All early years practitioners know how important it is that young children have a positive start to learning to read. Studies such as the Bookstart Project have shown that when parents and carers give children happy experiences with books from an early age, they will have an advantage when they begin school, across all areas of learning.
Two key factors seem to influence children's achievement in reading. The first is that children want to read and see it as important and serving a purpose. The second is that they love books and enjoy reading and being read to. Reading is not just a skill; it's an adventure that opens doors to whole new worlds. Practitioners need to make reading and sharing books a pleasurable experience for all children. When children see books as exciting, interesting and fun, they will choose to read for themselves and share books with others.
Early years settings need to build up a book collection that captivates young children and helps them to develop positive attitudes towards themselves as 'readers'. A high-quality book collection should include a wide range of texts that will include classic storybooks.
KEY
(1) Personal, social and emotional development
(2) Communication, language and literacy
(3) Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy
(4) Knowledge and understanding of the world
(5) Physical development
(6) Creative development
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS
Buying books can be difficult and expensive, and it is sometimes hard to tell whether a book is a classic that will stand the test of time, or one which is part of a current trend.
Contemporary classics will help to enrich children's understanding, enjoyment and love of literature. They have many things in common:
- They are often written by experienced children's writers and illustrated by talented artists;
- The story is frequently multi-layered and can be read at different levels, meaning different things to different readers;
- The language in the books is used in exciting and inventive ways;
- The text is memorable and children can retell the stories independently;
- The story provides a stimulus for discussion and debates;
- These are books that children and adults will want to revisit again and again.
When practitioners share a wide range of classic texts with children, individually or in small groups, at story times and spontaneously, children are likely to find their own firm favourites.
Experienced and effective practitioners 'tune in to children' and their ongoing interests and offer opportunities to explore them. Books are one way in to learning for many children, and this is something not to be missed.
The Blue Balloon by Mick Inkpen (Hodder Children's Books) is just one example of a classic storybook which many children will choose to explore independently, over a period of time. The book may also tune in to some children's interest in things that fly, including planes and kites.
LANGUAGE
Language that is specific to the topic and that could be introduced to the children includes: balloon, stretchy, small, huge, inflate, deflate, shiny, squeaky, squeeze, tight, squashy, indestructible, soggy, hiss, bounce, light, heavy, float, burst, helium, gas, vibrate, air, travel, fly, burst.
GRAPHICS AREA
Provide:
zig-zag books and mini stapled books
pens and pencils
at least one copy of The Blue Balloon by Mick Inkpen
a helium-filled blue balloon, secured with a weight or tied to a chair
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
(1) Making links with earlier experiences
(2) Talk for a variety of purposes
(2) Writing for a range of purposes
(4) Selecting and using appropriate tools
(6) Using imagination
ADULT ROLE
- Ensure the children are familiar with the book, and if necessary revisit the story of The Blue Balloon, re-reading the part in which the balloon takes the child flying. Encourage the children to imagine where their balloon might take them, if it were a magic balloon.
- Support the children as they draw pictures of their journeys and write about them in speech bubbles (act as a scribe where necessary).
- Encourage the children to think of words to describe the balloon and, where appropriate, record these.
- Respond positively and value children's independent attempts at writing and making their own books.
- Plan shared writing sessions to explore the written materials, perhaps making a shared book about imaginary journeys.
SMALL-WORLD PLAY AREA
- Add a 'hot air balloon' created by attaching a small wicker basket to a helium-filled balloon, firmly tied to a weight. Put a small, familiar, cherished soft toy in the basket.
- Place the balloon above a farm or road play mat.
- Provide other inflated balloons, baskets and boxes.
- Add maps, a small rucksack, assorted people and animals, markers and paper.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
(1) Co-operation and collaboration
(2) Talk for a variety of purposes
(2) Writing for a range of purposes
(3) Using the language of position
(4) Choosing the appropriate tools for a purpose
(6) Recreating roles and experiences, imaginative play
ADULT ROLE
- Encourage the children to consider the journey the bear could make in the balloon and what could be seen.
- Support children as they explore the resources.
- Encourage the children to use their imaginations.
- Ask open questions: What do you think the balloon is filled with? Why does it float in the air? What will happen if the string breaks? Where do you think a magic balloon might take teddy? What would teddy see from high in the sky? What would our nursery look like? Where might he land? How could we fill another balloon with air? How could we stop the air getting out of the balloon? What would happen if we didn't fasten the balloon and just let it go?
- Support the children as they make maps, make other hot air balloons, tell stories and develop imaginative play themes.
WATER AREA
Provide:
balloons filled with coloured water
frozen balloons filled with coloured iceballoons filled with air and
small beads/rice/sand
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
(1) Co-operating
(3) Problem solving
(4) Exploring the properties of materials
(5) Using a range of equipment
(6) Exploring songs and rhymes
ADULT ROLE
- Observe children, noting significant achievements.
- Encourage the children to explore the balloons. What is the same about them, and what is different? Do they all float? Why?
- Support children as they recall favourite songs and rhymes and create their own:
- Suggestions for composing songs
To the tune of 'Ten Green Bottles':
Five round balloons floating through the air,
Five round balloons floating through the air,
If one round balloon should accidentally 'pop',
POP! (clap hands)
There'll be four round balloons floating through the air
BOOK AREA
Provide:
assorted fiction and information texts about balloons, including The
Blue Balloon
a magnetic board or wedge and magnetic story props from the story
markers
small card
scissors
magnetic tape
balloon shapes in different sizes and colours, laminated with magnetic
tape fixed
magnetic numerals
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
(1) Working together as part of a group
(2) Retelling and creating own stories using props
(2) Exploring books
(3) Counting balloons
(3) Sorting balloons by colour, shape or size
(6) Using imagination in stories
ADULT ROLE
- Share books with individuals and pairs of children.
