My favourite thing about I do is the inspirational people I meet along the way. I recently came across the fabulous work by sisters Kerri and Amy who are childminders, rated Outstanding by Ofsted in Kent. The way they present activities for the children is pretty special and I am over the moon that they will be joining us on Learning and Exploring Through Play.
Today I am sharing an outdoor mark making activity using Nature and recycled materials.
Using a cable reel as a table and cardboard boxes for containers - Nature items such as leaves, sticks, conkers along with bowls containing oozy mud were all available to mark make with.
If you would like a cable reel like this - try posting in a local group on Facebook asking if anyone has one. You will find a couple of people will have them lying around in their work place or at home that they no longer need. They are the perfect height for children and just like the one in the picture I love the marks of creativity that they gather over time.
Read more - Children need more time Outdoors
Of course the children were straight over and couldn't wait to explore what was on offer.
Some children enjoyed mixing the sloppy mud using the sticks. Some were keen to make concoctions.
Although the set up was to offer the opportunity to make marks - a child's imagination is a wonderful thing and a set up like this could very quickly become a kitchen with opportunities to add ingredients and make a cake. It could be that a child would want to explore cause and effect and pop materials into the mud and see how they change.
Be Inspired - Recycled Cardboard Box Small World
They could use the items to stack and build a tower, or use them to represent something else. Some children used the sticks to spread the mud over their hands, which gave a great sensory twist.
This isn't a closed activity and by that I mean there isn't just one single way to play. There are many.
The children transported the bowls over to the easels and used different nature items to make marks on some recycled pieces of cardboard that had been cut down to size. They stood fascinated as the mud transferred over onto the canvas.
There is so much to enjoy from being Outdoors with the children. Invitations to play like this are so much fun and can provide lots of different outcomes.
I would like to say a huge thank you to Kerri's Childminding for joining us today and we look forward to sharing more from them very soon.
Be sure to take a look at Kerri's Childminding on Facebook for lots more amazing ideas. They are also selling some of the most stunning resources that will no doubt take your fancy.
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We quite possibly have the best community group on Facebook. Looking for inspiration, advice? Want a place to share your ideas and activity set ups with like minded people?
See all our activities in action via our channel. We throw in a little family life too so you may just find out a little more about the family behind Learning an Exploring Through Play.
Do you live in the UK? Are you always on the look out for new, fun places to visit? We would love you to be apart of our outdoor exploring group. Come and share your own ideas or be inspired to get outdoors by others.
Other posts to check out on Learning and Exploring Through Play:
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