Children’s Learning Journey

Week commencing 10th October 2011

Children’s learning journey based on children’s interests, needs and professional observations made in the setting.

To make the most of the room we have, we have set up the following activities in Tosca: - playdough, this is set up on the round table as we feel this is a really sociable activity that lots of children enjoy, 3 table top activities such as abacus, a mark making activity and a maths activity, the large train track and the small world village, as well as the wooden car. These are as well as the activities we always have set up in the main setting. Staff work in pairs in each room and when we open the outdoor area, we close TOSCA. If we are quieter in the afternoon we use the pre-school room and the outdoor area. If you have any questions, please ask staff. We will change the activities on a weekly basis according to our theme as we do the pre-school room.

Last week

Last week gave us an insight into the various pets you have at home ranging from dogs and cats to horses and pigs. Thank you all for your photographs and information from home. Children have enjoyed sharing their pets with us at pre-school and the week culminated in a trip to Pets at Home where children were able to look at a variety of pets close up and find out a little bit about how to care for them.

Almost all children chose to have a go at the pets jigsaws enabling them to gain a better concept of shape, space and measure.

Some children enjoyed making beds for their “pets”. Children used their imagination and creating skills as they chose resources that would make their pet happy.

Some children designed beds for their pets in other ways by constructing them out of bricks building on manipulative and problem solving skills, improving small motor movement and understanding concepts such as balance, size, length and height.

If children show new learning, we will record this learning in their profile. We will be putting a sheet of stickers into your plastic envelopes and sending them home for you to record what your child does. Please return them if they do anything you feel you want to put into profiles and put it into their drawers. Staff will sort them out at the end of each week. A photograph of your child mark making at home will also be useful for profiles.

None of the plans are time restricted and much of the activity will be dictated by the child’s individual interest and involvement.

What I enjoy in pre-school.

Key Vocabulary: Art, construction, maths, books, dough, the car, the train track, small world, mark making, ICT, junk modeling, science, home corner, role play, imaginary play.

Skills children will learn: children will be encouraged to communicate preferences to us so that we can build upon their likes and dislikes in pre-school. This week we will have a “formal” children’s committee meeting to ensure we are taking the right paths for children attending the setting. Children will be able to compare as they tell us why they prefer one area to another. We will ask children to experiment by using areas they say they do not like as much as others and see if they change their minds. They will reason as they discuss their preferences. Children will be encouraged to express ideas and feelings and staff will note and record these.

Attitudes children will become more aware of: children will be enjoy all of their favorite activities as they told us what they wanted out this week. They will grow in confidence as they play with and alongside others with the same interests. They will be motivated as they let others know what they enjoy and why. They will participate in small and large group activities as they use the setting in many ways. They will appreciate other children’s feelings and preferences as they are encouraged to play with others in areas they don’t use all the time.

Knowledge and Concepts: Activities that will reinforce mark making skills this week are:

