6 replies to this topic

[emmai]

Hellllllppppp
I am trying to write 2 medium schemes of work (one for nursery and one for reception ) on the topic of seaside/water. All of this in Summer 2 with e-profiles, reports, parents interviews, school trips and sports day. Anyhow does any have
a) any good activities they would like to share
any websites where relevant planning can be found.
c) any idea where I can buy a good planning resource book.
Yours desperately emma .

[Mimi]

I have a few activities
I have my old leather suitcase with children's clothes from the fifties and some toys, the children love looking inside - this creates lots of discussion we talk about who's suitcase this might be the children are facinated when I tell them it was mine.
Ask the children to bring in a photo of themself at the seaside, or postcard - use for discussion.
We also play a memory game - I went on holiday and I packed a brush .... each child adds another item as you travel around the circle so the number of items you have to remember grows.
What am I - give 3 or 4 clues and the children guess what it is you are describing. I always start with objects or pictures in view for the children to choose from.

Put shells and pebbles into the sand for the children to make patterns with.
Use large shells for observational drawings.
Use flat shells to make rubbings.
Use coloured sand to make patterns / collage.

[lynh56]

Hi Emmai,
I am in a foundation stage unit and I only do 1 set of medium term plans
I cut and paste the stepping stones and E.L.G.s so there is differentiation across the range and then note down activity - note differentiation with amount of support or language.
I think 2 separate plans seems a bit steep to me. What does everyone else think?
Lynda

[Mimi]

I was told by an inspector to have two columns one with younger less able and older more able but now we also have to have gifted and tallented.
I would still do the same activities but have a different focus for each group. sometimes the differentiation would be level of support needed to achieve result or by outcome.

[emmai]

Thanks for those ideas Mimi,
Lynda, I think you have miss understood the structure of our classes or probably I was a little vague. Our nusery class and reception class are not mixed together. Each is an independent class. Our topics are the same (well slight variation water & seaside). The children in nursery now are my next reception class, with a few from other settings. This means the planning needs to be separate and progressive. I don't want to repeat activities already taught. The job of both plans falls to me as Foundation stage co-ordinator. Our nursery children are taught by two nursery nurses who are involved in planning meetings and discussions but not the actual writing.

[lynh56]

Emmai,
Thankyou for that
I have also worked in a separate nursery and reception class but we shared the planning. With the curriculum we have, I think its feasible and anything that helps with reducing paperwork is useful. Do other people have any reducing paperwork tips that they have found really work?
I apologise for not being more constructive earlier and hope the following may help
Fish-(you can get small coloured sorting fish from the catalogues that are reasonable)

'Rainbow fish' Pfister 'The Big Bad Fish' (can't remember author) Jonah and the whale story Finding Nemo film
Shark information books rhyme 1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive.
You could take a real fish in, and smell, touch, discuss,
use nets in water and count how many you can catch sort fish, make patterns on fish by doing stripes with wax crayons and then painting over,
flap paper fish along the ground look at mermaids

Travel agents or boat role play, islands and buried treasure counting paces digging for treasure
Look at a globe with children and share where we live and what the blue is
on the globe
Write own postcards, sort postcards, weighing -whats too heavy to take with you on holiday.
Hope there are a few ideas in there that help trigger your thoughts
Lynda

[Beau]

You might find this topic (and there's a link to another topic within it) helpful. :D

Under the sea