The Italian 'pedagogues' then explained that this was the start of a project on modern fairy tales, arising from the children's intense interest in these figures and their stories on television. This leads the Swedish practitioner to think about what an opportunity this gives the adults 'to take children's theories, hypotheses, dreams and fantasies seriously, instead of seeming not to have heard anything, or telling children they should not talk about these things.'
Exchanges can also cast new light on your own practice. I will always remember a visiting academic from Tokyo observing a young child at Woodlands Park Nursery Centre who was deeply involved in exploring sloppy wet sand. She appeared delighted as she watched the child, and openly admired the staff who supported and protected the child's exploration - even though the wet sand was getting everywhere. It reaffirmed the value of how we work with toddlers.
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