Nursery World - A parent's guide to designing and making

Lo and behold, your child comes bouncing out of nursery, school or the childminder's, pleased to see you and clutching something. The item is obviously precious, usually sticky and invariably destined for the mantelpiece with a cry of 'look what I made!' So what do children learn when they are busy 'designing and making' and how does this fit in the curriculum?

So what do children learn when they are busy 'designing and making' and how does this fit in the curriculum?

Designing and making is actually part of an area of the Foundation Stage curriculum called 'Knowledge and Understanding of the World'. This eventually links to design and technology in your child's later school years. The aim of designing and making is to help children to use tools and materials and also for them to learn about constructing and making things.

What activities will my child be doing?

There are no 'set' activities that all children have to do in this curriculum, as the Foundation Stage is more about building children's skills. This means that your child will probably be encouraged to use a range of tools to make things out of paper, card and fabric. You may also find that your child is allowed do some cooking, to learn how to use simple kitchen implements such as graters and whisks. As well as using tools, you may also find that your child is encouraged to play with construction bricks and equipment that interlinks.

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