So many messages today

Well it is definitely not Christmas yet, and I haven't been using any glitter today - so just wondering why I came home from work with a sprinkling of sparkles in my hair and on my face?  One of the many mysteries and joys of working in the Early Years! 

Not only satisfied to come home adorned with glitter, my youngest daughter informed me that she could tell I was back at work as sequins have kept appearing on the kitchen floor....well it's either work related or I am secretly preparing to appear on 'Strictly!'  

I arrived home from work, and as course of habit, switched on my laptop to catch up with emails, tweets and the inevitable facebook notifications, when a few things caught my eye.....first of all a tweet from Kathie Brodie titled 'What does Assessment mean?" 

Following Kathie's link I enjoyed reading her  'common sense' view on observation and assessment in the Early Years, giving myself a gentle reminder that any form of assessment in my Sensory Story must be unobtrusive and shouldn't restrict the child's natural course of play. The full article is found here:

http://www.kathybrodie.com/articles/what-does-assessment-mean/      

 My favourite quote of hers from the article has to be this . . .

"Assessment isn’t about sitting children down to be tested or labelled. It is about taking an interest in their development, and then using this to give them an enjoyable and challenging childhood."

Kathie Brodie can be followed on Twitter. 

My laptop was buzzing! (not because there was a fault) but due to the amount of tweets and messages in my 'In Box' from various sources all relating to the Dept. for Education's latest publication.... 'Early Years Outcomes'

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-outcomes

'Wow this is amazing!' I thought to myself. Did the DfE know I was wondering where to start with writing about Early Years Assessment? 

The DfE have (today) produced a guide to help inform Practitioners and Inspectors about 'typical' Child Development. In the words of the DfE it says. . . 

"It (the new publication) can be used by childminders, nurseries and others, such as Ofsted, throughout the early years as a guide to making best-fit judgements about whether a child is showing typical development for their age, may be at risk of delay or is ahead for their age." 

FANTASTIC!  I have already started to use the Communication and Language part of this guide as part of my information page on 'Assessment' in my Sensory Story. Even better I didn't have to spend time typing as it is already set out perfectly.

Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow has in store - will keep you posted!

You can always keep ahead of the game and follow me on Twitter too - I am now hitting the big time and have nearly got to 30 followers whoopee! Will be famous soon!