Joolone
@joolone.bsky.social
Drawing a line from the Royal College of Art to the heart of Early Learning. It turns out there’s nothing ‘child’s play’ about child’s play.
A Nursery child draws an elephant with wonderful succinctness.
A simple expressive line and perfectly judged areas of tone capture the imagination:
“I’ve drawn it for you…It’s sitting down and feeling sad because it’s the last day of school…and his trunk is crumpled up”
Utter Joy!
A simple expressive line and perfectly judged areas of tone capture the imagination:
“I’ve drawn it for you…It’s sitting down and feeling sad because it’s the last day of school…and his trunk is crumpled up”
Utter Joy!
July 17, 2025 at 7:04 PM
A Nursery child draws an elephant with wonderful succinctness.
A simple expressive line and perfectly judged areas of tone capture the imagination:
“I’ve drawn it for you…It’s sitting down and feeling sad because it’s the last day of school…and his trunk is crumpled up”
Utter Joy!
A simple expressive line and perfectly judged areas of tone capture the imagination:
“I’ve drawn it for you…It’s sitting down and feeling sad because it’s the last day of school…and his trunk is crumpled up”
Utter Joy!
Nursery child invites us into some thinking on shape and space:
“I’ve made a face do you want to see?
You turn the circle and the mouth can be happy or sad…
But I can’t decide if square eyes are happier than triangle eyes!”
We look, wonder and I see what he means.
Joy!
“I’ve made a face do you want to see?
You turn the circle and the mouth can be happy or sad…
But I can’t decide if square eyes are happier than triangle eyes!”
We look, wonder and I see what he means.
Joy!
July 12, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Nursery child invites us into some thinking on shape and space:
“I’ve made a face do you want to see?
You turn the circle and the mouth can be happy or sad…
But I can’t decide if square eyes are happier than triangle eyes!”
We look, wonder and I see what he means.
Joy!
“I’ve made a face do you want to see?
You turn the circle and the mouth can be happy or sad…
But I can’t decide if square eyes are happier than triangle eyes!”
We look, wonder and I see what he means.
Joy!
“I’ve drawn the Taj Mahal by a beautiful rainbow river”
‘They’re so beautiful’ I respond
“Do you know what the numbers are?” the child asks
“The doors?”
“No…they are the way I drew them,
I started with 1, I did 2, and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6
and then I glued them on the river”
‘They’re so beautiful’ I respond
“Do you know what the numbers are?” the child asks
“The doors?”
“No…they are the way I drew them,
I started with 1, I did 2, and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6
and then I glued them on the river”
July 6, 2025 at 6:35 AM
“I’ve drawn the Taj Mahal by a beautiful rainbow river”
‘They’re so beautiful’ I respond
“Do you know what the numbers are?” the child asks
“The doors?”
“No…they are the way I drew them,
I started with 1, I did 2, and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6
and then I glued them on the river”
‘They’re so beautiful’ I respond
“Do you know what the numbers are?” the child asks
“The doors?”
“No…they are the way I drew them,
I started with 1, I did 2, and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6
and then I glued them on the river”
He follows up by independently sorting the Montessori beads on a study table.
“I’ll put out ones, twos, threes all the way to 10”
He counts in each denomination with growing fluency as he lays them out, stopping regularly to check & count 1-1
“When I get to 10’s I know them!”
“I’ll put out ones, twos, threes all the way to 10”
He counts in each denomination with growing fluency as he lays them out, stopping regularly to check & count 1-1
“When I get to 10’s I know them!”
June 29, 2025 at 7:00 AM
He follows up by independently sorting the Montessori beads on a study table.
“I’ll put out ones, twos, threes all the way to 10”
He counts in each denomination with growing fluency as he lays them out, stopping regularly to check & count 1-1
“When I get to 10’s I know them!”
“I’ll put out ones, twos, threes all the way to 10”
He counts in each denomination with growing fluency as he lays them out, stopping regularly to check & count 1-1
“When I get to 10’s I know them!”
