Tag Archives: #creativityskills

Story time 📖📚

This morning the children had transferred some of our stories and story puppets to the home corner.

They brought some of our dolls over and pretended they were going to read them a story.  First of all they picked out “A squash and a squeeze” then showed the ‘babies’ the matching puppets and named them.

“This one is the pig, the pig says oink”

” This is cow, he says Moooo!”

” The hen goes cluck, cluck”

Using the pictures the children showed their understanding of what was happening in the story and ‘read’ to the babies, using the puppets as they went along and imitating the ways that adults round about them would read a story.

“The hen knocked the jug over”

“Lady pushes pig in house”

“and the cow, its getting too busy in there”

The children had so much fun using their imagination to re-enact real life situations in the home corner.

Article 31 (leisure, play and culture) Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.

Creative Cement Constructions

Today we had a discussion how we could ensure our towers did not fall down.

“Don’t move from it”

”cellotape”

“Glue”

What do you think builders use to keep bricks together.

“Cement”

We deceived to make our own cement so  we got a bowl and added our two ingredients sand and shaving foam. We used our gross motor skills to stir and combine them together.

”it looks crunchy”

”it looks sticky”

”it looks like real cement”

We then began making our creations using a variety of tools to spread the cement on the blocks. The children used their fine motor skills and hand and eye coordinating  to help secure the blocks together. The children had great  imaginations and communication skills sharing their thoughts, ideas and creations.The children used mathematical language.while building their structures

“Mine is so high”

“ it have lots of bricks

“mine is big an getting bigger and bigger”

”mine is going to be very tall”

” I have made a castle”

“Look at my bridge, the troll lives under it”

” I have made a big tower”

” I have made a big house”

Blasting off to Space!

The children at Cart Mill absolutely love junk modelling. The bigger the box the better! There has been a keen interest in aliens and space lately. Last week the children made their very own big alien robot and have also enjoyed making alien robot helmets for themselves.

Today we found a very tall, thin box which instantly reminded the children of a rocket blasting off into space so that is what we made! Junk modelling offers children great opportunities to develop their creativity as well as their fine and gross motor skills. They develop their imaginations, making their creations their own whilst  feeling a sense of freedom. We discussed what our rocket should look like and decided it definitely needed fire at the bottom for take off!

The children found some paper which looked like flames but as it was white they used a red pen to create the effect of fire!
“I need to make it red for the flames for the rocket to blast off high in the sky!”

The rocket needed a window so we used a clear plastic tub! The children stuck a box on the front which was the control panel to make the rocket go faster!  They showed fantastic teamwork with some children holding the rocket still for others to tape parts on.
“Look! It’s even bigger than me!”

Next we needed a door. Confidently using scissors, the children cut out a door! After realising that they could not fit into the rocket themselves they used their problem solving skills and decided to put some little figures inside to go on a space adventure!
“Get ready! 3, 2, 1 blast off! Whoooooooosh!!”

This amazing rocket inspired other children to create some space ships to travel with the rocket!

Junk modelling also helps to develop a child’s language and communication skills. They are always sharing their ideas with their peers and learning new vocabulary.
“Do you like my space ship? It has princess chairs and flies so fast!”

“Look mine has two bits, one for sleeping and one for flying, mine is the very fastest, zooooooom!”

Children make social connections through junk modelling. They have to work with others and learn turn taking, something we are very good at here at Cartmill. The children are great at sharing the resources and taking turns of the glue and cellotape!

What a fun time we had exploring space rockets and space ships. Who knows, we might just have the inventors and space engineers of the future here at Cartmill!

Article 13:  Freedom of Expression

Please keep sending in all your old boxes and recycling. It might seem like junk to you but to the children it can open up a whole new world!

Wonderful Woodwork

It’s been a very creative few weeks in our woodwork area! We decided we would focus on independence and free choice and let our creativity and imagination flow!
By choosing which materials and tools we would like to use, we demonstrated the ability to make a choice.  Through discussions with others, we shared reasons for making our choices.

“I’m using the elastic bands.  I like to stretch them and I like the different colours.  I can show it to my brother”.

