I totally agree with you that children need time - time to develop their thoughts and ideas. There are some absolutely fantastic early years provision - but often as I go around early years settings with my Ofsted inspector hat on, I see for what I can only describe as children being 'herded' e.g. time for snack, time for outdoor play, group time, time to clear away for some other event etc. Which of course does not allow children the time they need as Tina Bruce so eloquently puts it 'to wallow' and thoroughly develop their understanding of how a particular material works .