This week’s activities
Woodwork and investigation station
Prior to the pandemic, the children took part in two closely supervised activities; woodworking and investigation of equipment that no longer works. We have just re-introduced these activities. The stations themselves are available all of the time, with some simple items to explore and some ‘toy’ tools. However, if they want to use the real tools, there are simple rules to follow. Firstly, the children have to get a badge and take it to an adult. This is a visual representation that they want to do the activity and, as there are only two badges, only two children can take part at one time. The adult will then supply some real tools for them to use under constant adult supervision. The tools introduced include hammers and nails, pieces of wood, saws, plyers, screwdrivers, screws, spanners and safety goggles. The items for them to ‘investigate’ so far include old TV boxes and an internet hub. If you have any similar equipment that you no longer need, we should be grateful for donations.
The children have been exploring this a lot this week – they always like to try something new. There are a number of skills involved in using tools safely and being trusted to use them gives them a real sense of responsibility and a can do attitude. There are strict rules around this activity that the children are learning. These are written down and displayed and this gives meaning to writing and knowing that print can be used for a purpose. Their hand-eye co-ordination is strengthened as they handle the tools to create the desired effect. They learn about how things are put together and what is inside pieces of equipment. We also display images of adults engaged in engineering, woodworking and technological industries – both men and women. This promotes gender inclusion in what have traditionally been seen as ‘male’ work environments. There are some photos of children engaging in this activity on our website, www.anthonyroperpreschool.co.uk, as well as our Facebook page.
Magic of Maths
On the INSET day, the whole team took part in Magic of Maths training. This reminded us of all the wonderful things the children learn through their play which enhances their mathematical development. It reassured us that we are doing the right things and gave us some simple activities to enhance our environment and reminded us of how we can include mathematical concepts in the majority of the activities that the children engage in.
For example, some of the children were playing a ‘hide the fish’ game with an adult. The fish were taken from a wooden inset puzzle. Firstly, the children mixed up the fish in the puzzle, so that none of the fish colours matched – this means that they had noticed the pattern in the fish and how they could mix it up and put it back again. They learnt that the pieces have to go in a certain way to make them fit, learning about position and spatial awareness. They then decided to hide the fish. They talked about the positions within the room as the teacher searched for the fish, eg corner. They then hid them – usually behind their backs. This brought in further positional language. They counted how many fish there were in total and how many gaps in the puzzle. They worked out how many fish were missing by noticing the empty spaces. They each held some fish and worked out who had the most, who had the least and how they could distribute them more fairly so each child had the same/equal amount, noticing that the total number of fish remained the same.
This is real, hands-on maths in action. You do not need specialist equipment. Maths is all around us in our everyday lives and is vital to children’s development. By making it fun, children are learning and engaging and making sense of their world.
We will continue to put our training to good use and will support all of the children to develop a love of maths – even if they don’t know they are doing it!
This is a really useful booklet produced by Tower Hamlets, with examples of how you can support your child’s mathematical development at home https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/Documents/Children-and-families-services/Early-Years/More_to_Maths_the_counting_booklet.pdf.
Have a wonderful weekend.
The Pre-school Team
