Table Top Activities

[kristina]

I am after some opinions on resources that are out out on tables in our setting, for instance we have a maths area where sorting sets may be put out for example. Quite a few of the children like to mix and match the resources which we encourage however a member of staff struggles to except that the camels from the sorting set may find their way into the role play for a tea party. Now obviously as part of the EYFS this is perfectly acceptable, however the member of staff has said that there is nothing left on the tables for other children to access as everything has been moved off of the tables! Now I can sort of understand where she is coming from as there are a particular group of children that literaly clear the tables into other areas (including the garden), how do other settings get the balance right so that children can access and extend their own learning while leaving resources available for other children?

We also have a wooden car in role play that sits 4 children and they love to pack the car for their holidays, but they completely empty all the food, cups, saucers, microwave etc into the car and there is nothing left for anyone else!!

 

Kris

[Guest]

I'm not sure about the first part as it is a difficult balance and I'm sure others will have some good advice.

 

As for packing the car for the holidays what a great learning opportunity! Get some discussions going about what people actually take on holiday. What do we really need to take with us? You could write lists of things they'll need to take, have them choose a place to go in holiday brochures, perhaps even set up a mini travel agents. It might also be nice if possible to introduce some suitcases (I'm sure boxes would be fine with the children!) and help them pack. Dolls clothes or dressing up clothes could serve here and it could promote talk about different types of holidays - do you really need to take that scarf and woolly hat to the south of France? Are shorts really a good idea in the north pole? If they're going camping, perhaps SOME food and crockery would be good, but where would we plug the microwave in if we're in a tent? If we take everything where would we store it? Hopefully this will mean their learning is extended, you're following their interests and it results in things being left for others.

Edited November 8, 2011 by Guest

[Panders]

I am after some opinions on resources that are out out on tables in our setting, for instance we have a maths area where sorting sets may be put out for example. Quite a few of the children like to mix and match the resources which we encourage however a member of staff struggles to except that the camels from the sorting set may find their way into the role play for a tea party. Now obviously as part of the EYFS this is perfectly acceptable, however the member of staff has said that there is nothing left on the tables for other children to access as everything has been moved off of the tables! Now I can sort of understand where she is coming from as there are a particular group of children that literaly clear the tables into other areas (including the garden), how do other settings get the balance right so that children can access and extend their own learning while leaving resources available for other children?

We also have a wooden car in role play that sits 4 children and they love to pack the car for their holidays, but they completely empty all the food, cups, saucers, microwave etc into the car and there is nothing left for anyone else!!

 

Kris

 

 

The control freak in me has learnt not to buck the trend on this, but I do think if it is important to anyone that certain resources remain in place for particular activities perhaps free play is not the time for them to go out, I'm sure we have all had vital pieces go missing from games or jigsaws or whatever.

 

If you want to have these types of resources out during free play, then perhaps some dedicated ones, which it wouldn't matter if they get mixed in elsewhere.

 

Maybe some quiet time set aside later in the morning would be a good opportunity to swop resources about and for an adult to keep an eye on the proceedings, it's not truly adult led, the children may choose to access the type of table top activities where perhaps they do need adult input but they can choose the type of game/jigsaw/resources and become to understand that they remain insitu, if they want to continue to play more child only initiated games then they are free to do that, outside or in a different area of the pre-school during this special quieter time.

 

As we have snack time altogether at the same time, we find that having this quieter time after snack quite effective. The children are given the choice to go outside again or remain indoors but playing quiet games or activities inside, so it is still really up to the children how they follow their interests.

[Guest]

Hello - I have to say that I feel that the camels should stay on the table and NOT find their way into the home corner and beyond. I too have been in the situation where everything has been taken into the home corner, handbags or hospital - but then it stays there and is sometimes 'lost' for a long time.

Through observation you might find that it is certain children who 'behave' in this way which would then point to a schema, e.g. transporting or enclosing. If you feel that this is the case, then you could provide 'acceptable' items that are 'allowed' into different areas - but you will have to establish some ground rules.

I do not accept that children should be allowed or encouraged to wander around indoors and out with the candles from the 'counting cakes', the objects from the 'sorting trays' or the 'jewels' from the treasure chests. Apart from looking a mess and tables looking uninteresting (and activities not able to be completed), it is preventing other children whose interests/schemas do not include transporting or enclosing, from accessing many table top activities.

I use pebbles and/or pasta as acceptable items to put into the handbags.

The holiday role play sounds great, but again, items could be provided specifically for the role play, you could say "THIS tea set is our holiday tea set and we can use it especially for packing into our suitcases when we go on holiday".

One of our nursery rules is to 'Take care of the toys'; if there is nothing left on the table and, as a consequence of total freedom of use of toys in any area, toys get lost then I do not see that the children are 'taking care of the toys'.

