more- using facial expressions, pouting, bodily actions or sometimes verbally by shouting.

Most children of Leni’s age will drink using a bottle or a non spill cup like a tippy cup, but Leni drinks her milk and water from an open top cup. She places her hands on either side and tips it up for herself, only needing help to steady the cup – which she is needing less help to do so.


Through a combination of research and trial and error Leni’s Mum was able to give us at the nursery, some great foundations to work with. At meal times Leni should be:

  • Sat in an upright position
  • Offered foods that stick out of her hand
  • The only person who puts food in her own mouth
  • In control of her eating pace- don’t hurry her
  • Left to decide how much she eats- don’t force her to eat if she doesn’t want to, leave her to eat what she wants and that is enough
  • Don’t leave her on her own with food
  • Handed her spoon pre-loaded for her to feed herself if serving sloppy food eg soup

Through trying this process out in our setting we have a deeper insight into the process of Baby-Led Weaning. Leni enjoys all her meals and has a great appetite whilst making choices for herself, we have even tried the process with the other children, and it has had a positive impact for all concerned.

The literature that we have read suggests that overall Baby-Led Weaning children will inevitably be less picky eaters, have advanced fine motor skills and develop good table manners faster. Let us know what you think of Baby-Led Weaning by posting a comment here or pop by to our nursery open day on Saturday 21 May between 10.30 and 2.30 for a chat.


Kelly Marris, is an Early Year’s Practitioner at the Eureka! Nursery and is Head of the Baby Room



Thursday 12 May 2011

Taking first steps into theatre with ‘From here … to there’

There is a big push now among children’s theatre companies to produce shows for the youngest of children. There is a recognition that many parents bring younger siblings along to see shows that are made for slightly older children and that their younger siblings still get an enormous amount from the experience.


So, how about making a show specifically for them, and if we do, what should an early year’s show look like? If we look to our European neighbours: Denmark, Austria, France, Italy, and Belgium to name but a few, there is a wealth of experience in theatre for early years to draw upon.

When researching ‘From here … to there’, I took part in an international exchange project with La Baracca in Italy and Toihaus in Austria. It was a great learning journey, and in many ways, ‘From here …to there’ is the outcome of that journey.
Before starting we wanted to observe young children. What interests them, how do they negotiate play, how long can they sit and watch, etc… We found, like many others, that when you get the material right they can sit and watch far longer than we may think. So many times parents have come to me afterwards and said, “I’ve never seen my 2 year old sit still for so long.” So what makes the content so relevant and engaging for young children?
There are a few things that I consider to be fundamentally important and I’ve listed them below:

• Play – a playful spirit in the performers and in the creation process helps to connect immediately with very young children.

• Games – recognisable games that young children respond to intuitively ie. Peek a boo

• Visual Language - Considering carefully the props and materials used and using them in visual and imaginative ways.

• Words: Keeping spoken language to a minimum and playing with sounds & rhythms.

• Familiar rituals/routines – Building on events that are familiar to young children, ie. brushing teeth / eating / getting dressed, and then heightening the routine to make it theatrical and for it to become something else…

• Genuine emotions: young children are motivation seekers! They want to know why we do everything we do. So there is a real need for the actors to be emotionally genuine and to respond in a true way to the events in the performance.

As part of the creation process for ‘From here…to there’, we spent two weeks researching & developing the show with children from 2 – 4 years in a nursery setting. We looked specifically at the dynamics of play and how young children move from independent play and playing alongside each other to playing which involves sharing and negotiating. For a two or three year old this tends to be full of conflict and resolution - great content to put into a theatre show! It was hugely rewarding to try out some of our ideas with children and in some cases to have them show us that we had got it wrong! Making theatre for the very young is a very humbling experience!



As a company we also encourage young children to interact with our work. After the performance there is plenty of time to get hands on. We let the children play with the boxes and materials from the show so that they can build their own towers and bridges. It gives them a chance to respond instinctively to what they have seen in the best way that children know how – through play!

