🌿💪 BIG MOVEMENT, BIG PURPOSE — SCHEMA SPOTLIGHT 💪🌿 Yesterday at the allotment, my little boy spent ages moving large planks of wood — helping out, problem-solving, and feeling so proud of himself. He loves being in charge. He loves feeling useful. And he always seeks big movement. To many, it might look like “just helping.” But underneath it all, this kind of play is meeting deep developmental needs — and wiring his brain for lifelong skills. 🌀 TRAJECTORY SCHEMA This is all about movement — lifting, dragging, pushing, carrying. Every time he moves those planks, he’s exploring: ✨ Force ✨ Resistance ✨ Direction ✨ Control ✨ Cause and effect It’s early physics. It’s body awareness. It’s emotional regulation through movement. 🧺 TRANSPORTING SCHEMA He’s not just moving wood — he’s relocating, organising, sequencing. This builds: ✨ Executive function ✨ Planning skills ✨ Working memory ✨ Spatial reasoning It’s the kind of brain work that supports maths, problem-solving, and task management later in life. 🧠 WHAT NEED IS HE MEETING? He’s meeting his need for: 💛 Autonomy 💛 Purpose 💛 Big-body movement 💛 Sensory regulation 💛 Feeling capable and trusted This kind of play is essential for children who seek proprioceptive input — the deep muscle work that helps them feel calm, grounded, and in control of their bodies. 🌿 THIS is why we observe schemas. Because when we understand what children are really doing, we can support it with intention, language, and love. And when we link it to brain development, we can confidently explain the learning — to parents, to inspectors, to ourselves. 🌟 Want to learn how to do this in your own setting? Our Where the Wild Ones Learn Accreditation teaches you how to: 🌱 Identify schemas outdoors 🌱 Map play to learning outcomes 🌱 Understand the developing brain 🌱 Create emotionally safe, nature-rich environments 🌱 Confidently articulate the learning you see every day https://jodie-s-site-e84d.thinkific.com/products/courses/unlock-childs-potential

🌿✨ SCHEMA SPOTLIGHT — LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL LEARNING IN ACTION! ✨🌿 In this video, you’ll see a child carefully spooning woodchip from a container to “feed” a dinosaur… and while it might look like simple fun, there is so much deep learning happening beneath the surface. This moment is a perfect example of multiple schemas working together — the brain’s natural way of building knowledge through repeated patterns of play. 🌱 Transporting Schema This is the most obvious schema at play here. Children in a transporting schema love to: • Scoop • Pour • Transfer • Move materials from one place to another Every spoonful is strengthening: ✨ Coordination ✨ Focus ✨ Cause and effect ✨ Early maths and science thinking ✨ Problem‑solving ✨ Purposeful movement 🌱 Enveloping / Enclosing Schema There’s also a beautiful layer of enveloping/enclosing happening. This schema appears when children: • Put things inside other things • Cover, fill, wrap, or hide objects • Create boundaries or “homes” • Contain materials in purposeful ways By placing the woodchip into the dinosaur’s mouth, the child is exploring: ✨ Inside/outside ✨ Containment ✨ Boundaries ✨ Spatial awareness ✨ The idea of “feeding” or “caring for” something 🌿 And then… the story On top of the schemas sits the magic: ✨ Imagination ✨ Role play ✨ Empathy ✨ Narrative thinking Schemas build the brain. The story builds the soul. This is why outdoor play matters. This is why child‑led learning matters. This is why understanding schemas transforms your practice. Join our Play Schema movement now and sign up to our Where the Wild Ones Learn Accreditation. April intake now open only a few spots left at our introductory offer of 50% off so £150 instead of £300 and a pay monthly option. https://jodie-s-site-e84d.thinkific.com/products/courses/unlock-childs-potential

I used to tell my grandparents a story about an invisible polar bear when I was little. He is now coming to life 😀 Marnie and Arnie is a bout a girl and her best friend who is an invisible polar bear. They go on adventures and Arnie teaches Marnie lessons through nature as they go.

Three Years Is Too Long: Why Families Can’t Wait for CAMHS This week I received a letter from CAMHS about my daughter’s referral. It told me the expected wait time: 2.5 to 3 years. Three years. That’s my daughters entire middle childhood stage and that is just not acceptable. That’s the difference between a child struggling silently and a teenager carrying scars into adulthood. And yet, families across the UK are being told to wait this long for vital mental health support. I couldn’t accept that. So I booked private therapy. At £60 per session, it’s a financial strain, but I felt I had no choice. Because when your child needs help, you find a way—even if the system has failed you. But here’s the truth: not every family can afford to go private. Therapy costs in the UK often range from £50 to £100+ per session. For many, that’s simply out of reach. And so children are left waiting, worrying, and worsening. This isn’t just my story. National reports show thousands of children stuck on CAMHS waiting lists, with some waiting years. Staff are working under impossible conditions, but the system is underfunded and overstretched. Children’s mental health is being treated as optional, not urgent. What does this mean for families? Parents are forced into impossible choices: pay privately or watch their child deteriorate. Inequality deepens, because only those with financial means can access timely care. Children’s futures are compromised by political decisions made today. I share this not just to vent my frustration, but to call for change. We need urgent investment in children’s mental health services. We need accountability for the promises made and broken. And we need compassion—for the families holding everything together while the system falls apart. For now, I’m grateful my daughter will get the support she needs. But I’m angry that it comes at such a cost, and that so many others are left behind. 👉 Our children cannot afford to wait years for help. And as parents, educators, and advocates, we cannot afford to stay silent.

⭐️ACCREDITATION ⭐️ Confidence: The accreditation helps educators trust their instincts, validate their practice, and feel secure in delivering nature-rich, schema-informed learning. 🌱Sign up now for our April intake with 50% £150 instead of £300!!🌱 🌱 Also a pay over 5 months option £30 a month 🌱 https://jodie-s-site-e84d.thinkific.com/products/courses/unlock-childs-potential #ConfidenceThroughPlay #EmpoweredEducators #WildOnesAccreditation #NatureBasedConfidence #TrustYourPractice #EarlyYearsLeadership #SchemaInformedConfidence #AccreditationJourney #EducatorEmpowerment