A project about 'minibeasts' is likely to arise at this time of year as more and more insects are found in the warmer, more welcoming environment.
It is a wonderful topic that builds on many children's perennial interest in small creatures and all living things. Practitioners may also plan to develop the outdoor provision, to include an 'exploration' or 'minibeast'
area.
This two-part project will give children opportunities to explore aspects of all six areas of learning and, in particular, the 'exploration and investigation' strand of knowledge and understanding of the world. It also identifies ways in which children's learning can be enhanced through the use of information and communication technology.
It is essential that any project reflects the interests and learning needs of children in the group. By providing stimulating and challenging experiences that promote children's imagination and curiosity, practitioners can engage all children in this popular theme.
Approach Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (page 11) emphasises the importance of providing children with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning opportunities. This project, therefore:
* identifies adult-led activities to introduce or develop children's understanding of the topic through stimulating, meaningful experiences that offer challenge;
* suggests ways to enhance areas of core provision, to consolidate children's learning about the theme. It is the practitioners' role to make daily observations of children's learning that inform individual child profiles and future planning. Children should be encouraged to use the resources to support their own learning. This means that the possible learning outcomes will be wide-ranging and varied;
* advocates that settings should be organised and resourced using a 'workshop' approach so that children can access resources autonomously and independently.
Adult-led activities
On the hunt
Organise a minibeast hunt.
Key learning intentions
To show care and concern for others, for living things and the environment.
To know that information can be retrieved from books.
To examine objects and living things and find out more about them.
Adult:child ratio 1 up to 6
Resources
Large magnifiers, magnifying sheets, bug viewers, bug containers, clipboards and markers, digital camera ,reference books and laminated reference sheets, ,plastic dishes with a picture of one sort of minibeast stuck in the bottom, and a collection of small pebbles in a larger bowl.
Preparation
* Practitioners may already have a 'wild garden' area, but if not, it is worth developing a small grassed area, with the children, to make the outdoor environment more insect friendly. Try planting potted lavender, buddleia, cornflowers or wallflowers as they will quickly attract butterflies, moths and ladybirds.
* Allow the grass to grow into a small 'meadow' and plant wild flower seeds with the children.
* Consider planting nettles in full sun, nearby, but safely sectioned off, so that children do not hurt themselves - these will attract even more butterflies and insects.
* Develop an environment that attracts minibeasts by building up areas of fallen leaves, grass cuttings, logs, tree stumps, broken earthenware pots, large and small rocks.
* Download the images of the most frequently spotted insects and make laminated cards to be displayed in the area.
Activity content
* Before going outdoors, talk to the children about the outdoor 'exploration and investigation area', which they may have helped to develop. Discuss the sorts of minibeasts that the children might find there and how they need to be treated with care and respect.
* Search for minibeasts and when one is found, spend time observing, discussing, identifying and recording it. If you plan to take some worms or snails indoors, ensure that the creatures are transferred into their temporary home with care. Return all other insects to where they were found.
* For each creature that is found, support the children as they transfer one pebble into the correct dish. This will provide a tally of the number of minibeasts found.
* Wherever possible, encourage the children to record their thoughts through words, photos and pictures outdoors.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Insect, minibeast, worm, woodlouse, woodlice, beetle, ladybird, pattern, spots, caterpillar, butterfly, moth, snail and slug.
Questions to ask
* What sort of minibeast do you think we might find most of? Why?
* Why do you think the butterflies like the purple buddleia? Why do you think some people call it a butterfly bush?
* Why do you think we might find woodlice under the log?
* What do you think the ladybirds eat?
* What else do you think we might find?
Extension activities
* Plan opportunities for children to study the creatures indoors, in a wormery or appropriate cage.
* Support children as they make 'spotter cards' with pictures and information about their finds. Laminate the cards so that other children can use them to inform their own minibeast searches.
* Spend time browsing information texts about insects and support the children as they ask and answer questions.
Out of African
Investigate African Land Snails.
Key learning intentions
To respond to significant experiences, showing a range of feelings when appropriate.
To have a developing awareness of their own needs and be sensitive to the needs of others.
Respond to significant experiences in a range of ways.
Adult:child ratio 1:6
Resources
Two or more adult African Land Snails. magnifiers, clipboards and markers ,assorted leaves and salad food - cucumber, tomato, lettuce, beetroot ,books about snails such as Your First Giant African Land Snail and Snail Trail (see resources).
Preparation
* Ensure that the African Land Snails are obtained from a reputable supplier (see resources) or borrow them from another educational setting.
* Provide a suitable habitat, including a light to provide heat and help create a humid environment, and cuttlefish to help the snails develop a hard shell.
* Nominate one practitioner to find out about the needs of the snails and to take overall responsibility for their care.
Activity content
* Discuss with the children what is going to happen before the snails are taken out of their home. Explain that the snails may be easily startled, so the children have to be quiet and gentle or the snails may retreat into their shells.
* Ensure that all the children wash their hands before and after they touch the snails.
* Discuss whether the children have seen such snails before and provide lots of time for the children to observe and talk about what they see. Let the children feel the shells or hold the snail carefully on their hand (they will feel the suction).
* Put some of each foodstuff near the snails and see what food they eat first, and what they ignore. Support the children as they record the snails' choice in words and pictures.
* Use the magnifiers to observe the snails moving and feeding (it is also possible to see the breathing hole).
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Snail, shell, spiral, breathing hole, suction, food, salad, favourite, like, dislike, trail, feeler, eye and chalk Questions to ask
* What do you think that the snails like to eat?
* Why do you think the snails need a light? Where do you think the snails might come from?
* Why do you think we should not let the snails go into our garden?
* What do you like about the snails?
* What can you notice if you look very carefully? Do you think that the snails have noses? How do you think they breathe?
Extension activities
* Adult African Land Snails that are kept in the right conditions will lay many small yellow pea-sized eggs that will hatch into tiny, almost translucent snails. These will grow quickly and mature in about two years.
Support the children as they record the development of snails through words, drawings and photographs.
Ensure that appropriate 'homes' are found for any unwanted young snails - they must not be released into the environment.
* Look at the Snail Trail book and support the children as they imagine a similar journey for their own snails and perhaps make their own version of the story.
* Make a 'Food Wanted' poster with the children, using their own drawings, asking families to contribute the snails' favourite food.
* Make a wormery with the children and study the worms indoors.
Child-initiated learning
Sand area
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide an assortment of plastic bugs, sieves, fishing nets, sorting trays, paper bags, logs, metallic gravel, large rocks and pebbles in the dry sand tray.
* Support children's conversations by encouraging them to make connections with earlier or home experiences.
* Observe and where appropriate extend children's play.
* Promote children's autonomy through the independent use of resources.
Play possibilities
* Searching under logs for minibeasts.
* Using the sieve to find bugs in the sand.
* Filling the bags and trays with bugs.
* Sorting the bugs by size, colour or sort.
Possible learning outcomes
Displays high levels of involvement.
Questions why things happen and gives explanations.
Uses the language of size.
Shows confidence with numbers by initiating number activities.
Handles objects with increasing skill.
Water play
Additional resources and adult support
* Ensure children are familiar with the rhyme 'Incy Wincy Spider'.
* Provide pieces of plastic drainpipe and guttering of different sizes, a spider hand puppet, an umbrella, a bowl and spoon, many plastic spiders, a laminated photo of a sun and a water mister.
* Encourage the children to make connections between the objects and recall the rhyme.
* Support children's conversations, encouraging them to communicate what they are doing and why.
Play possibilities
* Retelling the rhyme or making connections with 'Little Miss Muffet'.
* Exploring how quickly the plastic spiders come down the guttering or pipes.
* Making up stories about spiders.
* Pretending to be frightened.
Possible learning outcomes Works as part of a group, co-operating and negotiating.
Interacts with others, negotiating plans and activities and taking turns in conversation.
Enjoys rhyming and rhythmic activities.
Talks about what is seen and what is happening.
Shows an interest in why things happen and how things work.
Computer area
Additional resources and adult support
* Load Ladybug CD-Rom on the computer (see resources).
* Provide information texts about ladybirds and a ladybird hand puppet.
* Develop a writing format 'I used the computer today' and provide a clipboard and pencil for children to record their use of the computer.
* Model the use of the program.
* Support children's independent use of the computer program.
* Encourage the children to record their use of the computer on the writing format.
Play possibilities
* Exploring the functions of the program.
* Browsing through the program to select an activity which interests them.
* Making links between the images on the PC, the book and the puppet.
* Using the writing format to record own use of the PC.
Possible learning outcomes
Persists at an activity of own choosing.
Follows and responds to instructions.
Ascribes meaning to marks.
Completes a simple program on the computer.
Shows an interest in ICT.
Manipulates the mouse to create planned effect.
Judith Stevens is an early years adviser for Lewisham Education
Being around minibeasts
When planning to bring minibeasts temporarily into the setting, it is important to encourage the children to think about the creatures' needs and to develop a sense of care and responsibility towards them.
* Develop clear boundaries with the children to establish what is appropriate behaviour around the minibeasts. For example, it may be appropriate for them to handle snails, ladybirds or worms for short periods, but not to try to 'catch' ants between their fingers!
* When exploring outdoors and, perhaps, discovering insects unexpectedly, make sure that the children always treat the creatures with respect.
* When bringing insects indoors, try to replicate their outdoor environment as fully as possible, including the temperature and food sources.
* Always return the insects to their natural environment.
* Follow health and hygiene procedures. For example, both adults and children should wash their hands both before and after handling minibeasts.
To find out more about caring for minibeasts and observing lifecycles, see www.insectlore-europe.com and www.small-life.co.uk.
Areas of learning
Personal, social and emotional development
Communication, language and literacy
Mathematical development
Knowledge & understanding of the world
Physical development
Creative development
National Insect Week
* National Insect Week, from 19 to 25 June, is an ideal time to find out more about insects. See the website to join in the UK ladybird survey, explore ways of insect-friendly gardening or simply search through the wonderful photographs of common and easily recognisable insects.
www.nationalinsectweek.co.uk/growingschoolsprogramme
Resources to support the theme
* Snail Trail by Ruth Brown (Anderson Press).
* Your First Giant African Land Snail by Lucie Mann (Kingdom Books).
* Ladybug CD-Rom (Insect Lore, 19.99).
* Insect Lore (tel: 01908 563 338, www.insectlore-europe.com) and Small-Life Supplies (tel: 01949 842 446, www.small-life.co.uk) are suppliers of a wide range of resources for supporting a topic on minibeasts, including livestock, food and fact sheets.