How to Bring Learning to Life with Projects and Provocations in Your Early Years Setting
“Educators observe deeply. They use what they see and hear to create opportunities for children to explore further, to dig deeper, and to build on their knowledge.”
– Aaron Bradbury, shared by Lauren
In this episode of Atelier Talks, we discuss one of the most central elements of our pedagogy: how we use projects and provocations to build deeply meaningful learning for children. We promote learning that evolves over time, follows children’s unique interests, and offers endless possibilities.
In this episode we reflect on some of our most powerful projects from across the years (we’ve got quite a few favourites!) from the Streets of Bath and the Big (big, big) Bath Abbey to Teas & Tonics, rainbow pasta, and our community-based exhibitions. We explore the role of observation, documentation, and pedagogical conversation in making these projects visible, vibrant, and ever evolving. Whether you're a practitioner or a nursery leader, this episode will help you slow down, look closer, and support your team in delivering truly child-centred, research-rich learning that also builds on your nursery’s legacy of learning that your early years children will treasure for years to come.
In this episode, we share:
- What we mean by “projects” and “provocations”, and how we define the difference
- How we build long-term, child-led investigations across age groups and settings
- Examples of our favourite projects… Mango pasta, anyone?
- The importance of “slow pedagogy” and taking learning at the child’s pace
- How we use exhibitions to make learning visible for children, families and the whole community
- What pedagogical conversations look like in our weekly staff planning time
- How to support your team to plan, document, and challenge their assumptions of what our children are capable of
- Why reflection and observation are the most powerful tools we have as educators
Standing on the shoulders of giants
The magic of Atelier draws on foundational thinking from a range of influential Early Years theorists and educators. If you’d like to find out more about the voices that shape our deeply relational, child-centred practice here at Atelier, those mentioned in today’s episode are as follows:
- Aaron Bradbury – for his insights into observation, deep listening and co-constructed curriculum. Here’s a reminder of the beautiful quote Lauren shared in this episode from Early Childhood Theories Today' by Aaron Bradbury and Ruth Swailes:
“Educators observe deeply. They use what they see and hear to create opportunities for children to explore further, to dig deeper, and to build on their knowledge.”
- Loris Malaguzzi – for the Reggio Emilia approach to long-term project work, documentation and the Hundred Languages of Children
- Friedrich Froebel – for his influence on materials, connection, opposites, and real-life skills
- Simon Nicholson – for his Theory of Loose Parts and its impact on open-ended, investigative learning
- Martin Pace – for challenging and refining our thinking around project and provocation pedagogy
- Reggio Children – for inspiring the way we present learning, design space, and curate provocations
Find out more:
Website and newsletter: ateliernursery.co.uk
Instagram: @ateliernurseryltd
Consultancy enquiries: Contact us via our website
Together, we’ll unlock the potential for incredible growth and learning.
Atelier Talks is a Decibelle Creative original podcast
Produced by Decibelle Creative – decibellecreative.com / @decibelle_creative
Keywords: projects and provocations, Reggio Emilia, Froebel, slow pedagogy, documentation, early years planning, child-led learning, project-based learning, pedagogical conversations, EYFS leadership, rainbow pasta, early years exhibitions, nursery planning time, observation in early years, theory into practice
Transcript
>> Clare: Welcome back to Atelier Talks. Today we've got a
Speaker:very special guest joining us, Lucy, who works with us in the
Speaker:consultancy team and is one of our senior leaders across both
Speaker:of the nurseries. So I'm joined by Lucy.
Speaker:>> Lauren: Hello.
Speaker:>> Clare: Laura. Hello. And Lauren. Hello. And
Speaker:today we're going to be taking you, as listeners, into
Speaker:part of what we call our projects and provocations.
Speaker:So we're going to unpack some of the learning that happens at the
Speaker:nurseries, we're going to look at some of those practise examples
Speaker:and we're going to draw in some of the woven threads
Speaker:of Reggio in terms of the project planning and the
Speaker:documentation of learning. So,
Speaker:Lauren, if you could start us off by just,
Speaker:explaining to our listeners what do we mean atelier when we talk
Speaker:about projects and provocations?
Speaker:>> Lauren: So, as we've spoken about earlier, we are inspired
Speaker:by a Reggio Melia approach. And the Reggio Emilia approach
Speaker:has a curriculum that is inspired by children's
Speaker:interests and their motivations.
Speaker:So all of our learning, our curriculum is, Is
Speaker:based upon projects. So the projects are
Speaker:inspired by what the children want to
Speaker:learn about. And then we, through our
Speaker:setups and our provocations, we
Speaker:explore those projects. And that's at the
Speaker:end point is our curriculum.
Speaker:>> Clare: Fabulous. What I always find really fascinating
Speaker:is when we try to share, when
Speaker:we have nursery visits and we're exploring our curriculum
Speaker:and our pedagogical approach, that actually when
Speaker:you stop and you look at it in practise
Speaker:and you unweave some of the theory that goes on
Speaker:behind it, it makes absolute sense because you've just said
Speaker:it. Everything comes from the child.
Speaker:So when we're talking about projects, we're looking at
Speaker:learning that has been provoked by perhaps an
Speaker:experience or a change in the season
Speaker:or a visit or an opportunity
Speaker:that then promotes or provokes,
Speaker:new thinking. And our role as educators is then to promote, that's
Speaker:where that word comes in, promote that new learning. So
Speaker:we've had some wonderful provocations and projects take place
Speaker:over the years. So when we think about one of my favourite
Speaker:projects I'm gonna. I'm gonna get us all to delve into, which
Speaker:was, the Streets of Bath. So, Lucy, one of the reasons
Speaker:we've asked you to join us today is actually that was one of the provocations
Speaker:that you were really key, in developing and
Speaker:supporting and facilitating for the children. So talk us
Speaker:through how the Streets of Bath scale sort of first came about and
Speaker:evolved.
Speaker:>> Lucy: yes. So I was working in the piazza room. So that's all
Speaker:about buildings and architecture. And the children
Speaker:were really wanted to share their
Speaker:knowledge, their understanding and their interests in,
Speaker:in where they live and where they are and talk about Bath.
