Irresistible Ideas for play based learning » Language & Literacy

::: mini beasts and mini webs

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:01:13 +0000

As the children seem to be quite interested in mini beasts at the moment, we read a great book together about bugs and beetles and other creepy crawlies.

It was a great opportunity to discuss the differences between insects and spiders and our old favourite topic, metamorphosis.

The children wanted to create their own mini beasts so we popped out egg cartons and lots of other bits and pieces…

and let the children go for it.

They came up with some very wild …

and wonderful creatures.

We love the way the children were referring back to the book checking out details like the number of legs their mini beast needed.

We particularly love this mosquito!

After having made the big woollen webs the day before …

the children had a great time playing in them with their new mini beasts …

and just playing in them!

Some children were keen to make their own webs for their mini beasts to go into.

We had a big pile of sticks which Donna had brought in (as you do) and these were perfect for the children to use for mini webs as well as lots and lots of wool scraps left over from the day before.

Some used the sticks crossed …

while others chose to use just one stick.

Both designs were very effective!

The mini beasts had found new homes …

all totally irresistible!

::: marble run fun

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:01:19 +0000

We have found with the cold, wet weather that the children are not interested in the water wall – we don’t blame them!

We seem to have marbles on our minds at the moment with different activities we have been doing and thought that perhaps we could utilise the water wall in a different way.

It needed a bit of snazzing up as it was looking a bit neglected, so with the children’s help we added a few more bottles and some hoses as well.

Talk about giving the old girl new life!

The children love it and are having lots of fun manipulating the different components …

to make a variety of paths for their marbles.

The beauty of the wall is that come summer the bottles and hoses will be suitable for both marbles and water play!

As you can imagine the children are having a ball playing with their new look wall.

A mar-ball that is!

We are a part of the ”Childhood 101 – We Play Link“

::: block play revisited again and again …

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:01:35 +0000

Thanks to the wonderful help and support of our followers we recently reconnected with Steven and Vanessa from “Block Play” formerly known as “Mahkupu”.

We had a lovely surprise this week when we received an excited phone call from Vanessa and Steven as they have been overwhelmed by the reponse they have been receiving from parents and teachers who have seen their product on our website.

They happened to be in the area visiting a local kindergarten extolling the virtues of their blocks, and wanted to have a chat about it, so popped by with a delicious cake for afternoon tea – sorry, no photo as it was scoffed really quickly! We had a great chat and they were thrilled to hear how our children continue to gain so much pleasure from playing, constructing and engineering with their fabulous blocks.

Besides the obvious (see above), we love that they are made from certified plantation grown hardwood and made in community workshops in Java, supporting the local population. Go Vanessa and Steven!

They are in the process of putting together their own website, but if you would like to get in touch with them meantimes, their email address is blocks@tpg.com.au

Each time we’ve posted about these magnificent blocks many followers from around the world, particularly the United States have shown interest in purchasing the blocks and having them shipped overseas. We have had a big chat to Steven and Vanessa about this and they have agreed that if they could find a responsible person to become an ‘Agent’ for their product they would seriously consider looking into the logistics of shipping their product to the U.S.

SO if you would be interested in chatting to Steven and Vanessa about this please send them an email or get in touch with us through out “Contact Us” page!