At Little Apples we recognise the importance of play and giving children the opportunity to develop their skills through play. We offer play opportunities to all the children as many don’t have these opportunities at any other time.

Many children these days spend a lot of time playing computer games, watching television, undertaking organised and structured extra-curricular activities in a bid to widen their experiences and develop skills. These activities are not child initiated activities, and by doing too much of this type can leave children with little opportunity to “just play”.

Play is an active process without an end product. Play experiences and activities are beneficial in their own right and do not need to have an end product, for example a painting or model, to make it a worthwhile learning experience. Play allows children to explore and express ideas, emotions and feelings. Play can be seen as emotionally therapeutic, providing a safe outlet for tension. Children have the opportunity to experience feelings, learning to cope with these more rationally.
A well planned and organised environment enables children to:
  
-make decisions;
-be independent;
-manage their own learning;
-select from a wide and challenging curriculum;
-follow their own interests;
-be excited and motivated.

Continuous provision at Little Apples is giving the children the opportunity to play with the same activities on more than one occasion during the same week. This enables the children to play to a deeper level with the activities because they don’t have to rush to play with everything during the morning.
They have the freedom to play indoors and outdoors when they choose to as all the areas are available all the time. The children are able to play with self-chosen and adult initiated activities giving them a broad experience. The learning opportunities offered are selected using child observation as a starting point, this tailors the learning to each individual child ensuring they all learn at their own pace

Snacks
At Little Apples we run a snack bar system for snack time. The children are encouraged to choose when they have their break and use their independent skills to choose what they would like to eat and drink.
The Snack Bar is an asset to Little Apples as it gives the children choice on when to eat and when to play.
It gives the children the opportunity to play for as long as they need then break when they are ready. Research shows that some children can take up to two hours to become engaged in an activity, and if adults are breaking this concentration for snack and routine activities no learning will take place. It gives the children a sense of control over their time, choosing who to sit with or choosing to be alone.