Speaker:So we took them on trips. So we went on an open top tour
Speaker:bus around Bath so they could see all the local
Speaker:architecture. We've been trips to the Bath Abbey,
Speaker:we've been to see the Crescent and from
Speaker:all of those experiences the children have, they then bring
Speaker:back that to nursery and then we can then delve
Speaker:deeper with their learning. So we support with
Speaker:all the environments and the setups that we put for them.
Speaker:the children really loved sharing about where they live and
Speaker:their houses which was a really nice connection
Speaker:between nursery and home life. So we did
Speaker:trips walking around to people's children's
Speaker:houses and having photos taken outside their houses
Speaker:and we had some beautiful artwork,
Speaker:and architectural drawings that the children then drew of
Speaker:that and then that also then linked into mapping.
Speaker:So looking at journeys of how we come to nursery
Speaker:from home and how do we get to the Crescent. And
Speaker:it was lovely that the parents were involved in this as well.
Speaker:So they would talk about the children when they were going at
Speaker:the weekends and telling them, oh, I know which way
Speaker:to go to the Crescent, I'll take you there. so it's a really
Speaker:lovely connection between home life and nursery
Speaker:and just seeing that continuous learning journey
Speaker:happen for our children.
Speaker:>> Clare: So Lucy, you summed that up beautifully in terms of
Speaker:a project, but I think what we need to do is break that down
Speaker:even more so for our listeners. That project
Speaker:took place over what, 18 months, nearly two years. So there
Speaker:was a huge amount of long term project
Speaker:work that went in. So tell us about the open
Speaker:top bus tour. That must have been an exciting,
Speaker:slightly nerve wracking from an educator's perspective
Speaker:opportunity that was presented to the children. So did you hop on and
Speaker:off? Did you get to stop at different stops?
Speaker:>> Lucy: Yes.
Speaker:>> Lucy: So it was. The children were so excited about doing this and
Speaker:I think when we told them that that's what we
Speaker:were going to be doing, they'd already had that slight interest there
Speaker:already and was like, oh yes, we've seen them go around Bath
Speaker:before and the they get to experience that
Speaker:alongside their peers as well. So which was really lovely
Speaker:to see and hear all the chattering before
Speaker:we left and how we're going to get there and
Speaker:what are we going to see when we're there. And yes, so the
Speaker:children experience. Yeah, hopping on and off
Speaker:the Bath and being able to see all of those
Speaker:spaces that we've been researching and looking at.
Speaker:So spotting the Crescent and spotting the Bath Abbey
Speaker:and all of those places that they visit with their
Speaker:families as well.
Speaker:>> Clare: Okay. So when you're talking about some of that research
Speaker:that happens in the nursery. So one of the things that we know
Speaker:that's so important, Laura, is putting that into context text, isn't
Speaker:it? So we know that our children learn actively. So being
Speaker:out on that open top bus tour gave them the opportunity to be in the
Speaker:Bath Crescent or to go past the Bath Abbey or to
Speaker:go along the Bath skyline for example. But how do
Speaker:we, where does that start? Does it start with the research before
Speaker:they go or does it start with the trip and, and the kind of the
Speaker:act of learning?
Speaker:>> Laura: So I think all of our, our ah, projects come
Speaker:about from that central interest from the children. So
Speaker:it always stems from an interest that they, they
Speaker:bring to us or a hypothesis they bring to us or a suggestion
Speaker:them. So we've had something quite similar in
Speaker:Chippenham recently where the children have become really fascinated in
Speaker:the way they get to nursery and they've been talking about their roots.
Speaker:So it's not us kind of imposing, right, let's go and explore
Speaker:Chippenham. It's actually them coming to us and saying, well I walked
Speaker:past the park on my way to nursery this morning or well actually
Speaker:I go past the park as well but I go the other way or
Speaker:I'm going in that direction, the car. So then
Speaker:from that stems that kind of hypothesis and that research question with the
Speaker:children of how do we get to nursery, what method of transport do we
Speaker:use? And then from there we then really, really break it
Speaker:down into. So where people might live, we look at
Speaker:maps of the community. We then might take a trip going
Speaker:one way and then going the other way. then that might
Speaker:stem into looking at transport, so different methods of transport,
Speaker:then looking at different houses where children live. So there's so much
Speaker:that comes from that, that original idea and
Speaker:question that the child comes up with. And I think that's probably
Speaker:very much how the streets have started with actually
Speaker:the children being interested in, in where they are
Speaker:in relation to their peers, about where they live
Speaker:in Bath, where they you know, landmarks
Speaker:that they might see in Bath and where they are in relation to those that.
Speaker:>> Clare: Came about really prominently actually uc didn't it? Because I remember one
Speaker:of the, one of the opportunities that you did when you covered the whole of
Speaker:the floor in the piaza, with paper. And the children
Speaker:were recreating their routes to and from
Speaker:nursery. And bizarrely, the parks came up really strongly there as
Speaker:well, didn't they? Because we've got Victoria park and Henrietta park
Speaker:and Alice Park. And so all of the children are really familiar
Speaker:with them because they're spaces we use as a nursery,
Speaker:but they're also say spaces that they use as a wider
Speaker:community with their, you know, whether it's play dates, you know, if you go to
Speaker:Alice park, you get to dig in the sand, you know, if you go to Henrietta Parks, you get
Speaker:to look at the allotments. And so all of those children have a different
Speaker:awareness of the spaces within their community.
Speaker:So when you were looking at your mapping, Lucy, did it take
Speaker:a similar stance as lawyers? Because I don't remember you going into the
Speaker:kind of the transport aspect. It was, for me, it was much more around the
Speaker:architecture and the design.
Speaker:>> Lucy: Yeah, I, I think you're right there. And I think it was
Speaker:looking at directions and which way
Speaker:to go. So we had children coming to tell us how they
Speaker:get to their house and you go down the hill and then you take a left. So it
Speaker:was more interesting in their journey
Speaker:to nursery of how they walk there and the journey,
Speaker:sharing it with their parents or their grandparents and sharing it with
Speaker:their peers at nursery as well.
Speaker:>> Clare: Because I remember one of the really lovely things you did was to give the children
Speaker:the iPads to take home with them. So they
Speaker:documented their own journey backwards and forwards
Speaker:and to and from nursery. And I think one of the things that
Speaker:really has always stuck with me was what, what
Speaker:was it we had assumed was really significant to the
Speaker:children in their journeys and their community was
Speaker:actually very, very different to the children. so we had one
Speaker:little girl who was just fascinated with the gargoyle that was on the neighbor's
Speaker:house. And we had, one person that knew
Speaker:actually when they went onto the bus stop, that was the bus stop that
Speaker:they took when they were going to granny's house. They were actually all of those
Speaker:things that were very key to those children. That environment was
Speaker:perhaps different to us, but actually when
Speaker:we multi layered that and what I think you did say skillfully,
Speaker:Lucy, and I know also happens in the Chippenham nursery so
Speaker:beautifully as well, was that multi layering of learning.
Speaker:So actually you might have had those children that were fascinated with
Speaker:their street, so who lived on their street, how
Speaker:did they move to and from their street? But you also had
Speaker:those children that had a wider connection with the other aspects
Speaker:of their community. So some of that went into what we
Speaker:called that big, Big Bath Abbey project.
Speaker:so we're so lucky in Bath, aren't we? We've got so many
Speaker:beautiful iconic buildings and so much architecture
Speaker:that the children can really, explore that
Speaker:they're surrounded with all of the time.
Speaker:So, Lauren, do you remember the big Bath Abbey project? Were you with
Speaker:us at that time?
Speaker:>> Lauren: I think I, I think I must have joined a little
Speaker:bit after. But it's really interesting because
Speaker:I think with the projects that we
Speaker:explore, you can see the documentation throughout the
Speaker:nursery. So it's really familiar to me. I've seen the
Speaker:documentation of it and then I've seen the
Speaker:different ways, the directions that it's gone because I wasn't,
Speaker:I obviously wasn't here at the, in the beginning of the project. But the
Speaker:way that Lucy was talking about the journeys
Speaker:project obviously kind of stemmed from there.
Speaker:so, yeah, I, I've seen similar concepts
Speaker:pop up from that project. But no, I wasn't there at the time.
Speaker:>> Clare: So I think I'll explain to the listeners. So the Bath, the big, big
Speaker:Bath Abbey project was one of my favourites. So when
Speaker:the children were on their open top bus tour,
Speaker:we stopped in the Bath Abbey. And we didn't just stop there once.
Speaker:we obviously had to revisit it several, several times. So the
Speaker:children were able to go inside the abbey. So we've got, you
Speaker:know, children who were lying on their tummies and looking down at the grills
Speaker:and the grids. We've got children who were experiencing the
Speaker:patterns on the tiles. We had children who were
Speaker:fascinated by, and the scale of the
Speaker:abbey right the way through to the same child who was really
Speaker:interested in the gargoyle, on our neighbour's building, as to the
Speaker:angels that sit just to the left and to the right of the
Speaker:main entrance into the abbey. And St. Mary, who's one of
Speaker:our, we call her magical, our resident artist took this
Speaker:opportunity with the children and really shared
Speaker:the scale of the abbey. So she took the tiny,
Speaker:tiny imagery that the children had drawn of the
Speaker:angels that sat above, the door and then carved
Speaker:them through into their lino prints. And then the
Speaker:lino prints went from being the tiny imagery
Speaker:that the children had created to then scaling up. So we
Speaker:then use the photocopier to scale up larger and larger and
Speaker:larger so that eventually it felt fitting with the abbey. And
Speaker:what was one of the most beautiful, kind of
Speaker:projects that came through from that provocation was
Speaker:the way in which the children had worked collaboratively.
Speaker:So no matter what part of the abbey the children were
Speaker:fascinated by, Mary recreated it for those
Speaker:children either onto, onto paper or onto fabric. And
Speaker:then they were able to then restitch with
Speaker:the sewing machine independently of course, it's atelier all of
Speaker:their pieces back onto fabric. So by the end of
Speaker:it we had you know, kind of a 12 foot
Speaker:image of the Bath Abbey in the nursery for the
Speaker:children then to re represent And I think for me it's,
Speaker:it's the little bits, isn't it? It's, it's the,
Speaker:the recognition and the educators approach
Speaker:to hearing those children's voices within the projects and
Speaker:enabling them to be free in their thinking. So
Speaker:actually if this is the, the angel that I'm taking or if
Speaker:this is the, the entrance to, or actually if this is the
Speaker:window that sits at the rear of the abbey, what does that look like?
Speaker:But then actually also rehearing and recognising
Speaker:those children's voices. You know Lucy, for you to be able to have taken
Speaker:all of those children on a trip to each
Speaker:of their houses to then be able to have. And they were the most
Speaker:joyous photographs when you could see them stood outside their
Speaker:front door looking really, really proud because they had a real
Speaker:ownership of their community. So when you brought
Speaker:those back and you kind of of use those in your
Speaker:mapping, where did the children take that? Because there was so much
Speaker:talk, wasn't there, about where they lived in their
Speaker:streets.
Speaker:>> Lucy: I remember the children doing lots of like looking
Speaker:at images m of their house and other people's houses and lots
Speaker:of talk about numbers and comparisons and oh,
Speaker:yours is, got five windows and mine's got this.
Speaker:And it was really lovely just seeing that connection between
Speaker:the children and looking at the similarities and the differences
Speaker:and even some spotting going I walk past
Speaker:your house on my way to nursery and it's just
Speaker:that connection again with home life and
Speaker:nursery and lovely to see that from
Speaker:there. the children then were developing their own
Speaker:artistic skills with having images and
Speaker:photographs of their houses and then
Speaker:mark making and drawing with them and using the light
Speaker:table, using tracing paper for sketching
Speaker:and adding different things to the houses and adding
Speaker:extra windows and swimming pools in the garden.
