Healthy Outcomes : Australia

An Inquiry Stance: Understanding the Consequences

This extraordinary inquiry came up in my memories this week.

An ant colony, created by the children.
An encounter with a scientific concept and materials. An intersection, as such.

It wasn’t planned for. It emerged in consequence of children encountering materials, bringing their own ideas and theories, and having the time and space to pursue what became possible.

More to this story later…

What If We Don’t Know What We’re Looking For Yet?

Sometimes inquiry begins with a feeling:
There is something here worth pursuing. We’re just not yet sure what it is.

At Port Broughton Kindergarten this week a space was created for a shared analysis of the images, stories and dialogic encounters from children’s ongoing play. This drew our attention to something we might otherwise have moved past—the words of the children.

Beautiful language, created and used by children to describe what they were noticing, experiencing and imagining alongside their play.

But there was something else.

The educators recognised that the children kept returning to this play. Day after day. Their sustained return told them something mattered here.

Rather than moving quickly to “Where to next?”, our responsibility was first to stay with what was already there—to listen again, revisit the documentation and think together about what the children’s language might be revealing.

And this is where our work as educators and leaders can call us into research.

It was the educators’ noticing—their curiosity about the children’s contextual use of language—that led us to discover the work of Halliday and his idea of children “learning how to mean.”

Suddenly, we had another way of seeing what we had already encountered. These were not simply examples of vocabulary developing. We were witnessing children using language to construct meaning—to make sense of their experiences, their play and their world.

Siraj’s work on Sustained Shared Thinking then invited us to think further about our own role. What becomes possible when we move beyond asking children a series of questions and instead enter intellectually into their thinking with them?

This is an inquiry unfolding, born in the play of the child
It began with educators noticing something and declaring:

There is something here. Stay with it.
The noticing created the question.
The question took us to the research.
And the research sends us back to the child with new eyes.

* Acknowledging the ongoing research and generous sharing of the educating team at Port Broughton Kindergarten Holly Bowey
Thank you for "the stretch"

Why is sensory play so important? 🤔

From brain development to everyday skills, sensory play lays the foundation for learning through play. 🧠✨

👉 Read more here: https://www.growinghandsonkids.com/sensory-play-important-development.html?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

“The children are just… different out here.”
That’s what a teaching assistant said to me recently after an outdoor learning day with her high-need Reception class.

👉 Calmer
👉 More engaged
👉 Actually wanting to learn

And yet…

Many schools treat outdoor learning like a special occasion.
A one-off day.
Something we squeeze in when we have time.

Let me gently challenge this…

If we know children regulate better, focus more, and feel more connected outside…

Why isn’t it part of our everyday rhythm?

Because here’s the reassurance you might need to hear:

You don’t need to plan elaborate outdoor activities.
You don’t need a full forest school set-up.
You don’t need more on your already full plate.

Nature already gives you everything you need.

It’s not about doing more…
It’s about using what’s already there, differently.

✨ This is what it can look like:

A child who won’t touch pastels indoors…
suddenly creating the most beautiful marks when sat amongst bluebells.

Water + mirrors + petals…
turning into light, reflection, curiosity, and awe.

Learning that feels effortless.
Because it’s real. Sensory. Alive.

And this is exactly what we explore inside my nature study approach—
how to let the seasons, the environment, and simple natural provocations do the teaching for you.

Not as a one-off.

But as part of your everyday way of being.

🌿 Because when we step back…
nature steps in.
Discover more at www.hyggintheearlyyears.co.uk