Pattern and Pebble Play

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Pattern and Pebble Play

I'm a lover of nature, play, reading & loose parts. I am a MA qualified preschool teacher & educator

07/04/2026

Playdough castle making

M and I made a fresh batch of playdough to make castle for her Lego people. We used candles and Fake diamonds to decorate. M's imagination ran wild and she was playing for such a long time, keeping her off screens for the duration 😁

03/04/2026

Ukrainian Easter Eggs

We weren't able to travel as M is sick. We are making the best of it, finding lots of crafty things to do at home.
Today, we followed the tradition we often do at mum's house, creating Ukrainian Easter eggs. It's a little risky play mixed with the unknown as we put hot wax on the boiled eggs and experiment with coloured water to dye the eggs.

They are not perfect, but we had so much fun doing these! We were going to eat them for breakfast tomorrow, but have decided to keep them instead!

15/03/2026

Harmony Day

As Harmony day comes upon us again, I am thinking how I can create play spaces that explain this celebration.

Fir one soace, we will be using Orange playdough, some cardboard cutouts (will add a range of coloured cardboard tomorrow), and a range of loose parts, and children will be able to explore similarities and differences. The same resources, but so many different ways that people can look and feel. This will be extending our already up and running Superpower project that is giving children empowerment in their thinking and caring skills.

Can't wait to see what incredible creations my class come up with tomorrow 😁

11/02/2026

Classroom set-ups

As we begin the new school year, we incorporate a sense of identity and belonging.

This year, we have a pet plush snail for the classroom that will allow children to explore not only snails but also a variety of insects in our local area. We have voted in a name of our snail: 'Sammy the Snail', and he will not only go on adventures with our families on weekends, but give us the opportunity to learn about snails in our floor book. We have begun by drawing and painting our snail and imagining where it lives.

We have an emotions table, where children are able to express their own emotions with inspiration from cards and loose parts.

The construction area is labelled with our loose parts sign, and we look at the days of the week, month, and year with our daily cards and song.

The classroom is feeling comfortable, and children are settling in beautifully with the small provocations that allow them to feel a sense of belonging and understanding of learning.

You can find many of the downloadable resources here:

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/patternandpebbleplay

26/01/2026

Capturing emotions and self

As we start the preschool year, I am delving into Identity. To begin each child's exploration of themselves, I will invite them to create an image of themselves with loose parts. This will not only allow for children to notice their features but also expressions and emotions.

Today M and I tested the tools I will be using in the classroom (or somewhat similar). We loved our faces so much, I have created a new set of cards that will go up on the Etsy site tonight.

They will be here:
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/patternandpebbleplay

16/01/2026

Nature Art

Today we had a friend over, so went out to lunch.on the way home we found some beautiful flowers, leaves, gumnuts and berries. M and her friend announced they were the Queen and the princess.we needed to make crowns and art fit for these characters.

We set about with nature pieces, paper, string, paint pens, and glue. We all had our own ideas and some incredible art pieces were created with a little imagination!

31/12/2025

Happy New Year!

We went out in style this year, starting with planting our long standing Christmas tree that was growing out of it's pot, then having a Ukrainian feast with beautiful people and sitting under the fireworks in Orange, NSW.

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Hope you all have a lovely, well-earned holiday and having some rest and yummy food.

Big hugs from. M and I ###xx

07/12/2025

Australian Christmas candle holder

Today, M and I set about to test something I am going to do in the classroom for a Christmas present for the families. An Australian Christmas candle holder.

We gathered gum leaves from our walk home this afternoon. Then got busy sticking them to an empty glass jar with PVA glue. We added some confetti that we are recycling from M's birthday party. We used twine to add a finishing touch at the top (the lovely Xmas twine had already been taken to work).

We used our lovely candle at dinner to have a Christmas feeling for our meal. So lovely!

09/11/2025

Birds!
My class has been undertaking a project on Australian Native Birds this last few months. They have drawn and painted birds, learned about their beaks, what they eat, and also participated in the Aussie bird count. I have learned so much researching alongside my beautiful class.

I have decided I want to make some fact cards for the classroom, so have begun my attempts to paint birds. They are not totally perfect, but for my first attempt, I'm feeling ok! After a busy weekend if M's 9th birthday celebrations, this was my calm and relax time. Can't wait to complete these cards!

26/10/2025

Halloween preparation!

Making some play dough at home for tomorrow. Was supposed to be black, but somehow turned out 'Snot green', as M describes. 'But snot green is great for Halloween...and it feels like snot too!', she added.

We used toothpicks and small cupcake papers to make some spooky characters! So much fun on a Sunday afternoon!

#ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴘʟᴀʏ

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https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/patternandpebbleplay

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