Continue to explore the passage of time with children, making sure that all explorations are meaningful. When looking back into a past that is beyond the child's life span, role play provides a 'real' context for learning.
Adult-led activities
Go for growth
Develop children's sense of time through an investigation into plant growth.
Key learning intentions
To understand and use vocabulary related to time
To compare and measure height and size
To find out about plant growth and to observe and talk about changes over time
To use digital photography to document the growth stages at regular intervals
Adult:child ratio planting 1:4; monitoring growth 1:2 or small groups Resources
Fast-growing seeds or pulses, such as, sunflower seeds and beans (make sure that they are safe for children to handle) ,watering cans ,spades and scoops ,plant pots ,potting compost ,large shallow tray (such as a builder's mixing tray) ,digital camera ,laminated instructions on caring for the plants (words and picture clues, for example; 'Water the plants every day' illustrated with a picture of a watering can) ,children's name cards
Preparation
* Choose where to have your 'flower bed' - use troughs or large pots if you have limited space - and make sure the conditions are suitable for growing plants.
* Talk to the children about parts of a plant and the needs of a growing plant. Talk to them informally as they play, rather than in a group activity.
* Set up a system where the children will take it in turns to care for and monitor the plants. For example, display two children's name cards every day to indicate who is responsible for watering the plants, and post up a separate card every Monday saying which children and practitioners will be responsible for measuring and photographing the plants.
Activity content
* Gather the first four children around the shallow tray and explain that you are going to be planting some seeds.
* Discuss with them the pictures on the seed packet and look closely at the seeds inside.
* Allow time to explore the compost.
* Support each child in filling their plant pot with compost and planting the seed.
* When the seedlings are big enough, plant them, with the children, in the designated outdoor area.
* Talk to the children about the plants as opportunities arise and plan a particular weekly slot in which to measure and record their progress.
* When measuring the plants, compare week-by-week growth by marking the top of the stem on the wall or by asking a child to stand next to the plant to make a comparison. Support the children in using the digital camera to record one or all of the plants, making sure that the image includes a standard with which they can be compared. Designate a 'special spot' where children stand to take the photograph each time. This could perhaps be marked by a hoop.
* Store the images on the computer and look back at previous images, talking about changes and growth.
Extending learning Key vocabulary Seed, leaf, stem, flower, tall/taller/tallest, big/bigger/biggest, small/smaller/ smallest, last/this/next week, today, tomorrow, yesterday, now, then, days of the week.
Questions to ask
* What do you think will happen when the seeds are buried in the soil?
* Which sunflower do you think will come through the soil first?
* How many leaves do you think this one will have by next week?
* Which sunflower has the biggest leaf now?
* How high do you think your sunflower will grow by next week?
* How far has it grown since last week?
* Which is the tallest sunflower this week?
* Whose turn is it to water the plants tomorrow?
* Who watered the plants yesterday?
* Look at these two photographs - what has changed from last week?
Extension ideas
* Make a display showing the growth of the plants over time using copies of the photographs taken by the children.
* Look at seasonal changes in the nursery garden. Choose a plant or tree and take photographs to document the changes over time.
* Read Titch by Pat Hutchins (Red Fox) with the children. Titch is the smallest and youngest in his family but, when he plants a seed, he discovers that starting off small is just the first stage of growing. Look at human and animal growth from baby to adulthood.
* Add other appropriate stories and books involving plant growth to the book area, such as 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Enormous Turnip', or Jasper's Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth (Hodder Children's Books).
* Allow children opportunities for playing with compost, plant pots and seeds (or objects that represent seeds), further exploring the idea of planting.
Clear memories
Plan a special time for children to reflect on, and share with others, treasured and personal memories from home.
Key learning intentions
To speak confidently in a small group
To share significant events in their own lives
Adult:child ratio 1: 6
Resources
A 'special' box, for example, a decorated jewellery box ,children's name cards Preparation
* Plan for the activity to take place in a quiet, comfortable area.
* Talk with parents and carers about the intentions of the activity and ask them to support their children in selecting a significant object that will be a prompt for them when talking about their personal experience - for example, a shell from their favourite beach when talking about a family holiday, a floral headdress worn by a bridesmaid at a wedding, a flag waved at football match or a bib belonging to a baby brother.
* Place the object and the child's name card in the 'memories box' before the activity starts. This activity may be more effective if it responds to significant events in the children's lives as they arise, rather than as a group activity carried out over a very limited period.
Activity content
* Invite the children to join you in the carpeted area and introduce, or reintroduce, the 'memories box', talking about its significance and anticipating whose turn it is today to talk about their experiences.
