EYFS blog post 1: How do you know if you are fostering an environment that actively encourages children to play and explore?
When we talk about exploring we don't just mean putting on your backpack and heading into the woods (although it can mean that). What we need to ask is where are the opportunities for children to 'explore' in every area of your provision?
Take your small world for example - where are the opportunities for exploration and investigation? Do you have open ended resources that encourage creative and critical thinking as well as imagination? Have you created an environment for true exploration?
While all children need an initial concrete point of reference, a good learning environment has lots of 'ambiguity' or 'open-endedness', resources that are open to interpretation and exploration depending on who is holding them in their hand.