The children at Rainbow Nursery, County Durham, enjoy continuous access to their exciting outdoor environment and can extend their indoor activities through the effective use of the outdoor space and resourcing.
'Our children are comfortable with the concept of using indoor/outdoor play space fully, but we felt that we needed to help parents to understand the learning potential of the outdoor environment and how their children's activities link with the EYFS,' says nursery manager Karen Crawford. 'To do this we have created an interactive display where they can discover some of the outdoor learning experiences their children enjoy, and children can recall and discuss these experiences with their parents.'
Planned learning intentions
To continue to be interested, excited and motivated to learn
To use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events
To find out about, and identify, some features of living things, objects and events they observe
To respond to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel
Resources
Display board: Hessian, paper flowers, photographs of children engaged in outdoor activities, posters and pictures depicting minibeasts and flowers
Mobile: Branch, large models of flying creatures such as butterflies and bees, strong thread
Low table: Plastic minibeasts, artificial flowers, vase, artificial grass, green fabric, small boxes and trays, fiction and non-fiction books about outdoor play, plants and minibeasts, wrapping paper depicting flowers and minibeasts, small watering cans and garden tools, magnifying glasses, mark-making tools and materials
Step by step
- We began by discussing the fun that children had outdoors and suggested to them that they create a display so that their parents could learn more about the activities they enjoyed.
- We walked around our outdoor area together and talked about what we might tell parents about. We then invited children to take photographs of one another involved in their chosen activities.
- We decided the best place for our display would be in the entrance so parents would see it as they came into nursery. Staff backed the board with hessian and children created a border of paper flowers.
- We all agreed upon the title 'Having fun outdoors' for our display, and the children's photographs were attached to the board, leaving room for captions created from the children's words and noted during staff observations - for example, 'If I squirt the paint, I wonder what will happen?'
- Staff added appropriate quotes from the EYFS so parents could appreciate the learning links - for example, 'Outdoor learning encompasses all that children do, see, hear and feel in their outdoor spaces.'
- Children were highly motivated when staff suspended a branch from the ceiling in front of the display and attached a selection of colourful model flying creatures.
- Small boxes were taped to the table in front of the display and this was draped in green fabric to create a landscape effect. Children then helped to arrange trays and artificial grass with wood chippings and plastic minibeasts, and surround them with the rest of the resources detailed above.
- The resulting interactive display has proved a great success. Children eagerly promote the outdoors to their interested parents, and staff are always on hand to answer questions about the EYFS.
Sheila Gardiner is the director and Karen Crawford is the manager at Rainbow Nursery, Middleston Moor, County Durham. They spoke to Jean Evans
LINKS TO EYFS GUIDANCE
- EE 3.1 Observation, Planning and Assessment
- EE 3.3 The Learning Environment
- l&D 4.1 Play and Exploration
- l&D 4.2 Active Learning.
