This week’s activities

Climbing trees

Some of the children wanted to climb one of our lovely trees in Wren Garden.  They had to think about the best way to do it and how they could reach the branch they needed to pull themselves up.  Having solved the problem, they took it in turns, demonstrating to others who weren’t sure what to do.  This simple activity involved many areas of development, from cognitive – problem solving, planning; personal, social and emotional – turn-taking, waiting, role-modelling to their peers, teamwork, self-esteem and self-confidence; and physical – use of gross motor skills and co-ordination.  Along with a can do attitude.  All fabulous skills.

Telling the time

A group of children had a collection of cardboard boxes from deliveries we had received. They were deciding what to do with them when one of the children said “we can make a clock to tell the time”.  They decided on the shape the clock should be and felt that square was the way to go.  They found a square cushion and used this as a template to draw around to make the shape. They tried very hard to cut around the shape but this proved beyond their physical abilities (the cardboard was very hard), so the teacher helped them with this using a knife. She used this opportunity to talk about safety and using tools correctly for the right job.  She asked what else they would need to make the clock, using the real clock on the wall as a reference.  The children noticed that the clock had numbers, from 1-12. The children counted to 12, as the teacher wrote each numeral.  Some of the children then added their own numerals to the clock face.  One child found some more cardboard to make the hands. They thought about how they could attach the hands, discovering that cellotape and glue wouldn’t work, as the hands couldn’t move.  They finally settled on a treasury tag. This activity covers lots and lots of areas of learning – mathematical – exploring concepts such as time, numerals and counting; physical – fine motor skills; understanding the world – use of tools; alongside the characteristics of effective learning – having a can-do attitude, planning and problem solving. Brilliant.

Mindfulness

A small group of children took part in a short mindfulness activity. They sat on the tyres in Wren Garden and closed their eyes to use their sense of hearing to listen to the sounds in the garden. The teacher asked “what can you hear?” One child answered “a bird”, a bird could be heard singing in a tree nearby.  The teacher asked “what else can you hear?” Another child said “singing”, as they could hear other children singing further down the garden.  The teacher asked, “can you hear anything else?” A child commented “an aeroplane”. The teacher explained that it was in fact a lawnmower cutting grass, but that it did sound very similar to the sound of an aeroplane.

Having spent some time listening, they explored their sense of touch.  The teacher asked “this time think about what you can feel”.  One child said “leaves”. He stood up and felt a low branch of leaves touching his face. The teacher asked “can you feel the breeze on your face and arms?”. Some of the children responded that they could.  “Can you feel the warm sun on your face?” Again, some children responded that they could.

Being in nature, exploring your senses, sitting and just being are really important in today’s fast-paced world. Children will have many, many years of sitting in classrooms. Having the freedom to just be is something that we shouldn’t take for granted.

There are some photos on our website and Facebook page, as well as an an article in the next Trident.

The Pre-school Team