• Writing the letter of the week – please encourage your child to take part in this activity as you enter the room. It is their first taste of mark making and is fun if you join in with them. There is no right or wrong way to begin with, just encourage your child to hold the writing implement. If your child is starting to try, encourage all the way. If your child is confident and is starting to form recognizable letters, show them where to start the letter – usually at the top – and form the letter correctly. This saves time later as your child may begin to form letters one way and may have to relearn. This activity encourages hand/eye coordination, sound and letter recognition, develops fine/small motor skills, increases and extends vocabulary, develops refined hand movements, demonstrates 1:1 correspondence, to select writing implements that suit their needs, to enjoy using language, to explore initial sounds in words, to initiate and create letter sounds.
• Our sound this week is Ff. The action and sound for this letter is to let hands gently come together as if toy fish deflating and say f,f,f,f,. This can be practiced at home.
• Snack table: children will be able to make snack each morning. Children will prepare a healthy, filling snack such as fruit salad, toast (pre-cooked for children) and bananas, crumpets and spread, crackers and cheese, fruit smoothies, pitta breads, wraps, scones, fruit teacakes, bagels, sandwiches, muffins, and other food such as food from other countries or baking. All knives are child safety knives and this activity is closely supervised.
• Home Corner: children will be able to practice and refine imaginative play. They will be able to discover the use of everyday things, begin to develop the ability to symbolize and are able to use realistic and miniature items to support symbolic play, for example, tea sets. This area is a great favourite with many children in the setting.
• Math’s area: threading – during the last week, lots of children wanted to use the threading vegetables so we have made this an activity with buttons and cotton reels. Children will be asked to thread a small quantity of either onto a lace. They will count how many they have threaded. The activity will be repeated with different quantities, colour sequences, shape and size measurements. Children will be asked to add and takeaway and count again or estimate how many items are left on their thread.
• Construction area: Duplo – children always seem to help themselves to the Duplo especially large duplo. I think from observations this is because it is easy to link together and make models with. Children will be able to construct a model and will be asked to describe what they have made. They will be encouraged to describe the shapes and the properties of the bricks they have used. Children can also sort the blocks into sets such as colour, shape, curves and flat faces and explain their sorting choices.
• Wooden car: This piece of equipment enables children to use their hands to turn, push, pull, fit into, twist, gauge space and helps to strengthen large muscles as they use their arms to help them
• The Large dolls house: This piece of equipment helps children prepare for mark making by enabling children to hold, grip and carry. It gives their little hands the chance to feel and apply pressure as they play with the small dolls in the house, practice palmer and pincer grips and become more direct with their aim as they have less room to manoeuvre the dolls in the small area in which they are playing.
• Small world activities – This week we will have the train track out again. The hand and arm movements children make as they manoeuvre the train around the track and the car on the mat is a perfect precursors for early writing. These activities also help us identify Schemas in children, enabling us to help children learn in the ways they find easiest. The pushing and pulling actions to move the vehicles around increases their gross motor skills and hand – eye co-ordination.
• Mark making table: stencils – through observation we have seen that children really enjoyed the letter of the week so far so this week we will have letter of the week booklets to join in with. During this activity children will practice a pincer grip to hold graphic materials, they will be encouraged to combine lines and shapes, symbolic representation will be emerging as they practice writing their names and other letters.
• Easel: similar to above although children have access to wipe able pens and chalk. This gives children a different writing or mark making experience. They can experiment with how to use the equipment available to them and begin to understand you don’t need paper to draw on. They have to learn to respect each others space here and take turns, respect each others work as pictures or writing is easily removed. During this week children will be writing Spanish words for counting.
• The Interactive White Board: This board is fantastic for young children to mark make on. We have programmes that encourage children to make their own patterns using their fingers although they Can also use the board pens. Children have the experience of writing or mark making in different positions, not just sat at a table. Children can mark make together, sharing the board and the mark making they are doing on it. Children’s ICT knowledge is enhanced in this area too as they learn how to use the equipment for themselves. Children will practice writing and mark making in many forms here during the term.
• The Book Corner: The Book of the Week will be Were Going on a Bear Hunt – it has been our experience in recent weeks that children love stories with repetition and this story has a fantastic narrative which some children are already familiar with. The story will be read at every session and children will be encouraged to join in, repeat the phrases, improve memory skills, describe the narrative, tell us what the pictures mean to them, ask them how the story makes them feel and tell us what they would do if they were in the story.
• Malleable area: This week we will have playdough. Children enjoy playdough so much we have made it a larger group activity this week so it is a more sociable activity encouraging children to talk to friends while practicing and refining small motor movements.
• Junk Modelling: -Recycling area: During this week the children will be able to make a face of someone who is close to them, someone who they like or there friend. They will use paper plates as the base then be able to use a range of different materials for the different parts of the face. A wide range of textures, materials and tools will be set out for the children to use and describe. This activity encourages the children to make their own choices how they want to use the materials is there choice. While taking part in this activity the children will use their creativity and imagination skills allowing them to express themselves freely. While the children are taking part in this activity I will ask them who’s face they are making, and why they are special to them. Encouraging children to commutate about others and express feelings and significant personal events. (What they have done with that person that they enjoyed and why).
• Paint area: Because paint always has been a favourite of children in the setting, during this week we will add textures and different substances to the paint. We will try washing up liquid, coffee granules and other smelly essences.
• Science area: Making bird feeders. This activity is to promote inclusion as we are fully aware that not all children will have a pet at home. We will make bird feeders so that all children feel they can take part in feeding an animal or bird, learning how to care for an animal or bird, be able to watch the animal or bird visit where they live and become more aware of the environment in which they live.
• Outdoor area: gardening – getting to know the area. Free flow play and exploration.

