28th November 2025
I Will Not Start Christmas Yet!
Every year (usually right after Halloween) my team asks the same question:
‘When do we start Christmas?’
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as anyone. But in Early Years, starting the festive season too soon can leave both children and adults completely worn out before we even reach December.
The excitement stretches on, routines slip, and by party day someone is always in tears (and it is not always a child!).
To help you enjoy a calmer, happier run-up to Christmas, here are my four tried-and-tested tips for a stress-free December in Early Years.
1. Keep Your Routine Structured Right to the End
Children thrive when their days feel predictable. Keeping your usual routine helps them feel safe, settled, and far less anxious.
You don’t need to turn every activity Christmas-themed—just sprinkle a few festive ideas into your existing planning. I keep my Book of the Week going right up to the final day of the Autumn term, and it truly helps reduce the chaos.
2. Add Extra Outdoor Time
Outdoor play is your secret weapon for calmer, happier children in December.
Let them run, jump, shout, and move. It burns off energy, reduces fidgeting during performances, and resets excitement levels. If the indoor buzz gets too big, take the class outside for a quick game—or grab bells and shakers for a cheerful carol singalong. Instant smiles guaranteed!
3. Teach Simple Breathing Techniques
December can be overstimulating for everyone, so teaching calm breathing helps children build self-regulation skills.
We use a Mel Robbins–style mantra:
- Breathe in and out four times
- Place a hand on your heart
- Say: “I am ok, I am loved, and I feel safe.”
It works beautifully for staff and children alike.
4. Keep It Fun (and Remember Every Child’s Experience Is Different)
There’s so much to squeeze in—shows, cards, crafts, fairs—and it can all feel overwhelming.
I always remind my team that not every child will have the Christmas we imagine. School may be the place where they experience warmth, consistency, and joy. So keep things light, keep things kind, and keep things fun
17th October 2025
Back to School… yes it is only October!
Hello lovely friends,
I know, I know… I have been a bit quiet. But there is a very good reason for my vanishing act: I have been opening my Spread the Happiness Private Nursery and let me tell you… it has been eye opening in every possible way.
Between welcoming brand new little humans (and their grown ups), battling through Ofsted forms that seem to multiply overnight, and setting up systems that make my brain do star jumps, I have learned a LOT. (Mainly: Coffee is essential, and Ofsted will always find ‘just one more thing’).
Those first few weeks?
Whew!
Let’s just say settling digital children into real life routines is like trying to download calm on dial up internet, but here we are in Week Five and I can finally breathe.
The children are laughing, learning, making friends, and I am seeing the magic happen.
The impact? HUGE.
The progress? HEART MELTING.
And to my fellow educators, movers and shakers:
Keep going. Even when it is messy. Even when the clipboard brigade is circling.
Keep moving. Because big things are coming, and every movement you add to your routine will raise that GLD!
Oh and P.S. I am so grateful I wrote my Parachute Rhymes Book. Truly, it has been my lifesaver during these whirlwind weeks. If you have ever needed to entertain a group while simultaneously managing snack time and a surprise fire drill… you will understand. There is so much self regulation in parachute time.
Here’s to a joyful, wobbly, wonderful back to school season.
We have got this! I am here for you if you need anything.
With love and a lot of coffee with Turkish delight!
25th September 2025
Food as a Play Resource – The Truth
I recently saw a post about using food as a play resource, lentils, chick peas, pasta, rice and things. When I read some comments I just thought ‘I’ve had enough!’.
Enough of people criticising each other for doing things. I use food as resource because it’s cheap and usually it’s me funding the resource! I also run a charity that feeds children in poverty directly through schools, so am I at conflict with my beliefs or am I, like you just doing the best with what I’ve got?
This constant don’t use this, do use that is made up and different, dependent on setting. When I asked inspectors they look at me strangely, because the truth is they don’t care what’s in your tuff tray, they care about the teaching and learning that activity generates. No setting has ever failed for simply doing its best for the children.
So instead of criticising, let’s start sharing our solutions? I’ve had an idea, because we’ve all been apart WAY too long, to get us all back together in the room, drinking tea or coffee and sharing ideas. I miss those days and the fear culture we are in will only go away if we do something and that something is stick together.
8th January 2024
Over Worked and Overwhelmed?
Do you often catch yourself whispering those dreaded words, “I’m overworked and overwhelmed”? It is a common thing to hear, however…
Would you like to know a little secret?
When you say even just the words, overwhelmed or overworked, it makes your busy life even worse because you create a story in your head about it and it is a negative one. I promise you when you stop telling yourself this story you will feel better.
Here are three ways to stop the overwhelm story:
- Notice how often you are saying negative words like overwhelmed, overworked, stressed, busy, manic…
- Change your vocabulary. I am feeling stressed becomes I can manage this. I am overwhelmed becomes let’s get organised and schedule this. Reminder: You are only human and can only do your best.
- What’s your screen time score? When I feel negative my screen time hours go through the roof and on Mondays when it pings ‘6 hours’ I think ???? what could you have done in that time?! ( Watch out on my Instagram story for my new phone fasting ???? @basonshonette)
4th December 2023
Talk, Talk, Talk to Me!
