Tag Archives: #problemsolving

Today in the discovery room we were Little scientist’s 🧑🏼‍🔬

Today the children chose to do two different science experiments. The first one was called The underwater volcano experiment. For the first experience we used water, food colouring oil and an effervescent tablet. The children were able to follow my step by step instructions and used their critical thinking and problem solving skills to guess what was going to happen in the experiment. We measured out the exact amounts off water and oil using our measuring beakers and counted five drops of food colouring into the measuring beaker.

I explained how the effervescent tablet produced a large amount of carbon dioxide when it met the water the carbon dioxide then takes the coloured water out of the oil and water layer and creates an explosion.

”That’s cool, it’s gone bubbly” “ The oil and the water haven’t mixed” “I wonder what will happen when I shake it, oh the bubbles go away”

The second experiment we did was called sugar water rainbows. It didn’t go quite to plan as we didn’t really have a rainbow at the end though the children still enjoyed doing it and we can always try it again.

For this experiment we used sugar, water and food colouring again the children measured out their ingredients, the idea behind this experiment is to learn a little about different densities the colours that have more sugar in them will sink to the bottom of the beaker.


“ I’m measuring 40 ml of sugar into my cup”

” I have only to put 10ml of sugar in mine”

“ I’m squirting in one drop of colouring, I want red, I like using the dropper”

“ I need blue for mine it’s my favourite colour, I have blue in my hoodie”

“look the sugar has sank to the bottom, it’s blue at the top”

Great team work everyone.

I wonder what experiments we will choose to do next maybe colour mixing? If anyone has any other suggestions, we would love to hear them!

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.

 

 

🐷 “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.”

This week in the studio the children have loved reading ‘The Three Little Pigs.’ The children came up with a brilliant idea that they’d like to make their own ‘house’ out of the junk modelling and see if the ‘big bad Wolf’ could blow it over.


“Horace has the strongest house.”

We got started and looked out what junk modelling and resources we could use. “These look like bricks.” The children confidently worked both in a group and independently making their fabulous houses.


“I’m making my house out of bricks. The Woolf can’t get in.”
“ My house is made of sticks, it’s very strong.”

Here is the children’s finished  work! Now it’s time to see if the “big bag Wolf” can blow them down.


“My house is pink.”

The children had lots of fun taking turns of trying to blow down each other’s houses.


“I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.”
”I nearly got it.”

 

 

“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.

Let’s get creative🎃

From all the excitement of halloween last night the children were chatting with one another saying what they dressed up as. They had a brilliant idea and decided to use the junk modelling to create what they had dressed up as.


“I’m going to cover the box all orange.”
“Hedwig needs feathers and glue.”

Here is the children’s fantastic work!


“I dressed up as a pumpkin last night, like this.”
“I made Hedwig  because I was Hermione.”
“I dressed up as a train driver, this is my train.”

Through the week the children have also been super busy working together creating “halloween houses”.

“This looks like my house.” 
“I’m going to put my handprints on it.”

The children absolutely love spending time in the studio, it is an essential part of every child’s  learning, it allows them to think creatively, problem solve, explore, work independently or as a group and develop their fine motor skills as well as many more.

Creative builders in the block area 🧱👷🏽‍♀️👷🏾‍♂️

Over the last week in the block area the children have been using their imagination and problem solving skills to represent their ideas in imaginative ways. We have been making ice cream shops, which has been very popular with the children and the staff!

“I need the small ones for the ice cream”

“The big blocks can be for the walls”

The children have been enhancing their Problem solving skills, mathematic skills and communication skills by working alongside their friends to create their ice cream shops. The children were able to discuss bug and small blocks and give reasons for using different ones.

“my house has a pillow for the bed, I sleep up here”

”we’re saving our house from the big bad wolf!”

The children have also shown an interest in creating and designing their own houses both individually and working together with our friends. In block play, children are able to free flow their own ideas and building their constructions brings a feeling of success and allows children to build their self-esteem.

Article 15: I have the right to meet with friends

Article 31: I have the right to play

 

Refreshing the rules

Today in the discovery room the children were keen to open up the tinker table and use the tools, but before we could do that we had to do something very important.

The children gathered round and noticed the safety goggles under the bench. They tried them on and even collected hard hats from the block area . We discussed the rules of the tinker table and the purpose of our PPE for our new children and remind our returning children.

“ We need to wear safety goggles to stop things going in our eyes”

“ The helmet stops our head getting hurt”


Next we explored the tools. I asked if the children knew what their names were and if they knew what their job was.

“I have a hammer, i can use the hammer to make something with the wood”

We had a look at the different shapes and sizes of all the tools.

“That one is pointy and that one is small”

“what’s this called?” “ I know that one is pliers”

The children had a great discussion on all the tools and told each other the names and what they do. We had a look at the plan book that other children had made, they drew what they planned to make and then selected the correct materials to make it.

This inspired the children to think of their own ideas of things they would like  to make.

Our memories are now refreshed of the rules and are ready to start being creative. When we are finished at the tinker table we put our closed sign ( that the children made) up so that they know that the area is closed.

Budding architects and construction engineers!

It’s been a brilliant few weeks in our busy block area! A number of our 4&5 year olds have become expert architects and construction engineers! They are able to describe what they are going to build before they start, draw their own plan, demonstrate excellent problem solving skills when creating their fabulous models and then use our iPads to capture images to create a fabulous display of their work.

”I used lots of blocks. I did it like symmetry, the same on each side. We found a picture that looks like it on the iPad”.

”We made a high chair for the teddy to sit in to eat his lunch, and a bed for the dolly cos she was tired”.

”I builded my house. These are the walls. I made a table and chairs and bunk beds to sleep in”.

Our 2 & 3 year olds have had lots of fun exploring stacking, demonstrating excellent problem solving skills by investigating how the blocks turn, fit on top of each other and different sizes, shapes and weights.

It was so much fun to see how many we could put on top of each other before they fell over!

Through observing and learning from our more experienced children, our 2&3 year olds are at the early stages of creating their own bridges.  Although they much prefer using their friends creations for their cars and trucks!


To add further challenge and depth to their learning, our children were set a challenge to see if they could build a bridge to help our small world people cross the river safely!   This sparked some wonderful conversation, problem solving, creativity and teamwork! Our children designed their own village with a school, park, shops and lots of houses and constructed some wonderful bridges to allow our people to cross the river safely to “go to the shops and the park”.


“I builded a bridge. There’s crocodiles in the water!”
“Look the people can cross the river to get to the park and the shop”.

”This bit doesn’t fit. We need a longer bit. Why don’t we try this bit?”

It has been so much fun watching our children develop their design and creativity talents, we can’t wait to share our future creations with you!

Articles 28 & 29 – children have the right to an education, children have the right to an education which tries to develop your talents and abilities.

 

What can we create with clay?

Today in the clay area, the children enjoyed taking part in various model making, exploring different techniques to mould and design and also being kind and sharing with one another.

At cart mill we value the opportunities we have to make friends and be part of group experiences sharing our ideas and thoughts with one another.


We have been sharing and co operating with our peers and recognising how we can communicate with others in different situations.

The children then demonstrated how to use different techniques for moulding and creating in the clay area.


The children were able to create and develop using a variety of techniques in making things by hammering, rolling and cutting using different tools and materials.

The children then created their own models by using their curiosity and imagination to select different loose parts such as pebbles and sea shells.

”I made snails”

”My shells look like unicorns horns”