Children’s Learning Journey

Week commencing 31st 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:

The last week of term is often the hardest for very young children but all seem to be in good spirits and coping well at pre-school. During last week we observed children using small world equipment to reinforce their role play as they were “doctors”, helping each other get well or dancers and Mummy’s at the same time looking after their “babies” and taking care of the home.

Children enjoyed telling us what jobs they would like to do later in life as they looked at many different jobs in the matching game.

This Week:

Autumn

Key Vocabulary: leaf, leaves, conkers, acorn, twigs, brown, orange, yellow, red, crispy, crunchy.

Skills children will learn: children will be encouraged to observe their immediate environment, using descriptive language to convey what they see, reinforced by using natural materials to make prints, collages and pictures, go on nature walks around the school grounds and talk about the weather.

Attitudes children will become more aware of: what is around them in the natural environment. They will participate in activities that enable them to explore colour, texture, shape and size. They will be sensitive to the environment and show curiosity in things around them.

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 recognisable 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 Hh. The sound and action for this is to hold your hand in front of your mouth panting as though you are out of breath and say h,h,h,h.
• 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: free play. Children will be able to use the home corner to initialize role play and creative play, introducing narratives and playing with and alongside their peers. .
• Math’s area: Matching autumn items – children will have a table full of autumnal items including leaves, conkers, acorns, and various colours. They will be asked to sort and categorise the items into groups e.g. all red leaves, all conkers etc. we will include addition and subtraction to the game and model mathematical and descriptive language. .
• Construction area: stick, stumps and twigs – this will be an outdoor activity where children will be able to use string and natural materials to enhance the den. We will collect items for children to use as we go on a walk in the wooded area of the school grounds, encourage children to tell us how they will use them, ask them to describe what they have found and modify their construction afterwards if necessary. This activity will bring children closer to nature, more aware of the weather and how we can use items from our immediate environment in the pre-school garden. .
• 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 climb into the car, pull the gears and steer..
• 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 – The Farm – this activity has always been enjoyed by children in the setting. Please look for farms while you are out and about, ask the children questions about what they can see.
• Mark making table: Leaf rubbings – this activity enables children to really feel the texture of different leaves using the whole of their hands. Children will be shown different parts of the leaf and will be given various mark making materials such as chalk, charcoal and crayons to look at the patterns leaves can make. We will compare size, shape, colour and pattern while we are doing this activity. In small groups we will take the children into the pre school garden to collect leaves. The children will be able to use the leaves and wax crayons to do rubbings onto paper. I will discuss with the children about the size, shape and colour of the leaves and what marks they have made on the paper. While walking to preschool perhaps some children might enjoy collecting their own leaves to show us.
• 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. .
• The Interactive White Board: this week we will look at Autumn on the Cbeebies website. It makes children aware of weather changes, when Autumn occurs in the year and what we should be wearing to keep warmer. .
• The Book Corner: The Book of the Week will be Percy’s Park. Children will be able to tell us about the story if they know it already, if not, it is a really good story for guessing the ending or making your own ending up. Children will be able to talk about feelings of others and why Autumn is a particularly important time of the year for some animals. We will talk about hibernation and food gathering as we look at why the squirrel needed to collect nuts..
• Malleable area: This week we will have playdough and make hedgehogs. Children will be able to experiment with different tools including their fingers to pinch, twist, pull and roll dough. .
• Junk Modelling: -Recycling area: children will have a whole range of autumnal items to create beautiful collages with. Children will have a great opportunity to explore many different textures and will have to be inventive as they try to stick heavier objects such as conkers onto paper. . .
• Paint area: during this week children will be encouraged to make leaf prints by feeling a leaf, deciding which side is the rough side and which side is smooth, painting the rough side and pressing it onto the whiteboard to make a print. We will look closely at the print they have made and will transfer the print onto paper if the child wants to. .
• Science area: we will continue during this week to make bird feeders as not all children had the opportunity during last term. We will also make bird feeders for the pre-school garden enabling children to watch for birds visiting the garden, describing them to us all and perhaps drawing them. .
• Outdoor area: gardening – getting to know the area. Free flow play and exploration..

Staff will: encourage children to use their hands a lot to touch and feel the autumnal items we have in the setting. Ask lots of questions about their immediate environment and help children become more aware of the nature around them helping them to appreciate the lovely setting we are very lucky to have.

Parents and carers can: take children on autumnal walks during the half term break and collect items such as leaves, conkers, conker shells to bring into pre-school on their first day back. Set some of the items out on a tray, cover them, remove one and ask your child what is missing. This is a game we will be playing during snack time improving concentration skills, memory, the ability to sit for longer and participation in games that require patience.

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.