Over at Ringwood Uniting Preschool, they appear to be studying metamorphosis at the moment, if looking at their imaginative play sets is anything to go by.

First we noticed their frog set up. We love the open book being incorporated into the learning.

Then we saw their gorgeous Hungry Caterpillar corner. Elizabeth is just so good at putting together these beautiful set ups.

It is hard to believe that we are in a playroom in the middle of the suburbs…

because it feels as if we have been transported …

into a rain forest!

Weaving not only creates a fabulous work of art, it can be a wonderful group activity and is also excellent for working those little fingers.

We have done group weavings in the past using a big box …

sticks …

and fences.

At Dover Street Preschool they did weaving on a wooden frame.

We found an old bike on the roadside rubbish and took off the wheels.

Looks a bit sad, doesn’t it?

We added some ribbons and wool…

and let the children go for it!

We popped it up on the fence when it was finished. OK, so three year olds aren’t great weavers, but they worked together as a team and had fun!

Next time we might try weaving this tennis racquet – we’ll keep you posted.

How much do children just love playdough?? We have to admit that when it is just made and is still warm and silky smooth, we find it hard to resist too. If you are in need of a reminder about some different recipes, go here.

Often play dough goes hand in hand with ‘cooking’ play, but it is also great just to have the dough by itself to manipulate and create without any preconceived ideas.

If you want to pop out other props, items from nature are always beautiful and leaving the play dough plain complements this.

We added feathers …

stones …

driftwood …

dowelling …

and gumnuts.

The children moved right away from the rolling, cutting, baking-type scenarios.

How beautiful!

We all know that giving the children’s fingers as much of a work out as possible at the preschool stage is helping prepare the children’s hands for the complex task of writing and as preschool teachers/parents we are very conscious of providing heaps of fine motor activities.

They can be very simple of course, such as this oldie but goodie we saw at Ringwood Uniting Preschool.

We noticed this girl very carefully placing the pegs …

 very neatly next to each other …

all around the edge of the box, chatting to herself the whole time.

As we blogged about in this post last week Play for Life, in partnership with Play Australia, (the Australian representative body of the UN International Play Association) will be hosting the inaugural Australian Children’s Play Summit here in Melbourne on the 17th and 18th of May.

As part of their work with school communities, Play for Life is committed to providing children with opportunities to have a voice and input on matters that affect them in relation to play. To this end, Play for Life is inviting students in their Play for Life POD schools and others, as representatives of their broader community, to become Student Delegates of the Play Summit and take part in developing the first stages of what will become a Play Charter for Australian children.

In November 2011, Year 5 and 6 students from some of their Play for Life POD schools gathered together to scope out ideas for Australia’s inaugural Children’s Play Summit. Spearheaded by students at Eastbourne Primary School, this work laid a very important foundation for the Play Summit taking place at the Melbourne Town Hall.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle will be present to welcome the children to the Melbourne Town Hall where they will spend time with other student delegates from around Victoria sharing the ideas they have gathered as representatives of their schools and different communities to scope out a manifesto for Australia’s very first Play Charter by children, for children. Once their ideas have been documented they will enter council chambers where they will vote on something not only very dear to their hearts but also a vital and key component to their human development – PLAY!

The children will then create a “Play Manifesto” which they will formally deliver to Play Australia in a Closing Ceremony at Government House in Melbourne hosted by the Governor of Victoria, the Honourable Alex Chernov AC QC, and his wife Mrs Elizabeth Chernov, the Patron of Play for Life. Play Australia will in turn pass the Play Manifesto up to the UN Committee in New York, where it will form part of Australia’s contribution to the UN General Comment on Article 31. the manifesto

As this is event is the inaugural Australian Children’s Play Summit and while Australia, unlike many other OECD countries does not yet have a Play Charter in support of Article 31, these young student representatives will be creating history as they lay their fingerprints on this most important document and they raise their hands to be heard.  As it states in Article 12 “ … When adults are making decisions that effect children, children should have the right to say what they think should happen …” The team at Play for Life are determined to hear our children’s voices and it is their vision that the Australian Children’s Play Summit will become an annual, national event of which Play for Life are delighted to be organisers!

You can find out more about the Australian Children’s Play Summit and the Play for Life organisation on this video taken from the TODAY show on channel nine on Sunday May 6th!

At Rugrats Retreat childcare recently Donna offered the children a basket of peel and stick foam shapes and invited them to do whatever they wanted with them.

The idea was simple.

Provide them with a new experience …

an opportunity to enhance their fine motor skills …

and a chance for lots of fun.

While some children found this activity more challenging than others it provide them with lots of opportunity for problem solving with many of their friends offering tips and instructions on how to best remove the paper backing.

and we do so LOVE that!

We have chatted before about how useful old drawers are for such things as this great sand tray at Kallista Preschool …

and this sorting tray at Stockdale Primary School.

For some reason we have a few kicking around the place (who knows why) and felt like setting one up as small imaginative play area. The weather was very in-between – not summer and not yet autumn – and a good day for a stroll down by our local creek where we found some good logs, beautiful gum leaves and heaps of cockie feathers.

We took them home with some good ideas of our new set up. While we were getting our bits and pieces together, our little two year old spied the drawer, all empty and enticing and popped into it with her doll and ball – way too cute! Who needs sophisticated play equipment?

We needed to trim a few spiky bits off the logs before we could use them …

added some tree cookie ladders and platforms, then were ready to put it altogether with sand as a base.

We were careful not to put too many extra play props in there (in this case some cats) as the children need room to move things around without bumping over other props.

It looks pretty good!

We took it to kinder and replaced the cats with reptiles. That worked well too.

“In May 2012, Play for Life Australia, in partnership with Play Australia, (the Australian representative body of the UN International Play Association) will be hosting the inaugural Australian Children’s Play Summit right here in Melbourne. The first of its kind in Australia, the Play Summit will bring together primary school children over a two day period to discuss something not only very dear to their hearts but also a vital and key component to their human development – PLAY.

Australia is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention sets out the rights of the child in 54 articles, spelling out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

Article 12 gives children the right to express their views freely in all matters affecting them …

1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.

Article 31 addresses the child’s right to play …

Article 31

1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.

2. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.

As part of our work with school communities, Play for Life is committed to providing opportunities to have a voice and input on matters that affect them in relation to play. To this end, Play for Life is inviting students in our POD schools and others, as representatives of their broader community, to become delegates of the Play Summit and take part in developing the first stages of what will become a Play Charter for Australian children.”

Please direct any enquiries to Jane at … jverberne@playforlife.org.au

We often had some sort of pendulum play happening when we worked at St John’s together …

outside and in.

 These were four and five year olds enjoying this pendulum play, but it is also something quite young children can manage and enjoy.

We have a tennis ball in stocking hanging from a tree out the back which the older children usually hit around (with no flying balls going over neighbours’ fences!).

Our nearly two year old was out there by herself and noticed the equipment

had a little look and feel …

then had her own go.

We think she did pretty well for a young’n!

Having a wander around the bloggosphere as we do, we noticed over at Happy Hooligans that their colourful play dough had gone brown, as it does! Anyway Jackie got out the old Mr Potato Head features and let the children go for it. As we had some play dough nearing its use by date we thought we’d do the same, just to jazz up the slightly dried out play dough a bit.

These children are three year olds, and they just loved it!

Simple, fun and a new way for these littlies to use the play dough.

Everyone loves Mr Potato Head!

We think he would be happy with his new look too!