“Those who desire to sing… find a song.”
Plato.
So much of teaching is finding your own voice:
a voice that inspires learners to discover theirs, and sing boldly themselves.
When I find my song, I’ll sing it with all my heart.
Plato.
So much of teaching is finding your own voice:
a voice that inspires learners to discover theirs, and sing boldly themselves.
When I find my song, I’ll sing it with all my heart.
June 28, 2025 at 7:30 AM
“Those who desire to sing… find a song.”
Plato.
So much of teaching is finding your own voice:
a voice that inspires learners to discover theirs, and sing boldly themselves.
When I find my song, I’ll sing it with all my heart.
Plato.
So much of teaching is finding your own voice:
a voice that inspires learners to discover theirs, and sing boldly themselves.
When I find my song, I’ll sing it with all my heart.
Nursery child simultaneously unpacks his thinking about number & the Montessori number bead box:
“The 5’s go 5, 10, 15
4’s go 4, 8, 12
3’s go 3, 6, 9
I haven’t done 6’s but I think they go 6, 12: I’ve been thinking about it,
and I haven’t thought about the 9’s yet”
Joy!
“The 5’s go 5, 10, 15
4’s go 4, 8, 12
3’s go 3, 6, 9
I haven’t done 6’s but I think they go 6, 12: I’ve been thinking about it,
and I haven’t thought about the 9’s yet”
Joy!
June 22, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Nursery child simultaneously unpacks his thinking about number & the Montessori number bead box:
“The 5’s go 5, 10, 15
4’s go 4, 8, 12
3’s go 3, 6, 9
I haven’t done 6’s but I think they go 6, 12: I’ve been thinking about it,
and I haven’t thought about the 9’s yet”
Joy!
“The 5’s go 5, 10, 15
4’s go 4, 8, 12
3’s go 3, 6, 9
I haven’t done 6’s but I think they go 6, 12: I’ve been thinking about it,
and I haven’t thought about the 9’s yet”
Joy!
A question that shadows every lesson:
At what point does my hand, meant to lift, hold pupils back?
At what point does my hand, meant to lift, hold pupils back?
June 21, 2025 at 7:03 AM
A question that shadows every lesson:
At what point does my hand, meant to lift, hold pupils back?
At what point does my hand, meant to lift, hold pupils back?
She returns bringing Grimms semi circles & The 100 Star Study Box to her play. She re-explores shape & space.
She explains “I made a circle with 2 semi circles but I like semi circles on their own too!”
“The rocket’s gone but can you see the two tiny houses - in the middle they’re sharing a star!”
She explains “I made a circle with 2 semi circles but I like semi circles on their own too!”
“The rocket’s gone but can you see the two tiny houses - in the middle they’re sharing a star!”
June 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
She returns bringing Grimms semi circles & The 100 Star Study Box to her play. She re-explores shape & space.
She explains “I made a circle with 2 semi circles but I like semi circles on their own too!”
“The rocket’s gone but can you see the two tiny houses - in the middle they’re sharing a star!”
She explains “I made a circle with 2 semi circles but I like semi circles on their own too!”
“The rocket’s gone but can you see the two tiny houses - in the middle they’re sharing a star!”
I love it when the Independent learners turn me into a waiter
...you know:
‘Are you enjoying your learning?’
‘Yes!’
‘Can I get you anything?’
...you know:
‘Are you enjoying your learning?’
‘Yes!’
‘Can I get you anything?’
June 15, 2025 at 6:50 AM
I love it when the Independent learners turn me into a waiter
...you know:
‘Are you enjoying your learning?’
‘Yes!’
‘Can I get you anything?’
...you know:
‘Are you enjoying your learning?’
‘Yes!’
‘Can I get you anything?’
A nursery child explores the Montessori Shape Boxes.
She intuitively engages with the properties of congruence, shape, colour, and magnitude, using them to create imaginative and varied designs:
“I’ve made a rocket, and there are lots of stars around — every star is going to be different!”
