Activities

Learning through Play: Activities

The slide show below illustrates some of the areas in which Playbox covers the EYFS curriculum in it's day to day activities with the children.

A Very Long Bridge

We encourage the children to build with blocks as often as possible. This is just one of our sets. These are mathematically engineered so that each shape will fit together when built as a design. Making a bridge this long is a challenge as we haven't enough supports of the right length and the children have to work out how to make more using smaller blocks.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; M, EAD
Snowstorm

Lots of Fun! we give children a wide variety of different sensory resources to explore. On this occasion the shredded paper became a swirling whirling snowstorm (Going on a bear hunt)


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; EAD
Transporting Water

Challenge: to get the water out of one tray and into another using as many options as possible. The children used sponges; jugs; spoons; funnels; hosepipes; pumps and guttering in their quest to get ALL the water into the lower tray.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Phy, UW
Interactive Whiteboard - Ghosts

On this occasion I reversed the colours of the IWB so that the children could draw their own ghosts .


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; UW, EAD, PHY
By Torchlight

The children used torches to make patterns in the black out tent...swirling their arms around in different ways as we sang different songs. We introduced coloured paddles and the children became absorbed in placing these in front of the torch face to explore each colour. They were amazed when they found "new" colours – the torchlight mixing the colours of TWO paddles.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; PSE, UW, EAD
Pan Music

Children are able to access this area every-day. They explore the different sounds that the different pans make when tapped with a variety of different utensils.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; EAD, Phy
Lion

The children dressed up as different animals and climbed aboard Noah's Ark (blocks under).


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; EAD
Fence Drawing "Dinosaur"

Mark making shouldn't just happen sitting down indoors....it can happen just about anywhere...using a paintbrush to make water paintings on a dry path or on a piece of paper tacked to the fencing......


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Phy, EAD
In The Air

When the soft surfacing was laid, I ensured that we had a depth of 4cm...which means that the children can climb higher than before. Even I was amazed at how high they would jump from the top of the tunnel. We added an extra mat just to be sure....but everyone jumped without incident!


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Phy
Shadows

After reading The Gruffalo's Child, we went out into the winter sunshine and looked for our shadows. Our shadows were MUCH bigger than us...just like the little mouses shadow in the story.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Lit, UW
Galleon

Children need to be encouraged to gain gross motor skills through a range of different actions: stepping up and down; pushing and pulling; balancing; peddling; jumping; climbing; throwing and catching. Our manager found a company that was able to design a climbing frame that would fit into the space we had available.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Phy
Exploring the Interactive Whiteboard

This is the drawing software that came with the whiteboard. It allows children to explore mixing colours as the highlighter pen is designed to blend with the shades underneath it's mark.

It is easier for children to draw on a vertical surface, as their wrists aren't bent unnaturally. The Whiteboard program encourages children to use the correct pen pressure...if they mark too light, nothing happens.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Phy, EAD, UW
Cooking

We cook regularly. We use a variety of recipes (reading); sometimes making individual items and sometimes a group one. Children are able to talk about what is happening and gain scientific knowledge and understanding of change – when ingredients are combined and cooked using a variety of different tools whilst doing so.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; PSE, CL, Lit, PHY, UW
Angels

The children drew their own angels and then used tissue paper shreds to colour.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Phy, EAD
Dragon Fruit

We try to encourage children to try new things and tastes. What an amazing fruit! Dragon fruit have florescent pink flesh and taste a little like kiwi fruit. We were all intrigued by this unique fruit...and some intrepid tasters even tried it – The adults all had to go first! (we had black carrots two weeks ago!)


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; PSE, Phy
Playdough

Malleable materials are really good for developing all the little muscle groups in a young person's hand. Picking up sequins, using your thumb and forefinger lays the foundation for the pincer pen grip. Designing your own dough cupcakes is just outright FUN!


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; Phy, EAD
Chicks

We've hatched our own chicks over the past 3 years. The children delight in learning in how to handle and care for their new babies.


SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; PSE, UW
Having Fun together

This was a spontaneous happening.

SOME OF THE EYFS AREAS COVERED include; PSE, PHY

British Association for Early Childhood Education

Some brilliant FREE DOWNLOADABLE SHORT publications on children's learning across the whole curriculum can be found here.


Foundation Years

Details of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) can be found here.