sharonash Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Its again! Its that Sunday evening feeling again and thinking about planning Can I ask have we got the complete wrong end of the stick about continious provisison- Our workshop areas are set up and resourced with equipment and toys so the children can freely access , and make a huge mess!! Ive spoken to someone today who said they just put one thing out in each of their areas for the week and then change the item if the children request something else? That would make sense that they have no mess! We spend so much time tidying up we dont seem to get anything done, let alone thinking about planning for any learning, small group time etc! Can others please explain how their environment is set up and what you do please? Ie do you free flow all morning or do you stop and have group time, do you plan to cover each`area of learning each day through a planned activity? Also if you are free flowing please explain staff roles to me ie we have one person stationed in each room x2 one in the garden and a floater doing nappies etc - how and when do staff do any targeted activities/learning with the children? Am I getting too bogged down with all this and worrying too much! Feel the need for that bottle of wine again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 If you are only providing one thing for the children then it is adult initiated learning and not continuous provision. We have a selection of resources that are freely available to choose from in each area. The other thing is we have the rule if you get something out you must put it away before moving onto something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Its again! Its that Sunday evening feeling again and thinking about planning Can I ask have we got the complete wrong end of the stick about continious provisison- Our workshop areas are set up and resourced with equipment and toys so the children can freely access , and make a huge mess!! Ive spoken to someone today who said they just put one thing out in each of their areas for the week and then change the item if the children request something else? That would make sense that they have no mess! We spend so much time tidying up we dont seem to get anything done, let alone thinking about planning for any learning, small group time etc! Can others please explain how their environment is set up and what you do please? Ie do you free flow all morning or do you stop and have group time, do you plan to cover each`area of learning each day through a planned activity? Also if you are free flowing please explain staff roles to me ie we have one person stationed in each room x2 one in the garden and a floater doing nappies etc - how and when do staff do any targeted activities/learning with the children? Am I getting too bogged down with all this and worrying too much! Feel the need for that bottle of wine again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Our areas are stocked with constant basic provision.There is one basket for extention which is changed week (or fortnightly if being used frequently).Some of our basic provision changes half termly as we have resources in store that would not be used without rotation. eg the maths shelving always has something for 2d shapes/3d shapes/sorting/colour/counting/measuring in baskets on the bottom shelf, the middle shelf stand alone items-books, maths jigsaw, large dice, calculator,wooden clock,stacking baskets etc -the top shelf has smaller baskets-snakes,soft toy props,mathematical papers and pencils, number lines, threading, counters and small dice.Near by are a table and number line Yes it can get in a mess but because the storage is so well defined the children easily tidy up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denisse Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 We are a setting in a church hall and with the storage problem that comes with this it is impossible to get everything out each day, especially as we have very little time to tidy up at the end before the next Hall hirer comes in. So we do only get one thing out each day but we do offer a book of choices (laminated photos of all the resources in the setting) so children can indicate something they would like to play with or we can ask children what they would like out. It's not perfect but we do the best we can with what we've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 hi ECA and welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starsky Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Can others please explain how their environment is set up and what you do please? Ie do you free flow all morning or do you stop and have group time, do you plan to cover each`area of learning each day through a planned activity? Also if you are free flowing please explain staff roles to me ie we have one person stationed in each room x2 one in the garden and a floater doing nappies etc - how and when do staff do any targeted activities/learning with the children? Am I getting too bogged down with all this and worrying too much! Feel the need for that bottle of wine again! Hiya At our setting we use a workshop idea. Everything is accessible to the children. We have writting areas stocked with forms, paper, various pens, pencils, envelopes, post its, sticky labels, stenils, note pads etc. Our creative area has free acces to a wide variety of sticking materials from feathers to buttons to wood to materials. A variety of glues, cellotape ect are available to te children can free choice. This theme of free choice for the children runs thoughout the setting from toddlers upto preschool. Children enjoy the independence they get. Yes it can be very messy but providing clothes and brushes for the children to clean up with afterwards can really help. Aswell as the workshop environment we have focused activites based on the childrens interests happening throughout the week, they can be adult lead or left for independent choice. This works very well in our setting but you have to