Snowflakes falling Thick and fast, Build a snowman Make him last. Snowflakes falling Swirling slow, My snowman melted. Where'd he go? With all my drama sessions I begin by ensuring the children are quiet and concentrating. A simple start such as closing their eyes, or listening to a chime bar, or wriggling fingers quietly into their laps, is enough. I tell them that we are going to do some drama. We talk about what drama is and remind ourselves of the rules of the drama game: taking turns, sharing, listening, and taking part quietly without rushing. I do this drama in my room after moving some of the furniture to the side to make a space. I explain that we will start with everyone in their beds asleep. I tell the children to fall asleep just where they are, and narrate them quietly through the night, describing the dark sky, bright moon, and large clouds passing across. I pause for a moment and then I describe the dawn. I use my voice to set the tone, making it quiet and mysterious. I then tell them that they are waking up and they begin the actions, rubbing their eyes, stretching and looking around them. The light is different somehow. Unusual. The room seems brighter. I tell them that they climb out of bed and go to the window. Thrusting the curtains back they see... all the world is white. It has snowed! What shall we do? The children want to go out but I remind them that it is cold and they are still in their nightwear. We mime getting dressed with the children telling me the order in which to put things on, and what they will need to keep warm. They usually want to put coats and boots on first but I slow them down and we start from taking off nighties and pyjamas, putting on vests, knickers, trousers and jumpers 'as if' it were real. We have breakfast and they tell me what they want to eat. Any other staff will also go around helping the children and talking to them, otherwise it would be rather slow and children would loose concentration. We clean our teeth, find our coats, boots, hats and scarves, again with them telling me what they need, and feeding back to them what they look like. I check a few children, fasten their zips, put their fingers in their gloves, or pull down their hats. I am pretending and they take my lead and pretend too. We let ourselves out and take our first tentative steps in the snow. Some children may rush out, others follow me. I pause everyone and we look at our footprints, and then we struggle in the deep snow taking big steps. We will talk together about how we think we would move, how it might feel. Then I ask if anyone knows how to make a snowball. If anyone tells me that they know how then they give the instructions, as I want the children to be as involved as possible. We all have a go. One or two children may get really excited and start throwing madly, but I slow things down, we carefully mime collecting the snow and we talk about safety and not throwing them in people's faces. We do this 'as if' this was actually happening. I ask them what else we could do, and of course someone will suggest making a snowman. We discuss how to build a snowman and then we roll small balls of snow along the ground. As they get bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier I encourage the children to move appropriately. I ask them to help to put one in the middle of the space. Then we get another for the snowman's head. I choose two children to lift it on the top, and we collect more snow and pat it into place. At this point I freeze the children and we make a circle as big as possible and sit down. I ask the children what else we need for our snowman, and as they make suggestions like a hat, scarf, and stones for his eyes I choose children, one by one, to put them onto our imaginary snowman until I feel he is finished. During the last few moments my TA slips away and wraps herself in a white sheet and puts on a black hat ready to go into the centre of our circle. 'I do wish that he was real,' I comment. The children make similar comments. I suggest that we close our eyes tightly and wish. No peeping. We all chant 'I wish he was real' and then I signal 'Open your eyes'. The snowman is standing in the centre of our circle. He keeps completely still. I very quietly ask the children what they can see. I ask if someone would like to tiptoe quietly and look at him and touch him. I beckon them back and, still whispering, ask them what they saw. I give several children the chance to go and look and touch. What can they see? What can they feel? Some will make that leap of imagination and say that he is very cold, icy or wet. Other more pragmatic children may say, 'Mrs. H in a sheet.' If so I remind them that it is 'let's pretend'. At a sign from me the snowman shivers. 'Did you see that' I say unless someone notices. He moves slightly. The children quickly notice now and the snowman moves slowly around on the spot as they watch. 