Speaker:So it was lovely to see where the children
Speaker:took that.
Speaker:>> Clare: I think it's it's really that very special way, isn't it?
Speaker:It's one of the reasons we called ourselves atelier was that ability
Speaker:to allow children to fly in Their thinking and actually for
Speaker:us, and not as educators to put, put an
Speaker:expectation of what they can achieve onto it. Because actually
Speaker:we would never have thought that our children could use
Speaker:engineer paper to scale things through or to use the sewing machine to
Speaker:stitch their liny or screen printing
Speaker:onto a canvas. And I think it is that ability to
Speaker:really trust the children to take those next
Speaker:steps forward.
Speaker:So Laura, in terms of Chippenham, talk me through one of your
Speaker:favourite provocations.
Speaker:>> Laura: So one of them definitely has to be our teas and tonics, which
Speaker:was spearheaded by our wonderful Sara, who's our
Speaker:resident artist. But she takes a little bit of, I
Speaker:suppose, creative spin. So instead of art in the traditional
Speaker:sense, I suppose of mixed materials and you
Speaker:know, creating things that would hang in the gallery, she really looks at baking,
Speaker:cooking, the language of cooking, the language of
Speaker:baking, the language of threading and weaving.
Speaker:So she worked really hard on the teas and tonics project
Speaker:which spanned everything you could possibly think of to do
Speaker:with food. So we were growing our own food, we
Speaker:were experimenting with food, we were looking at
Speaker:ways that we could, cut up food,
Speaker:magnifying food. but it all again was with
Speaker:a purpose from the interests of the children. And one of
Speaker:my favourite provocations that came from within
Speaker:that was our rainbow pasta project. And one of our educators
Speaker:brought in a cookery book. And it was just a pasta cookery book that was
Speaker:going in the home corner and on the front there was this beautiful
Speaker:illustration of rainbow,
Speaker:tagliatelle. And the children instantly said,
Speaker:we want to make rainbow pasta. So we said to them, okay,
Speaker:so how do we, how do we break that down? So first of all,
Speaker:we had to learn how to make pasta. So we had to learn how to
Speaker:make the dough, how you would then roll out the dough, how you would
Speaker:use the pasta machine to then thread it through, how to make the shapes.
Speaker:And then from that it then turned into, so how would we dye
Speaker:it red? And some of the ideas that the children
Speaker:had were just beautiful. They wanted to use strawberries or tomatoes or red
Speaker:peppers. And actually watching their
Speaker:hypotheses, tested and then thinking we need to find, and again
Speaker:those characteristics of learning. So actually we need to find a new way
Speaker:to do that or try a different way, because strawberries don't turn it
Speaker:red, they make it into a strawberry flavoured pasta which we all
Speaker:enjoy tasting. did we.
Speaker:But you know, there are a few, there are some interesting flavours. And again,
Speaker:for the children, in the context of their lives A banana that's yellow
Speaker:would turn pasta yellow, wouldn't it? Or if you were, you
Speaker:had a green apple, why doesn't that turn the
Speaker:pasta green? So then we did investigation with herbs
Speaker:and spices and we came up with, all of the different
Speaker:ingredients that would turn it to the hues that we needed.
Speaker:And then one day they sat and they made the rainbow pasta from start to
Speaker:finish. And the joy and the sense of achievement
Speaker:on their faces was just magical because they taken this idea
Speaker:that they just got from a book and they'd worked for months, months
Speaker:on learning the skill of pasta creation, then dyeing the
Speaker:pasta, then understanding how we cook the pasta, how we connect it
Speaker:together to then making this rainbow tagliatelle, that which they then
Speaker:just were overjoyed to share with their family and their,
Speaker:their wider nursery community about, look what we've achieved.
Speaker:And I think it's that whole,
Speaker:idea of. Because that was a children's interest. At no point did
Speaker:the interest Wayne or at no point did they become
Speaker:uninterested. And I think Sara was, was
Speaker:so key in it because she constantly added
Speaker:new learning for them. So different tools, different
Speaker:spices, different flavours, different
Speaker:opportunities for them to, to try different
Speaker:styles of learning. So it wasn't just always rolling
Speaker:the pasta, it was actually, could we roll the pasta? Can we make it thinner or
Speaker:thicker?
Speaker:>> Clare: I remember there was one day where Toby just spent,
Speaker:you know, ah, seriously long periods of time
Speaker:just working out how the handle went on the pasta machine and back off
Speaker:again. And I think what you said there, Laura, about, you know, introducing
Speaker:new tools is so important, isn't it? From that
Speaker:one project came so many
Speaker:opportunities of learning. So actually whether it was, you
Speaker:know, I remember signing off and I remember kind of our,
Speaker:finance person going, why are we ordering 10 lemon squeezes and
Speaker:10 garlic presses? But actually it was so important for those
Speaker:children to all have their own individual opportunity to
Speaker:squeeze the lemons or to squeeze the fruits and to push the garlic through
Speaker:the, you know, the presses, to be able to add that to
Speaker:their dough and to work out what was happening and to have that
Speaker:opportunity to really create, but
Speaker:also to investigate. So it isn't just about, as you were
Speaker:saying, is it, the colours? It's like what happens when. And
Speaker:what happens when we do this or what happens and actually for us to not
Speaker:worry in our kind of, you know, in our adult
Speaker:thinking, how it should be and how it should turn out. Because actually
Speaker:allowing the children to make mango pasta was
Speaker:absolutely fabulous. And we, you know, as adults, we would never have
Speaker:contemplated the thought of making mango pasta.
Speaker:>> Laura: And it was really, I think, for us as educators as well, to
Speaker:allow the children that scope to investigate. Because obviously
Speaker:from an adult's perspective, I would know that strawberries wouldn't turn the
Speaker:pasta red. But actually the children are allowed to
Speaker:experience that. They're allowed to have the hypothesis, test it and
Speaker:then see that it didn't work. Or actually it, ah, produced a really
Speaker:beautiful flavoured pasta but the colour wasn't there. And
Speaker:allowing them the months of trialling it, rather than just going,
Speaker:oh, let's just have a pre core, let's just have turmeric. From
Speaker:their perspective, they were allowed to keep investigating. And
Speaker:that sense of joy and achievement and almost magic when they were
Speaker:like, it's worked, we found something that dyes it red was
Speaker:so beautiful. To allow them to experience without the
Speaker:adult leading that and saying, this would do it, or, why don't you try
Speaker:this? Their whole project was led by them and their,
Speaker:their curiosity, those skills.