adapt things to work well within theres. Thanks for listening and i hope it has helped Claire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 in our setting we work in the same way as marion explained and our children are also told to tidy where they were before moving on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 We are a setting in a church hall and with the storage problem that comes with this it is impossible to get everything out each day, especially as we have very little time to tidy up at the end before the next Hall hirer comes in. Denise we have begun to get around this problem by buying some cheap-ish Ikea cabinets and putting wheels on them. That way, the basis of a whole area can be quickly put in place with tweaking to get it 'child ready' rather than a long time spent setting things up. I've had a couple of comments from staff about the inevitable mess that ensues with having so many resources on offer, though! So we do only get one thing out each day but we do offer a book of choices (laminated photos of all the resources in the setting) so children can indicate something they would like to play with or we can ask children what they would like out. It's not perfect but we do the best we can with what we've got. I think that's the whole point, really: we have to do the best with what we've got in ways that make sense to our group. I went to Pen Green yesterday and am deeply envious of all they do for their children, but I try hard to focus on what ideas I can 'steal' and how I can implement them in my group, given the limitations of my building and outdoor area. Otherwise I'd get completely depressed and give up! Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denisse Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Maz Started negotiations last week on this with the church hall wardens. We currently have one cupboard out all the time, one trolley with all our mark making, 3d modelling and craft items on and a book trolley. These take up all our freestanding space. Fingers crossed we are hoping for our own walk in cupboard that we can design ourselves!! Been to measure up this evening and things looking promising. Very often get depressed about our premises but hey the children and staff are fantastic and the parents aren't complaining either. Any suggestions/tips on getting the most out of a set up every day pre-school would be most welcome. The Ikea catalogue is coming out as we speak. Denisse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Sounds like you're doing fine to me, Denisse! I would like to be able to invest in something a little more robust than Ikea stuff to be honest - our cupboard is down a small step which we have a wooden ramp to help us negotiate but it does meet our castor wheels often take a battering! I hope you get your walk in cupboard - sounds exciting! And where else but in early years would people get excited about cupboards? Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Hi All - for all those in church halls - I managed to purchase something the other day which left me extremely excited -------- yes it was a trolley, but not just any trolley it is a "hairdressing trolley" lightweight on wheels open at all areas with 3 shelves - hoping to buy a laod more" - easy reach for children to take off resources. Dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Hi All - for all those in church halls - I managed to purchase something the other day which left me extremely excited -------- yes it was a trolley, but not just any trolley it is a "hairdressing trolley" lightweight on wheels open at all areas with 3 shelves - hoping to buy a laod more" - easy reach for children to take off resources. Dot Hi Dot wow sounds like a brill idea. Can I ask where you got them from and how much they cost. We are in a similar situation everything has to go away at the end of a session, and your idea sounds perfect. Jessica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Hi Jessica I purchased the trolley in one of our local privately oned £1.00 shop retailers - it was sadly not a £1.00 but £9.00, I am going to spend some time searching on the net as I am sure with all the hairdressers out there, there must be loads available in different sizes etc. Dot - if a find a few I will post the links. Dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 We have 4 staff working in teams of 2 each day.....we have one room so this is divided into workshop areas......mark making, creative, home corner, role play, book corner(quiet area!), messy area, construction (large or small). Each area has resources availabe for the children to access freely...over time we have learnt that less is more i.e. only have about 10 pencils, 10 crayons, 10 felt tips out at once. Outside provision, we hope reflects whats inside but as you can imagine not always possible if raining...although we do still go outside to play then we probably wouldn't have painting on easles but replace this with some other form of mark making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 they sound very good Dot - are they substantial as i find so many trolleys we buy get battered by pulling them in and out each day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmileyPR Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 ...we have the rule if you get something out you must put it away before moving onto something else. Hi Marion, I have some children who do tidy-up when wanting to move onto something else, but others don't. How do you manage this situation for all of them to do it? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmileyPR Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 ...we have the rule if you get something out you must put it away before moving onto something else. Hi Marion, I have some children who do tidy-up when wanting to move onto something else, but others don't. How do you manage this situation for all of them to do it? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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