Adult-led activities
Branch out
Start your project by setting some safety rules, which will be better understood and adhered to if agreed following discussion and negotiation with the children. Then kick off with a weaving activity.
Key learning intention To work creatively and explore colour, texture, shape and form in three dimensions
Adult:child ratio 1:up to 4
Resources
* Small branch *lengths of ribbon, wool, twine, cloth or other threading materials of various thicknesses, colours and textures *large pot with earth *writing materials
Preparation
* Ensure that the main branch has several smaller branches stemming from it but no sharp twigs which could scratch the children.
Activity content
* Describe to the children how to weave in and out of the branches using the materials available. Weave a small length of material yourself, modelling appropriate words such as in, out, over and under to describe your actions.
* Place the branch in a large pot filled with earth or stones to enable it to stand upright while the children work on it.
* Tie the ribbon or wool to the branch and encourage the children to weave the material in and out, helping them as appropriate. Keep strips of material at a reasonable length to avoid the materials becoming tangled up and the children having to pull through too much material. Tie off the material after using it all or allow ends to dangle down. Encourage the children to use different materials.
* Display the branch either in the large pot or hanging from the ceiling (ensure it is fastened securely).
* Scribe the children's descriptions of how they did the weaving and display these or photographs of the children weaving next to the finished branch to encourage discussion of the activity.
Key vocabulary
In, out, over, under, through, round, twist, weave, back, front, above, below, thick, thin, long short.
Follow-up activities
* Have smaller branches available for the children to continue the activity by themselves or make individual woven trees if they wish.
* Encourage the children to find other ways to decorate the branches such as painting them, or hanging smiling faces or descriptive words of the branch from its twigs.
* Use materials such as card, straws or baked dough shapes to make small decorations to dangle from the branches or paint and hang natural materials such as pine cones.
* Engage the children's interest in other weaving/sewing activities using plastic sewing shapes or card, or paper plates with holes punched in them.
* Make place mats or decorations by folding an A4 sheet of sugar paper in half, cut down from the fold to within 10cm of the edge, open it out and weave strips of different coloured paper in and out. Glue the ends down.
* Look at items such as woven baskets or sisal mats and discuss the processes of weaving.
* Put twigs into a florist's oasis and glue on (or thread) tissue flowers or blossom.
On the rocks Take a close look at an array of stones.
Key learning intention
To sort materials looking closely at similarities, differences and patterns Adult:child ratio 1:up to 6
Resources
* Variety of stones, pebbles and rocks of different sizes, shapes, colours, markings and textures *sorting hoops *paper circles or plates *pens *paper Preparation
* Have paper and drawing/writing materials available for children to make their own recordings.
Activity content
* Give the children plenty of time to look at and feel the stones, encouraging discussions and comments.
* Suggest they find ways to sort the stones - by size, colour, pattern, shape or texture. If there are stones that do not fit into any of their criteria, encourage them to explain why.
* Discuss ways of recording the children's finding. Tape-record their discussions or take photographs of different ways of sorting the stones.
Use the photographs as part of a display or make into a book with the children's comments written underneath.
Key vocabulary
Rough, smooth, flat, round, big, little, hard, warm, cold, colours, lines, marks, spots, shapes.
Follow-up activities
* Give the children opportunities to play with the stones in other areas in the setting, for example outdoors, in the sand or water tray.
Alternatively, use them with other materials such as compost, straw or shells in a builder's tray and introduce small-world animals or people to extend imaginative thinking.
* Give the children opportunities to sort stones and other natural materials such as cones, conkers, sticks or shells.
* Make 'stones' using dough, which can be baked and then painted. Provide materials to enable the children to mix up their own stone colours. Make speckled patterns on the stones by flicking paint from a toothbrush.
* Use stones for circle time activities such as 'pass the pebble' or have a magic stone which is passed round the group to encourage taking turns.
Using a stone in this way helps build the confidence of children not yet happy to express themselves in a group and makes them feel involved in the activity.
* Share a poem about stones and do appropriate actions: Fat stones, thin stone round or flat Big stones, small stone brown or black Stones with patterns, stones with lines Smooth stone, rough stones see what you can find.
Hold stone, throw stones, carry them round Dig stones, bury stones deep in the ground Big like rocks or small like sand How many stones can you hold in your hand?
Look for a stone, find one today Put it in your pocket and take it away!
Cheese sticks
Making cheese sticks is a great cooking activity as the children can be involved at each stage of the process and practise various physical skills including rubbing with fingers, stirring, beating, kneading, rolling out, cutting and brushing. Alternatively, or as another activity, make rock cakes.
