Exploring with natural materials Part 1

One day last week it was pouring with rain...a small group of children wanted to go outside but still wanted to carry on playing with the natural materials...
So we put out our trusty tuff spot, some chalk and little tubs of natural materials. One child had the idea to use the chalk to create a face, then fill it with 'natural' features. Lots of conversation ensued. See below for some of their examples of work :-)
We loved the way that the chalk showed up better because the tuff spot was so wet!

Making Circles!!

We moved the small natural materials from the inside construction area to the outside area this week. 

 These 3 children spent half an hour working together, talking about which layer should go next and who was going to do what.

The wooden 'spikes' were then added as hair for this extra-terrestrial character!!! :-D I love children's imaginations!

Den Building....

One day last week, we started the morning off with an invitation to explore some of out outdoor equipment by placing a sheet over the top.

 This led to many a discussion about whether it was a castle or stables. The children settled on it being a castle for horses...perfect solution...! The same group of children then asked for more material and started exploring the boxes we had been saving up that were stacked in the playground.

 This little den got a sheet over the top and was a great 'hidey' hole for the morning session...until the strong wind kept blowing it apart....no amount of stones or securing seemed to help....! Was a good learning experience for the children though - they tried balancing boxes in all different directions and on different surfaces to see if it helped...the wind was just too strong on that day though!

At the weekend, I discovered this fab construction material (Crazy Forts), which the children have spent the last two days exploring and building with. The first day required lots of adult help, but today, two children were able to build a den for themselves almost unaided - great cooperation and fine motor skills!!

This 'house' is on fire so we are very lucky that our Fireman is already on hand and dealing with the situation, walkie talkie in hand... :-)

Building in circles!

My class often choose to play with the wooden blocks and the number of different ways they come up with to use them never ceases to amaze me. Last week, I simply offered them on top of one of our tuff spots and placed a single triangular brick in the middle as an invitation to continue. After nearly 2 hours of play (returning to it after short breaks each time), a group of 4/5 children had created an amazing circular city of symmetry. They worked together to ensure they didn't leave any bits out of their pattern and it was a pleasure to listen to their conversations as they worked - I love this time of year when the children are able to put all their creativity, sharing and team working skills together to create something fabulous. Sadly I didn't get a photo of the completely finished build but the process was the most important part and I was lucky to watch it from start to finish :-)

The jealous car....

The children had been engrossed in their play for some time when one child called me over and asked if he could tell me the story they had been working on. Here it is...

Once upon a time there was a car factory. It had lots of workers and all the cars lined up carefully when they needed fixing or upgrading.

One day, the queue of cars waiting to be seen was so long that some of them had to be turned away for the day and were asked to return the next day.

The large green truck was mad. He did not want to wait. He thought it was unfair so he did something bad.

He drove as fast as he could into the factory so nobody else could use the factory that day either. Everyone was very sad but luckily noone was hurt. The police came straight away and took him away.

He felt really bad and said sorry. Then he helped to rebuild the factory but a bigger one so more people could be seen at once. Then they were all friends and he was good from then on!!!

THE END

I loved all the dinosaurs standing watching in the second picture!!! All the children had a little part in remembering the story and they were very pleased that it had such a happy ending!!!! :-) 

 

Under the Sea block exploration!

What happens when you add wooden blocks and sea creatures?? An unlikely combination I hear you say! We did just that today, along with a blue fleece and some fabulous Playmobil Mer people and the children came up with some fabulous ideas as per usual.

We had a zoo aquarium with a sunken underwater castle....

 A shark collection tank....

 A coral reef area where the fish could hide...

And a keep fit centre!!!! :-D

Dinosaur block construction!

We have had the Ipad blocks for about a year now (the free packaging that sandwiches each IPad when it is bought) and they are still as popular now as they were when we first introduced them. And with relatively few casualties despite them being trodden on from time to time! We have had them out every day this week and what I love is that the play and constructions change each time they are out :-)
On the first day the dinosaurs were in a multi-storey car park...in the next session they were at a theme park and mixed the long wooden blocks in with them to make slides. There has also been a castle this week and a mountain leading up to a volcano... Fab imaginative play for next to no money (well aside from someone having bought the IPads of course, but you get what I mean!!!)
I love the precision with which the blocks have been aligned in the top picture and the dinosaurs peeking out in between in the second!