Jackie A. Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 I teach in an inner city Nursery class. Our outdoor area is a tarmac slab with a slide on some bark area. We also have a wooden play house. Because our school is an old Victorian building, our part of the playground is sectioned from the main yard, but it is also a thorough-fare for the rest of the school to get to their classrooms at the beginning and end of the day. We cannot set up activities before school as things just disappear or get spoilt. We have very little outdoor storage or space for storage. If we try adapting our play house for role play, things also go missing, and we are really fed up with spending time and effort, only to have things messed up. This year my team has worked really hard to develop our outdoor planning and we have successfully run indoor and outdoor activities parallel. We have managed to plan for outdoors across all 6 areas of the curriculum. (Previously it was mainly "physical" - bikes, balls, small equipment, etc) My main problem is, however, now that the colder weather is upon us, we're finding it much harder to provide activities that are across all areas. When children are wearing bulky coats, they are unable to put on aprons on top and therefore this rules out painting and water play. When they are wearing gloves and mittens, many activities are impossible - in fact most of the activities that we would be providing during the warmer months: mark-making - chalks, whiteboards small construction in the tuff spot pegs on number lines small world play fine motor skills activities dressing up water tray sand tray painting looking at books basically anything that involves using hands! We're finding that we are slowly reverting back to mainly physical play. We have managed to do some maths activities through number skittles, beanbags in numbered hoops, shape hunts and last week we planted daffodil bulbs in pots, but now we're really struggling. Our children really need the experiences of outdoor play. They mostly live in back-to-back terraces with no gardens or high-rise flats. 80% have EAL and many are not taken out and do not have basic life experiences. However, I really feel that I'm letting them down. Basically, I would love to hear ideas of how you adapt your outdoor area activities during the colder months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Jackie - Well done - it's great to hear of settings that are really using their outdoor area to support all areas of learning and not just giving 'lip service' to it. We find the same problem when children are wearing bulky coats, mittens and hats and in the past have had to wash gloves and coats because children have laid on the mud whilst digging with their gloves on! I think it helps if parents understand that having fun = getting a bit messy, but having spare (charity shop) gloves & mittens may be advisable! Large chalks are still usable with gloves on. Supply a variety of sticks/branches around so children can make marks in the air/mud/create letters & numbers with by placing on the floor (our children really love this). Children can be very creative with natural resources - pine cones, shells, leaves (gather from local park/parents bring in from gardens) Large weaving through fencing mesh/crates using ribbons, wool, bendy branches/straw. We have the shell type padling pool out full of leaves for children to rake/sweep/carry/wheelbarrow around - or again to create 'pictures' on the ground - at the moment can also 'sort' and clasify depending on shape/colour/size. Role play stories using environment and laminated story sheets. 'Billy goats Gruff' is a favourite in our nursery just a plank of wood held between two old milk crates. laminated numbers with 'loops' to hang on safe hooks on fences. Could also provide picture sequencing/matching in this way. Large dice for games like snakes and ladders chalked on floor. Make (or buy if funds allow) simple tabbards which would fit over coats, lots of hats and bags. Water play can be again be provided by using the shell paddling pool - fill with a little water, and children can stomp in with welly boots on (plastic trousers are useful here I must admit!) - can also add powder paint to the water for exploration, or some leaves to stamp on and sink or foam pieces which will not sink (but lots of fun trying) (young children may need hand held and close supervision) Again, paddling pool for sand play, can sit in with coats on, can still use spades and buckets, treasure hunts etc. Just a few throughts off the top of my head - I'm sure lots more will post with other ideas and I look forward to seeing them also. Let's hope this lovely continues as long as possible and then we get snow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 This is a problem we are also experiencing at the moment, particularly with the aprons for painting/water play. I bought my daughter a new coat last weekend and decided that the one she had before (which is now ruined through paint) could live at nursery and be used in the garden for all these kinds of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreamay Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 yes the parents who send their child to school with designer clothes on and constantly complain are a bug bear i will admit. Tabard aprons are much easier. are you on the ground floor?What about putting together an outside trolley to wheel in and out for storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running Bunny Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 I just had to reply as I think that it's great that settings are thinking about how to provide activities outside in a range of weathers - too many times I see 'weather dependant' on planning and it makes my blood boil. Suggestions from dasher sound great - two simple solutions... fingerless mittens and ponchos. Not entirely practical, but goes someway to resolving a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I teaching in Whistler, Canada at the moment... and it really is starting to get cold here now! (and we couldn't let them play out Friday afternoon 'cause of a cougar stalking peeps in the area - but that's another story! ) What they seem to do here, is have an old jacket and full snow/rain togs that they keep at school... and they get pretty messy (the children roll around in the dirt, dig holes, climb trees), but they are always hung and dried, but never really clean. Children always have hats/boots/mitts when they go outside, and to be honest, they never really seem hindered and just carry on as normal... if they do need more dexterity they take their mitts off... but hardly ever seem to need to. Though this is probably a less structured setting to back home, and there is probably more independent, exploratory play than actual planned, outdoor activities, but I just thought you'd be interested to know. ~ Porl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 wow cougar stalking - that is a different hazard!!!! That's not on my risk assesment sheet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 So good to read up and this helps as we plan to move into a new setting with a outdoor area which we haven't even got now! Soome really good idea but have to say I have wondered how we will overcome this when we move and you can get all in one waterproof which would be really good we can wash them or even better parents might contribute by buying one for their child. Agreed they are not cheap but its an idea and have seen other setting do use them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 We've just been allocated some money to develop outdoor play and have already decided that part of it will be used to buy a collection of all-in-ones, wellies etc. so that all babies/children/toddlers can go out in all weathers. It'll be expensive but we feel that it is important to tackle as many "barriers" to outdoor play as possible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 That's great wolfie certainly will put this forward to my setting and put some money aside for it, can you tell me where you got them from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I'll ask the manager when I see her tomorrow and get back to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) We offer outside play in all weathers In the summer hols we purchased a large 'marquee' type tent which houses our paint easel, sand, water & 4 tables for puzzles, small construction etc etc. We are also lucky enough to have a grassed area and a playground which gets used in all weathers. No such thing as bad weather just bad clothing!!!! hope the attachment has worked.......and hope you can see by what I mean by a 'marquee' type tent. mrsb Edited November 7, 2007 by Mrsb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) We have pull on rain trousers and wellies (donated by parents as children out grow them) and only missed one day outside last winter when the caretaker ran out of salt and it was deemed too slippery for the children's safety to venture outdoors. Most days they don't even bother with coats never mind gloves etc. Edited November 7, 2007 by Marion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Pull on rain trousers sound easier than all in one suits for toileting! They are also easier for the older ones to put themselves as well I guess? We lived on a farm when my 2 boys were little so they lived in wet suits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 yeah we bit the bullet and bought a whole load of all-in-ones... and the children just bring in their own wellies. One piece of advice I would give when buying all-in-ones is colour coding. We order 5-6 years in red and 4-5 years in blue. Then the first time we used the suits we matched the children to a colour... and then after that they just knew that each time they went to grab a 'romper suit' they needed to go for the same colour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 (edited) That's a very useful tip...and just given to me in the nick of time as we are about to order ours! Thanks! Here's the link to the waterproofs site... http://www.waterproofworld.co.uk/ Edited November 8, 2007 by Wolfie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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