When we were both at Ringwood Uniting Preschool we noticed that the children were playing in the sandpit, smoothing out the sand with some fabulous trowels made by a lovely parent.

 We thought that we would have a shot of making our own too. Coincidently we had a couple of boxes of dressed pine off cuts we had already picked up from Resource Rescue for another project and felt that they would be perfect for the job.

We bought some $1 handles from Bunnings, then got out the trusty drill, a pencil for marking the spots and a screwdriver – too easy!

We marked where the holes need to be drilled by measuring the handle then drilled holes all the way through.

Next we screwed in the screws through the back …

… and screwed on the handles to the other side.

Now they are all ready to go when the children arrive. We can’t wait to see them play with them!

It is hard to believe that two and a half years after starting up our blog, we have hit 700 posts! That’s a lot of experiences! That’s a lot of writing!  That’s a lot of sharing! That’s a lot of fun!!

For those of you who may be new to our blog and don’t know much about the two of us, or maybe even if you have been travelling along with us on our adventures the whole time, we thought you might like to read about where we have been, what we are doing, and where we are heading – OK, so we want to indulge a little!!!

We’ve actually known each other for 20 years. We met when Sherry taught Donna’s son for a short time in Primary School when his teacher went on leave. Sherry is a tad younger and definitely darker than she is now!! Chris is second from the right at the top – was a cutie then and still is!

  Sherry then and now!

This is how Donna looked then and now!

We connected again when Donna’s daughter came to St John’s Kindergarten in Croydon five years later and was put into the loving educational care of Sherry. When Victoria started school Donna started working at St John’s too and we have been working together as a team ever since.

This is one of the earlier photos of us together at St John’s Kindergarten with another colleague, Glenys. We can’t find the very first one but here we are over the years!

We’ve always loved sharing our ideas and when we offered to run some workshops for our local teachers’ groups we were lucky enough that they liked the idea and let us go ahead with it. We thoroughly enjoyed running them and thought that it would be great to be able to share experiences with a wider audience. Hence Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning was born, a vehicle for sharing and caring with our early childhood colleagues both locally and around the world.

This is how our blog first looked when we started out, which reflected us at the time – still teaching four and five year olds together.

Sixteen months after we started blogging we decided to leave teaching and pursue early childhood consulting as we found ourselves very busy with basically two full time jobs and needed to decide on one career or the other. This is our current blog banner that has evolved along with us.

We have been having a wonderful time since then visiting schools, preschools and child care centres, either showcasing them on our Education Directory, or perhaps running professional development sessions. We have also been invited to run workshops at conferences and for teachers’ groups both here in Victoria and interstate.

At times we run our own private workshops which we thoroughly enjoy – they are small and intimate with an eclectic group of participants. Our next one on Random Weave Basketry will be held here in Melbourne on Saturday March 24th. If you are interested in attending please email us for more details at fun@playbasedlearning.com.au

Currently we are also doing relief work at preschools and child care centres to ensure we stay in touch with what is happening in the real world of early childhood. Again, please email us if you are interested in either or both of us coming to work at your centre.

We are also having a wonderful time with these fabulous women, Marylou and Jane Verberne from Play for Life Australia, a not for profit organisation bringing play to the forefront of our lives, particularly in primary schools at the moment with the spectacular Play for Life Pods.

So that is our journey thus far! One which we continue to love. A journey that is full of new and exciting things for us every single day. Thank you so much for traveling along with us and for your continuing support of us both here, on twitter and on our Facebook page.

There are so many wonderful bloggers, teachers, parents, carers and students of early childhood out there and we are very proud and honored to be a part and of this very special group of people!

 We hope you contiunue to enjoy what we have to offer … Sherry and Donna

As we get to peek inside other services, it is very heartening to see teachers taking advantage of our beautiful natural materials such as rocks, logs, bark etc… and also thinking outside the square and recycling goodies as much as possible from roadside collections, op shops or perhaps recycling centres such as Resource Rescue. Here are some great ideas we have seen lately.

A recycled old drawer with stones, bark and pine cones to sort.

 Recycled wood scraps for hammering.

 Old log from a tree lopper for imaginative play …

 and another at the bug table.

 Old wooden bowls …

baskets …

and this silver tray from the Op Shop.

 Creativity using bibs and bobs from a recycling centre (in recycled bowls and baskets).

 Rocks and pebbles to enhance imaginative play.

 A basket full of stuff from the Op Shop to inspire the children’s imagination and creativity.

Pine cones, pebbles and a piece of fake fur to enhance the discovery corner. We also love the plant which softens the whole scene.

Making old corks into toadstools for the fairy corner…

creating walls and bridges for the knights and dragons using glossy stones and tree cookies …

as well as using them in other  imaginative play set ups.

Thinking outside the square and making a little effort means huge savings on our resources and not just monetary-wise.