Welcome To The July PLAYlist! ☀️🎉
Click Here For Your Guide To Concentration, Combat Play, And What It Really Means To Be 'Good'!
Hello!
Whether you're reading this in your classroom, the garden, or hiding in the stock cupboard with a biscuit (or 3!) 🍪🍪🍪 😂… Welcome to your July edition of The PLAYlist.
This month, we’re exploring everything from children’s attention spans to the power of weapon play and why we need to talk more honestly about what we praise (and what we don’t).
For Free Subscribers
Dr ABC | The Trouble with Being Good - CLICK HERE
What if ‘good’ isn’t always what we think it is? This new article looks at the hidden messages we send when we praise quiet compliance, and what that might be doing to children's sense of self.
Prof Sam Wass and Dr Gemma Goldenburg on How to Take Action on Distraction - CLICK HERE
Why do some children zone out while others seem focused?
Cognitive neuroscientist Sam Wass and Dr Gemma Goldenburg take us into the world of attention, what it is, how it develops, and what you can actually do to support it in a busy early years setting.
For Paid Subscribers
If you're a paid subscriber, first of all, thank you! This month alongside all of the free stuff, we have some brilliant new content.
New ‘Staffroom Sessions’ Training: Weapon Play - CLICK HERE
Why do children turn sticks into swords and fingers into guns? This session explores why weapon play matters, what it’s really doing for development, and how we can support it safely and positively, without shutting it down or letting it spiral.
Watch now – or save for your September INSET 😉
10 Ideas for Amazing Outdoor Spaces - CLICK HERE
From gravel pits to sensory tunnels, these are tried and tested, practitioner-designed activities that make the most of your outdoor space.
Malleable Materials Common Play Behaviours Guide - CLICK HERE
These downloadable prompts for your Malleable Materials Area are all rooted in Common Play Behaviours, so you can plan provision based on what children actually do, not just what we want them to do. Perfect for indoor or outdoor use.
eZine: Malleable Materials - CLICK HERE
Inside you'll find a beautifully visual, bite‑sized guide packed with clever setups using dough, clay, mud, slime (and loads more)indoors and out. Discover fresh ideas for provocations, tools and textures, plus quick prompts to help you notice children’s explorations, storytelling, repetition, consolidation and collaboration.
🎙️ Sam Wass and Gemma Goldenberg - Guest Interview - CLICK HERE
I sat down with Sam and Gemma for a longer conversation on everything from executive function to stress, noise levels, and what we often get wrong about 'concentration'.
BOOK GIVEAWAY
We’ve got 5 copies of Sam and Gemma’s latest book - Take Action on Distraction - ready to send out this month!
Winners will be drawn at random from active paid subscribers.
Thank you for being part of The PLAYlist.
Whether you're here for the free stuff or building your own CPD library with a paid subscription, you're helping shape a space where play is celebrated, practice is questioned, and learning always starts with the child.
Hope you find lots in July’s PLAYlist to support your practice, and as always, if you love something, share it!
Alistair
🚨New UK Training Event:
Our new Early Years Maths course with Karen Wilding in Birmingham has now sold out. BUT, we’ve added a new date for Manchester on Friday 7th November.
Early bird price is available until 20th July! (Remember our paid subscribers ALWAYS get the early bird rate).
Here’s the link to tickets for Manchester
https://buytickets.at/abcdoesltd/1714096
International Training Events:
We’ll be running ‘Best Practice in Early Years’ on the following dates:
Hong Kong - Monday 17th November 2025
Saudi Arabia - Saturday 31st January 2026
Oman - Saturday 7th February 2026
AND, Continuous Provision and Transition:
Singapore - Saturday 22nd November 2025.
Here’s the link to all our international events:
