DINO FUN!

September 10, 2016 Samdinosaur, dinosaur theme, play, small worldLeave a comment

The palaeontologists were in full swing this week at school! There was so much purposeful play in action as the children worked together excavating fossils, hatching dino eggs and exploring the small worlds around our play area…

We had fun with dinosaur sensory play and sorting…

Various dino art and activities…

Highlights of our week were our volcano experiment, searching for fossils and hatching our dino eggs!

Some art to remind us of our week amongst the dinosaurs!

And some eggs left over to enjoy!

dino-egg-fun

FUN ON THE FARM!

August 13, 2016August 26, 2016 Samart, farm theme, loose parts, play, sensory play, small worldLeave a comment

So many budding farmers at school this week! The children have loved talking about and exploring the farm… Of course farm animals are always a favourite but there was also a deeper level of discussion around our food and where it comes from…Caring for animals and our responsibilities towards nature as well as a sense of gratitude for farms and farmers were also hot topics this week!

There were plenty of opportunities for open ended creative activities as well as great sensory play…

Creative and memorable art to remind us of our week on the farm!

UNUSUAL ANIMALS

May 27, 2016 Samanimal theme, play, play provocations, sensory, small world, sortingLeave a comment

We’ve had great fun this week learning about animals we don’t get to see naturally in the wild in our part of the world…The children have loved every minute – learning new songs, getting familiar with weird and wonderful creatures, dramatic play and art…

Small world discovery, sensory play and colour and shape sorting…

Of course lots of different art to remind us of our fun week!

RAINFOREST!

May 13, 2016 Samloose parts, play, play provocations, rainforest1 Comment

The children have had great fun learning about the rainforest this week! There have been many questions and opportunities to learn as they have discovered all the hidden treasures of the forest! Fascination with creatures big and small and how important the rainforests are to our earth…

We surrounded ourselves with all sorts of play provocations this week…

Some loose part and small world play…

Many opportunities for getting creative and exploring colour…

Sensory, animal sort and snake threading play…

Creating some of our favourite rainforest friends…

And finding hidden rainforest friends in our own outdoor forest…

AUTUMN PLAY

April 22, 2016 SamAutumn, early childhood development, light, loose parts, play provocationsLeave a comment

Somehow Autumn always arrives just in time for us to explore another season! This year is no exception…suddenly the days have gotten chilly and there are plenty of leaves floating around to remind us Autumn has arrived! In between playtime we have had hot chocolate breaks to warm us up and chat around the table while Autumn play provocations and colours have surrounded us…

The children have been fascinated by the earthy smells and textures of Autumn. There has been a lot of discussion around the changing colours of Autumn and how nature prepares for the coming winter…

We have had fun playing around with different art forms and incorporated our Autumn finds into them…

Changing light and temperature during the Autumn mornings has not gone unnoticed by the children so we incorporated some fun light and shadow play to encourage experimentation and discussion around this…Such fun!

NURSERY RHYME FUN!

April 22, 2016 Samart, nursery rhymes, play, play provocations, playschoolLeave a comment

We eased into the term with some nursery rhyme fun! The children had so much fun re-enacting their favourite nursery rhymes and learning some new ones! Nursery rhyme sensory tubs, felt boards and activities were great tools to encourage discussion and play…

Of course plenty of art to help us remember our rhymes and teach our friends!

EASTER FUN!

March 16, 2016 Samart, easter, loose parts, play provocations, playschool, sensory activity, sorting activitiesLeave a comment

The last few days before term have been filled with Easter fun! The children seem to sense there are holidays ahead and the priority is to fill each morning with as much play time together as possible… We’ve been enjoying the last of the warmer days before term 2 with plenty of outdoor fun and easter anticipation…

We’ve had fun easter play provocations in the classroom…

Lots of loose parts to sort and play, sorting trays to explore, sensory colour baskets and colour sorting…

Great excitement playing with rainbow rice…

And easter art to take home and enjoy!

COLOUR FUN!

March 4, 2016March 10, 2016 Samactivity, art, colour, loose parts, play, play provocationsLeave a comment

We’ve had great fun discussing the colourful world around us this week! It’s been a time to reinforce our colour knowledge and explore colour through various art forms and craft…

Colour sorting sensory play and emergent reading fun…

The children had great fun balancing marbles and discussing all the beautiful colours and patterns inside them…

During the week we made sure there were plenty of small world sensory play opportunities..

And of course plenty of fun in the outdoor kitchen and loose part play with natural materials…

EXPLORING SUMMER

February 26, 2016March 1, 2016 Samactivity, loose parts, play, play provocations, playschool, sensory activity, summer themeLeave a comment

This week we had fun doing and discussing all things summer…While we still have warm summer mornings there is plenty of time for getting messy outdoors! Discussion ranged from camping to insects to keeping cool and what to wear to our favourite places, picnics and the beach amongst many other things…

Around the class we had summer play provocations which the children had great fun playing with…

Outdoors there was plenty of time to cook with sand and water in the outdoor kitchen…

We constructed a ball slide where the children had a great time collecting all the balls and seeing how fast they could roll them down the slide…

Plenty of free art out to explore and loose parts to create with…

We played with coloured ice balls in water and then for an added sensory element added some shaving foam the next day…The children loved how the colours melted into the foam and swirled around…

Of course summer crafts to take home and remind us of our fun week…

PET LOVE

February 19, 2016 Samactivity, counting, emergent reading, felt board, pets, play, play provocations, playschoolLeave a comment

We’ve had great fun this week talking about pets and how much they mean to us… Chat and discussion about how to look after pets, what we love about pets and what we think having a pet is all about… The children have especially loved dramatic play this week – school has been bustling with the sounds and scampering of every pet under the sun!

A discussion table, felt fish pets and lots of small world and sensory play…