Threads of Thinking: Young Children Learning and the Role of Early Education

`If you are interested in understanding the behaviour and interests of young children this is the place to start! Cathy Nutbrown draws upon her own extensive experience of working with children and Early Years Practitioners to demystify the concept of `Schemas′. These are recognizable patterns of behaviour which indicate how children are making the connections necessary for the development of thought and understanding. The extensive illustrations and jargon free text make this an excellent text for students, parents and workers who wish to be more closely in tune with young children. It is the book that I most often lend or recommend to Early Years colleagues and students. Seriously interested readers will almost certainly also wish to read the seminal work of Chris Athey (1990) Extending Thought in Young Children: A Parent -Teacher Partnership, published by Paul Chapman Publishing, London′ - Amazon Review

`If you are interested in understanding the behaviour and interests of young children this is the place to start! Cathy Nutbrown draws upon her own extensive experience of working with children and Early Years Practitioners to demystify the concept of ′Schemas′. These are recognizable patterns of behaviour which indicate how children are making the connections necessary for the development of thought and understanding. The extensive illustrations and jargon free text make this an excellent text for students, parents and workers who wish to be more closely in tune with young children. It is the book that I most often lend or recommend to Early Years colleagues and students Seriously interested readers will almost certainly also wish to read the seminal work of Chris Athey (1990) Extending Thought in Young Children: A Parent -Teacher Partnership, published by Paul Chapman, London′ - Amazon Review

`The focus of Threads of Thinking is on children′s patterns of learning and thinking, particularly schemas. However, the book as a whole is much more than that and provides material for reflection by anyone working with and for young children. Many of the examples discussed are ones considered in the First Edition, but the changes Cathy Nutbrown has made throughout the book bring it right up to date, including some speculation on the ideas of a "foundation stage" in England. There is much here that is valuable for reading alone, but also a lot that could be shared by groups of people, including those already working in the field as well as those in training′ - International Journal of Early Years Education

`There are some excellent sections on scientific and mathematical learning in Part Three. Many practical ideas are provided for developing these concepts in young children. There are also excellent sections on literacy that again provide valuable insight into developing these concepts.... There are valuable ideas and suggestions in the book, and I feel that teachers of young children in nurseries or early years settings would be quite interested in the contents′ - Education Review

Threads of Thinking, Second Edition is a book for teachers in nursery and early education and for other professional educators who wish to support and develop children′s thinking.

The author presents evidence of continuity and progression in young children′s thinking and shows, with detailed observations, that they are able and active learners. She considers aspects of children′s patterns of learning and thinking - or schemas - and demonstrates clearly how children learn in an active, dynamic and creative way.

Numerous examples of young children ′in action′ are used, which illustrate their learning in areas of literacy, mathematics and science. Implications for curriculum, assessment and work with parents are thoroughly considered in a style that compels attention to children′s own learning agendas.

Threads of Thinking was first published in 1994, and though children′s ways of learning may not have changed, the national context of early childhood education has undergone quite radical change. In response to these and other important policy developments, this fully revised Second Edition includes numerous detailed descriptions of children learning and discusses those observations in the light of our understanding about how children learn and how early childhood educators might teach. The impact of current national policies is addressed throughout, including the implications for teachers of early assessment and the relationship of assessment to learning.

Cathy Nutbrown is President of Early Education and Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield. Her research over the last 30 years, has focussed on young children’s learning and work with parents to support young children’s literacy development.  She won an ESRC Award for Research with Outstanding Impact on Society and a Nursery World Lifetime Achievement Award. She is author of over 150 publications including Early Literacy Work with Families (with Hannon and Morgan, Sage, 2005), Early Childhood Educational Research (Sage, 2019), and Home Learning Environments for Young Children (with Clough, Davies and Hannon, Sage, 2022).