Learning Through Play: Water!

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Before I became a primary school teacher, I trained and worked as a nursery nurse. My 'dissertation' equivalent had the rather considerable and earnest title of "The Importance of Play as a Part of a Child's Development". That was written 15 years ago when I conducted a comparative study between the pre-school establishments in Denmark and those in Wales. A group of my fellow students went out to visit a range of nurseries and took a whole load of photographs for me, while I poured over reference books and a fledgling Internet search engine.

What was hugely apparent back then was how the Scandinavians viewed education to be something that evolved through the child's natural curiosity and desire to learn and understand their world. At the time, nursery education in Wales was still incredibly formal and started at three years lasting a year before little Myfanwy or Dafydd entered formal schooling (as is still the case). In Denmark, children don't start formal education until the age of six which allows them time to be infants before the stiff structure of schooling.

The reason that I mention all of this is because The Boy is 21 months old now and I am fortunate that when he starts his formal education, he will enter into The Foundation Phase. This shift in the style of schooling has been heavily influenced by the Scandinavian model, and sees children exploring their world, getting mucky, playing with toys in a guided manner.

So after a wander around my school's nursery last week, I pinched their ideas and came home and set up a water-play area in the garden!

Do you know what that equals? A whole lot of fun!

Our garden is already quite child-friendly; swing, slide, a cube climbing frame and a playhouse. However, I wanted a messy area. Somewhere that he can mess around with water and dig and get dirty, just like children should. Somewhere he can find insects and bugs and learn about nature. I used to adore my garden as a child and I want The Boy to feel the same way.

Therefore on Saturday I decided to get creative with the above equipment. This is the result:

The educationalist in me will point out the scientific development and vocabulary learnt: pour, empty, full, splash, down, up. That's in addition to the mathematical enhancement when he started pointing out the shapes: triangle, square (ok so it was a diamond, but he was trying) and circle.

The mummy in me will highlight the pride when my son learnt that the water he poured into the funnel came out of the tube a metre away. Or when he was pouring water from one can to another.

The big kid in me is too busy splashing in the mud to care!

The next step is to surrender one of my small vegetable patches to a digging area and 'mini-beast' hotel for him!

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This post has been submitted to the Tots100 March Blog Hop.

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

'Trees'

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The brief that was delivered to my inbox on Friday evening informed us that Tara has a mild obsession with a certain element of nature:

Anyway, to indulge me and my obsession, this week's theme is: Trees.

Simple as that. Trees near your home, from a holiday, new trees, ancient trees. Trees you used to climb as a child, trees you picnic under. Trees.

My first thought was of a very special tree to me, and to The Boy.

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His room is quite small and therefore needed something special doing to it. I had always wanted a room for my child that would be a place that was individual. Somewhere to spark their imagination and provide them with play opportunities. Somewhere to send them off on that soft white cloud to the land of nod with pleasant dreams.

We decorated his room on the Easter Bank Holiday 2009 and each single leaf that I painted was detailed with overwhelming love and attention for my unborn child.

Competition: 'Red Dog, Blue Dog' – Orchard Toys

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I’ve recently been sent the game ‘Red Dog, Blue Dog’ by Orchard Toys to review with The Boy. The game is a first colour match lotto aimed at 2-4 players and children from 2-5 years and priced at £9.25.

When he first saw the box, The Boy was extremely excited and eager to ‘ope’-n it up, he then spent ten – fifteen minutes examining the four different lotto boards, identifying the pictures on them, and then popping out the lotto cards from the punched-out templates. He took a shine straight away to the card with the blue spider on it, and spent much of the remaining morning carrying it around clutched in his hand!

We’ve brought the game away with us on our mini-holiday as I decided that far from the madding crowd would be a good place to help us concentrate and test the game out. The players comprised of mummy, daddy and The Boy, with Oliver Monkey refereeing to ensure fair play.

We haven’t played the game strictly according to the rules as the game is aimed at 2-5 years and The Boy is only 21 months; he doesn’t completely understand the concept of taking turns. However, this shows the adaptability of the game.

We started by sorting the cards into colours, he was able to help us do this quite easily and it was quite reassuring that he could do this as he hasn’t always put the right name to a colour, but in doing this he showed us that he was aware that they were separate and that he could sort. I chose to do this because there are six different coloured objects on each board, but there are not six colours of each object (as there are only four boards).

Next we took it in turns to choose an object from the board for him to find; I am extremely pleased that whether we were asking him to find a blue spider or a red spider, he was able to identify the colours. So even though he can’t remember the names at the time, he does know what the colours are. Playing this game will help consolidate his knowledge of colours. He thoroughly enjoyed finding the game, and I could see his eyes flitting between the cards as he was trying to identify the card he needed.

My husband and I were discussing other uses of the game afterwards, and I suggested that we could use the cards to play ‘Pairs’ or as a colour sorting game. As both a parent, qualified nursery nurse and primary school teacher, I think that this is an extremely adaptable and suitable game for toddlers and infants. A feature that I like on the box is the Orchard Toys’ Educational Guide, which suggests:

  • Links with Early Learning Goals
  • Develop personal and social skills
  • Encourage observation.

I would agree with those educational outcomes but also feel that it will help to develop children’s pre-mathematical and reading skills (identification of shapes and colours, plus the objects’ names are written on the cards).

Definitely a winner in this household!

 

Tidying up is part of the game!

 

To be in with a chance to win your own copy of 'Red Dog, Blue Dog' either follow Orchard Toys on twitter (@OrchardToys) or 'Like' their Facebook page

Extra entries are available through:

– tweeting the following: I want to win an @OrchardToys 'Red Dog, Blue Dog' with @TheBoyandMe https://www.theboyandme.co.uk/?p=1197

– following me on twitter (@TheBoyandMe)

– subscribing to my blog.

Don’t forget to tell me what you’ve done, or you’ll only receive one entry!

Competition ends Thursday 31st March 2011 at 8pm.

Open to UK residents only.

Winners will need to reply to my notification e-mail by 8pm on Saturday 2nd April 2011, or I will draw another winner.

The winner of the competition is Jenny Paulin. Congratulations Jenny, a new baby last night and now an Orchard Toys game for new baby's older brother to play with!


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While I received this game free of charge to provide an honest review, I have not been offered any other reward for my opinion.

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