Garden Car Track

I posted this a while back, but as the children in my class still enjoy it as much as the day I made it, I thought I would share it again, especially for those of you going into Summer !!

I saw a similar idea once and thought it would be perfect for a little nook in our outdoor area. This little car track is perfect for your garden or playground, it is inexpensive to make and fun for all to play with.

Choose the bricks you want to use. I chose grey to resemble real roads.

Measure the middle of the bricks and mark the centre lines with a pencil.

Paint the lines on the bricks with white outdoor paint to resemble the white lines on the road.

( It would be a good idea to plan your road map before painting. I didn't do this and the lines don't flow as well as they could!!)

Sink the bricks into the sand and add pebbles, plants, cars, people, wooden blocks.....anything you can think of.

Let me know what you think.

Niccola

Feelings and Faces

We have been talking about our feelings and also looking at photos of ourselves and our facial features. We have been singing songs, making faces on the light table, enjoying stories on the theme and having lots of discussions. 

This playdough activity provided a great platform for play and language and was easy to set up.

I drew a variety of faces on cardboard and laminated them. I drew happy, sad, angry and surprised expressions on the faces of boys, girls, men and women.

I added buttons, rolling pins, garlic presses and cutting utensils.

This man didn't need a body because he was in bed!!!!

I loved the way the children related to the faces, gave the characters names and invented scenarios to reflect their expressions.

Niccola

Don't Throw Out Your Egg Cartons

I love recycling and always try to find a use for containers, lids, cardboard, paper or plastic bottles before I throw them away.

Here are some of the ways we have recycled egg cartons. Of course, before using them, you need to check if children in your care have any egg allergies in case a broken egg has leaked in the carton!!

They are perfect for paint.

For Sorting.

To store collage materials

In the sandpit

For sensory materials.

In dramatic play.

Or as little beds!!!!

Until next Tuesday

Niccola

Outdoor Weaving

Hi there,

When I started blogging three years ago, I committed to sharing a new idea every week. It hasn't been that hard because I love coming up with new activities and ideas. However, just recently I have been working on a few other things and have had a two week break from blogging!!! 

I'm back now and thought I would share a favourite idea.

I made this weaving frame last year and I thought I would share it with you as we use it all the time at school and it was super easy to make.

I bought some gutter guard, cut it into a rectangle and attached two lovely branches for the top and the base. I then hung it from some beams on the veranda- low enough so my littlies can sit and stand at both sides of the frame.

Here are some of the ways we have used it....

Woven pictures..

Alphabet cards...

Ice-cream lid numbers...

Fabric scraps....

Felt shapes...

Why don't you try and make a frame for your children? 

Niccola

The Runaway Pancake

The children in my class absolutely love the story/song 'The Runaway Pancake.' I usually draw the story as we listen to the song and this week we used it a a focus for our activities. 

Playdough... I added some pictures and cooking utensils so the children could retell the story and cook some playdough pancakes!!

Painting... We pretended that the golf balls were the pancake, rolling away.

Cooking.... we made some real pancakes to enjoy at morning tea.

We also made mud pancakes outside, rolled down the hill like pancakes and discussed the properties of different shapes.

It was a lot of fun!!

Niccola

Painting Pebbles

I love using pebbles in all areas of the classroom as they are so versatile. They can be sorted, counted or weighed and can be used in many play situations. Even though I love their natural beauty and potential, I have painted some pebbles to use in the classroom and I thought I would share them with you. They are easy to paint and are a fabulous resource to use in many different areas.

Make some ....

Pirate Treasure

Number Ladybirds

Easter Egg Pebbles

Number Pebbles

5 Little Speckled Frogs

I have also painted some pebbles for my house!!!

Paint some of your own pebbles.

Niccola

Paper Plate Nests

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter. We had a beautiful Easter weekend filled with lots of eating and catching up with family and friends. I thought I would share with you a simple nest idea that I made with my class. I like to come up with new ideas every year and try to create activities that the children can do on their own. I must admit that this year I wasn't as prepared as I normally am with regard to making Easter baskets as gifts, so I had to keep it quick and simple!!!

Here it is...

Turn a paper plate upside down. (Small paper plates are the perfect size.)

Cover it with white glue (PVA).

Tear brown craft paper into squares and cover the entire plate.

When dry cut down about 6cm in a cross.

Fold the edges in and overlap as you go and staple.

Fill with shredded paper, add a bird and some eggs.

I know Easter is over but I thought you could pin this idea for next year.

Niccola