What Type Of Activities?

[Guest]

I teach reception aged children. We are reviewing the activitites we have out in our foundation classroom. I was just wondering what others do. At the moment we have a literacy focus, numeracy focus in the morning and in the afternoon one other area focus and observations going on. We have 2 teachers 1 nursery nure 1 student and 1 CSA. The other activites are balanced between child initiated and directed.

Our query at the moment is, should the other activities for example in the morning when we are lit / num focussed be linked to lit and num or should they be a range of of the other areas of learning.

We are thinking of having lit / num type activities in a morning and other area activities in an afternoon. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[Susan]

Ive always had a range but will be interested so what others are doing on this one.

My head was very anti us having literacy and numeracy mornings and other activities in the afternoon. I also had more support staff in the morning than afternoon and favoured supporting across the curriculum.

[Guest]

We have activities in the mornings that air more towards a literacy and numeracy focus... although they're still very cross curricular and practical. One reason for this is because we usual do some phinics or number games in the mornig for a 10 minute-whole class burst and then we think it's good for the children to have the activities out to complement this.

 

There is always the continuous provision of sand, water, playdough/manipulative, small world, construction etc etc available, so apart from a weekly directed literacy and numeracy task, the children can access other areas indepedntly as they choose...

 

In the afternoons, we do more topicy work, outdoor play, creative, physical, KUW etc... though it's still pretty child directed.

 

Now, I'm sure that makes no sense what-so-ever, the way I've explained it... but he-ho... I'll try again if anyne wishes

 

~ Porl

[Guest]

It makes perfect sense and explains perfectly the way we are thinking of working!

[Susan]

I suppose that was what I was describing as a range of activities!

I would certianly have activities to support teacher focus and they were more likely to be but not always literacy and numeracy. I also continued activities that I wanted children to access from a previous day.