The show is now touring across the UK and is coming to Eureka! this weekend, so you can see for yourselves if we have got it right, or even better bring your little ones and let them see if this theatre for early years is truly for them.



This blog is written by Natasha Holmes (Artistic Director of Tell Tale Hearts)


The photos by Gavin Joynt (children from Playmates nursery, Deighton, Huddersfield)


‘From here … to there’ – was funded by Arts Council England Lottery, Lawrence Batley Theatre and the international exchange project was co-ordinated by Earlyarts






TELL TALE HEARTS are a professional children’s theatre company who are now raising the profile of theatre for Early Years Children. They have been making theatre exclusively for children since 2004. In that time the company has toured its work internationally and become established as one of the most respected companies in the UK making work for early years.






FROM HERE TO THERE is a partnership production between the Lawrence Batley Theatre and Tell Tale Hearts, it premiered at the LBT in 2010 and now is touring nationally during 2011. Tell Tale Hearts are a resident company at the Lawrence Batley Theatre.

Friday 6 May 2011

History, Entertainment and Liking the Hiking!- The new Eureka! h.e.a.l.t.h. walk.

Were you aware that walking a mile uses practically the same amount of calories as running a mile? Did you know that inactivity has the same effect on the heart as smoking twenty cigarettes a day? Go on, google it if you don't believe me! I didn't know until I went on a course to become a qualified walk leader with the ‘Walk It’ scheme; where I found out about the amazing health benefits of walking.

Let me take you back to the beginning. One morning a couple of months ago we were told about an idea to develop a mile long walk, using Eureka!’s learning through play ethos,centred on Eureka! for one of the activities during the ‘Healthy Halifax’ weekends in May. I thought it sounded like a great idea and put my name forward to be considered as a walk leader. I immediately started doing a bit of research and got quite excited about the project. I was delighted when I found out I was one of the chosen three. The other two were Kevin Field and Michelle Holroyd; both equally delighted and enthusiastic.

We all went on a training course at Mixenden outdoor centre and learnt a lot of the important stuff such as how to do risk assessments and fill in the paperwork. We talked about barriers and motivation and did a short walk ourselves. We all came away determined to try and get more people walking. Our idea was to come up with a session that would be so full of fun and fascinating facts that people wouldn’t even realise they had walked a mile by the end of it.

I began by concentrating on the local history of the buildings and structures visible from the perimeter of the Eureka! site (The perimeter, coincidentally, being around about a mile!). I couldn’t believe the things I was finding out about places I have been walking past for years. Cluniac Monks, criminals, archbishops and ghosts – oh, and Gary Lineker! Gas explosions, ancient beacons, stalactites, church bells and chocolate; it’s all here.



Kevin and Michelle were, meanwhile, coming up with some great ideas for incorporating some nature detective activities for use on the walk and for the walker’s pack. We walked the perimeter and decided on the places we would be stopping for talks and activities; we even incorporated a couple of sing-alongs. Kevin put together a colourful route plan and Michelle even took herself off on a local walk all about ‘the dark side of Halifax’ and discovered a few new ghoulish facts!

Our development and preparation finished, we sent off our risk assessment and finally the day arrived to test our walk; so we invited any Eureka! staff who were interested to join us after work for our h.e.a.l.t.h. (History, Entertainment and Liking the Hiking!) walk. We ended up with fifteen people; a real cross section of staff. The walk was a great success with everyone joining in on the singing and marching and we didn’t lose anybody on the way, not even at the local pub (which is 600 to 800 years old, by the way, and has a ghost)..

We did learn one thing, however, “don’t carry a 2 litre bottle of diet cola around in your rucksack for an hour and then open it”. I guess you could say I came to a sticky end!



We will be trying out our h.e.a.l.t.h. walk on the public this weekend as part of the Healthy Halifax Family Fun Days so pop by on 7 – 8 or 21 – 22 May to have a go on our walk and please tell us what you think.

Jill Ward is an Enabler at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum