During lock down we have all had some extra time to study and research, we feel that this quote best describes children being creative and how natural it can become to them.
“There is no sense in teaching children what we think they ought to know. There is a sense in helping children to learn (teaching) what they naturally find interesting.” (Bruce, 2012:158)
Let’s get creative and recycle using things that you may have around the home.
Children have a good knowledge of the importance of recycling, lets build on this and encourage them to use their imaginations to build and create.
Here is an idea of something you could make…
We will all have some cardboard in our houses at the minute, but if you do not you can use paper and experiment and see what will work.
Lets make some cardboard tube snakes…
Here is what you will need to make these cardboard snakes.
cardboard tubes cut in half as many as you would like to make remember this will give opportunities of numeracy and estimations of length.
paint or coloured pens/crayons
hole punch
string, ribbon, wool
scissors
small piece of red material or paper
glue
cellotape
Watch this link to see how to put it all together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfdkUJptP1
These can also be made using recycled yoghurt tubes.
Repost of our Penguins. Has anyone made a penguin yet?
Penguins are off-limits when it comes to pets, but this DIY recycled bottle activity allows your child to create the impossible. All you need are a few basic art supplies paired with cotton balls and a recycled bottle. You can use different sized bottles and discuss sizes and how much cotton wool would be needed for each and what size needs more.
Junk modelling and being creative is a huge part of children’s active learning. They use their imaginations, problem solving skills while developing their design skills and creativity. They develop their self-confidence as they are enabled to explore materials and how to use them.
You can then give each Penguin a name and age, possibly make up a story about your new family Penguin.
Why not research where he/she would be from?
Then why not dance to the Penguin song with your very own penguin pet.
Please share your creations with us. We can’t wait to see them all.
Today we have posted some activities for the week ahead, rather than posting every day.
Please choose to visit the blog as and when it suits you during the week. You are able to scroll down to view previous post and revisit any favourites or perhaps discover some activities you may have missed.
We are very aware that everyone can have many different things to deal with at present, so our message is ………..Just do what you can!
We are missing you all…………………take care and keep safe!
Did you know it was Twiggle’s birthday the other day?! Here’s a little story all about his special day…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Twiggle! We miss you and all your friends very much!
How old do you think Twiggle is? Is he older or younger than you?
What did Twiggle get for his birthday? What is your most wanted present?
Can you remember the names of Twiggle’s friends? What are your friends called?
Can you design a birthday cake for Twiggle? What would it taste and look like? Do you think he would like this one?
And here is something for your mummies and daddies..
This is a link to PAThS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) blog with lots of strategies and ideas to use with your children. It provides a lot of valuable information about Social and Emotional Learning – especially important in these difficult times:
Following on from the story about “The Crocodile who didn’t like water” we thought it would be a good idea to do some fun counting! This will help us practice to recognize numbers and counting, too! You can choose to count up to 5 or up to 10!
Following on from the well liked story about a certain crocodile who didn’t like water we decided to take a trip to the Underwater World! WOW – what can you spot down there?!
Let us know if you’d like to swim deep into the ocean to discover what’s hiding there! How do you think we could get there? And what would we see?
And here is a couple of different stories about the ocean’s creatures…
It is without a doubt that drawing pictures with chalk on pavements is one of the favourite activities for children! It promotes creativity, hand-eye coordination, gross motor skills, balance and interactions with others! So many benefits! And all we need is a pavement and chalk – instant canvas for our wee ones! Here are some ideas:
Shape jumps! Draw lots of different shapes on the pavement and ask somebody to shout out the names of them in no particular order – see if you can hope from one to another!
2. Follow the line! Draw a line – long, short, straight, wavy – use your imagination! See if you can follow the line… Where does it lead to? Does it have swirls, bends? Is it longer or shorter than you?
3. Long jump! Draw a few parallel to each other lines (just like on the picture) and number them on the side. Then draw a start line at the very bottom. Standing on the start line, use all of your energy to jump! What number did you land on?
4. Pavement obstacle course! You can ask your family to help you draw lots of shapes and write different instructions. You can tip-toe on little circles, go round and round on a circle, go backwards on a line… The possibilities are endless!
5. Hop-Scotch! We all love a little bit of hop-scotch! Can you hop on one foot? It takes a lot of balancing!
You could also draw lots of beautiful pictures, too! We wonder… Does it feel different using chalk on dry pavement to drawing on wet pavement? Let’s experiment and find out!
We would love to hear from you – do you like drawing pictures using chalk? Do you know any other games? Please, let us know in the comments! 🙂