Joy!
She intuitively engages with the properties of congruence, shape, colour, and magnitude, using them to create imaginative and varied designs:
“I’ve made a rocket, and there are lots of stars around — every star is going to be different!”
Joy!
June 14, 2025 at 7:17 AM
A nursery child explores the Montessori Shape Boxes.
She intuitively engages with the properties of congruence, shape, colour, and magnitude, using them to create imaginative and varied designs:
“I’ve made a rocket, and there are lots of stars around — every star is going to be different!”
Joy!
She intuitively engages with the properties of congruence, shape, colour, and magnitude, using them to create imaginative and varied designs:
“I’ve made a rocket, and there are lots of stars around — every star is going to be different!”
Joy!
Play is a spark,
if you let it out of the box
it ignites ideas.
New thoughts arrive like unexpected guests.
Play wanders about our heads in ways we can’t predict and in places we forget to look.
Imagination is refreshed.
Best of all, it discovers things we could never dream alone.
if you let it out of the box
it ignites ideas.
New thoughts arrive like unexpected guests.
Play wanders about our heads in ways we can’t predict and in places we forget to look.
Imagination is refreshed.
Best of all, it discovers things we could never dream alone.
June 8, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Play is a spark,
if you let it out of the box
it ignites ideas.
New thoughts arrive like unexpected guests.
Play wanders about our heads in ways we can’t predict and in places we forget to look.
Imagination is refreshed.
Best of all, it discovers things we could never dream alone.
if you let it out of the box
it ignites ideas.
New thoughts arrive like unexpected guests.
Play wanders about our heads in ways we can’t predict and in places we forget to look.
Imagination is refreshed.
Best of all, it discovers things we could never dream alone.
EYFS child:
“I’m studying number 10 on the Ten Study Rug”
She wades playfully into cardinality, anatomy & multiple addition as her ideas unfold
10 plates are arranged into a picnic
“In 10’s you get to 20 & 50 & 100!”
“The Red Hands make 10 & mine make 20!”
“I’m studying number 10 on the Ten Study Rug”
She wades playfully into cardinality, anatomy & multiple addition as her ideas unfold
10 plates are arranged into a picnic
“In 10’s you get to 20 & 50 & 100!”
“The Red Hands make 10 & mine make 20!”
June 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
EYFS child:
“I’m studying number 10 on the Ten Study Rug”
She wades playfully into cardinality, anatomy & multiple addition as her ideas unfold
10 plates are arranged into a picnic
“In 10’s you get to 20 & 50 & 100!”
“The Red Hands make 10 & mine make 20!”
“I’m studying number 10 on the Ten Study Rug”
She wades playfully into cardinality, anatomy & multiple addition as her ideas unfold
10 plates are arranged into a picnic
“In 10’s you get to 20 & 50 & 100!”
“The Red Hands make 10 & mine make 20!”
Nursery child plays on the “Number Ten Study Rug” with Numicon
“You can make 10 with 5 and 5 and that’s fair but you can’t make ten with 6 and 6 “
“You can’t make ten with 7 and 7.”
He laughs.
“You’d have to squash a 7 down into 2 and 1 which isn’t fair … Or three!”
Joy.
“You can make 10 with 5 and 5 and that’s fair but you can’t make ten with 6 and 6 “
“You can’t make ten with 7 and 7.”
He laughs.
“You’d have to squash a 7 down into 2 and 1 which isn’t fair … Or three!”
Joy.
June 7, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Nursery child plays on the “Number Ten Study Rug” with Numicon
“You can make 10 with 5 and 5 and that’s fair but you can’t make ten with 6 and 6 “
“You can’t make ten with 7 and 7.”
He laughs.
“You’d have to squash a 7 down into 2 and 1 which isn’t fair … Or three!”
Joy.
“You can make 10 with 5 and 5 and that’s fair but you can’t make ten with 6 and 6 “
“You can’t make ten with 7 and 7.”
He laughs.
