Tag Archives: Talking and listening

Fine motor skills, Imaginary Play, Learning at home, Loose Parts, Numeracy & Mathematics, Science, Sensory Play

Kitchen Creation

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By using kitchen resources I created a filling and pouring station for Erin. There is no need to have a tuff tray to do this as this can be done on a smaller scale on an oven tray, inside a cardboard box, a plastic box from under the bed…anything really that will contain the mess. I collected various items from the kitchen rice, cous cous, tea leaves out of teabags, cornflakes, cheerios, spices, herbs, oats, a crushed up biscuit, spaghetti…the list is endless. You only need a small quantity of each to enable pouring and scooping between containers so don’t worry about using up lots of food. Then add to the tray any utensils and bowls to aid scooping and pouring; different sized spoons, measuring cups and spoons, sieves, pots and pans…make sure nothing sharp is placed in the tray that could pose a hazard. Filling, scooping and pouring activities help develop fine motor skills in under 5s as well as using concepts such as less and more. Adding scales to your pouring and filling tub can also introduce the concept of weight. These tasks help children coordinate their hand movements with what they are seeing and feeling.

Eco Learning, Fine motor skills, Learning at home, Numeracy & Mathematics

Jigsaw Creations

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Today Erin and I have been busy using our problem solving skills to make our own jigsaws. I thought with the recycling bins not being able to be emptied at the moment it would be a good way to do our bit to help recycle. We used photos we had lying about, birthday cards people have sent us, leaflets that have come through the door, brochures and magazines. With adult supervision children could try cutting out shapes by themselves to practise their cutting. Why not even try making a collage or transient art from pieces you cut out?

Eco Learning, Learning at home, Natural World, Numeracy & Mathematics, Outdoor Learning

Rainbow Nature Hunt

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Hi everybody, Mrs Reynolds here, I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe. I was reading Mrs MacLeod’s post about going on a rainbow nature hunt and I knew my little girl Erin would love to do that, so I thought I would share what we did. I made Erin a grid from string and cardboard and placed different colours onto it for her to find on our walk. For older children you could add different  numbers to each colour of how many items to collect for a numeracy experience and write the colour names on it to promote literacy. Erin really enjoyed collecting the items and placing them under the string to take them home with her. Maybe some of you could try this on your next walk and send us a photo of what you managed to collect. Keep an eye on the blog to see more of what Erin and I are up to and please keep sharing your ideas with us as well.

Creative Arts, Imaginary Play, Learning at home, Literacy, Outdoor Learning

Fun ideas from Mrs Reynolds!

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Hello everyone,
Hope you are finding lots of ways to have fun at home and in this lovely sunshine! Mrs Reynolds has shared some photos of great ideas she has been using with Erin at home:
TRANSIENT ART
An old cutlery tray filled with interesting objects like stones and cones and an old picture frame can be used outside to create many different patterns and pictures.

Below are some examples of outdoor Transient Art by the British environmental artist Andy Goldworthy. You might get  some ideas from him…

DIFFERENT WAYS WITH A PADDLING POOL
1) Use it as a Wee Den to draw and read in

2) Erin’s Daddy’s birthday balloons were collected to make a place for dolls and teddies to have a party
3) RHYME FISHING:
Another idea is Rhyme Fishing in a paddling pool, an old baby bath or a washing up bowl. Fill it with water and throw in some rhyming objects (e.g. cork -fork; key-pea; petal-metal), then challenge your child to fish out the objects that rhyme using a ladle or other utensil. For an extra challenge you could work on a way to make your own fishing net…

 

Eco Learning, Food & Cookery, Gardening, Natural World, Outdoor Learning

Lots of Learning in January

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Learning about the life cycle Plants need sun and water
Measuring just the right amount Mrs Ahmed helping the gardening team
Balance skills Teamwork- investigating forces
Traditional Scottish food Measuring, chopping and cooking
Learning about vegetables And in to the hot…