Speaker:>> Lauren: They will take them through life, won't they? Like, if we answer all
Speaker:the children's questions for them, they won't be
Speaker:researchers, scientists, explorers. So it is
Speaker:about taking that unhurried approach.
Speaker:>> Clare: Absolutely. And I think that pace, that slow
Speaker:pedagogy of really enabling the children
Speaker:and giving them the space and the time and the freedom and the
Speaker:resource to be able to take their learning in
Speaker:whichever direction it might be.
Speaker:>> Laura: And there's some of the older children now who will just sort of stroll past
Speaker:the table and they'll go, oh, if you add some paprika to that,
Speaker:that will make it a nice red colour. And they've actually held onto
Speaker:that information that's now part of their kind of inbuilt knowledge of
Speaker:how to dye food. And it's so lovely that they're
Speaker:then passing that down to their peers and that scaffolding
Speaker:happening so, proudly for them as well, to share
Speaker:that.
Speaker:>> Clare: I think it's fascinating as well to see so within your
Speaker:nursery, that ability to make those passages,
Speaker:to be able to use those days, was such a significant part
Speaker:of those children's learning. But working right
Speaker:alongside that in Bath, completely unbeknownst to those
Speaker:educators, because at the time they weren't
Speaker:necessarily sharing in the same way, through their
Speaker:confrontos, the learning that was taking place across site. So they weren't
Speaker:having that cross pollination in the same way you did. The Bath team were
Speaker:also working on a provocation called Memories of the Kitchen. Kitchen, which started
Speaker:way back when we Returned back from COVID So when all of
Speaker:our children returned, post Covid, you know, we had this
Speaker:absolute fascination with baking and making because
Speaker:actually so many homes had been in that process
Speaker:of dough and had been baking bread and had been using
Speaker:every flour resource I think they could find. And, I think what we've
Speaker:got now within all of our children is that need
Speaker:to still use dough. And every single day within
Speaker:both of the nurseries, that dough is being made, whether it's a bread
Speaker:dough or whether it's a pasta dough or whether it's a pizza base
Speaker:or whether actually it's, I don't know, know it's a dough to play
Speaker:with. So actually, how are we then promoting,
Speaker:I guess, that longevity of those projects as
Speaker:educators? so one of the things I'm really interested in,
Speaker:Lauren, you picked up right at the beginning was around that documentation
Speaker:of learning. So one of the things I was really
Speaker:fascinated by when I went to Reggio was actually seeing how the
Speaker:documentation for so many previous years was
Speaker:still historically influencing the children's thinking. Is that
Speaker:something that's happening, within your role and you're promoting as that kind
Speaker:of leader of Flower Man?
Speaker:>> Lauren: Yeah. So the. We say that the
Speaker:walls kind of speak and they. They
Speaker:tell the story of the history of what the children that have come
Speaker:before them. So we've obviously got the children that.
Speaker:>> Laura: Are going off to school and can.
Speaker:>> Lauren: Tell you the project that they were working on three years ago. But when
Speaker:they've moved on, actually, the walls can tell that
Speaker:story. So it's really important that it might just be a
Speaker:photograph or like Clare said, like the cookbooks that they
Speaker:create, they're all kept and they're all valued and they're all referred
Speaker:to so that we're always building upon prior
Speaker:knowledge. We're not wiping the slate clean.
Speaker:>> Laura: Right.
Speaker:>> Lauren: It's September. New starters. Let's start again.
Speaker:Our projects are enduring and they are
Speaker:built upon and evolve, which
Speaker:is really beautiful to see, but it's making sure that all of the
Speaker:educators are aware of that history as well,
Speaker:and they know what's come before them. So then they can
Speaker:then build upon that.
Speaker:>> Clare: So, Lucy, when we're thinking about the longevity of those projects and some
Speaker:of those that work that, you know, Lauren so beautifully
Speaker:describes as like kind of the talking walls, really, and the documentation,
Speaker:how are we sharing that with families? Tell our listeners how
Speaker:some of our favourite provocations have come to life with families via
Speaker:exhibitions.
Speaker:>> Lucy: Yeah, that was the first one I was going to talk about our exhibitions I
Speaker:think is one of the most lovely and
Speaker:magical moments for our parents and their families
Speaker:to be a part of. so
Speaker:through our provocations and all the
Speaker:children's learning and their work and the books that they
Speaker:produce, we collate everything all together.
Speaker:So from all of the rooms down from the cabin to all the
Speaker:sewing and the weaving that's happening to
Speaker:the piazza with the architectural drawings,
Speaker:we clay all of this together and then we
Speaker:showcase it in an exhibition. and
Speaker:this is on a day where the children can
Speaker:come along, they can bring their parents, their grandparents,
Speaker:aunties and uncles and they can come and they can
Speaker:show show off what they've been learning really. And
Speaker:it's lovely to see the children,
Speaker:they've just got so much pride in
Speaker:sharing what they've been doing at nursery and it's lovely
Speaker:to all the parents to see what they've been learning. Especially
Speaker:the ones that are working lots and don't tend to
Speaker:be able to do the drop offs and the pickups. They can see
Speaker:exactly the learning journey that their child has
Speaker:been on.
