Ideas For Things In Child Initiated Areas

[Guest]

i am in process of setting my classroom up with all of the different areas. do these have to link with topic? role play, investigation area and book area can easily link in with topic but what about areas such as writing or construciton area (we have construciton in 'creative' area and an area where they can build things with lego/duplo etc? can this be themed or woudl you just have a range of different resources there througout the year for the children to access.

 

thanks

 

Jo

[Guest]

Hi Jop,

Sometimes i feel it is nice to have something other than the theme at activtives. I have a themed session but with child initiated areas such as the tech area ( posh name for junk creations!) and the writing area also has a "sticky box" full of intresting items for creating own sticky pictures. Could you have a box /basket nearby the activities containing items linked to the theme which could be added if the children wanted too this way you cover both sides!! Our main themed areas are the sand/water tray, role play, mallable table, show and tell and the craft activity. I don't think the whole setting needs to be one theme but enough needs to done to make the theme work!

[Running Bunny]

From my experience in day nurseries, the areas are set up with 'constants' that are familiar to the children, basically so they know what they are going to find and can set their own learning according to what is familiar.

 

The role of the skilled practitioner is to recognise each stage of children's learning and introduce new and challenging objects into these areas to further their experiences.

 

As far as relating things to the topic, we used to have 'enhancement' boxes that would be grouped according to topics and would include things like books to go in the construction area and book corner, pictures and photos, resources to go in the sand/water, activity cards for maths areas/construction (can you build a fire engine/fire station, can you make a house, can you make an enclosure for 5 pigs?), relevant magazines, leaflets etc in the mark making/home corner area, dressing up clothes etc...

[Marion]

Personally I think once you start thinking about linking areas to topics and themes you have moved away from child initiated into adult directed.

[Guest]

Personally I think once you start thinking about linking areas to topics and themes you have moved away from child initiated into adult directed.

 

 

good point.

 

thanks everyone else. can have 'extra' objects in each of the areas if i have them that link in but your messages have lessened my stressing at getting everything right in my first year.

 

 

Jo

[Guest]

I sometimes find that if you try and link all areas and activities to a theme they tend to have very tenuous links and are not beneficial activities but are just being done because they link with a theme!!!