WoS is an action research project based in North Somerset which seeks to motivate and inspire early years educators to provide creative opportunities for children to engage in creative and critical thinking. The project uses reclaimed and intelligent materials as open-ended resources for children to play with and explore the 'big ideas' or concepts that shape their world. The project has been insp
ired by the Reggio Emila approach to early education and reflects the philosophy that children are strong, powerful, curious and competent learners. Settings that become members of the WoS become part of a learning community in which colleagues share ideas, understandings and views about children's thinking and learning. We create collections, or 'provocation pods' which are used by member schools and early years settings to nurture, observe and analyse the characteristics of effective learning in action. Each pod contains an irresistible mixture of reclaimed artefacts and natural materials through which children demonstrate their extraordinary capabilities.