Staff will: observe and only intervene with play if asked for or is necessary. Staff will be observing all areas children play in and don’t play in, asking them questions and asking them to explain why they play where they do.

Parents and carers can: tell practitioners where their children talk about or seem to avoid in the setting. This may reinforce what we see or help us determine other areas of learning we haven’t picked up on.

The Team

About Belinda: Belinda is Pre-School Manager and is responsible mainly for the planning for pre-school, managing staff, ensuring children’s safety – she is the Pre-school Safeguarding Officer – and ensuring the smooth running of the pre-school.

Belinda achieved CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Pre-school Practice in October 2002 and is now working towards her Level 4 Children’s Care Learning and Development which will give her points towards her Degree , she also has training in Paediatric First Aid, Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene, Developing the Foundation Stage Curriculum, Module 9, Communication, Language and Literacy, Developing the Foundation Stage Curriculum, Module 8, Mathematical Development, Developing the Foundation Stage curriculum, Module 11, Creative Development, Working at Quality in Early Childhood Education – The Well-being and the Involvement of children as keys, Early Identification and Identification, Developing Quality Outcomes for Children, Assessment of Knowledge and Understanding, It’s Different for Boys!, Inclusion – Special Educational Needs in the Foundation Stage, EYFS Training, EYFS Conference for Outdoor Play. Health and Safety Level 2, Selection and Recruitment, Safeguarding Children, PSED: Raising Awareness of the new SEAD Materials, Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering, The Language of Learning, Linking Letters and Sounds, Who is my Key Person? Risk Assessment, Supervision and Appraisal, Stepping into Management Level 3, PSED, Wedge meetings and Nursery Network Childcare Providers Forum’s.

About Nici: Nici passed Level 3 Diplomas in Pre-school Practice over a year ago and has been pre-school Safeguarding officer for the last 12 months. She is trained to deliver Safeguarding training to other staff and settings. Nici is a qualified First Aider, as well as Food Safety, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, EYFS training and Senco, Stepping Into Management – Level 3, Listening to Children, Speech Sounds workshop. Nici now works as pre-school administrator and an assistant in the setting.

About Sarah: has currently finished her Level 3 Diploma in Pre-school Practice and is awaiting her certificate. She is Senco for pre-school ensuring inclusion for all children and their families. She is First Aid trained, has Food Safety and Health and Safety training.

About Jane: Jane is currently training towards her Level 3 Childcare and Development. She hopes to complete this by July 2011. She also has Safeguarding training, Food Safety, Linking Sounds and Letters, Who is my Key Person? And a qualified First Aider.

About Izzy: Izzy is our first pre-school apprentice. She has gained her Level 2 Childcare and Development qualification and is currently studying towards Level 3 which she hopes to pass by July 2011. She is a qualified First Aider, she also has training in Who Is my Key Person?, Health and Safety, Food Safety, Symptoms of Autism, Outdoor Play, Linking Sounds and Letters.

About Tracy: Tracy is currently training towards her Level 3 in Childcare and Development, she also has Food Safety, Health and Safety and is a qualified Paediatric First Aider.

Jo Jingles

On every other Wednesday morning Jo Jingles attends pre-school. This is available to all children that attend on Wednesday morning sessions and is differentiated to suit all children’s ages. Children have the opportunity to sing, dance, move, play musical instruments, and improve physical development and co-ordination. Sessions with Jo Jingles correspond with our theme and reinforce the learning within the pre-school.

Baking and Cookery

Every Tuesday and Thursday we have baking or cookery sessions. This is theme orientated and helps to reinforce the theme of the week. Risk assessments are carried out before any baking or cooking activity and safety is paramount at all times. Children do not have access to the kitchen and do not taste food as it is being prepared unless it is part of the activity. 2 members of staff supervise this activity and plan around the weekly theme. All children that want to take part are able to as many times as they want to and if your lucky they might even save it to eat at home!

All activities are child initiated, child led and differentiated to suit all stages of development. If you would like to discuss an activity please feel free to ask any member of staff at any time.

We would always welcome help from parents. If you would like to help as a volunteer on a regular basis please talk to Belinda. We love having parents around and any help is welcome help. We will use your skills to enhance the setting so if you enjoy baking, cooking, DIY please let us know. If you would just like to come in and be an extra pair of hands – brilliant – we would love it. Your input is always welcome and helps us provide the best setting possible for your children.