Theme: Light, Dark & Celebrations | Toddler Project Planner (18–36 Months)

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Light, Dark & Celebrations

Toddler Project Planner (18–36 Months)

A sensory-rich, awe-inspiring project supporting confidence, language and early scientific thinking in toddler rooms

EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership (Professional)

[View additional Toddler Project Planners]

(This pathway component will be available for download by: March 31st 2026)

What this document is

This document is a flexible, in-depth project planner designed to support toddler practice through the shared, meaningful context of light, darkness and celebration.

Light, Dark & Celebrations uses naturally occurring seasonal changes and familiar cultural celebrations to help toddlers explore contrast, cause and effect, colour, pattern and shared emotional experiences. It reframes darkness as safe and exciting, supporting emotional security while offering rich opportunities for sensory exploration and language development.

The planner supports practitioners to think intentionally about environment enhancements, adult interaction, vocabulary modelling and observation, while keeping learning playful, child-led and developmentally appropriate.

This document is not a scheme of work, lesson plan or set of required activities. It is intended to support professional judgement and reflective practice and does not replace statutory EYFS guidance or Development Matters.

Who this is for

• Toddler room practitioners working with children aged 18–36 months

• EYFS leaders and curriculum leads

• Childminders using seasonal or celebration-based contexts

• Settings supporting sensory learning and early science concepts

• Teams preparing evidence for the Progress Check at Age 2

What this document helps you do

• Build toddlers’ confidence and emotional security around light and dark

• Support sensory curiosity and awe through safe, engaging experiences

• Introduce early cause-and-effect thinking (light → shadow → change)

• Develop rich descriptive vocabulary (bright, dim, glow, sparkle)

• Support fine and gross motor development through light and movement

• Explore cultural celebrations in an accessible, inclusive way

• Offer repeated, meaningful experiences that deepen understanding

• Articulate clear curriculum intent, implementation and impact

What’s included in this project planner

This planner includes:

• Clear project intent linked to seasonal relevance and toddler development

• Intended learning focuses across:

  • PSED

  • Communication & Language

  • Physical Development

  • Early Literacy seeds

  • Early Maths seeds

  • Understanding the World

  • Expressive Arts & Design

• A 3–4 week flexible project overview

• Detailed environment enhancements for:

  • Dark den and projection play

  • Light table and sensory exploration

  • Creative and mark-making areas

• Adult interaction prompts and observation guidance

• Week-by-week practitioner support

• Optional short adult-led “learning bursts” (2–5 minutes)

• Family engagement ideas linked to everyday experiences

• Inclusion and SEND adaptations, including sensory sensitivity support

• End-of-project evaluation and reflection prompts

All elements are designed to be adapted, extended or simplified in response to children’s engagement and needs.

How this fits within our Toddler framework

This project planner forms part of our wider Toddler (18–36 Months) Curriculum & Pedagogy framework, where projects provide shared context and continuity, not prescribed outcomes.

It works alongside:

• How Projects Work in Toddler Rooms (Guidance)

• Year-Long Theme Curriculum Map (18–36 Months)

• Toddler Projects Curriculum Map: Schema Support

• The Role of Schemas in Toddler Practice

• Outdoor Continuous Provision Pack

• Continuous Provision Setup Guides | Toddler Room

Together, these documents ensure that projects like Light, Dark & Celebrations support deep engagement, emotional wellbeing and meaningful learning, while protecting toddlers’ right to explore at their own pace through play, repetition and relationships.

Additional Project Planners

Main Project Planners (3-4 Weeks)

• All About Me & My World

• People Who Help Us

• Autumn - Senses, Colours & Change

• Light, Dark & Celebrations

• Winter-Weather, Warmth & Cosy Spaces

• Transport & Journeys

• Growing & Changing

• Animals & Their Homes

• Food & Nutrition

• Minibeasts & Nature Explorers

• Summer - Sand, Sea & Sun

• Playful Patterns & Construction

Mini-Project Planners (1 Week)

• Big Machines & Building

• Cooking & Food Play

• Teddy Bears’ Picnic

• Colours Everywhere

• Water Play Week

• My Favourite Things

• Rhyme Time Week

• Weather Wonders

This document is part of our EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership (Professional), which provides full access to age-specific curriculum frameworks, planning guidance, assessment tools and leadership support.