“You’d have to squash a 7 down into 2 and 1 which isn’t fair … Or three!”
Joy.
Nursery child simply joins a cork with an empty tape spool and has a magnifying glass at Picasso like speed.
Joy!
Joy!
June 3, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Nursery child simply joins a cork with an empty tape spool and has a magnifying glass at Picasso like speed.
Joy!
Joy!
I see Play’s
magnificent fusion of
thoughts, actions and discovery
as a form of thinking in itself.
A primal language simultaneously abstract and concrete,
relishing the unexpected,
loved by mind, heart and body,
and birthplace to innovation.
magnificent fusion of
thoughts, actions and discovery
as a form of thinking in itself.
A primal language simultaneously abstract and concrete,
relishing the unexpected,
loved by mind, heart and body,
and birthplace to innovation.
May 31, 2025 at 7:11 AM
I see Play’s
magnificent fusion of
thoughts, actions and discovery
as a form of thinking in itself.
A primal language simultaneously abstract and concrete,
relishing the unexpected,
loved by mind, heart and body,
and birthplace to innovation.
magnificent fusion of
thoughts, actions and discovery
as a form of thinking in itself.
A primal language simultaneously abstract and concrete,
relishing the unexpected,
loved by mind, heart and body,
and birthplace to innovation.
Picasso transformed a bicycle seat and handle bars into a Bulls Head.
It’s been said a child could have done it.
I wonder,
isn’t the point the other way round?
We adults DON’T do it,
anymore.
Do we wish our children trade in these transformative powers for
‘adulthood’?
It’s been said a child could have done it.
I wonder,
isn’t the point the other way round?
We adults DON’T do it,
anymore.
Do we wish our children trade in these transformative powers for
‘adulthood’?
May 25, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Picasso transformed a bicycle seat and handle bars into a Bulls Head.
It’s been said a child could have done it.
I wonder,
isn’t the point the other way round?
We adults DON’T do it,
anymore.
Do we wish our children trade in these transformative powers for
‘adulthood’?
It’s been said a child could have done it.
I wonder,
isn’t the point the other way round?
We adults DON’T do it,
anymore.
Do we wish our children trade in these transformative powers for
‘adulthood’?
In the following days lots of Pink Boxes are made in the art room from junk modelling.
“Look I’ve mixed the perfect Pink for the boxes”
“I’m going to make a box for every word in the world so when I’m 4 I will learn lots and lots…and everyone can learn too”
“Look I’ve mixed the perfect Pink for the boxes”
“I’m going to make a box for every word in the world so when I’m 4 I will learn lots and lots…and everyone can learn too”
May 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
In the following days lots of Pink Boxes are made in the art room from junk modelling.
“Look I’ve mixed the perfect Pink for the boxes”
“I’m going to make a box for every word in the world so when I’m 4 I will learn lots and lots…and everyone can learn too”
“Look I’ve mixed the perfect Pink for the boxes”
“I’m going to make a box for every word in the world so when I’m 4 I will learn lots and lots…and everyone can learn too”
He returns to the idea:
“I’m making more ‘Study Boxes’ with words in,
an ‘and’ box, with ‘ands’ in it,
& a ‘School’ box”
Each box he fills with the words.
“Everyone can learn to write the words when they use the boxes…
You use the boxes to learn words”
“I’m making more ‘Study Boxes’ with words in,
an ‘and’ box, with ‘ands’ in it,
& a ‘School’ box”
Each box he fills with the words.
“Everyone can learn to write the words when they use the boxes…
You use the boxes to learn words”
May 18, 2025 at 7:09 PM
He returns to the idea:
“I’m making more ‘Study Boxes’ with words in,
an ‘and’ box, with ‘ands’ in it,
& a ‘School’ box”
Each box he fills with the words.
“Everyone can learn to write the words when they use the boxes…
You use the boxes to learn words”
“I’m making more ‘Study Boxes’ with words in,
an ‘and’ box, with ‘ands’ in it,
& a ‘School’ box”
Each box he fills with the words.
