Welcome to The PLAYlist - May 2025!
Your Guide To All The Amazing Stuff On The PLAYlist This May đťâď¸
Hello PLAY People,
Weâve made it to May! The sun might be shining, and tuff trays across the UK are suddenly full of dandelion heads and snails đ!
This month, on The PLAYlist â and thereâs a definite whiff of sawdust in the air⌠đŞ
Thereâs loads in store for you this month. Letâs take a little look!
FOR OUR FREE SUBSCRIBERS
Youâre still getting a treasure trove of content this month. Hereâs whatâs landing in your inboxâŚ
Guest Article â Pete Moorhouse: An Introduction to Woodwork - CLICK đ¨
Peteâs name is basically synonymous with woodwork in the Early Years, and weâre chuffed to have him join us this month. In this brilliant piece, he introduces the thinking behind creative woodwork with young children â and busts a few myths along the way.
Spoiler: yes, they can handle tools, and no, itâs not just about making bird boxes.
Why I Wouldnât Have a Maths Table â By⌠Me!- CLICK đ§Ž
You might already know how I feel about this one⌠Maths should be everywhere, not confined to a dusty little tray with a few counting bears and a number line. In this article, I dig into why labelling a table âmathsâ can actually limit childrenâs mathematical thinking â and what we can do instead to nurture real number sense and curiosity.
Showing Children The Power of Possibility - Story Telling for Change by Tales Toolkit - CLICK đŹ
Weâre huge fans of Tales Toolkit, and this month weâve got a fab feature all about how this simple yet powerful approach supports language, imagination, and emotional literacy. Whether youâre a seasoned user or just curious, this oneâs well worth a read.
FOR OUR PAID SUBSCRIBERS
If youâve subscribed, youâre getting a whole load of extra goodness, too. This month weâre getting hands-on, getting a bit sandy, and going deep with transporting and tool skills.
10 Activities â All About Transporting - CLICK đ
This set of activities is perfect for children who just need to move things from A to B and back again. Whether itâs buckets of gravel, baskets of conkers, or a procession of toy dinosaurs across the carpet, these ideas celebrate and extend transporting in ways that feel joyful, intentional, and packed with developmental value.
Pete Moorhouse Interview â Talking Creativity, Tools and Trust - CLICK đŞ
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Pete for a proper chat about woodwork, creativity and how we can build more trust into our interactions with children. Itâs warm, thoughtful, and just the right amount of nerdy!
Online Training â An Introduction to Woodwork (30 minutes) - CLICK đŞ
If youâve ever thought âIâd love to do woodwork with my children, butâŚâ then this short session is for you. Pete walks you through the core principles, safety considerations, and the huge potential of creative woodwork in your setting. Great for whole-team CPD or just a solo learning session.
2 Common Play Behaviours Documents for Sand Play - CLICK đď¸
This monthâs CPB focus is all about sand. Not just âbuild a sandcastleâ kind of sand, but the real richness of scooping, pouring, compressing, crumbling, and all the other play behaviours we see daily (and sometimes vacuum up). This downloadable document links those behaviours to key skill development and helps you think differently about how to resource and observe sand play in your Continuous Provision.
Access to Sand Play Video Training (for FREE) - CLICKđď¸
In this session, I explore how children typically play in sand, what their behaviours tell us about development, and how we can support and extend their learning through high-quality provision.
Perfect for refreshing your thinking, supporting staff training, or deepening your understanding of effective continuous provision.
Book Giveaway â Peteâs Brilliant Book đ
Peteâs book, Learning Through Woodwork: Introducing Creative Woodwork in the Early Years, is packed with wisdom, research, and practical ideas. And weâve got copies to send out to some lucky PLAYlisters. Keep an eye out for how to enter. (It may involve saying something lovely about hammers, nails and saws!)
Keep Your Eyes Peeled đ
As always, all paid content lives safely on The PLAYlsit, and youâll get handy little emails from us when new bits go live. If youâre ever stuck or somethingâs missing, just give us a shout at support@abcdoes.com
And if youâre a free subscriber thinking, âOoh, that training sounds goodâŚâ â nowâs a great time to join the crew. Not only will you unlock all of this monthâs extras, but youâll also be helping us to keep the PLAY List going strong, growing big ideas from tiny hands.
One Last ThoughtâŚ
Woodwork is one of those things that can feel a bit scary â but when you see children using real tools, solving real problems, and really focusing in on what theyâre doing, itâs nothing short of magic. This month is a gentle invitation to have a go. Start small. See what happens. You might just fall in love with it.
Wishing you a May full of joy, play, transporting adventures and a bit of unexpected tinkering (and sawdust!)
Alistair
