One of my earliest and fondest memories of my childhood is the time I spent exploring the world around me outdoors. I grew up in the early 90’s when there were no mobile phones, tablets or computers to occupy the day – so going out to play was almost the only option.

Spending so much time outdoors fostered an appreciation and fascination for the animals and insects that could be found in the garden or local glen where I spent much of my time exploring. One of my most favourite memories is having a butterfly land on the palm of my hand. I remember holding it in the palm of my hands to show my friends and brother before letting it go, having it transfer the unique pattern of its wings on to my hands.

It is important we instil this appreciation for the world around them in our young children. Playing outdoors allows children to flourish and connects us as human beings to the planet that we live on. Being in nature stimulates our senses and nurtures our natural sense of wonder and awe at the processes of life.

Ideas:

Go on a minibeast hunt round the garden. What insects and animals can you find? What sort of environment do they live in? Is it bright, dark, wet, dry, sheltered?

Make a list or create a tally chart to keep track of the number of animals/insects you have found. Can you count how many there are? 

Can you make a minibeast house in your garden? Use some cardboard boxes and natural materials e.g. stones, grass, moss, dirt, twigs etc. 

Can you move like a minibeast? E.g. really slow like a snail, on your tummy like a worm etc. You could do this to the Ugly Bug Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utWrIWq2_tk

Draw or paint a picture of the minibeasts you found in your garden.  How many legs does the minibeast have? Does it have a pattern? Stripy, spots. 

Story suggestion:

Here’s one of my favourite stories all about minibeasts. Can you name the different minibeasts that appear in the story? Can you count how many _____ there are? How many legs does it have? How many spots?

All comments, feedback and suggestions are most welcome.

Enjoy your minibeast hunt!

Blog post written by Amy Wilson.

 

 

 

 

 

This is our first post so hello to anyone out there reading this.

Our team of teachers is made up of people with a fantastic range of skills and expertise. We would like to share this with you as well as other things that we hear about along the way.

Our plan is to use this blog to inspire you about play and ideas to promote children’s learning and development.

We will link our ideas with play that we did as children. Can we support our own children to experience these?

I remember making potions in the garden as well as in the house and was once found making a ‘cake’  on the stairs at 5am aged 3. I don’t think it turned out well!

Mess can sometimes create anxiety in adults and sometimes in  children too, but there are many benefits of this kind of play to children.  Children are learning chemistry.

Think also of the brain and all the connections..

Messy play engages a range of different areas of the brain.

Feeling and thinking at the same time strengthens connections.  Deciding what to do with the mess, add more or pile it up involves thought and creation as well as observation of cause and effect.

If we can support children to have these kinds of experiences we are helping grow their brains!

Ideas:

Make a potion using household ingredients. Salt dough is an easy one, use 2 parts flour, one part salt and 2 parts water for a basic dough. You can add your own ingredients to this; herbs, spices, colours..

For a young child or indeed some children at any age, they may simply enjoy the sensations and the experience and want to do this quietly themselves. Others may want to talk about what they are doing. You could let your child suggest ingredients and ask them what they think might happen to the potion once these are added. 

How about making bread, a cake or something safe to eat? Mrs Dante is our cookery expert so look out for some recipe posts from her.

Mud and outdoor potions are also great fun and deserve a blog of their own.  But do you remember making ‘perfume’ as a child?. Use an jar or container to mix and create a potion.

Here’s a story suggestion to go along with this theme.. Or make up your own story based on the fun you had with mess!

All comments, feedback and suggestions are most welcome.

Blog written by Gwyneth Quinn