Multi skills and drama class!!!

3/6/2010 9:52:57 PM #

Hi Ali
What day is this on? I am really keen that something like this happens on a daily basis certainly in the racoons and perhaps in the chipmunks too. I think it helps to structure the childrens day.
thanks
Elizabeth

Elizabeth Heeley | Reply

3/8/2010 1:34:53 PM #

Hi Elizabeth

This is going to be every Tuesday in the chipmunks room. I feel that the children will really benefit from this and that it is really exciting for them.

Ali | Reply

3/8/2010 9:17:22 PM #

Hi Ali,

Are there any plans to also offer this to the Racoons?
I agree with Elizabeth's comment above, that something like this should happen daily - You were looking to add a French lesson to the weekly plan and I think the trial lesson went down well, however nothing seemed to happen after this. Do you have an update at all??

Thanks
Natasha

Natasha | Reply

3/9/2010 4:43:16 PM #

Hi Natasha
Thanks for your comments, the session has gone down really well with the Chipmunks. We do structure the children's days whilst also allowing the children to have freedom of choice ~I hope that isn't too much of a contradiction!! During the day certain things will always happen in a certain order, such as coming together at the start of the day, key person time, meals. You are right, children benefit from a certain degree of structure as it helps them to know what is next and to have comfort and stability from that. Children also benefit from having a freedom to choose activities they want to do and it is important to encourage this as when children choose to do something they really enjoy, they get so much more learning out of that activity, and can often incorporate other areas of learning.
An example of this might be children deciding to build a tower with some logs, they will need to work as a team and communicate with each other, use their physical skills by carrying, balancing and feeling the different texture of the wood, use their problem solving for how to transport logs from one side of the garden to another……….
On the Racoons, the children now have their cookery class on a Friday afternoon (which has been running since the end of last year), football with Gary and music with Aileen.
French was something we trialed and, though it hasn’t been ruled out completely, we felt the children would benefit from introducing another specialist class in a different area of learning. The cookery class covers knowledge and understanding of the world (e.g. how ingredients change when mixed together) and problem solving, reasoning and numeracy (e.g. weighing and measuring ingredients), as well as following simple instructions in a recipe.
I am thinking of arranging a time for parents to come into the Racoons so you can see how we plan our time with the children, covering areas such as letters and sounds, writing, confidence building. Please let me know if you would be interested in this and I will come up with a date.
On another note, I hope you enjoyed the Gruffalo play!!!
Rebecca

rebecca platt | Reply

3/15/2010 9:39:56 PM #

Hi Rebecca,

Thanks for your response.

I am happy with the structure and flow of the day the children experience in the Racoons, even more so now that they have the consistency, enthusiasm and stability of Kay & Lizzies partnership.

I do however think that the children benefit from being challenged both mentally and physically. This was proven by the effort and interest they put into the Gruffalo Play Project. They easily become bored of the "norm" and introducing different activities injects a differential to their day. It also allows them to engage with another responsible adult - not someone who they can easily read and relate to.

As per Elizabeth's comment I believe they could only benefit from more activities being introduced to them. I would be more than supportive of Niamh learning another language or taking part in a more creative or physical class as these all bring skills that can only compliment her natural development.

The Gruffalo play was very good, and is definitely the type of activity I would like to see more of. It was also really positive to see so much parental support for the children and the efforts of Kay, Lizzie and Kim.

Thanks for your time,
Natasha

Natasha | Reply

3/17/2010 2:00:01 PM #

Hi Natasha
Thanks for your message and for your positive feedback on the Gruffalo play. All the team plan for their key children based on the children’s individual learning objectives, which will make the activities challenging. This is where the Gruffalo play came from as Kay and Lizzie saw how interested the children were in it and thought of what else they could do to keep this interest going as well as involving other areas of learning.
I will continue to work alongside Kay and Lizzie to keep these really exciting and engaging activities going for the children.
On the French, I will add this to the pot when we next review our extra curricular activities, thanks for your feedback on this.

Thanks
Rebecca

rebecca platt | Reply

3/18/2010 12:45:11 PM #

Hi Rebecca

I agree with Natasha that adding a language class or more creative or physical class would greatly benefit Ava. Please could you let us know which other classes you will be considering for the Racoons, and when you will be reviewing these classes?

Thanks

Helen

Helen | Reply

3/22/2010 2:41:59 PM #

Hi Helen
Thanks for your comment. At the moment the children in the Racoons do football, music and cooking. Football and music, (without stating the obvious!) encourages children’s physical, creative and communication skills as well as their personal, social and emotional development as the children are working as a team and taking turns.
With cooking, they are learning about instructions, measurements, numbers and quantities, how ingredients change when added together and different foods from around the world.
I feel happy with our spread of activities at the moment due to the broad areas of learning they cover, and was planning on reviewing them again in the summer term.  
If you want to talk any more about this, please let me know.
Thanks
Rebecca

rebecca platt | Reply

5/5/2010 2:00:21 PM #

Hi Rebecca

I am disappointed that the activities will not be reviewed in time for the majority of Racoons as they are off to primary school in the autumn. I hope that by the time Milo becomes a Racoon that the bredth of activities is wider.

I was not aware that you had responded, so either the 'notify me' check box was not working or in put in the wrong e-mail address.

Helen

Helen | Reply

5/5/2010 2:35:15 PM #

Rebecca

Can you please confirm when the football coach actually visits the Racoons.  On your website it states Tuesday however when we asked Evan if he played football he said no.  I have also been told that it is acutally on Mondays, not Tuesdays.

Thanks Caroline

Caroline Winter | Reply

5/6/2010 2:02:05 PM #

Hi Caroline
Football did move from Tuesday to Monday when we changed football teachers when Gary left (who has since returned!!). Unfortunately we can’t change anything on our website at the moment and so we can’t make any changes to the content. Sorry for the confusion. Our music class is on a Wednesday afternoon.

Rebecca

rebecca platt | Reply