Tag Archives: problem solving

Wednesdays are for Wild Raspberry picking 😃

Today at Cart Mill family centre the children discovered wild raspberries on their nature walk. They talked about what other fruits grow wild in Scotlandā€ I found strawberries when I was on holiday , they were really sweetā€ ā€œ I like finding brambles on a walk they are big Ā purple and juicy ā€ Ā They collected the raspberries Ā and decided Ā to make them into yummy muffins.

The children looked up a muffin recipe in a baking book and decided what ingredients they would need. ā€œWe need flour sugar milk and baking powder to make them riseā€ ā€œlet’s wash our raspberries so they are clean ā€œā€œWe will need scales to weigh out our ingredients ā€œ ā€œ The children were able to name and weigh out their ingredients waiting patiently on their turn.

ā€œ I need 150 grams of flourā€ It’s not sticky enough you need more milkā€ ā€œ I need to put in two tablespoons of sugar ā€œ


The children used lots of descriptive language whilst making their muffins. Ā They are looking forward to tasting them at home , well done everyone.

 

Blocks Rock!

We have been very busy in our block area today!

Using our excellent problem solving skills, we explored measurement and balance.Ā  We were able to identify which blocks were “lighter” and “heavier” and discovered we needed to put some of the heavier blocks on the bottom of our towers so that they didn’t topple over!!

It was so much fun adding in our small world figures. We worked together to build stairs for them to climb into their houses and we evenĀ constructedĀ a lego train which had a bed to sleep in!

Next we decided to use our larger blocks to build “somewhere to give money out”.Ā  We decided we needed steps and a seat “so we can give the money out to people”.Ā  Using our measuring skills, we were able to compare the size of each block and identify which were “bigger” and smaller” and discussed where we should place them so that it “would be safe to climb on”. Ā Placing the blocks together we discovered that 2 of our smaller “square” blocks were the same size as “the rectangle one”.


ā€œthis one is biggerā€

Collecting lots of loose parts gave us lots of “money” and we took turns being “the person who gives the money to people”.Ā  Everyone demonstrated excellent turn taking, counting and negotiating skills!

Block play enables us to explore logical and abstract thinking, use our imaginative and creative skills and develop our communication and negotiating skills, while having lots of fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Campers ā›ŗļø

Today, the children were talking about camping in tentsĀ and shared their some of their own experiences together in a small group.

ā€I have been campingā€

ā€I have a tent in my living roomā€

ā€œ I would like to go camping ā€œ

We decided to bring the outdoors in to the discovery room and build our own tent in ourĀ block area. Ā We shared our thoughts on how we could create this and what resources we would need to collect.

Some suggestions of what we could make or need for our camping experience were – ā€a roof ā€, ā€œa camp fireā€, Ā ā€œtorchesā€, sleeping bagā€ and of course ā€œ foodā€

The children Ā gathered a variety of resources and began to build the tent using and exercising their gross motor skills. They communicated well and helped one another when building their tent. During this time they were able to problem solve together when they had to think and decide ā€œhow will the roof stay on ?ā€ The children had some great ideas – ā€œwe could use cellotapeā€ Ā ā€œstringā€ ā€œblocksā€ and ā€œpegsā€ . We decided the pegs and blocks worked the best .

Finally the tent was complete and the children were excited to get inside and begin to make a campfire using someĀ sticks, stones and tissue paper. The children used their imaginations creating a variety of scenarios they have tried beforeĀ such as toasting marshmallows, fishing, playing mummy’s and daddy’s and Going on a Bear Hunt.

ā€ It’s sleepover timeā€

ā€I have made real life marshmallows on a fire ā€šŸ”„

ā€Fire is burnyā€

Later, Ā I was invited into the tent join the children and read one of our favourite stories – The Tiger Who Came to Tea before we snuggled down cosy for our sleep in our tent! ā›ŗļø Goodnight campers! See you in the morning!ā›ŗļø

Busy Builders

All go this morning in the construction corner but safety first! We ensured we had our high viz jackets and goggles on and most importantly our checklist. We had a discussion on why we wear protective clothing and complete checklists to ensure our safety for ourselves and others around us…

The children took time to design what they wouldĀ like to build using clipboards, paper, rulers and pens. Then we got to work, we looked around at different blocks shapes and sizes.

The children built their own creationsĀ from the variety of resources on offer to them and then worked together as a group expanding their ideasĀ to create a big castle using their imagination. During this time the children were using mathematical language such as taller, smaller, long and short, Ā The children demonstrated good communication skills when sharing ideas. They also shared equipment and worked together, passing blocks to each other.

Bee Bots Navigation

Today Ā in the Discovery Room the children have been enjoying playing with the Bee Bots robots. They have been developing their technology and navigation skills by learning the positional terms on the Bee Bots e.g the symbols: up, down, left, Ā right and green for go.

The children were trying to direct the Bee Bots onto the first letter of their name on the alphabet mat. They used their numeracy skills to count how many times the Bee Bots moved after pressing each symbol.