(This pathway component will be available for download by: March 31st 2026)

Recommended next read Selection

Or read our ‘Little Owls Resources’ Curriculum Intent Statement’

Additional Documents | Professional Membership Contents (Toddler 18-36 Months)

Navigate our Curriculum & Pedagogy guidance documents here.

Pedagogical identity:
Relationship-led, sensory-rich toddler practice grounded in schemas, play, and responsive adult interaction.

• 1. Welcome to the Toddler Room (Start Here)

  👉 This section prevents over-planning and aligns practice.

  • Toddler Pedagogy Position Statement – How Toddlers Learn (18–36 Months) [Free Orienting Sample]

  • Toddler Curriculum Overview & Rationale[Free Orienting Sample]

  • How Our Toddler Curriculum Works

  • The Role of Schemas in Toddler Practice

  • Curriculum Intent in Toddler Rooms (What It Means — and What It Doesn’t)

  • FAQs: Toddler Planning & Pedagogy

• 2. Toddler Curriculum & Developmental Progression

  👉 Adult understanding, not child targets.

  • Toddler Curriculum Maps

    • Progression across 6-month bands (18–24 | 24–30 | 30–36 months)

  • Intent → Progression Grids (Practitioner Reference)

  • Area of Learning Progression Maps

• 3. Observation-Led Practice & In-the-Moment Planning

  👉 Observation is the driver of planning.

  • In-the-Moment Planning Prompt Sheets (Toddlers)

  • Weekly Planning Template

  • Toddler Narrative Observation & Analysis Template

  • Focused Observation Templates

    • Communication & Language

    • PSED

    • Physical Development

    • Maths Seeds

    • Characteristics of Effective Learning

    • Behaviour & Emotional Regulation

    • Schema Observation & Analysis

• 4. Continuous Provision in the Toddler Room

  👉 The environment does the teaching.

  Universal Continuous Provision

  • Continuous Provision Setup Guides | Toddler Room

    • Small World

    • Messy / Wet Play

    • Dry Sensory & Loose Parts

    • Construction

    • Role Play / Home Corner

    • Mark Making

    • Book Area / Reading Nook

    • Music & Sound

    • Outdoor

  • Continuous Provision Maps (18–36 Months)

    • C&L

    • PSED

    • PD

    • Maths Seeds

    • Literacy Seeds

    • UW

    • EAD

  • Continuous Provision Audit & Resourcing List

  • Continuous Provision Rotation Planner Toolkit

  • Toddler Visual Support Labelling Pack | 18–36 Months

• 5. Outdoor Learning

  👉 Movement, regulation and sensory experience.

  • Outdoor Continuous Provision Pack

    • Outdoor Zone-by-Zone Setup Guide (Gross Motor, Sensory/Nature, Creative/Mark Making, Small World Outside, Water/Mud)

    • Seasonal Adjustments Planner

    • Outdoor Risk–Benefit Assessment Template + examples

    • Nature-Based Learning & Schema Guide

    • Outdoor Mark Making & Literacy Opportunities Sheet

    • Outdoor Maths Seeds Sheet

  • Why We Learn Outdoors in All Weathers (Parent Handout)

• 6. Projects, Themes & Schema-Responsive Contexts

  👉 Projects are optional contexts, not directives.

  • Year-Long Project / Theme Curriculum Map (52 Weeks)

  • How Projects Work in Toddler Rooms (Guidance)

  • Schema Coverage & Support Map

  Project/Theme Planners:

  • 12 × Main Project Planners (3–4 Weeks)

    • All About Me & My World

    • People Who Help Us

    • Autumn - Senses, Colours & Change

    • Light, Dark & Celebrations

    • Winter-Weather, Warmth & Cosy Spaces

    • Transport & Journeys

    • Growing & Changing

    • Animals & Their Homes

    • Food & Nutrition

    • Minibeasts & Nature Explorers

    • Summer - Sand, Sea & Sun

    • Playful Patterns & Construction

  • 8 × Mini-Project Planners (1 Week)

    • Big Machines & Building

    • Cooking & Food Play

    • Teddy Bears’ Picnic

    • Colours Everywhere

    • Water Play Week

    • My Favourite Things

    • Rhyme Time Week

    • Weather Wonders

• 7. Adult-Focused Invitations & Activity Resources

  👉 Invitations, provocations and shared experiences.

