Author Archives: 2flowerslearn

About 2flowerslearn

I am a mom of two girls; Daisy and Rose and an elementary teacher. I am sharing our experiences of learning through play; trying out products for our family business, Quality Classrooms and just having fun on our days at home. "If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." George Bernard Shaw, 1856 - 1950 Thank you so much for visiting. I would love to hear from you. ; )

Sneaky Productive Water Play

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Our outdoor active play toys, ride-ons, rocker crocodile, and hop balls  are always a little dusty after being storage all winter. With six months of winter here, under the deck provides a safe location for toys but a dirty one too.

Spring means cleaning time and the flowers got to work. I suggested they have a go at cleaning their toys and they were both excited to try.

Sneaky poductive water play

Armed with a bucket of warm soapy water and two microfiber cloths the girls worked for half an hour, taking each toy in turn. Warm water in much more inviting when the temperatures are still chilly. The bucket tipped over once but we just filled it up again. I would recommend an basin or bin for water.

Water play

We may find our toys need another little wash around August. This time it will be cold water and the hose may me used to rinse off the suds.

Growing seedlings

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Growing a garden is a norm for my children but not all children have access to a planter let alone a garden. Including gardening options in our daycare and school curriculums gives all children the opportunity to experience the joy of growing a plant from a seed.

Growing seedlings

Here is a list of easy to grow plants. Success is importance so children are encouraged.

We have tried various growing options including peat pellets:

peat-potsBut nothing beats getting your hands stuck into a bag of potting soil, as we did when making fairy gardens:

There are so many ways to incorporate gardening in the classroom.

Ideas for cross curricular links

Science:

  • Experiment with conditions (variables) such as heat, light, water
  • Investigate what does a seed needs to germinate
  • Investigate what a plant needs to grow
  • Make hypothesis
  • Takes measurements
  • Record results
  • Learn about the parts of a plant by growing in a clear pot.

Sprout & Grow Window     Primary Science Plant & Grow Set

The Sprout and Grow Window and Plant and Grow Set allow children to see roots growing.

Math:

  • Measure the plant every few days
  • Measure leaf size
  • Count number of leaves or flowers

Cuisenaire Jr. Ants on a Log      Simple Tape Measure    Unifix Cubes

Cuisenaure Jr. Ants on a Log would be great for measuring leaves while this Simple Tape Measure or blocks would be suitable for measuring height.

Art:

  • Draw the seedling every few days to show development
  • Emphasise the importance of proportion
  • Use diagrams to represent plant life cycles

Language Arts:

  • Tell the story of a seed (life cycles)
  • Read non fictions texts about plants and gardening and analyse structure.
  • Use drama to act out the life cycle of a flowering plant (involving bees for pollination, and animals for seed dispersal)

There are so many ways to include growing seedlings or plants in the classroom.

Happy growing.

Open-Ended Playing with the First Look Light Table Kit

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Look at this great resource!

So as you probably know if you are a regular reader, I am a big fan of light tables. Adding light to an activity, brightens everything, including my attention span!

This was the first time we tried out this resource, the First Look Light Table Kit so I laid it all out, showed Daisy the contents and let her explore. There are over 300  pieces in this kit and I couldn’t fit them all on the table!

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Daisy set to work matching colours:

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Clear Big Buttons were matched with colourful leaf, flower and butterfly transparencies.

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Here Daisy has matched the shapes of the Clear Big Buttons and the Fancy Stringing Rings.

I have realised the importance of letting children explore independently, without the restrictions of set tasks or outcomes. Simply playing.

The rule:

New Resource = Open Ended Exploration

The chance to fully explore a resource without the pressure of outcomes, allows children to follow their own thought patterns and investigate their own theories.

As teachers we are often too quick to narrow a resource into a set learning activity and then we wonder why students are playing with the resources rather than doing the activity we set! The pressure of following curriculum and meeting teaching targets means we often sacrifice open ended exploration.

ECE’s are wonderful at setting up explorations free from set outcomes. “Invitations” are happening frequently in daycare and preschool rooms. This carries into kindergarten where teachers still recognise the need for play based learning.

My wish: play based learning with open-ended exploration continues through elementary school.

Is this possible while still meeting curriculum targets?

My answer is yes, what is yours?