play

EXPLORING SUMMER

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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…

EXPLORING SUMMER

PET LOVE

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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…

Colour sorting, shape matching and emergent reading…

Of course plenty of open art…

Pet craft activities…

And a class full of gorgeous puppies…

pet puppies

 

 

PET LOVE

PROJECT – TIPI

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This was a really fun project! I love the idea of having a quiet spot on a sunny morning for the children to take a book and relax in…

Items used: fabric (mine is a thickish cotton), binding, bamboo poles, sewing machine.

The method was pretty basic & experimental. (There are a ton of different methods on line). I cut 4 panels the same size, cut out the entrance hole (I picked a hole to make it a little more exciting!) and sewed the binding around the entrance. I then pinned the edges and sewed these. Then right side up I sewed the panels together tucked them in on themselves and sewed another seam wide enough for the poles to slot in. The top of my tipi is pretty snug so I haven’t needed to attach strings to tie.

tipi07

I think I will be making a few of these to dot around at quiet time…

PROJECT – TIPI

RED & OTHER COLOURS

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This week we’ve been getting excited about red…and other colours! Suiting our valentine moods the children have had fun discussing and playing around with colour…

Of course we had to make a rainbow… Endless fun and possibilities…

Some lighting ambience and a little magic…

red39.jpg

Lots of different colour free art & activities…

Sensory tubs…

Water play with red water babies…

Experimenting with puffy red cloud dust…The pictures speak for themselves – we had to do this many times over!

And lots of valentine art for mom and dad!

 

 

RED & OTHER COLOURS

GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

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As we are still early into the year our priorities have been getting to know each other and our new environment… Our aims have been to inspire the children to investigate, experiment and engage…There have been plenty of questions and answers as the children have started their journey of self discovery this year through play…

Our theme has been “our home”. As many of the children are new I’ve let them lead the discussion as we’ve gotten to know each other – chatting at the outdoor kitchen, building and creating together and just taking a look around getting comfortable with their space…The most exciting part of our week was to construct the 3 little pigs houses together. The children played with this the whole week and I often found them “building a house of bricks” (blocks outside)…There has been a lot of dramatic play, teacher led singing and creative singing “open mic”!

This week we have explored scissors & cutting, chalks, painting with tempura & acrylic, glueing and water colours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

BACK TO SCHOOL

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After a long holiday we are slowly getting back into the new term! The past 2 days have all been about getting to know each other, keeping cool and having fun… The children have spent time getting accustomed to their new school environment, teachers and new friends…

Most of the time has been spent in the cool garden enjoying water play and getting to know each other…

garden play
garden play
garden play water play
garden play water sprays
garden play water sprays

The children have had a great time chatting around the creek bed, filling it with water and watching it flow down the river…

creek bed fun
creek bed fun
creek bed fun
creek bed fun
creek bed fun
creek bed fun
creek bed fun

Lots of loose parts to explore!

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Treasure boxes and baskets to discover…

treasure basket
treasure box
treasure box discovery
treasure box discovery

Free art and clay activities…

Free clay
Free clay
Painting

And our picture and family wall ready to fill…

picture wall
my family wall

I’m feeling very excited for a great year filled with plenty of play!

BACK TO SCHOOL

WOODEN TOYS

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At the beginning of our school holiday I was super excited to have some time to search for new wooden toys and resources for our school. Nothing was going to stop me finding the perfect wooden animals, caves and scenes for us to use in play provocations and small worlds this coming term! After spending the first few days searching for local suppliers and following up on all sorts of leads I realised I wasn’t going to find what I was looking for. There are so many beautiful wooden toys out there drooollll but it seems I’d have to import them and this just isn’t a practical solution for me. I am passionate about beautiful wooden toys that are natural and sustainable. The natural wood textures stimulate our littlies senses inviting them to touch, feel and explore. Besides their durability and safety, wooden toys are ideal for encouraging creative and imaginative play. The only solution was to make them myself! I’m incredibly fortunate that my neighbour and his brother own and operate a sawmill that I could source not only local but sustainable wood for my toys. I found a second hand scroll saw online a little workshop corner at home and started playing around!

Ive had so much fun and want to recommend that if I can do this you can do it too!! The end product takes time and muscle to sand and finish properly and safely but totally do able and such fun!

More on these projects to follow!

WOODEN TOYS

ANIMAL PLAY MAT & ACTIVITY

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Making simple play mats is a useful way to use up all your odd size felt bits. I have a number of mats that I’ve made for different play scenes that I bring out during the year.

The children love to get creative with the different textures provided and often end up creating their whole own unique environments for their animals!

If you have animal counters a great activity is to find similar animal silhouettes to make a template sheet and let the children match up the animals.

ANIMAL PLAY MAT & ACTIVITY

SPECIAL SPACES

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In our outdoor area we are fortunate to have 2 gorgeous play houses. The one is more traditional and has a stove and cupboard filled with items in it. The other the children have aptly renamed the “train” with its big square windows and boxy shape!

In the warmer weather we also love to put up tents and tp’s on the grass. The children also love to play on the “island” in the centre of the creek bed where there is a more permanent wooden frame tp.

Indoors we have a odd little corner that has our indoor kitchen, workbench and reading corner. In the colder days we transform the corner with a slot in wooden board with little door. The panel it easy to slid in and remove. The children absolutely love the little door and it makes a great little space for them that becomes a hive of activity and dramatic play area!

SPECIAL SPACES