Ā  Ā 
ā€œIts on eā€œ

ā€œ I got it on lā€

ā€œ Its going on eā€ Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā 
Ā 
ā€œ I got it on cā€
Ā Ā 

After becoming comfortable with the navigation systems, we decided to do a follow up activity. The children raced the Bee Bots to see if they could push a ball over the finishing line.
During this the children developed their problem-solving skills by navigating a route and implementing it by pressing the symbols on the Bee bot in order to push the ball over the finish-line.


Ā 
ā€œ I got the footballā€
Ā 

ā€ my one crossed over the line ā€

We had so much fun developing our navigation, fine motor, numeracy and literacy skills.
Why not give it a try at home with any electronic games, remote control, or a programmable toy.

Team work makes the dream work

Today the children have been developing their team working skills during a variety of different experiences.

We played ‘Feed the Teddy’ on the Promethean Board and worked together as a team to count up to 5 cakes to feed the teddy.

“That’s number 5 like my fingers, I have 5 fingers”

“Teddy is eating 5 cakes”

Next some of the children worked on a new painting technique, they had lots of fun mixing different colours in the shaving foam, and printing it on to the paper. The children made their own individual pieces and also worked together making larger prints.

“hold this side, I’ll get that one”

“1,2,3 down”

Finally some of the children were working together to build a garage for the cars. They built ramps for the cars to go up and down, and roads for the cars to drive on.

“Can you put that long plank up there so the cars can drive down”

“I put this one up here to stop the ramp falling”

Children develop very important life skills when working as part of a team such as problem solving, leadership and communication skills which they will need as they grow into adults.

Imaginative Block play in the Discovery Room šŸ˜€

The children were discussing dens and how to build them. They had lots of ideas about what they could do inside their own den. The children had a look around the room at what they could use to make a den and how they could make it cosy. They decided that blocks would make the best den, but they thought they should research it a little first, before planning it out.

Using digital technology, the children started looking at different types of dens. After their initial research, the children decided they should draw a plan of what they wanted their den to be like.

ā€œ I want it big enough to have a tea party inā€


ā€œ I want my den to have a roof, so we don’t get wetā€

The children then put their problem solving skills to work and worked collaboratively to build their den.

They shared resources and made suggestions to each other to make sure the den they built was the best den ever!


ā€œ How will we make the roof stay upā€
The children searched the room for resources and showed their skills as future engineers and architects. Ā 
ā€œ I think that wall is tall enough nowā€
ā€œWe need the cardboard tube to keep the roof up highā€


ā€œ We need to be careful not to knock the walls down when we are insideā€

When their den was finished the children made it a home from home by adding comfy cushions and a table, they then invited some special guests to join them for afternoon tea complete with cakes and sandwiches, cheese of course!

Science Citrus explosions


Today some of the children in the discovery room wanted to make an explosion. We decided to try and make one using lemons and tangerines. We placed the orange and tangerine onto a plate and then took the tops off and squished the insides of the fruit to bring out some of the juice. We then squeezed some washing up liquid into the juice and added some food colouring and a teaspoonful of baking soda. After we did this, we watched as the fruits exploded with colourful bubbles! It was so exciting!!
We talked about the science and how the experiment worked. Citrus fruit containsĀ citric acid which has a chemical reaction when it mixes with the baking soda due to form carbon dioxide, which is a gas. Once the citric acid and the baking soda have neutralised each other the reaction stops and no more gas is made. The children had so many things to say about the experiment including:
ā€œ I think the lemon has more citrus acid in it than the tangerine because the lemon has bigger bubblesā€

ā€œI want my explosion to be rainbow coloursā€ā€ Look the blue and red has turned blackā€
ā€œI need more baking powder I want a big explosion ā€œ ā€œ It feels slimy if you touch itā€ ā€œThe lemon smells niceā€


We really enjoyed participating in this fun science activity.

Play dough and loose parts

Loose parts are real objects/ ordinary things that can be used or manipulated in different ways. Adding loose parts to the play dough play will enrich and expand the children’s creativity, improve their fine motor skills along with hand eye co ordination and problem solving.

After helping to make the play dough. The children explored the different objects and discovered different ways they could use them.

Their play evolved from sticking the feathers into the play dough to make birds, to stuffing the play dough into the pots and adding some lolly sticks and dolly pegs to create a rocket ship. We then incorporated some counting into the play. Counting forward to 10 and backwards from 10 as our rockets blasted off into space.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 …. blast off šŸ’„

ā€œMy rocket is going to spaceā€

ā€I’m going to french fry planetā€

 

 

Getting creative in the Garden!!

Today the children were having great fun in the garden. They really enjoyed some gross motor art. They were using rollers to paint on a large shower curtain! They were rolling, reaching and stretching, developing both their gross motor skills and hand eye coordination whilst having great fun and chatting to each other.

ā€Look at my rainbow!ā€, ā€œI’ve made a big road!ā€

The children also had fun den building with our new camouflage materials and pegs. This helps the children develop important skills like problem solving, teamwork and role play! Once the children had built their den they were happy playing inside pretending to sell ice cream out the door! Great fun was had by all!