[finleysmaid]

just a thought...i once went to a training that said if a child is moving things from one place to another then there is a reason for it and you should be finding out what that reason is and supporting it....so for instance if they are removing the items from the role play area to put in the car then they NEED those items for their play...either accept the removal or supply them with other items (4 seats in the car so 4 plates etc?)

if the camels are being used in small play then why? do they not have enough animals for their game?? sometimes we need to think a different way in order to get them to do what we want!

[louby loo]

Yes, weto have had that problem this term... I child with a serious schema going on!!

 

We have 'laid out some ground rules' as it were - He is now fully aware that resources from certain 'zoned areas' need to stay there for others to share/play with. It's worked really well, and we always put out plenty of things for him to access, and he now understands that some things must be shared etc.

[Guest]

Hi

 

We sometimes have the same issues in our Nursery. We allow the children to move items around if its involved in their play but once they have finished with it we encourage them to return it back to its orginal place to allow others the oppotunity to play with it. As for playdough, sand, water etc we do not allow the children to move these out of their areas otherwise we would be making playdough every day. Even though our children get involved in making the playdough this is not a focused activity we can repeat day in day out.

 

Kate

[kristina]

Thank you for all the replies it's good to know that other settings experieince the same things!! I think a staff meeting is called for so that we are singing from the same hymn sheet so to speak and then some ground rules put in place!!

 

Kris

[Hello Kitty]

I'm big on schematic behaviour so if a child (or more) constantly moves things around I do try really hard to work out what it is they need to do then provide resources for them to work through the schema. We had a little girl last year that used all the collage resources. She would layer them so her picture was really thick! My initial reaction was Nooooo she needs to share and not be so selfish but then watching her she was so intent on what she was doing - it was a random grabbing of the whole tray of resources and sticking on - it was a definite spread of glue, a piece of whatever, more glue on top, next thing. We accessed a load of scraps from a scrap store and let her do it as we had plenty to go round. We also steered her to other layering activities that didn't 'waste' resources. She never wanted her pictures at the end of the session.

We have a rule that it's fine to use resources in other places as long as they go back when they are finished. So if a child fills a handbag with lego, that's absolutely fine but they will have to put it all back before going to do anything different.

[Guest]

I'm big on schematic behaviour so if a child (or more) constantly moves things around I do try really hard to work out what it is they need to do then provide resources for them to work through the schema. We had a little girl last year that used all the collage resources. She would layer them so her picture was really thick! My initial reaction was Nooooo she needs to share and not be so selfish but then watching her she was so intent on what she was doing - it was a random grabbing of the whole tray of resources and sticking on - it was a definite spread of glue, a piece of whatever, more glue on top, next thing. We accessed a load of scraps from a scrap store and let her do it as we had plenty to go round. We also steered her to other layering activities that didn't 'waste' resources. She never wanted her pictures at the end of the session.

We have a rule that it's fine to use resources in other places as long as they go back when they are finished. So if a child fills a handbag with lego, that's absolutely fine but they will have to put it all back before going to do anything different.

 

I find that the problem is 'catching' them!! We are all so busy that it so often happens that we only see the results - need to improve observations? Well yes, maybe - but we have three staff; one outside, one observing/monitoring her key children (which might be in the quiet room or outside) or perhaps updating her learning journeys and another keeping half an eye on snack and/or doing a focussed activity. I agree that a handbag filled with lego is fine, because we have so much of it that it wouldn't all fit in a handbag anyhow. But, for us, the problems arise when it's the table top activity/resources that go 'missing' because it means that a child cannot complete an activity with puzzle pieces missing or large pegs for the pegboards or candles for the birthday cakes etc.

I too am very interested in schemas which is why I feel it is important to find SOMETHING for the children to play out their schema, but I feel that the SOMETHING should be acceptable to the children as a whole.

I guess, at the end of the day, we have to go by our own instinct and what fits our nursery.

[lynned55]

I have to agree with Devonsmaid it's catching them!! It really is becoming a problem for us this term. I dont mind them transporting things into other areas I do mind them transporting puzzle pieces and pieces of games etc as that ruins the games/puzzles when they invariably cannot be found again. When my own children were small they were not allowed to go to a puzzle or an expensive game and take two pieces throw down somewhere never to be seen again. Which is what I'm finding is happening with us now. We have 5/6 staff 25 children and there are a few that just want to carry stuff from place to place, then when they have finished leave it where the are standing.

I think for the age group we have it is very difficult for them differentiate between what is acceptable to carry around and what isn't. We have a strict rule no sand or water apart from where they should be, but some always manage to move it.

We have a staff meeting coming up and I think we are going to have to discuss this at length and try to try and reach some sort of solution. We didn't have this problem last term, maybe because they were older? I really dont know the answer and wil be interested to hear if anyone has any solutions