Speaker:>> Clare: I think the exhibition is one of my favourite times of the year actually between
Speaker:the exhibition and the festival. I think it's a real toss up. But I think
Speaker:when we look at how the
Speaker:exhibitions bring to life the learning
Speaker:for the whole of the community but also
Speaker:the pride that the educators take within the documentation
Speaker:and processing and I think we've got some incredibly
Speaker:skillful educators who really alongside
Speaker:the children take their time to document and to really
Speaker:analyse those observations so that all of the learning
Speaker:opportunities are incredibly purposeful and the way that the
Speaker:child's voice is even captured. So you know there's some really
Speaker:beautiful ways in which I think Emily's
Speaker:particularly skilled, Mary's particularly skilled, Mary's particularly
Speaker:skilled. But really capturing the children's voice within
Speaker:that documentation process, I think is a
Speaker:particularly magical way of showing it. And again we'll draw more on the
Speaker:exhibition as we talk about in other episodes. So
Speaker:Lauren, I'm going to take us right back to that kind of
Speaker:definition really of a, of a provocation and a
Speaker:project and there's been some debate hasn't there? So
Speaker:I don't know what was it this time? Last year we met with Martin
Speaker:Pace and Martin used to be head of the amazingly
Speaker:beautiful Reflections nurseries, in
Speaker:Worthing and was a real, almost like a mentor I
Speaker:guess in terms of the project work that they were doing at
Speaker:Reflections and, and Martin challenged our thinkings, didn't
Speaker:he? Around the terminology we were using about provocations and
Speaker:projects. So I know some of the work you've been doing
Speaker:has been around really defining for staff the
Speaker:difference between a project and a provocation. So I'm sorry
Speaker:for everybody that's listening because I probably confused you because I'd
Speaker:interwoven both of those terms. But can you
Speaker:explain to us what you believe the difference is being between a
Speaker:project and the provocations that we're offering?
Speaker:>> Lauren: Yeah. So I think ultimately Martin Pace is a huge
Speaker:inspiration to us and we really respect his way
Speaker:of working. And the way that he
Speaker:works and develops his curriculum within his
Speaker:settings is slightly different to, the way that we do it in our
Speaker:setting. So there isn't a one size fits all for project
Speaker:and provocation, work. But essentially
Speaker:we believe that, the project
Speaker:is a bit like the
Speaker:overarching theme or the overarching
Speaker:concept that you're exploring. So
Speaker:examples of a project could be, the streets of
Speaker:Bath. It could be an inquiry question.
Speaker:So it could be I wonder what clouds are made of.
Speaker:Or it could be teas and tonics. So
Speaker:it's all. It does take some
Speaker:shares some, similarities with the kind of topic
Speaker:LED approach because it's a broad umbrella that you're
Speaker:exploring. And then
Speaker:via the project that
Speaker:you're exploring, you will then set
Speaker:up provocations to
Speaker:extend and develop that project.
Speaker:So hopefully. But we were using the terms
Speaker:interchangeably originally because we know that
Speaker:provocations provoke learning. So we
Speaker:thought, well, these are our provocations. We're provoking learning.
Speaker:But I would think of it from, if we think about the three I's,
Speaker:your project is your overarching intent,
Speaker:and then your provocations
Speaker:are, your implementation. So they're the tools that you've got to
Speaker:kind of keep the evolution of the project going.
Speaker:>> Clare: I think that's a really key point, Lauren, because, you know, what we're
Speaker:talking about is how are we then empowering our educators
Speaker:to be able to really dialogue that learning back through.
Speaker:So I think weaving that intent and implementation through
Speaker:in that concept is really, really important. So, Laura, that
Speaker:brings us on to some of the practical elements. So some of the stuff I
Speaker:really enjoy. So what about our,
Speaker:educators? How are we actually supporting our educators
Speaker:within that planning time for their projects?
Speaker:>> Laura: So every, educator across the nursery will have
Speaker:dedicated time each week to meet with their room team,
Speaker:and then work on their room planning for the week. So they
Speaker:have an hour as a team each week, and then they each individually have Two
Speaker:hours where they then have time to really unpick those
Speaker:observations, to really look at the threads of learning that are
Speaker:happening across their room, in their space. And within those
Speaker:meetings, one of the leadership team will often join them and we
Speaker:will really help to
Speaker:I guess really look at with a magnifying glass at what
Speaker:we're seeing happening in that space and really helping to
Speaker:unpick those threads of learning that could really then
Speaker:spark into another provocation or further
Speaker:enhance their project. And within those
Speaker:planning meetings there are lots of challenging questions, there's lots of
Speaker:reflection, there's lots of really magical
Speaker:ideas that pop up and ideas how we can extend projects.
Speaker:And I think you can't have a successful
Speaker:project or provocation without
Speaker:having that prior planning and that time to sit and really
Speaker:reflect on what the children are doing. Because if it's just
Speaker:I mean it can't be interest led unless you're looking at the interest and constantly
Speaker:analysing and reflecting what the children have done already. So I
Speaker:think having it weekly gives the team a week to
Speaker:observe, a week to recapture that learning, to
Speaker:document it and then look at what comes next and how to extend
Speaker:that for those children. and I think it's really beautiful to
Speaker:then watch. The educators themselves also sometimes
Speaker:question and think about that it's gone on a tangent that they
Speaker:weren't expecting because I think it's really hard as an
Speaker:educator to not have a preconceived idea about where something might
Speaker:go. Obviously we always follow the children but often they
Speaker:surprise you with the most amazing ideas that
Speaker:take it almost, you know, 90 degrees to the way that you were thinking it
Speaker:was going to go. And I think that's what, why those
Speaker:planning times really help to reassess, to kind
Speaker:of come together as a team and think, okay, so they've taken it in
Speaker:a completely different direction. How do you facilitate this next step of
Speaker:learning for them?