”I like this one.  We use it so we don’t hurt our fingers”.

”I like the beads.  I choosed rainbow colours”.

”I’m making a taxi like this one.  We need a big bit and a wee bit for the top.  And we need an orange light on the top like a real taxi.”

Working both independently and with others, we used our curiosity and imagination and shared our thoughts and ideas.

“I’m making a helicopter.  It has a big bit at the top that makes it fly.  You need to use the big nails cos the wee ones don’t go through the wood and it will fall off”.
“I’m making a plane.  What are you making?”  “A plane too. A red one”. “You need a big bit at the bottom and a wee bit on the top for the wings.  Look like me”.  “Ok this bit?” “Yes. And you need to put the big nails in.”
As we grow in confidence, we are sharing our knowledge and experience with our friends and supporting and encouraging them when they are making their models. We are beginning to assess risk when using the tools and can discuss how to use them safely.

“I want to make the same as you”. “Ok I’ll show you.  We use this, you need to watch you don’t squash your fingers!.  “Is this the right bit”. “Yes look it’s the same size”.  “Then you use this and put it on the end so it’s smooth and you don’t get a skelf”. “I got a skelf one time.  It was really sore and my mummy putted a plaster on it”. “You need to use this hammer for this bit.  You need to hit it hard. Like this”. “Ok. It’s noisy”. “Watch you don’t hit your fingers cos it will be sore”.

At Cart Mill we are very creative,  imaginative and love to plan, design, and construct fabulous models! We are able to apply our knowledge and experience across a wide range of learning experiences adding breadth, depth and challenge to our learning!

Some of us are able to plan our models in advance, while others prefer to use our models to draw afterwards.  We do this in our design book so that we can keep a record of what we have made and to share our ideas and fabulous models with our friends!   Aren’t we creative being able to plan, design and create our wonderful models!

Please come and have a look through our book anytime!

Gross motor fun

This week in the garden we have revisited the balance and coordination skills we have been practicing but also now introducing games to develop our hand/feet/eye coordination.

The children set up their own obstacle course using tyres and crates after talking about the football class they attended at the weekend.

“I was at football and made an obstacle course like nursery but we kicked a ball”

“Let’s get a ball and add X marks the spot”

They made a starting point by adding ‘X’ and drew a trail round the obstacles with chalk. They began by rolling the ball round with their hands. “It’s tricky to kick”

Then when they felt confident they began practicing kicking the ball round the objects developing their concentration as they tried to stick to the line keeping the ball under control.

“Dont go too fast or the ball will go far away”

They marked another ‘X’ at the end of the course so they knew where to stop and added a tyre “ 3 Large steps away “I’m going to throw the ball in to the tyre”.

The younger children enjoyed kicking the ball about the garden “football” so set up their goals and practiced kicking the ball.

Today we had to Improvise because of the change in weather so the children suggested we make an obstacle course inside. We practiced our balance and coordination on the balance beam, Hand/feet eye coordination by dribbling the ball and a throwing the ball in the baskets and using our large muscles to jump over obstacles.

“That was so easy, we need to make it harder next time”. The children are setting their own challenges and making new goals and targets for their learning. The next job is to sit together and make a plan on how we will make it more challenging.

Icetastic time in the garden 🧊

Happy New Year everyone😀

What a lovely icey cold morning for the children to get wrapped up and go out to explore the ice.

The children discovered large pieces of ice inside the tyres.

” Wow its so big”

“Its cold on my hands, its so heavy”

They collected all the big chunks of ice they could find and added it to our water tray. We discussed how water turns to ice and what conditions there has to be for this to happen.

 

“It needs to be so cold”

” But there is salt on the ground, that melts the ice”

We discussed why there was salt on the ground and what other ways the ice would melt .

” My mum said the  big gritter went by my house and put grit all over the place to melt the ice”

“The sun melts the ice and turns it into water, like a snowman when the snow goes away”

The children decided the wanted to fill some things up with water to see if they could make more ice.

They put some animals, pine cones, shells etc in the water trough and filled up some cupcake cases with water and blue food colouring.

