WEAVE recycling centre in Leamington Spa

I had the privilege of visiting the WEAVE recycling centre in Leamington Spa last week and came away both impressed and inspired (as well as armed with a decent sackful of open ended 'waste' materials to try out in my setting :-) ).

I attended a course on Creating and thinking critically. We were first shown a short PowerPoint to show the benefits of open-ended play with recycled materials and to detail exactly how well it fits in with the new elements of the EYFS framework. Then, after exploration of the materials at hand, we were asked to create an exciting and stimulating environment that would help children to ask questions and give them an opportunity to try out new ideas and ways of thinking...we had 45 minutes until 9 reception children (4-5year olds) arrived!!! We had great fun and it was interesting to see how different each of the environments were. The children were lovely and engaged well with the materials (mostly!) :-) it was fascinating to see how they approached the materials and they gained in confidence in a short space of time - it was the first time they had been in this environment. Lots of them experimented with fitting, overlapping and threading - a common recurring concerto throughout the group and something I would want to plan for next time if I were to meet them again....sadly I will not!! But I am exited to try these resources out with my own group...watch this space!!

Colours app for iPad and iPhone

Came across this blog article today and love the idea of this app! http://www.appsplayground.com/apps/2012/10/09/color-hunt-for-kids-iphone/#more-2853

I then found and downloaded the free app Find!Color which works on similar principles but has turned it into a game with points. I can see how both would be useful - non competitive (color hunt), finding colours against a set time limit - good for teamwork and excitement (Find!Color)

Both apps are listed for iPhone but the demo video shows the app being used on an iPad and I had no issues using Find!Color on the iPad.

Would be interested to see what other people also think!

Exploring Natural Materials Part 2

What a fab day! I put out tubs of natural materials and our mirror spots and left the children to explore. Last week, we were looking at patterns and it was lovely to see some pattern-like constructions emerging in their play. Their fine motor skills are improving daily and the children are spending more time engaged in these activities than 6 weeks ago. Even more importantly, they are having fun, learning to share and talking about their work as they go :-)

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!

Light and shadow play

The light exploration corner in my class has become very popular in the last few weeks, especially with those children who do not have English as their first language. 

In the first few days, there was a lot of awe and wonder, looking at colours, shapes and the children were fascinated to discover that moving objects on the OHP meant that the objects on the curtain also moved.

 Then one child discovered that shadows were created on the curtain for everyone to see. 

"Look, look! It's me!"

We cut out some shapes together and the two paper children had a 'conversation' together. It was lovely to watch how some of my English native speakers took the lead here and the EAL learners were able to copy new language structures and have a go themselves. These paper children were in a magical fairy land and they were off to visit the rainbow....!

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... :-)