Summer is officially here! The weather has been rather delightful so there has been lots of outdoor play. The doors are left open and children have free flow from indoors and out.
Outdoor play is a great way for children to excersie and connect with the world outside. Whether they are enjoying Gross Motor Art, Water Wall Play, Mud Cafes or Creating Giant Supersized bubbles there is lots of fun and adventure to be had!
Your children may have started noticing lots of bugs and mini beasts during their outdoor exploring. Today Sue Baxter joins us to share how she had used a fabulous set of activities and books to teach children all about worms.
Worms are very important to our environment. Do your children know why?
Worms help to increase the amount of air and water that filters effectively through the soil. They break down organic matter too and help to create compost that is needed to grow plants.
Worms are very important to our environment. Do your children know why?
Worms help to increase the amount of air and water that filters effectively through the soil. They break down organic matter too and help to create compost that is needed to grow plants.
Books are a fabulous base to any topic. They are great to get the imaginations flowing and get children to connect with different situations that they may have not faced yet.
Have you come across the story Superworm by Julia Donaldson - (UK/US) ? It is a firm favourite here and one that comes highly recommended. Superworm is a rhyming story with fun chants throughout the book. It tells us a tale of a 'Super Worm' who goes out of his way to help all of his friends who then, in turn help him. Its a perfect addition to any garden or bug themed topic you may be enjoying with your children.
Yucky Worms (UK/US) is another book I added to the Tuff Tray. This book went along really well with our wormery. It is packed with lots of information and fun speech bubbles. It really grabbed the attention of the children and started great discussions.
We made a wormery out of a glass vase. Off we went, out into the garden digging in the soil on a big worm hunt! The children were so excited! It wasn't long before they became successful hunters! We added layers of sand and included teabags, peelings and banana skins so the worms had lots of food to munch on. We also made sure that the soil was ice and moist for them.
(From this activity it would be great to talk with children about composting).
Twinkl delivered again on this topic and we used numbered leaf cards to count out quantities. We looked at tape measures and the children enjoyed finding numbers on the tape and lining up their worms.
Have you come across the story Superworm by Julia Donaldson - (UK/US) ? It is a firm favourite here and one that comes highly recommended. Superworm is a rhyming story with fun chants throughout the book. It tells us a tale of a 'Super Worm' who goes out of his way to help all of his friends who then, in turn help him. Its a perfect addition to any garden or bug themed topic you may be enjoying with your children.
Yucky Worms (UK/US) is another book I added to the Tuff Tray. This book went along really well with our wormery. It is packed with lots of information and fun speech bubbles. It really grabbed the attention of the children and started great discussions.
We made a wormery out of a glass vase. Off we went, out into the garden digging in the soil on a big worm hunt! The children were so excited! It wasn't long before they became successful hunters! We added layers of sand and included teabags, peelings and banana skins so the worms had lots of food to munch on. We also made sure that the soil was ice and moist for them.
(From this activity it would be great to talk with children about composting).
Twinkl delivered again on this topic and we used numbered leaf cards to count out quantities. We looked at tape measures and the children enjoyed finding numbers on the tape and lining up their worms.
There was lot of opportunities to discuss Mathematical language and these cards (also from Twinkl) were a god prompt to get children thinking about different sizes.
One thing that really stood out to me was how kind and caring the children were when handling the worms. The made sure they picked them up carefully, they checked on them regularly - it was lovely to observe.
One of the children was a little unsure, yet her peers encouraged by telling her she would be ok, not to be scared and even went on to explain how they felt when they were in your hand.
We spoke about keeping clean and after playing in the mud we all went to wash our hands with loads of warm soapy water.
It wouldn't be a topic like worms without having play dough as part of the learning! Playdough is not only great fun but its brilliant for developing find motor skills and creativity. These cards set little challenges for the children and they were available for them to use if they wanted to.
Upon reflection of activitivies and topics I am often taken back at all the learning that takes place by setting up a few themed activities. Several areas are being worked on yet the learning that takes place is completely natural and led by the children. They don't know they are learning, they just know they're having fun.
At the end of the day when the children have gone home, the activities have been cleaned away and I sit and think about our days and the fun and play that has taken place - I know I have done my job.
I wonder where our play adventures will take us to next? Until next time - Keep playing and keep having fun!!
A huge thank you to Sue Baxter for sharing another wonderful topic she has been enjoying in her setting with the children!
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