  • Activity Cards Pack

    Supports Child-led learning and responsive provision

  • Area of Learning Progression Maps & Adult Focus Sessions

    (Organised by Age Band: 18–24 months | 24–30 months | 30–36 months)

    Supports intentional teaching, vocabulary development and staff confidence

    • Communication & Language

    • PSED

    • Physical Development

    • Maths Seeds

    • Literacy Seeds

    • Understanding the World – Experience Progression Pack

    • Expressive Arts & Design – Creative Media & Expression Toolkit

• 8. Language, Interaction & Emotional Development

  👉 Interaction is the curriculum.

  • Toddler Room Poster – Five Sentence Stems For Toddler Practitioners

  • Supporting Emotional Regulation Through Language

  • Language-First Approaches in Toddler Rooms

  • Toddler Behaviour & Regulation: A Quick Guide

• 9. Assessment, Statutory Requirements & Leadership

  👉 Proportionate, meaningful assessment.

  • Progress Check at Age 2

    • Report Template

    • Practitioner Guidance

  • OFSTED Questions We’re Ready For

• 10. SEND & Inclusion

  👉 Early identification, gentle support.

  • SEND Inclusion Strategy Pack (18–36 Months)

    • Practical SEND & inclusion strategies for toddlers aged 18–36 months

    • Six quick-reference strategy sheets covering communication, sensory needs, anxiety and behaviour

    • Aligned with the EYFS Framework and the Assess–Plan–Do–Review approach

    • Inclusive, diagnosis-free guidance ready to use in everyday practice

    • Ideal for observations, provision planning, team use and Ofsted evidence

• 11. Transition & Parent Partnership

  👉 Strong partnerships, realistic expectations.

  Transition

  • Toddler → Preschool Transition Pack

  Home–Setting Communication

  • Toddler Room Parent Update & Home Learning Sheet

  • Letter Templates Pack

  Parent Information Pages

  • Why Mark Making Matters (Before Writing)

  • Supporting Speech & Language at Home (0–3 Years)

  • How To Build Language Through Play

  • Why We Learn Outdoors in All Weathers

Additional Whole-Setting Guidance | for Professional Members

Explore our whole-setting guidance below, including overarching curriculum and pedagogy documents, early years schemas and EYFS setting policies.

• Curriculum & Pedagogy

  • Little Owls Resources’ Curriculum Intent Statement

  • EYFS from Birth to 5: Curriculum Coherence & Pedagogical Throughline

  • Whole-Setting Curriculum Map (Birth-5): Curriculum Intent & Progression

  • Pedagogy Guidance Document

  • Speech & Language Development - Setting Statement

  • EYFS Inspection-Facing Summaries

• Early Years Schemas

  Early Years Schemas - Practitioner Toolkit | EYFS Birth-5

  ↪ Schema Cards (definition, behaviours, age-related examples, enabling resources)

  ↪ Schema Observation & Responsive Provision Planning Template

• EYFS Setting Policies

  • EYFS Group Setting Policies Pack

    ↪ x 22 Policy Documents

    ↪ Policy Sign-Off and Confirmation Document

    ↪ EYFS Setting Policy Folder Contents List

  • Childminder Setting Policies Pack

    ↪ x 22 Policy Documents

    ↪ Childminder Assistant or Volunteer Policy Sign-Off and Confirmation Document

    ↪ Childminder Policy Folder Contents List

• EYFS Glossary

  EYFS Glossary

  ↪ Clear, practitioner-friendly explanations of key curriculum and pedagogy terms used throughout our guidance.

Looking for a different age group pathway?

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What is Professional Membership?

Find our more about our Professional guidance for confident, reflective EYFS practice (Birth–5)

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Content within the EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership is provided as professional guidance and support. It reflects current understanding of the EYFS statutory framework, Development Matters and inspection expectations at the time of writing. Practitioners are responsible for applying professional judgement and ensuring practice aligns with current statutory requirements and their specific context. All resources, experiences and environment arrangements must be risk assessed by the setting and used in accordance with individual children’s developmental stages, needs and supervision requirements.

Safeguarding content does not replace a setting’s safeguarding and child protection policy or the statutory role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). All concerns must be managed in line with current statutory guidance and local safeguarding procedures.

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