6 replies to this topic

[Tintin]

Hi Everyone,
Although we still have a topic, it is very 'loose' and open to change at any time.

We have been thinking about the children's interests and we have a current trend for talking about dinosaurs and gruffalos. The children come in and their news is that they have met Gruffalos and t-rexs on the way to preschool and its has a knock on effect. It can be hilarious and I look forward to their news.

Trouble is a am sitting here trying to write this weeks planning sheet and I have hit a brick wall. Does anyone have any good ideas re: dinos, monsters ot gruffalos, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?

[Cait]

Hmm, nope but it's t time on sunday! Not surprising my brain is fried!

So don't do a planning sheet, do you really need one? I'm not doing them in advance, I know my children said before the hoidays that they wanted to do something French, I've got a load of resources but I'm not putting pen to paper 'cos 10 to 1 they'll have totally changed their minds and want to look at something totally different like evaporation! (so why have the plants died over the holidays?)
Plan retrospectively, it's much easier and it encourages you to really looks at what children are doing so that you can plan for any next steps more effectively.

Put it away Tintin and go out and enjoy the evening!

[Susan]

You could start with the visual and paint, draw, collage etc these creatures they meet.

You could make their news into stories/books for them, they draw and scribe, you scribe! They could tape their stories or use the computer.

You could make a story map of the gruffalo and develop it into map making of other things---journey to school, treasure maps etc and use language of place and position.

You could make a Gruffalo using the description in the book and then encourage them to describe their own creations.

You could fact find about dinosaurs and relate their food to healthy eating.

But as Cait suggests, you might find another interest in the morning!
Have Fun.

[katekit]

When I do our planning sheet I only put a few activities on it, leave the rest blank and fill them in daily from what the children choose to do or where we can lead/develop their play, very rarely have anything down for Friday except 'Learning Journeys', which they can actually get out at any time during the week anyway.
I try to have one planned activity for each area.

[SuzieC8]

How about relating it to the moral of the gruffalo story for some PSHE style learning? i.e. doing some stuff on what does it mean to be brave. Also, they could make junk models of their own invented monsters. And maybe dig for some dinosaur bones.

[Panders]

lots of Gruffalo bits on www.gruffalo.com. It's his 10th birthday you know.

[DaddyDayCare]

ANDERSPM, on May 31 2009, 21:06, said:

lots of Gruffalo bits on www.gruffalo.com. It's his 10th birthday you know.

Ahh the Gruffalo, I just love it!

Read the original story, then read "Gruffalo's Child" and just let them go wild with comparisons of the two stories (Big Bad Mouse indeed!) - we did all this recently and it was absolute quality discussion for much longer than normal at circle time.

Then, if they want to, get them to cut out Gruffalo shapes and give them a load of stuff like brown wool, purple straws (prickles on his back) etc and let them recreate the Gruffalo through collage. The possibilities are endless...

Of course, they may just decide that they want to make gingerbread men with the playdough and pop goes your plan!

DDC