Speaker:>> Clare: I, ah, just that as you've been talking Laura, that's just really
Speaker:hit me because I think one of the things that we've been working on
Speaker:so hard in Bath at the moment is that is
Speaker:exactly that. It's that pace and where something
Speaker:might go and that not assuming and stepping in
Speaker:too quickly and you know one of the projects that's
Speaker:probably one of my most favourite provocations as I talk about them, they're
Speaker:all my favourite provocations but is the, is the
Speaker:weaving, is the weaving that's taking place in the cabin at the moment
Speaker:in Bath and that Started
Speaker:purely from, connection. It started
Speaker:with the children being really, really fascinated with how to connect
Speaker:things. And, and when we look
Speaker:back to where that first started, which was Mary just
Speaker:giving children the opportunity to,
Speaker:to tie knots into finger crochet. and so
Speaker:Evie is one of our very, very skilled off to school in
Speaker:September children. And she has literally finger
Speaker:crocheted, no word of a lie, about a hundred
Speaker:feet of crochet in terms of this
Speaker:length. And Mary has never stopped her,
Speaker:she's never tried to re. Engage her into something
Speaker:different. She's never,
Speaker:prevented the resource being available to her to continue. And
Speaker:instead what she's done is she's just draped backwards and
Speaker:forwards Evie's weaving and has then left it
Speaker:hanging, so that whenever Evie wants to revisit that space,
Speaker:she can continue her finger crocheting. But what that
Speaker:did was actually then spark different children's learning. So actually then
Speaker:some children were fascinated not just by the connection but the
Speaker:deconnecting. So actually then she just
Speaker:strung different types of fabrics
Speaker:and wools at child high and enabled them just
Speaker:to snip and they snipped and they snipped, and they snipped and
Speaker:they snipped. And for some of those children, that process
Speaker:of just being able to have the resource in the adult that
Speaker:facilitated it. And so Mary recognised that, you know, there
Speaker:were these toddlers that were fascinated by snipping,
Speaker:and those rising kind of threes. But at the same time
Speaker:she had, you know, this bunch of children who were really
Speaker:fascinated in being able to connect. And so
Speaker:she offered them willow to start with and then the willow
Speaker:became frames and then the children used wool and
Speaker:wire to work in within, you know, within that process
Speaker:to be able to join and connect. At the same time,
Speaker:the member of staff that she's working on side in that room
Speaker:was, was looking to like connect the
Speaker:beads. So how was she connecting the beads that the children were
Speaker:using within their weaving onto the woodwork bench? And she
Speaker:recognised that actually within her analysing of her observations, if the
Speaker:children housed the bead, they could hammer, the
Speaker:nails into their wood, but their fingers were safe. and so
Speaker:she was then trying to take it in a different direction. And I think the
Speaker:skill and expertise of Mary just
Speaker:brought that project back and she was then able
Speaker:to hold the children's thinking and she was able to hold
Speaker:the children's ideas and she very, very
Speaker:carefully, and very cleverly
Speaker:just took those children onto an
Speaker:opportunity at one of the local galleries
Speaker:and that then inspired and sparked a
Speaker:whole fascination just in stitch, and
Speaker:how actually the embroidery that had been used,
Speaker:was then recreated. So some of our children
Speaker:had individual embroidery hoops right the way
Speaker:through to some of our children having huge, what was actually part
Speaker:of a rattan furniture set, huge
Speaker:hanging hoops to be able to stitch and to take a
Speaker:stitch in time. And now we have the most magical
Speaker:garden, where our beautiful tree is covered in
Speaker:hanging embroidery hoops that the children are free to
Speaker:just continue to stitch with. But running
Speaker:alongside them are our willow hoops that the children
Speaker:have made. And running alongside those are our wire hoops that the children
Speaker:has made. Because what very carefully and cleverly
Speaker:happened in there was that weaving of pedagogy.
Speaker:So it wasn't just that regio approach of project
Speaker:and of connection and of stitching and of
Speaker:material and fabric, but it was also that
Speaker:Frobilian influence that came in. So actually, are we using a
Speaker:material that's hard? Are we using, using a material that's soft? Are we
Speaker:looking at those, the law of opposites to those
Speaker:children? and actually that provocation
Speaker:continues to be one of the most
Speaker:beautifully embedded pieces, of work
Speaker:that I think we've probably seen for our children for a really, really long
Speaker:time.
Speaker:>> Laura: Can I read you a quote from Aaron Bradbury?
Speaker:>> Clare: Of course, we like Aaron.
Speaker:>> Lauren: So he says that educators observe deeply.
Speaker:They use what they see and hear.
Speaker:>> Laura: To create opportunities for children to explore.
Speaker:>> Lauren: Further, to dig deeper and to build in their
Speaker:knowledge. So it is powerful, all
Speaker:about the observation and observing deeply
Speaker:and not assuming that you know
Speaker:where the children are going. And that's why those
Speaker:pedagogical conversations are so important,
Speaker:because you might see one thing
Speaker:that's going on and think and read into it and
Speaker:think.
Speaker:>> Laura: Like, for example, if I've got a.
Speaker:>> Lauren: Two year old at home who's really into her
Speaker:schematic play, I've got a lens that
Speaker:might be thinking, oh, no.
Speaker:>> Laura: It'S all about transport, Laura.
Speaker:>> Lauren: It's all about transport. They're doing that because they want to transport. But
Speaker:Laura's eyes might see. Well, now I know that
Speaker:they've been, I know that that
Speaker:family have been to Cornwall, so I know it's to do
Speaker:with travel and destination. So
Speaker:if you can unpick and observe, then you can
Speaker:then provide the provocations to
Speaker:continue to develop the learning. Because I think a lot of the time
Speaker:a lot of learning can just.
Speaker:>> Laura: Be stilted and halted.
Speaker:>> Lauren: Like when they were wrapping the string around the chair
Speaker:legs and then looking at
Speaker:Connection. Every chair had to be connected. An
Speaker:educator could come on, come in and think, just stop it, and just
Speaker:say, this isn't safe. Why are you doing that? That. But
Speaker:actually marry allowed them to explore that connection. And
Speaker:then that's where the learning grew. So you have to be
Speaker:quite.
Speaker:>> Laura: That really just really reminds me of one day, and
Speaker:I'd been out somewhere, and I can't remember where I'd been. And I walked back into the
Speaker:nursery, and I just thought, there's masking tape all
Speaker:over the floor, all over the world, just
Speaker:everywhere. And I just walked into the discovery room, and I thought, no, take
Speaker:a breath. Like, see. See it through the lens of what's happening. And Clare just
Speaker:went, nora, I'm really sorry, but.
