This week began with lengths of pipes, hose, and channelled wood being brought into the Bowling Club on Monday to create varying new activities for both the red and green team.
One team had fun using the lengths for a type of sensory play as they spoke and made sounds down the new loose parts for friends to hear at the other side. This type of mixed-age, child-led playful experience is really helpful in enabling an environment for auditory perception development to take place. As an example, this game has the potential to improve the children’s ability to engage with the wider world by supporting the development of the auditory figure ground. This is the skillset which helps us tune in to relevant sounds and dismiss background noise.
The other team enjoyed an excellent yet simple water-chute activity that Sam surprised us all with as we stepped onto site in the morning. Children worked so well together using various scoops, bowls and cups to transport water from A to B. It was excellent to see children actively learning and identifying their own successes as they ran several meters to the other end of the pipe to see the water pouring out into a container. As the day passed the children atypically found ways to enhance their own play by testing how different pipe parts and lengths would work when placed into the creation at varying angles. As the warren of water-laden hoses and pipes amassed, so too did the learning opportunities, with children of all ages easily able to participate en masse around this fab new activity. This is definitely an area we wish to expand on with some permanency as the educators possibly had as much fun as the children playing with this set-up!
As the week continued, water play was enhanced by rain which amplified the fun as the muddy cauldron potions, pizza soups, and hot teas became the perfect “gloopy sticky swishy splatty” consistency. Educators are permanently full to the brim with the delicacies tossed, turned and trickled into plates, pots and pans by all the children. Many of the ingredients have been collected on our adventure walks and we have all been wowed by some absolutely gigantic acorns, the likes of which none of us have seen in our combined decades! We suspect some of you may have found them in your children’s bags, if not, you could ask them to find you one next week.
We’ve witnessed some excellent culinary skills out there this week with one educator observing a wonderfully precise wok toss by one of our youngest little learners! All the children have similarly delighted us during every real snack-time with their grasp of polite thank-yous from around the world and we hope to hear that some of this lovely language has made it home.
It’s also around these snack times that we have a great opportunity to sing, move and talk together. This week, children have been encouraged to tell their own stories within this great listening environment and so far, we’ve heard great stories about monsters, dinosaurs, ninjas, and a variety of terrific trains. In these moments, children have become joyously animated in their articulation and I would highly recommend reversing roles at home and saying the wonderful words…”Please can you tell me a story?”.
From all of us, have a brilliant weekend to end this brilliant week!
Little Forest Folk
Wandsworth