Recently people started using words like ‘Quality Interactions.’
When I hear a phrase like this being overused, I know the inspectors are looking for something new! This year it’s communication and language within Early Years.
We know talk is low on entry but what’s the simple solution for our teams?
A child aged two years should know 50 words
A child aged three years 200 words
A child aged four 5000 words
A child aged five 10000 words!
Quality interaction means adults talking to children, and before we download 5000 words and start to speak them, I’ve found research that says it isn’t the word count from the adult to child; it’s the conversation that matters. Quality conversation. Ask your teams to up the level of conversation they are having with children.
I have written a “Talk, Talk, Talk to Me” programme which delves deeper into research, gives staff specific conversations and words to increase their conversation. It also has a whole progressive program for talk within Early Years and even shows how to gain clear evidence as well. It is online, so it’s cost-effective, and my first training is on 7th December from 4-6 pm. Hope to see you there and get you totally confident in Language for Communication.
21st November 2023
Are we Missing an opportunity in early years?
How many Early Years practitioners struggled with maths at school?
I did. I retook my GCSE three times to get a C!
So I know first hand, how early maths education is like the secret ingredient in a recipe for future maths success. When we get it right in the Early Years, the outcomes for children down the road are nothing short of remarkable.
There are three major improvements which can be seen by implementing a quality Early Maths curriculum from 2 years old:
. Increase in Cognitive Development:
The Early Years Maths session taught daily plays a significant role in shaping a child’s brain. When young minds engage with maths concepts, they are actively building problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and critical thinking abilities.
2. Growth of Maths Confidence and Motivation:
Early success in maths can boost a child’s confidence and motivation to learn. When children experience the joy of grasping mathematical concepts, they’re more likely to view themselves as capable learners. This self-belief can lead to a positive attitude towards education and a greater willingness to take on challenges in the future.
3. Maths with Real-World Relevance:
Maths isn’t just about numbers; it’s a fundamental skill used in countless real-world situations. Teaching maths in the Early Years helps children develop the practical skills they’ll need for everyday life, from budgeting and measuring to understanding data and making informed decisions. A strong foundation in maths empowers them to navigate the complexities of the modern world.
So what’s your Early Years Maths programme like? I myself have taught schemes brought in with little to no Early Years part of it. If the scheme had Early Years, Reception at best (never Nursery or Pre- school) I found it uninspiring, either too hard or far too easy so I wrote my own!
Please may I present to you my very own Spread the Happiness Early Maths Programme from age 2 years through to the end of Reception. Progressive, impacting and enjoyable for everyone. It includes a full years planning per age range and all books and rhymes have You Tube videos (I checked).
Save your Early Years Maths and get the Ebook today at the Early Bird price.
28th November 2022
Your Children are a Year Behind
This week I have been fortunate enough to have Dr Jan Broomfield, International Doctor of speech and language, come into my Early Year’s unit in North East of England. I wanted her professional opinion on my children’s developmental age through language assessment.
Guess what she said?
Your children are one year behind.
Not only are they developmentally delayed by their poverty band (1 lowest in U.K.) but also because of the global pandemic they are one year behind their chronological age.
So, this means, my two-year-olds are age one! My three-year-olds are age two, four-year-olds are age three- and five-year-olds are four years old.
Solution?
There isn’t one! I am joking of course. Dr Jan gave me a recommended list of speech and language schemes but all of them cost money. The thing is I know how to make a dent in this problem? Turn up adult engagement to high quality.
How? Well, if you jump across to my Facebook group, I am sharing this week my top-secret ingredient to get staff making quality engagement
Simple, quick to implement and, a shocking reveal, I found out from a consultant Early Years inspector.
Come join me and keep up to date with ideas and techniques that will bridge this one-year gap in development and language.
25th November 2022
This Might Make You Cringe
I know the key to increasing children’s potential in the classroom. Happy staff!
I know, cringe! That’s a cliché surely, making staff happier increases the children’s academic chances?
Well it isn’t and it’s why at Spread The Happiness we encourage and empower staff to get happier within themselves. In our new course we aim to make you aware of:
- Aware of your own mood – it affects everything
- Let go of more stuff – quickly
- Stop worrying so much
- Be more childlike
- Make more time to fall in love with your class
These 5 things alone should be in our staff wellbeing programmes (it is in ours) because with these five under your belt you will be happier.
- Being aware of your happiness levels on a daily basis is paramount to being a well-being. We can’t be happy all the time but we can be aware. On a scale of 1-10 (10 off your head happy) most people daily are a 5. (That grey dull Monday feeling -5!)
Solution: Switch up your routine. Change parking spaces, do something different in your daily routine and you will notice your happiness levels more.
- Letting go of more things quicker.
Solution: Imagine holding a cricket ball in your outstretched arm and holding it. You’d be thinking what’s the point, I want to throw it. It is the same with thoughts, throw them. If you want to hold on to them imagine that visual with the cricket ball – Let it go!