'He's moving!' I ask if anyone would like to go and see if he can talk. What could we ask him? I take their suggestions and a few have a turn at questioning him. We discuss what sort of questions they might ask. Someone usually suggests asking him his name, which he gives. The children now interact with the snowman for a while, one at a time to keep some control. Once I sense a lull or restlessness I give my TA a signal and she will slump slightly and look very sad. It is important to keep this well paced. If no one comments I ask if they know what is the matter. Someone is chosen to ask. The snowman tells them that the sun is getting warmer and he is afraid that he will melt. What can we do? Now the children have a problem to solve and this leads to discussions on how to keep him cold. If they suggest something like putting him in the freezer my TA will say that he can't stay shut in a box, or asks what happens if the electricity breaks down. We try to keep the ideas flowing and challenge them to think. Sooner or later someone will suggest taking him to the North Pole or Father Christmas (who I explain is away on holiday having a rest after Christmas). I take their ideas and we choose a mode of transport for him. I then ask if there are any children who are experts at driving whatever they have chosen, and choose a child with one or two others to help as crew to take the snowman to the cold place. The snowman expresses his thanks, says goodbye to the rest of the children, and asks them to write to him and off they go. We watch and wave as they leave. While they are gone we talk about what may be happening and then the crew return. I ask for a report on what happened and if he is all right. It never ceases to amaze me how the children go into these roles, however simply, and engage in the fiction, reporting on their journey and where they have left him. The snowman will have told them to say that he will send them all postcards, which will help stimulate their writing during other activities. We then go home and have a warm drink before falling asleep because we are all very tired. When I wake them up it is over and we talk about what we have done. They always like the moment best that they, as individuals, have been actively involved in. I will also ask if we could have done anything differently and had a different ending. I link this to the Winter theme on Cold Lands and usually have an igloo set up as role-play, which we will have already begun to develop together. The drama feeds ideas into the role-play, provides an opportunity for children to demonstrate what they know about winter, cold, and freezing and melting. It also stimulates an interest in our non-fiction and storybooks. This supports the role-play as a context for learning and developing language, These kind of role-play situations provide almost the perfect environment both for play and language as well as a thoroughly integrated approach to the curriculum. (Moyles, 1989) I have provided a drama plan, Igloo role-play area plan, for you to download from the FSF resource library. I have also included a Medium Term planning sheet for the Winter theme. Personal, Social and Emotional Within Continuous Provision: Develop social rules Select an activity and appropriate resources Dress and undress Explore with confidence Try out ideas and express an opinion Learn about another culture Enhance with: Non-fiction books about Eskimos Friendship Stories - Lost and Found, One Snowy Night, Happy Feet Focus activities Caring for birds in Winter - bird puddings Circle time - I like my friend because... I feel warm and cosy when.... Parachute games Communication Language and Literacy Enhance Continuous Provision with: Winter/cold lands book basket - fiction and non-fiction Winter, snowman rhyme cards Snowman stamps and shaped paper Blank post cards Role-play- Snow dome (Igloo) Winter/cold lands word bank Focus Activities Literacy - The Emperor's Egg Raymond Briggs - Author and Illustrator (The Bear, The Snowman) Make and write postcards from the Snowman/ North Pole/South Pole Pass around white objects and describe how they feel (adjectives) Mathematics Enhance Continuous Provision with: Arctic/Antarctic animals and birds for sorting and counting Snowmen in different hats, scarves, number of buttons for sorting by one or two attributes. Snowman number rhymes 10 in the bed (Eskimos) White blocks in the construction area Focus Activities Pattern making, symmetry, making snowflakes Counting animals in the role-play Fishing game - addition and then add to role-play area Days of the week -weather chart Knowledge and Understanding of the World. Enhance Continuous Provision with: Large globe and/or pictorial world map. Treasure basket - white items: wool, fur fabric, paper, card, tissue, holograph paper, transparent paper, snowflake shapes etc. Winter clothing How we keep warm - display items. Winter pictures. Ice cubes and blocks in the water tray Polar animals in the water tray Snowflakes and/or ice cubes in the builders tray Small world igloo Focus Activities Mind map - Winter Investigate freezing and melting Investigate snow (if there is any!) Design a hot-water bottle cover, gloves, or hat and scarf Keeping warm long ago ICT - search for Polar Bears, Penguins, Eskimos, http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/houses/igloo.html Creative Enhance Continuous Provision with: Wintry pictures and cards Chalks and charcoal White, silver and blue items; cotton wool, shredded paper, transparent paper, tinsel bits, white fabrics, silver glitter, pebbles etc. Coloured wools Clay Pitched instruments: glockenspiel, xylophone Focus Activities: Collage linked to focus work Pencil drawing and shading skills linked to Raymond Briggs Observational drawing or painting of Polar animals/birds Work stimulated by the great seal of Nunavut Frost pictures and patterns Stones and clay sculptures Make kayak and skidoo Seasonal songs and music Physical Within Continuous Provision: Dressing, undressing and fastenings Moving within the space Enhance with: Playdough - white, glitter, winter cutters, pebbles. Focus Activities Movements appropriate to walking in the snow, throwing snowballs, making a snowman, feeling cold or hot. Movement to Music - Winter by Vivaldi, Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky. Winter spirits- Katherine Hoover Seasonal songs Outdoors Experience winter weather- warm clothing, play in the frost, snow and rain. References: Just Playing by Janet Moyles published by University Press
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