Key learning intentions
To develop fine motor skills and hand/eye co-ordination To learn about changes to materials
Adult:child ratio 1:4.
Resources
* Bowls * spoons * knives * baking trays * scales * rolling pins * pastry brush * grater
Ingredients
3150g flour 380g butter or margarine 380g cheddar cheese 32 eggs Preparation
* Ensure the children have washed their hands.
* Check if the children suffer from any food allergies, in particular gluten, eggs or dairy foods.
* Be aware of the safety aspects of using knives and food graters.
Activity content
* Rub in the butter and flour in a bowl until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
* Grate cheese and add, stirring to mix evenly in the mixture.
* Add one beaten egg, stir into the flour fixture to form a soft dough.
* On a floured surface, knead dough lightly until just smooth.
* Roll out the dough and cut into sticks. Place on to a baking tray and brush with beaten egg.
* Bake in an oven at 180xC/360xf, gas mark 4 for 12 to l5 minutes.
* Allow to cool before eating.
Child-initiated learning
Encourage children to develop their own interests and ideas across the curriculum by adding topic resources to the basic provision.
Outdoors
Additional resources
*Bags *sacks *trolleys *buckets *garden canes *large and small pieces of material *cardboard *large boxes *metal bucket or other container *crayons *paper *chalks *large paintbrushes
Possible learning experiences
* Going for a walk around the outdoor area, or further afield if possible, collecting sticks and stones.
* Taking rubbings of trees, stone walls and fences within and around the setting.
* Using collections of sticks and stones in different outdoor areas such as a grass area, garden area or concrete area.
* Transporting sticks and stones around outdoor areas.
* Hunting for mini-beasts.
* Acting out stories such as 'The Three Little Pigs' using large boxes for houses, one of which could have sticks glued on.
* Using garden canes pushed in the ground in a large circle and tied together at the top with material laid over to make a tepee. The material could have a hole cut in the middle to fit over the top. Children could make small tepees using the same process for small soft toys or other small-world play materials.
* Using garden canes to support tall plants and flowers such as sweet peas or vegetables such as runner beans.
* Using large sheets of cardboard to make ramps to roll or slide stones down and discussing why they move in different ways.
* Throwing stones. This would be a good time to reinforce ideas on the safe use of materials. Provide a large container for children to throw stones into, ideally a metal bucket as the crack of the stones hitting the bucket will encourage children's counting skills and one-to-one correspondence.
* Marking out large numbered squares on the ground using chalk and throwing stones to see which numbers they land on. Encourage children to draw out their own grids and to devise their own rules and game conventions.
* Using large paintbrushes to paint water on trees, stone walls or fences.
The practitioner's role
* Help children with physical skills when making small tepees or staking plants.
* Help to organise games.
* Encourage children to order materials in patterns - stick /stone/stick/stone, small/large/small/large and so on.
* Engage in role play in the story of 'The Three Little Pigs'.
* Model use of mathematical vocabulary such as heavy/light, full/empty.
Creative area
Additional resources
*Paint *paper *cardboard *paper plates *large and small cardboard boxes *small-world people and animals *plastic trays *materials to make puppets *dry sand *glue *dry sand in trays Possible learning experiences
* Painting stones using thick paint. The children could paint a picture or face on larger stones or turn the stone into an animal. Younger children will enjoy just covering the stones with different colours. Children might also enjoy washing the paint off, drying the stones using towels and then starting again.
* Using stones to make marks on paper by dipping them in paint and rolling them around a tray with paper in the bottom.
* Designing plate gardens, using compost, sticks, stones, leaves and shells, which could then be used as part of an interactive display in the setting.
* Glueing sticks and/or stones to boxes of various sizes. Introduce small-world people or animals to make homes and caves.
* Glueing small stones to boxes to make treasure chests or jewellery boxes.
* Making puppets using card or paper plates with stick handles to use in imaginative play activities and stories.
* Using sticks to develop pre-writing skills by making marks and patterns in dry sand.
The practitioner's role
* Ensure there are enough resources for children to explore materials and develop their own ideas.
* Provide children with technical assistance in their designs when appropriate, for example helping to attach sticks to puppet faces, or holding a box securely to enable children to glue on stones.
* Allow children enough time to develop competence with the materials they are using and to return to the activity another time if they wish to.
In print
Books that tie in well with a sticks and stones project include:
* Cleversticks by Bernard Ashley (Picture Lions, 4.99)
* The Hill and the Rock by David McKee (Andersen Press, 4.99)
* The Two Monsters by David McKee (Red Fox, 4.99)
* The Three Little Pigs (traditional)