“Everyone can learn to write the words when they use the boxes…
You use the boxes to learn words”
Nursery child: “I’m cutting out paper ‘spaces’ & putting them in a study box”
Spaces?
“Spaces are things in-between words, if you don’t have them the words get jumbled up”
Oh?
“Word spaces are real and not real, I’m making real ones for everyone to use between words”
Spaces?
“Spaces are things in-between words, if you don’t have them the words get jumbled up”
Oh?
“Word spaces are real and not real, I’m making real ones for everyone to use between words”
May 18, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Nursery child: “I’m cutting out paper ‘spaces’ & putting them in a study box”
Spaces?
“Spaces are things in-between words, if you don’t have them the words get jumbled up”
Oh?
“Word spaces are real and not real, I’m making real ones for everyone to use between words”
Spaces?
“Spaces are things in-between words, if you don’t have them the words get jumbled up”
Oh?
“Word spaces are real and not real, I’m making real ones for everyone to use between words”
Since my pupils are the main stakeholders in their learning, why plan it without them?
And, if I want them to drive their own learning, the sooner they’re in the driver’s seat, the more prepared they’ll be when the road is theirs to travel alone.
And, if I want them to drive their own learning, the sooner they’re in the driver’s seat, the more prepared they’ll be when the road is theirs to travel alone.
May 17, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Since my pupils are the main stakeholders in their learning, why plan it without them?
And, if I want them to drive their own learning, the sooner they’re in the driver’s seat, the more prepared they’ll be when the road is theirs to travel alone.
And, if I want them to drive their own learning, the sooner they’re in the driver’s seat, the more prepared they’ll be when the road is theirs to travel alone.
There are so many reasons why ‘finding time for focussed play’ is a problem worth solving…
May 11, 2025 at 6:41 AM
There are so many reasons why ‘finding time for focussed play’ is a problem worth solving…
A Nursery child picks fresh leaves & daisies and lays them out with careful attention to position and 1-1 correspondence.
She adjusts any spacial and numerical errors as she goes:
“Squirrel is making a picnic, all his friends get one daisy each so they don’t squabble!”
Joy!
She adjusts any spacial and numerical errors as she goes:
“Squirrel is making a picnic, all his friends get one daisy each so they don’t squabble!”
Joy!
May 10, 2025 at 6:56 AM
A Nursery child picks fresh leaves & daisies and lays them out with careful attention to position and 1-1 correspondence.
She adjusts any spacial and numerical errors as she goes:
“Squirrel is making a picnic, all his friends get one daisy each so they don’t squabble!”
Joy!
She adjusts any spacial and numerical errors as she goes:
“Squirrel is making a picnic, all his friends get one daisy each so they don’t squabble!”
Joy!
Once the box is made it is continuously available for play, and ‘replay’
I’ve learned, through observation, that children will return to ‘play with the learning’ in different ways - exploring lifecycles, creating designs, narratives and story telling.
Joy!
I’ve learned, through observation, that children will return to ‘play with the learning’ in different ways - exploring lifecycles, creating designs, narratives and story telling.
Joy!
May 5, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Once the box is made it is continuously available for play, and ‘replay’
I’ve learned, through observation, that children will return to ‘play with the learning’ in different ways - exploring lifecycles, creating designs, narratives and story telling.
Joy!
I’ve learned, through observation, that children will return to ‘play with the learning’ in different ways - exploring lifecycles, creating designs, narratives and story telling.
Joy!
I make the resources alongside the children as they play so they see the ideas develop. They join in with the design, making suggestions & additions as I work. Often they play with the developing prototype & the learning grows. Below two children make suggertions by drawing out lifecycles as I work.
May 5, 2025 at 8:02 AM
I make the resources alongside the children as they play so they see the ideas develop. They join in with the design, making suggestions & additions as I work. Often they play with the developing prototype & the learning grows. Below two children make suggertions by drawing out lifecycles as I work.