- Model the use of information texts and the language of stories.
- Support the children as they retell familiar stories and create their own.
- Encourage the children to make their own story props or 'balloons'.
- Ask questions about what the children are doing and why.
- Support the children as they sort and order the balloons.
OUTDOOR AREA
- It's very important that outdoor play isn't a repetition of indoor activity. In general, it should extend learning and offer opportunities for children to work on a larger, noisier or messier scale, or to use natural resources and the weather. The windy day resource box (see page 19) will give children opportunities to explore the behaviour of balloons on a windy day. What do they do? Where do they go?
- Consider planning a balloon release for the children and their families. Arrange for balloons, a helium gas bottle and labels to be delivered from a reputable helium balloon supplier, and label and release the balloons at the same time. Write on each label a message asking the finder to tell the setting when and where the balloon lands. The winner is the balloon that travels the farthest. But the fun and learning is in the anticipation and prediction.
- Balloons filled with coloured water give other opportunities for exploration. Provide some filled with coloured water or thin runny paint, and a white sheet or white lining paper 'target' attached to a wall or fence.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
(1) Co-operation and collaboration
(2) Talk for a variety of purposes
(3) Measuring and estimating
(4) Investigating materials
(5) Manipulating objects
ADULT ROLE
- Support the children as they explore the water-filled balloons. What do they feel like? Are they heavy or light?
- Encourage the children to throw the balloons at the sheet. Do they burst? Why/why not? How far can they be thrown?
- Ask open-ended questions: What do you think is in the balloons? What do you think will happen when the balloons hit the wall? We have used blue paint and yellow paint, so why is there some green colour on the paper? What other colours do you think we could make? What colour would we have to add? Why is the paint running down the paper? What could we do to stop it?
RESOURCE BOX
Collecting resource boxes around predictable early childhood interests ensures that practitioners are well-equipped to respond when children show an interest for a particular topic. Such resource boxes can be added to as new items become available. It's always a good idea to have a list of the resources in the box, where they came from and a reference to anything stored on a computer. Weather boxes are always a good idea. There is one predictable thing about British weather - at some stage it will be sunny, snowy, wet or windy!
To support children's interest in windy days, consider providing:
- a collection of streamers, ribbons, chiffon and silk scarves and fabric strips
- a collection of balloons, flags, wind tunnels and kites
- a parachute
- bubble blowers and bubble machines
- images of balloons, kites, blowing leaves and flags
- books, rhymes and songs
EXPLORING CHILDREN'S INTERESTS
- Tuning in
Making time to talk to parents and carers is an important way of finding out about children's current interests and about what matters to them. Such information helps practitioners provide a curriculum that is relevant and meaningful.
Having an existing interest in a particular theme means that children approach it with enthusiasm and expertise, giving them confidence and increased motivation to engage in the activities provided. Children can use this expertise best in carefully planned, open-ended learning opportunities without prescribed uniform outcomes.
- Enhancing provision
Any significant interest that a child or children may have should be explored by enhancing a setting's continuous provision - that is, by adding theme-based resources to the areas of provision that is available daily to children and should comprise:
role play
small-world play
construction play
sand and water
malleable materials
creative workshop area
graphics area
book area
By taking this approach, children can choose to engage with the theme or pursue their own interests and learning independently. Adults need to recognise that children require a suitable length of time to explore any interests in depth and to develop their own ideas.
ADULT ROLE
If children's interests are to be used to create the best possible learning opportunities, the adult role is crucial.
Adults need to be able to:
- enhance continuous provision to reflect children's interests;
- use enhancements to plan meaningful learning opportunities across all areas of the EYFS;
- know when to intervene in children's play and when to stand back;
- recognise that children will need a suitable length of time to explore any area of provision to develop their own ideas;
- model skills, language and behaviours;
- recognise how observation, assessment and reflection on children's play can enhance their understanding of what young children know and recognise how these should inform their future planning.
BOOK BOX
There are some great storybooks and information texts available about balloons. Remember to use the local library and encourage families and members of the local community to share books:
- A Balloon for Grandad by Nigel Grey (Orchard Books) Sam's balloon escapes and flies up into the sky. His father reassures him and tells of the balloon's journey to an island where Sam's grandad Abdulla lives, who receives it as a gift from his distant grandson.
- Little Polar Bear and the Big Balloon by Hans de Beer (North-South Books) A little polar who dreams of flying meets a puffin grounded by its wings that are sticky with oil. Together they go to a hot spring where they discover a hot-air balloon. Will the polar bear's dream of exploring the sky come true?
- Balloon by Jez Alborough (Collins Picture Lions) When Billy spots a big, striped balloon in the park one day, his mother buys it for him. But Billy doesn't manage to hold on to it for long, and soon he and Mummy and Puppy are chasing it all over the park. Comes with rhythmic style and endearing illustrations.
- Pop Flop's Great Balloon Ride by Nancy Abruzzo (New Mexico Press) It is Balloon Fiesta time and the sky is filled with hot-air balloons of all shapes and colours. And from the air, Pop Flop can see his friends and the whole wide world.
- Kipper's Balloon by Mick Inkpen (Hodder Children's Books);
- My Balloon (Simple Science Series) by Kay Davies and Wendy Oldfield (Doubleday).
