We learn through play - what's your super power?
The children have helped to choose what to put in their superhero den with resources around the classroom that included telephones, a dolls house and some dolls to rescue. There was some great language, 'hello, superhero here', 'I'll save you' and different voices used along with fabulous imaginative skills 'Help, I'm stuck in a big muddy puddle', 'Quick, I'm falling from the window' as they became the hero or the person in need of rescuing. The children really enjoyed the home made capes Miss Emma made for the superheroes from old t-shirts and no sewing!
Invitation to constructThe construction table was really popular this week. Construction toys help children to problem solve, connect, understand and be inquisitive. The construction toys at Brambles are changed for each session to enable children to learn about different materials and ways of constructing.
EYFS Links. Constructive play supports many of the areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Language acquisition is just one area. Children learn new vocabulary and how to use it in appropriate ways and by using the instruction cards that staff have put together, it also supports early reading skills as they 'read' the instructions . Children who's first language isn't English, benefit from these types of activities too as they are socially interacting, learning new words and having fun through play. Construction supports mathematical language and skills. They will use and understand words like 'below', 'on top', 'next to' etc. Children use words that include measure, weight, size and numeracy. Constructive play also teaches children about shapes, sorting, matching and classification through the various materials and resources that are provided. Construction allow children to play independently or to play and interact socially with others. Children apply team work and collaborative skills as well as learning to take turns, risk taking and sharing a common goal.
Instruction cards. The cards have been produced using the actual objects and laminated. On one side of the card it has all the objects you need laid out individually to help the children collect what they need to build the object and on the reverse is a photograph of the finished object. Some cards have one piece missing on the list but is present on the finished picture. This is to allow more confident children to notice and identify what's missing or suggest how it could be fixed together themselves. For other children an adult can support the child in looking at the picture to notice that the blue popoid is missing (in this example) to connect the neck. These cards are available for all the construction resources at Brambles.
Story time this week saw the children sharing all the cartoon superheroes they know such as Batman, Spiderman and many more before listening to this weeks stories; Princesses Share and Michael Recycle. Princess Lily soon realises that its more fun to share her toys and be a good friend to play with rather than not sharing and being by herself, whilst Michael is a green-caped crusader, as he rescues his town and proves that recycling can actually be quite fun! The children had the courage to stand up in front of their friends at group time when they were asked to talk about who was their REAL superhero. There were some wonderful answers! 'My brother because he plays with me', 'my sister because she brushes my hair ', 'my dad because he helps me get dressed' etc. Staff also had some funny answers and our favourite was 'my mums not a superhero because she just watches TV!' Together we spoke about other heroes such as nurses, soldiers, teachers, doctors etc and the roles they have.
On Friday Miss Clare's group began to prepare for next weeks activities with a twinkle and a shine, I wonder 'Whatever Next!'