Speaker:And they. The children had started to make their own roads out of
Speaker:masking tape. And they'd gone literally from the front door all
Speaker:the way to the garden. And, like, my
Speaker:instinct when I walked in was to think, no, what's going on? This isn't very safe.
Speaker:Actually, once I took a step back and I listened to Emily, I
Speaker:listened to Clare and had seen the learning that happened that morning. It was
Speaker:just magical to see how,
Speaker:that Emily, as that really skilled educator, hadn't
Speaker:stopped that learning. She'd allowed them to carry on with something that was
Speaker:so. So meaningful to them. And it carried on for. For weeks
Speaker:afterwards, of the winding of the tape and the sticking
Speaker:it to the furniture.
Speaker:>> Clare: And I think it's that trust, isn't it? You know, the trust
Speaker:of us as leaders to trust our
Speaker:staff and our teams that they have
Speaker:completed that observation, and they do know those
Speaker:children, and they do understand the next steps for those
Speaker:children. And it doesn't have to fit the curriculum.
Speaker:It doesn't have to fit, you know, the development math of
Speaker:statements. It's about really thinking and seeing
Speaker:it through the eyes of the children, but also with all of
Speaker:the possibilities that can come through from that. And
Speaker:I loved what you, were saying about those pedagogical
Speaker:conversations and it being okay to challenge each other. You know, when you
Speaker:walked back in that room, I could tell by your face, you'd be like,
Speaker:I'm gonna take a deep breath because I trust, but I'm not
Speaker:quite sure what it is. And I think as leaders, that's something that is very
Speaker:easy for us to do, isn't it? Is to. Is to empower.
Speaker:You know, that's not necessarily the easy bit. But, you know, as our job as
Speaker:leaders is to empower and to promote our
Speaker:staff team to champion them. But actually, it's
Speaker:also a real juggle in terms of our own
Speaker:values and balancing the health and the safety and the parental
Speaker:perspectives and everything else that comes through it. And so that's where those
Speaker:pedicure conversations are so, so
Speaker:important to make sure that we're truly analysing those
Speaker:observations of the children that we can
Speaker:dialogue with any visitor to the setting,
Speaker:the whys of what's happening. I think that quote's really lovely. Can you share
Speaker:it with us again? Lauren, Is that. Yeah, just.
Speaker:>> Lauren: Should we put it in the show notes?
Speaker:>> Clare: Oh, we shall.
Speaker:>> Lauren: educators observe deeply, use what they see
Speaker:and hear to create opportunities for children to explore
Speaker:further, to dig deeper and to build on
Speaker:their knowledge.
Speaker:>> Clare: So is that going to be your takeaway from today?
Speaker:>> Lauren: Yes. Thank you. Aaron Bradbury.
Speaker:>> Clare: And, Nora, what about you? What would your takeaway be for our listeners
Speaker:today when we're thinking about projects and provocations?
Speaker:>> Laura: For me, the biggest thing that learned coming to atelier
Speaker:and the biggest thing that I continue to learn is that slow
Speaker:pedagogy that really looking at it through the different
Speaker:lenses and not having that preconceived idea of walking
Speaker:into a room and thinking, well, what. What are they doing? Putting a masking tape
Speaker:all over the floor, actually taking a moment to trust your
Speaker:educators, listen to them, hear the story and then understand
Speaker:the real depth of learning that's happening at that time. So I
Speaker:think, yeah, just slow it down, really. be in tune
Speaker:with your children and your educators and, yeah, you can't go wrong.
Speaker:>> Clare: Beautiful. Thank you, Laura and Lucy.
Speaker:>> Lucy: I think it's thinking about where we've started off in
Speaker:some of our provocations and, as to where they are
Speaker:now. And I think we don't see where
Speaker:it's going because we follow the children's interests and where
Speaker:they want it to go. So it's lovely to see that and I think
Speaker:it's nice. Just think about how lucky
Speaker:our children are to have all these experiences that
Speaker:they get to share with their peers and with their family.
Speaker:>> Clare: So for me, it's a combination of both of those. So it's around
Speaker:that, evolving. It's around trusting the team, trusting the children,
Speaker:facilitating them and allowing those projects to evolve,
Speaker:making sure that pace is right. But also, I
Speaker:guess, one as a. As a leader and a manager
Speaker:that isn't always easy to overcome is those. You know,
Speaker:it's the everyday time constraints, it's the staff that might not
Speaker:be in. It's the how do you juggle everything that there is today.
Speaker:But I absolutely promise if you
Speaker:support and you enable that
Speaker:planning time for staff to come off of the
Speaker:floor, to have uninterrupted time, to have those pedagogical
Speaker:conversations, the intent of
Speaker:learning is so, so much greater. The
Speaker:engagement of your children is so, so much higher
Speaker:and the well being and the
Speaker:satisfaction of your team is second to
Speaker:none. So be brave,
Speaker:have a good old Reflect as a team as to where you're at now and
Speaker:wherever possible, prioritise that time m so those
Speaker:projects can evolve beautifully.
Speaker:So, lots of thinking for today, lots of opportunities
Speaker:to reflect and to discuss. and as a team,
Speaker:we're always here to help you. If there's anything we've talked about today that you want
Speaker:to pick up further with us, please don't hesitate to call. We'd love
Speaker:to hear from you and we'd love to hear your thoughts on provocations
Speaker:and projects, and the impact that today's discussions might be
Speaker:having on your practise. So thank you for joining us. We hope you're
Speaker:having a good week and we look forward to speaking to you soon.
Speaker:Thank you for joining us for Atelier Talks. If you
Speaker:enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, share and
Speaker:leave us a review. It really helps us us to reach more
Speaker:educators, parents and early years professionals just like you.
Speaker:For more insights into our unique research led approach or
Speaker:to find out more about our services at both the nursery or the
Speaker:consultancy and how we can help you in your early years
Speaker:practise, visit our website or follow us on social media.
Speaker:All the details you need to find us are in the show
Speaker:notes. In the
Speaker:meantime, it's goodbye from us. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker:We look forward to seeing you next time for another episode of Atelier
Speaker:Talks. Thanks for
Speaker:listening.