* Open the box and take out the name card to reveal the identity of today's child.
* Ask the child to take out their object and to tell the rest of the group why it is special to them.
* Ask the child questions, and encourage other children to ask questions, about their chosen experience.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Yesterday, last week, last year, a long time ago, then, next, after, before Questions to ask
* Do you remember what happened when...?
* Which was your favourite part of the wedding?
* What happened after that?
* Who went with you?
* How did you feel when...?
Extension idea
* Feed back the child's response to parents, either verbally or through observations recorded in the children's profiles. With the child, make a book about their special memory, perhaps including photographs from home.
Child-initiated learning
Home corner
Additional resources and adult support
* With the children, develop a photograph album of their home and nursery experiences, for example, holidays, day trips with family, visitors to nursery. Include photographs of your own holidays and events.
* Ask the children questions about their photographs and talk about your own photographs and experiences.
* Ask the parents to provide photographs of their children as babies.
Display these in Perspex photograph frames in the area and in photograph albums.
* Provide a range of toys for children aged nought to four.
* Provide dolls reflecting different developmental stages - for example, new baby and toddler.
Play possibilities
* Looking through the photograph album alone and with others; remembering past experiences and sharing recollections with others
* Guessing which baby photograph belongs to which child and talking about how they have changed since babyhood
* Playing with the range of toys and talking about own present and past toys at home
* Sorting toys into appropriate boxes according to developmental stage, for example, babies, toddlers, three- and four-year-olds, and talking about the reasons for their decisions, for example, 'A baby shouldn't play with that because he might put it in his mouth and swallow it.'
Possible learning outcomes
Displays high levels of involvement at a self-chosen activity
Uses language to reflect on experiences and talk to sequence events
Makes comparisons between past and present and talks about developmental needs of babies and younger children
Uses imagination and own experiences in role play
Sand (or natural area outdoors)
Additional resources and adult support
* Introduce small-world dinosaurs.
* Provide stones, gravel, rocks, pineapple tops and houseplants (to represent trees) and support the children in creating a 'dinosaur environment'.
* Discuss with them, for example, the dinosaurs' feeding habits, physical features, names and habitat.
* Ask questions to challenge the children's thinking, for example, 'Where do you think the dinosaurs found their food?', 'Why aren't there any houses or shops in the dinosaur world?', 'What other creatures do you think were around millions of years ago?', 'What would it have been like for people living in the dinosaurs' world?'
* Provide information books about dinosaurs and support children in accessing the information.
Play possibilities
* Creating and modifying the small-world environment
* Making up stories about the dinosaurs
* Sorting the dinosaurs according to self-chosen criteria, for example, number of legs, meat or plant eaters, long or short neck
* Matching play dinosaurs to illustrations in books
Possible learning outcomes
Counts reliably in practical activities
Knows that print and books carry information
Identifies and talks about features of dinosaurs and their environment
Plays alongside other children who are engaged in the same theme
Outdoor area
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide pre-mechanised laundry equipment, such as washboards, mangles, dolly tubs, buckets, soap flakes, soap, washing line and pegs (you may be able to borrow some equipment from loans services, but always carry out safety checks on it).
* Provide clothes to wash, for example, dolls' clothes from the home corner, dressing-up clothes or spare nursery clothes.
* Invite (great) grandparents or older family members to work alongside the children to talk about doing the laundry when they were young. Act as a role model, asking the visitors pertinent questions.
* Model the use of 'time' language in conversation, using words such as 'old', 'new', 'then', 'now'.
* Talk with the children about the differences and similarities between doing the laundry today and a long time ago. Ask questions such as 'How do wash clothes in your house?', 'What would you do if the washing machine broke down?', 'Do you hang clothes outside to dry?', 'How do you dry clothes if it is raining?', 'How do you think people dried their clothes on a rainy day before drying machines were invented?'
Play possibilities
* Mixing water and soap with hands to produce a lather and enjoying this sensory experience
* Using the old laundry equipment to wash clothes and squeeze out excess water
* Pegging clothes out to dry
* Collecting and folding dry clothes
* Negotiating and taking on roles
Possible learning outcomes
Asks questions to find out more
Increases vocabulary and uses language related to time
Finds out about everyday life in the past
Thinks about how things work and why things happen
Observes and comments on changes during the wetting and drying processes
Explores ideas through role play and introduces a story line or narrative into play
Areas of learning
Personal, social and emotional development
Communication, language and literacy
Mathematical development
Knowledge & understanding of the world
Physical development Creative development