At the NatureBuds setting we follow a rhythm (a gentle routine) which aims to embrace and support children during their session. We ease transition times using song. I am aware of the importance of rhythm for children's well-being. When they feel safe, secure, loved and rested with a good diet, they are then free to develop well, play and interact well with others. How a session/day could look. At
arrival time, I make time to talk to parents to exchange any information since we last met.
9:00am:
Arrival at my setting/meet the other children and settle in
Indoor/outdoor activity
10:30am:
Healthy snack and drink
Activity/Free play
12:00pm:
Lunch and drink
Quiet time (Story or sleep)
Activity
2:30pm:
Healthy snack and drink
Get ready to leave for pre-school/primary school pick up
Return to setting
Activity or quiet time for those who require it
Free play
5:00pm:
Dinner and a drink
Quiet time (Stories, colouring in/drawing etc.)
6:00pm:
Home time
Examples of activities. We use two rooms in the house – the living room and playroom. The living room contains the dining area and larger space for yoga and dancing. We can also pull out the double sofa and make a cosy space for quiet time for storytelling or reading a story from a book. The playroom is the main room in use. It is a dedicated playroom designed to be a nurturing and embracing home-from-home space for children. It aims to be a fun place to promote learning through play, covering the 3 Prime areas and 4 Specific areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Prime areas are:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Specific areas are:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
I aim to enable the environment as much as possible so children can engage in the characteristics of effective learning as set out in the EYFS. These characteristics move through all areas of learning:
playing and exploring
active learning
creating and thinking critically
Arts & Crafts
We aim to use natural materials where possible and work with sheep wool, natural objects we find in the woods. Arts and crafts tends to be seasonally based, so in spring for example, we make blossom branches from twigs and coloured sheep wool for blossom or perhaps some colourful tissue paper butterflies which look beautiful and spring-like around the home. In Autumn, characterful leaf mobiles or pressed leaf garlands. In Wintertime, we make pine cone fairies or pine cone hedgehogs. Summertime brings butterfly crowns, bark or walnut shell boats, or paper birds. Children also cut and stick collages, colour in pictures or create and paint their own using natural beeswax block crayons and paints. Naturally-based arts and crafts are sensory too, and illuminate the world in which we live leading to a heightened awareness of their surroundings and environment. Sensory play
Children are provided with natural objects like rough pine cones, dry autumn leaves or smooth pebbles to crackly foil space blankets. We make cornflour gloop, dying it different colours and adding scents like cinnamon and vanilla, all of which support smell, sight and touch. Coloured cooked spaghetti to rove exploring hands into. Make real bread dough, feeling the texture and then bake it. Discovery play/ Heuristic Play
Heuristic Play, coined by child psychologist Elinor Goldschmeid, simply means the discovery of the properties of objects. Here, Treasure Baskets are perfect for babies and toddlers. Babies and toddlers are presented with a basket containing a selection of natural or found objects from around the house and garden and allow them the time and space to explore them using all of their senses. Discovery bottles are great too – plastic bottles filled with coloured water, glitter, noisy coloured buttons for example, support the senses. Activities and learning materials include:
Wooden blocks for building anything you like
Making and building with play dough
Placing different coloured bottle tops in and out of slotted container
Paper/Card, sticking, gluing & craft materials
Drawing books/colouring with crayons, pens and pencils
Leaf/wall rubbings, pasta pictures etc. Painting
Playdough, cornflour, shaving foam etc
Threading large wooden beads
Treasure box play
Variety of books for all ages, story time and story telling – range changes from library visits
Jigsaws/wooden jigsaws
Flash cards
Imaginary and role play
Dressing up
Play kitchen
Shops with till and grocery items
Music and movement
We try to be active indoors Cosmic Kids yoga (excellent short classes on YouTube) or Fun Fit music to move to, or just free dancing to music. Or we visit local indoor classes and groups at St Just or Penzance children's centre, or the library if open. Cooking
• Biscuits, buns/muffins, pizza, bread
Toys:
• Baby/Toddler toys including rattles, shape sorters, stackers, soft toys, balls
• Vehicles
• Animals and zoo
• Tea set, pots and pans & utensils, till, play food etc.
• Waist attach 'hobby horse'
• Wooden bricks and stickle bricks
• Map mat for cars and people
Musical:
• children's music and nursery rhymes
• music, singing, dancing, cultural music
• musical instruments including a harp
Baby Equipment:
• Baby gym
• Bumbo seat
• Baby blankets & sleeping bag
• Baby Monitor
• Changing Mat, Safety/Stair Gates
• Prams & Pushchairs with Rain Covers
• High Chair, Bibs
• Booster Seats for eating
• Baby Carrier/Sling – Bjorn and stretchy wraps
Themes & Topics we cover
• environment, seasons, nature, flowers/plants
• days out – seaside, zoo, farm etc
• animals
• transport/emergency services
• people who help us – ambulances, firemen/women, police
• religious festivals eg. Christmas, Easter Diwali etc
• countries, cultures, traditions
• shopping
• families
• opposites, hot/cold, big/small
• colours
• numbers
• food
• life cycles
• road safety
Outdoor Activity
NatureBuds is a very active setting. There is much opportunity for walks and outdoor activity right outside the door. There are fields surrounding us with animals to see like the geese on the common land right outside the setting. There are horses, sheep and cows just down the lane. We visit these on a regular basis which provides much opportunity to discuss all things animals, as well as exercise and fresh air. There are beautiful views of the sea too. I have completed a Forest School workshop and intend to further my training in Forest School activities. When out in woods we make mud hedgehogs, dens, and walk with wellies in the streams and puddles. We visit Penlee playpark too. There are also local groups and classes like soft play and Zumba for children. Other outdoor in garden provision:
• Water 'Painting'
• Play Kitchen
• Paddling Pools and water play
• Sandpit
• Growing food in garden
• Picnic in garden
See you soon ! ;-)
