This week’s activities – week of 01-05/03/21
Robin Bubble
This week’s development of fine motor skills has included using pegs and boards, great for the pincer grip (also good for counting, naming colours, repeating patterns), using scissors to cut various materials; some more tricky than others, and using chalk in mark-making, both inside and out.
There has been lots of emphasis on turn-taking and sharing fairly. The children are now used to using a sand timer to know when it is someone else’s turn and this week they have been using it independently to measure how long they can use an item for and to resolve any conflicts that come up. Brilliant!
They have been consolidating their problem solving skills by revisiting and practicing with puzzles of various sizes, from 10 pieces, all the way up to 24 pieces. Again, not only mathematical development and problem solving but fine motor skills, patience and resilience by keeping on trying.
Outside they have used the large wooden blocks to create obstacle courses that they have planned, re-evaluated and fine-tuned themselves. Once built, they have taken it in turns to have a go, using their arms to balance, helping to strengthen their core and supporting their physical health. To increase the challenge, they either took away or add pieces to the course.
They have had lots of fun playing in the rain – and it didn’t it rain a lot yesterday?! They have been practising putting on and taking off their waterproof jackets, trousers and wellies independently and then changing into dry clothes when they come inside. They have thought about and expressed their feelings around the rain on their face and hair, seeing if they can catch a raindrop on their tongue and how that tastes. They also took it in turns to go down the slide super fast and seeing who could slide across the grass the furthest.
On World Book Day, they thought about the importance of books; what they could get from them, either a story or learning something new. They thought about how a good story makes them feel. They created bookmarks and learnt that these can used to mark the page that you had got to in a book safely without damaging the book. As well as the scavenger hunt searching for characters, they also learnt to look for the author’s name and that it is the author who writes the story and the illustrator who draws the pictures.
They have also been planting sunflower seeds, thinking about what they need to grow, how they need to be looked after and the anticipation of growing something special themselves.
Wren Bubble
The children have been exploring distance and measure through using their bodies. They put a line of string down on the floor to run to. When they had reached the string they had to jump as far as they could. A mark was then recorded of how far they had jumped. Much debate about who had jumped the furthest! Great for numbers and understanding of measurement but above all a fun way to learn them. Also really good physical activity for developing bodies.
After making playdough, they used different objects to make marks in it, from rulers and pencils, to a garlic crusher and marbles. Playdough is great for many reasons. It feels good, it can be manipulated to help strengthen muscles in fingers and hands, it is calming and can make lots of representations of other things in creative/imaginative play.
The marbles were also used in craft to make pictures by rolling them in paint and then rolling the marble across the paper. The patterns and shapes are interesting in themselves and it helps children to understand that they can make one property affect another through a third medium. Lots of early science, writing and creativity on display.
Finally, the marbles were an inspiration for the children to create a marble run using pipes and junk modelling. Lots of lovely ideas, problem solving, teamwork and mathematical concepts.
The children have been learning that sometimes the teachers just don’t have the answers to solve their questions or to be able to draw their requests just how the children picture them in their head. One child was really keen to draw a ‘Ninja’ but no matter how hard the teacher tried, she just couldn’t get it right. To solve the problem, they used the tablet together to search for just the right kind of Ninja. They then used thin paper to trace the outline so it was just right. A great use of technology and problem solving together. It also gives an opportunity to talk about using technology in a safe way at an age appropriate level.
There is still lots of interest in making structures with the large wooden blocks – a farm, a castle, a road, a city; you name it, the children can make it. Open ended resources allow children’s creativity, imagination and developing construction skills to flourish.
Dinosaurs are always a favourite and this week the children have been on a dinosaur hunt, searching for bones and toy dinosaurs.
On World Book Day, the children talked about their favourite characters from their favourite stories and made representations of them. They did the character scavenger hunt, searching for the characters in the books in our environment. They then went on to create their own scavenger hunt, finding different things and counting how many they could find.