As part of a project on homes we discussed different places where people live and sleep, including tents. Many of the children did not know what camping was, so we planned an interactive day where the children could experience a campsite in the nursery environment.
A letter was sent home to the parents of the 16 two-and three-year-olds asking them to send their child to nursery kitted out in their outdoor clothing with a rucksack, torch and their pyjamas.
The night before the children's 'camping trip', Julie Parmenter, who is third in charge of the toddler room, and nursery assistant Katie Gourd transformed the room. They assembled three tents, scattered leaves and twigs on the floor and even hung leaves from the ceiling. They blacked out the windows and covered them in glow-in-the-dark stars. Some of the nursery's bigger plants were moved into the room to act as trees and foliage and Julie and Katie made a pretend campfire.
The children's day began with a journey on a 'bus' made out of chairs. Then they got out their torches, put their rucksacks on their backs and trekked off on a bear hunt around the nursery garden.
On arrival at the campsite the children's eyes lit up. The activity coincided with an Ofsted inspection, and the inspector said she'd never heard so many gasps of excitement!
They were excited and amazed at how realistic the campsite looked - the twigs and leaves even created an authentic smell. The children explored every inch of their transformed room, and we noticed they paid more attention to the plants than they do when in their routine setting.
Children gathered around the campfire to sing songs and hear stories. When it was time for a nap they put on their pyjamas and slept in the tents.
They enjoyed themselves so much that it was difficult to persuade them to pack up and leave their campsite at the end of the day!
The camping adventure spanned many early learning goals, including those in Knowledge and Understanding of the World, Language and Literacy and Creative Development.
Nursery manager Heidi Gray spoke to Mahrukh Choughtai
