Baby / infant room space? 😍 When you look to transform your baby room / infant space are you reflecting and following the developmental stages of the children in your care? As I’m ( Stephanie) in Australia this week let’s link to Developmental milestones and National standards EYLF Outcome 4: 8-12months Cognitive ▫️Children are confident and involved learners ▫️Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating. ▫️E.g. "Provide babies and toddlers with resources that offer challenge, intrigue and surprise, support their investigations and share their enjoyment." (p.35) NQS: Areas 1, 5, 6 Do you have a range of resources, textures, recycled, heuristic items ? OR is everything plastic, eco plastic, and feels exactly the same ? Do the resources you offer challenge, intrigue and surprise, support their investigations? What do you provide in your infant/ baby space? comment below

Take a moment to look around your room right now. Notice the soft textures, the warm lighting, the way your shoulders naturally drop when you feel at home. Now, think about our littlest learners. Research from Carnegie Mellon University shows that when children are placed in overly decorated, institutional spaces, they spend nearly “40% of their time distracted and off-task” Overwhelmed, over stimulated and defending their senses from all the visual noise! Young children’s brains don’t have the filters to shut out the visual noise of bright plastic, harsh fluorescent lights, and walls cluttered with commercial posters. What we often call a “stimulating environment” is actually sensory warfare for a child, triggering quiet anxiety and restlessness. When a child spends 30+ hours a week in our care, they shouldn’t feel like they are clocking into a corporate institute, academic college or waiting in a clinical lounge. They deserve an “extension of home” ❤️🥰🙏🏼 By embracing The Curiosity Approach, we step away from the sterile and school vibes into the sacred. We replace the clutter with ▪️Soft, ambient lighting and gentle, grounding tones. ▪️Intentional spaces that lets a child’s mind rest and focus. Where they FEEL safe, nurtured and secure! ▪️Authentic, natural treasures that invite genuine wonder. Spaces children THRIVE not just survive 🥰🎉 Let’s stop designing school classrooms and start creating sanctuaries. Let’s build spaces where children feel deeply safe, emotionally regulated, and truly at peace. What does your setting FEEL like? Comment below and remember this is a safe space to share your sticking points your challenges. Need help? Comment below Images from Morayfield West ( Curiosity Approach academy member )

Why do we create beautiful tranquil play spaces for children? At The Curiosity Approach®, we move away from institutionalised environments and look to create play spaces that offer up beauty, art, and aesthetics. Beauty is innate within us all. Young children are very aware of this and are drawn to it too! Our resources, invitations, and provocations within our settings reflect beauty; from the delicate authentic resources to the wondrous natural objects, all declaring, all showing their beauty! We look to create enchanted pockets of learning that have a visually appealing manner, which highlight the magic, wonder, and possibilities of the resources on offer, inviting the children to become curious about them. As educators, we should always be seeking to encourage the child’s natural sense of awe and wonder. We aim to create a place of many beauties, but most importantly, the beauty of a childhood being lived to its potential, a beauty that is indeed deep in the eye of the beholder. “If we thought more about childhoods and less about needs, some of our programs would look less like schools and more like homes and children’s museums, or like fields and parks. We might develop varied places with a genuine sense of beauty; places where adults and children delight at times in simply being together.” Jim Greenman “The environment should act as a kind of aquarium that reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes, and cultures of the people who live in it. “ This is what we are working toward. Quote by Loris Malaguzzi At The Curiosity Approach®, the children’s play spaces offer a calm, tranquil feel, which is a spacious, ever-evolving learning environment that is respected and cared for by the children and adults. We feel it emulates a children’s wondrous museum filled with natural light, plants, and order. John Dewey, Rudolf Steiner, and Lev Vygotsky all believed in the importance of arts and aesthetic education for young children. At The Curiosity Approach®, we use the statement that our settings “should feel like an extension of home and not a watered-down version of school,” stepping away from the academic feel of a traditional bright and overstimulating Early Childhood provision.

Cardboard boxes are perfect for painting! Why not offer a three-dimensional experience - not to create anything in particular, but simply for the joy of painting? See the endless opportunities this box provides: - Working on a larger scale - Exploring mathematical concepts - Encouraging collaboration and teamwork - Developing balance, strength, and coordination - Enhancing concentration - Understanding size, shape, and mass - Engaging with 3D structures - Crossing the midline when reaching - Supporting schematic play and natural urges - Inspiring exploration, discovery, and curiosity - Promoting the joy of doing - Encouraging active learning - Building perseverance Cardboard boxes are treasures -to be rescued, salvaged, used, and transformed. Children don’t need expensive resources or toys; they just need the freedom and opportunity to paint, create, and explore. The next time a box is unpacked, offer it as a gift - a blank canvas waiting for children to bring it to life. And remember... even once dry, these boxes hold endless play opportunities! If we give children the chance, they will decide how to use them.