- Stop worrying! (Wouldn’t this be wonderful?)
Solution: Write all of those worries out your head. You don’t even need a special book – just paper and pen. Writing them onto paper helps you see two things – (1) How our thoughts are 99% fiction (written by ourselves) (2) You will often think through a solution when writing it down.
- Be more childlike. Create more joy in your personal life.
Solution: Look around you at the changing seasons and enjoy the aspects of change. Take an umbrella out in the rain. Recently someone told me to wear walking boots but I love wearing wellies to dance in puddles and in the sea.
- Make more time to fall in love (not with the children as such) with things you both love.
Solution: Add into your curriculum something you love or explore something they love. Once my nursery loved penguins so we watched them on YouTube, became them in our role play and even slid in freezing water on a tarpaulin. What does falling in love with something do? Create more joy for staff and children which increases academic potential.
If you love these 5 tips and want to inspire your team why not get in touch and host a wellbeing event at your school. I have so many more tips and exercises to help staff take responsibility for their own wellbeing and in turn increase children’s potential within the classroom
24th November 2022
I have stopped doing Celebrations in Autumn Term 2
I have stopped doing celebrations on the actual dates, or the run up to them, because I want the children to come to the provision and activities having experienced the celebration (sometimes not).
Why? Because the after party allows more conversation from what they know.
This Autumn Term I will do celebrations because I think the season is littered with awesome ones. Halloween or winter solstice. Diwali for me has the best story with Rama, Sita and the ten headed demon monster. Followed by Bonfire Night but I will change when I do it, it will be after the event! It also makes resources cheaper.
We’ve made a pumpkin patch after Halloween 🎃 and we are exploring them as observational drawings, weighing them and opening a pumpkin shop. Did you see my Instagram pumpkin ideas? @spread_the_happiness_
We will make pumpkin scones (you need tinned pumpkin) and dry the seeds from an open one for counting. We will make seed art and each day we will hide our pumpkins in different places. Of course we will read “Pumpkin Soup” by Helen Cooper.
Diwali was in our half term but the story is so rich that I will still do it as a Story of the Week. Bonfire Night can be explored after the 5th November because it will be fresh in their minds. I love the splatter paintings and musical opportunities after the 5th November so here are my plans for Autumn Term 2 in books:
- “Christopher Pumpkin” by Sue Hendra,
- “Pumpkin Soup” by Helen Cooper,
- Bonfire Night, The Story of Guy Fawkes
- The Story of Diwali
Then we will start Christmas celebrations!
23rd November 2022
Wish I had a Forest School
Forest schools are amazing if you have a forest or even trees but don’t use not having these as an excuse, it’s not the only way for children to access outdoors at your school or setting.
Outdoor classrooms have been a statutory part of Early Years for 15+ years now, not playtimes but classrooms. Once a upon time free flow was called for, access to the outdoors at all times during the session. I personally think the modern child needs to be taught outdoors especially if they are developmentally delayed in any way because outdoors is the best place to move and movement is the best thing to accelerate development.
Creating a space to play outdoors, be free and to learn is, for our modern children, a way to experience childhood that is often lost in tablets, TV and trashy toys! I have always (15 years) had an outdoor classroom. First, it was a piece of the play ground. Then a chicken wired fenced off area to now where I have the most wonderful space, roofed by the sky and with a vast field and bike track to roam on as well, I am extremely lucky.
So why do I wish I had a Forest school?
The word ‘natural’ has come into play in a world where children get very little experience of outdoors and we’ve lost the beauty of our outdoor classroom. Opting for pine cones indoors with plastic Ivy around sacking material displays, which are beautiful, but will they help the modern child with the current childhood issues being presented in the classroom?
Behaviour has been a symptom of Covid, with socialising and physical movement delay for our modern child. Touching a pine cone will give a sensory experience but running in a space outdoors and finding pine cones will give a much wider learning experience. The benefits of outdoors far outweigh the problems, which are often staff who don’t like outdoors or the weather.
Staff need to be aware of why the children need to access outdoors – I have an outdoor classroom CPD training that can be accessed via one of our paid subscriptions on School of Spread The Happiness that you can use with your staff.
The modern child needs you to open your doors. Take them outside, if your curriculum is balanced on the formal side, go running for ten minutes before an input. You will see a difference.
Got a group who don’t seem to remember things? Take them outdoors and play a physical phonics or maths game.
“The natural outdoor learning environment produces longer lasting impact on a child’s memory.’”
– Waite 2007
Parachute games are a great way to spend ten minutes outside.
Adventures outdoors are stimulating and you can role play the story outside. This week our book was The Three Little Pigs. I told the story inside then I said the receptionist had seen a Wolf on the field and would we go and find it. I had cut up an old piece of fur fabric and I had pieces in my pocket which, as we ran around, I placed carefully. We only had ten minutes looking for the Wolf but the stimulation led to us creating a rhyme, language and communication of a high level, and during their P.E. Session Reception used the rhyme to get round the obstacle course.
If I have inspired you to GET OUTSIDE please forward this email/link to someone in your team or cluster so that they can be inspired too.
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