This week we received some new resources into the setting which means we now have even more opportunities to learn through play and even more interesting spaces in which to learn!
Our new loose parts table has been a huge hit and we have all spent time exploring what is available and adding our own interesting objects to it. Playing and experimenting with open-ended materials encourages our creativity and imaginations as well as developing our planning, communication and problem solving skills.
Our colourful stacking men have encouraged us to use our fingers, developing our fine motor control, and been an avenue through which to learn number recognition and counting, as well as being part of imaginative play. Sophie’s men were “climbing a ladder” and Lewis men all stood on their heads to perform a really hard magic trick.
Lucas tried hard to balance the men all the way up to number 9. He explained how to do this to Millie too.
Thea and Lottie explored many loose parts, using them in different ways and discussing how to use them as part of their pretend play. During a moment in play each wooden log was matched with a wooden mushroom shape.
Lucas created a pipe using loose parts plastic, he found a spider called “long legs”, carefully placed the spider inside the pipe and then sang “Incy Wincy” as it moved through the pipe before being released back outside. Sophia joined in singing to “long legs” and watching him/her move up and down.
Many loose parts were transported to other areas as part of play and then transported back again when the play was complete. Transporting objects like this is an important part of cognitive development.
Our new playdough/sensory exploration area has also proved to be very popular. Having more space has allowed us to play together imaginatively using playdough, developing our literacy and numeracy skills in many ways.
Thea, Alfie and Millie shared tools, compared patterns and spoke about the numbers that they could see on the weighing scales. Alfie said his playdough was “100 big!”. They worked hard developing finger and hand strength as they rolled, pulled, pinched and pushed the playdough in different ways.
Annie pushed the slice into her playdough “pizza” to create patterns.
Sophie made a playdough cake. She first rolled the playdough flat and then pushed coins in to decorate. Being able to use our hands and fingers in this way is fundamental for writing later on.
Lewis and Lucas spent a lot of time talking together and sharing ideas on how to make pizzas and which toppings to include. Lewis said it was a good idea to cut off the crust after rolling it flat. Lucas added pepperoni to the top of his and took a photo of the finished product before serving it up to his friends nearby.
There’s also been sensory play with slimy spaghetti this week as we continue to be interested in exploring pasta. We recalled how we had made our own pasta last week as we played, discussed the lengths of the spaghetti and the texture and some of us imagined the strands were wiggly worms! The slimy spaghetti was hard to get hold of as it was so oily! Experiencing real life resources, linked to our interests, in contexts that are meaningful, to us is very important for our learning as we learn best in environments that inspire us to be curious and creative and where we feel that we are listened to.
Some of us wanted to use spaghetti in paint but it got very mushy so Mrs Williamson found some spaghetti string which we could dip in paint. It left much clearer marks on our paper and encouraged us to use our pincer grip.
Sophie folded her paper over and squashed the string. She created different coloured symmetrical pictures.
We have also been mark making on very large boxes this week. These boxes have been used as many things including garages, houses, boats, dens, ramps, storyboards and an overall great surface on which we can be creative with mark making. Sharing large surfaces like this and sharing our ideas and thoughts about play challenge our emotional regulation systems and help us become better communicators.
Lewis “scribble monster” had “a really really big mooth to eat everything up!” Annie created a long skinny monster and a tiny monster which could hide. Alfie listened to them telling their “scribble monster” stories.
Lottie followed the “Sharks teeth” zig zag lines using a pink chunky chalk.
The sand tray has also been a great place for us to develop our pre writing and story telling skills as we scooped and poured, washed the babies and used the sand as soup, coffee, tea and much more as part of our co-operative play.
Pouring also occurred outdoors this week too…but that was mostly the weather! Some rain doesn’t stop us from learning outdoors though and more water means even more, and even bigger, puddles to investigate, explore and use in our play.
Cornflour and water was great for painting and mark making outdoors. We made different consistencies of paint depending on how much flour or water we used in the tray. We used brushes and rollers to make marks on the pavement and to paint or clean our outdoor cars. Sometimes our paint powder, sometimes gloop and sometimes water depending on which measurements we used. Stanley and Annie also created “milk” by squeezing the liquid out of the rollers into cups – a great way to strengthen hands in preparation for writing.
There was also mark making/emerging literacy using chalk on the pavement, making car tracks from water and mud and using sticks in sand this week.
Sophia even welcomed a passenger in her car, in the form of “cupcake” the slug, who went on a short drive before being placed into some leaves.
By playing outdoors we become confident individuals. Confidence grows through taking part in play which support our independence, that we find personally meaningful, and that help us feel connected to others. What better way to become confident individuals than through splashing in puddles together!
Harry, Alfie and Lewis took turns jumping into the big puddle from a height and by approaching it from different distances and speeds. They compared how big the splash was depending on how they took off and landed.
Tommy, Alfie and Sophie discovered puddles on their visit to the polytunnel. We counted how many steps long the puddles were and discussed what they felt like to touch.
The puddles were also a source of wonder and stimulated our imaginative play. They were used as rock pools and fishing areas, linking our play to our real life experiences such as our trip to the beach and our fishing community.
Puddle jumping was not the only way we developed core strength and balance this week. The long planks, pallets and tyres were well used to walk and run along as part of our play. Sometimes the grass was lava so it was very important to stay on the wood!
Not every day this week has been rainy though. On Tuesday the sun shone. Sophie thought it was a lovely day to go to the playpark and everybody else wanted to go too.
As we walk to and from the playpark we develop independence in dressing/undressing and we learn about road safety while developing our listening skills.
The playpark is an ideal place for us to further develop our gross motor skills, literacy and numeracy through play. Sharing equipment at the playpark also helps us to learn how to collaborate and cooperate with one another. This positive interdependence promotes learning and motivation which we will use throughout our lives.
And on Wednesday some of us chose to visit the polytunnel to plant some seeds and to help water the herbs and flowers. Learning about how things grow and being interested in how look after nature is part of our scientific learning and improves our health and wellbeing. Planting seeds, watering flowers and being part of nature develops our senses and our knowledge of the world.
Finally, it was really lovely to see so many of you at our “stay and play” events this week. The children really loved sharing some of their outdoor experiences with you! Hopefully sometime in the near future we will be able to share the indoor experiences with you too. We hope you all have a lovely October break.