We left it over night and came back to the garden in the morning to see what had happened.

“ITS FROZEN, YAY”

The children added some more water to the tray to see what would happen to the ice. “It melting a little bit but it’s still so cold”

They have had so much fun exploring, digging the ice to break the animals out and leaving more water in the garden to see if it freezes again tomorrow.

 

 

Being Festive with Loose Parts

In the discovery room the children have been provided with resources to explore some Christmas themed loose parts play.

Using loose parts such as blocks, fabric, or natural materials encourages open-ended exploration and creativity. This unstructured play fosters problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and enhances fine motor skills. It promotes imaginative thinking, as children can manipulate these parts in countless ways.

Some children showcased their creativity by crafting unique Christmas tree designs using triangles and an assortment of loose parts.

Using large blocks, some children explored concepts of size, sparking discussions as they navigated the process of filling the Christmas tree design on the floor. This hands-on activity prompted them to problem-solve, choosing which bricks to use and determining what would fit seamlessly into their creation.

 

 

Holidays are coming 🌲

Yesterday in the studio the children explored marbling ink. They selected different colours to create their own unique art.


Adding the marbling ink to the water and swirling it around to make cool patterns, the children added their paper to the water and we all counted to 10.  After 10 we lifted the paper out and looked at patterns that had transferred onto the paper.

“ Wow! That’s so cool , my colours pink and yellow are on the paper now”

“ Can I make a Christmas card on mine”

“ Me too can I make one?”

We put our pictures over to the drying rack and left them to dry over night.


Today the children collected different things to create their Christmas cards.

Jewels, sequins, pom-poms etc were glued on to create lovely Christmas cards, the children cut out their marbling ink pictures and added to red card.


The children practiced their writing skills as they wrote out their cards. Some for Santa, aunties, uncles, mums,dads, brothers and sisters.

We hope everyone  has a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year🎅 🌲

 

Article 29 – I have the right to an education which develops my personality, respect for others rights and the environment.

Article 12 – I have the right to be listened to

“Let’s make the biggest train track in the world”

We have been reading lots of stories this week and this has sparked some great ideas for the block area.

“I want to make a big office like that, I will need lots of blocks. My  mum goes to the office”

The children decided to choose their favourite book first and then make something from the book. We made a chart where each child ticked the side of their favourite book.

Fergus’s Scary night was the favourite! They decided on making a dogs bed for ‘Fergus’ to hide when he is scared.

“It’s triangle and square beds, Fergus not scared in here”. The children worked well together to build the dogs beds.


“We are building the biggest train track like Thomas, and a bridge look we can go under too”

Finally, the children built some of the buildings and structures from the story ‘All through the night’. “I’m building  the digger with a snow shovel that can lift snow and rocks, it has a train track under it”.

“This ones mummy’s office”

The children have loved creating things from their favour stories this week, using their imagination and problem solving to fit the pieces together.

DIY sensory emotion bags😀

Today the children have been exploring emotions through their very own sensory bags.

We began by having a discussion about what kind of things we could put in our sensory bags while making the jelly mix.

“We could put beans in, they are squidgy”

“and cornflakes, my brother likes cornflakes they feel crunchy”

We collected a variety of different things to put in such as oats, cornflakes, shaving foam,beans, rice ,custard and jelly. The children helped to make up the custard by adding 200 ml of warm water (which we measured using a measuring jug) to the custard powder.

We used ziplock bags and stuck faces on them showing different emotions. The children then added each thing to each of the bags and closed the bag over.

Using their hands to feel and move the contents of each bag they were able to see the different emotions through the bag. They guessed what each one was and how it felt.

“It’s an angry face, it’s crunchy”

“ it’s happy face, it feels gooey”

”what’s that one I don’t know that”

As well as simple emotions we are beginning to look at more complex emotions.

”that is a surprised face, when might you feel surprised”

“ When someone pops a balloon  ”

The children have enjoyed learning about emotions in different ways. During this sensory experience they have been developing their fine motor skills when using their hand muscles and learning some new vocabulary to describe what they feel.