Investigative Area - What Do You Have In It In Terms Of Resources?

[Guest terrydoo73]

We have had magnifying glasses and torches available to our children on a continuous basis but it just hit me today that we actually don't have anything for them to "investigate" and end up with children running around the room with the glasses eyeball to eyeball and the torches lighting up everyone's eyes!

 

Do you have such a thing available to children and if so what is included in the box so that they can investigate things - obviously concerned about the hygiene aspect so bear that in mind!

[Posy]

Hi

Cardboard tubes some with ends covered with different fabrics, paper - the chdn like making these using elastic bands and paper/material.

Selection of boxes and lids

Shoe boxes with cut out circles at each end - one end to shine the torch through the other to peer into. You can bluetak animals/smallworld figures inside for the children to discover.

Ive got a book called 'Shadows' which has cut outs on each page -you create shadows when you shine a torch at the page

Some small white boards to use as backgrounds for shadows

Sometimes we black out the dolls house by erecting a sort of tent with blackout cloth around it-chdn use torches to light up the rooms

One of the chdn's favourite activities with torches is discovering stuff under trolleys!

We have a selection of natural objects such as shells, stones, slate, fircones kept in boxes near magnifyers

Coins, 'jewels', holey things like a garlic press

Play dough and things that make impressions

Would love to hear other ideas.

Posy

[lashes2508]

the same as posie and also some of the other ideas are great which we dont do but will now, i allow children to explore as they all have a tendency at some point to run round with them so I give them a clipboard and ask them to find and draw thing they can find, also include tins so they can explore sounds and differnet materials for texture etc

Edited January 27, 2012 by lashes2508

[SLIMBRIDGE]

My Reception class were fascinated with magnets for a while. I got some of them to take photos of classroom objects which I then put on one sheet and laminated. They took these round on clipboards and ticked/crossed with whiteboard pens which things were/weren't metal. They loved this!

[Inge]

discovery bottles.. love them

 

children help make them and then you can use the magnifying glasses etc on them..

 

Mrs Kilburn Kiddos discovery bottles

 

more

 

again

 

must stop could go on forever..

 

just get the children involved in making them it is an important part of them..

Edited January 27, 2012 by Inge

[zoziebell]

Those discovery bottles sound fab!

 

I have an investigation area with a little low table and a set of shelves with 9 boxes on. In each box there are different natural or interesting objects such as shells, fir cones, magnets, pebbles, binoculars etc. I also sometimes set up a display/ activity on the tabel such as sorting the texture of the objects into rough and smooth etc.

 

Zoziebell x