When children have regular opportunities to explore their ideas with interested, caring practitioners in a supportive atmosphere, they will begin to initiate their own investigations and develop problem-solving skills. The following ideas can support children's exploration and investigation of fabrics and the properties of materials. Many begin as adult-initiated activities which promote children's natural curiosity and support shared sustained thinking.
Approach
The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (page 11) emphasises the importance of providing children with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning opportunities. This project:
* identifies adult-led activities, to introduce or develop children's understanding of the topic through stimulating, meaningful experiences which offer challenge
* suggests ways to enhance areas of core provision, to consolidate children's learning about the theme. It is the practitioners' role to make daily observations of children's learning which inform individual child profiles and future planning. Children should be encouraged to use the resources to support their own learning. This means that the possible learning outcomes will be wide-ranging and varied.
* advocates that settings should be organised and resourced using a 'workshop' approach so that children can access resources autonomously and independently.
Adult - led activities
High and dry
Organise a laundry activity.
Key learning intentions
To interact with others, negotiating plans and taking turns in conversation
To look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change
To talk about what is seen and what is happening
Adult:child ratio 1:up to 6
Resources
* collection of socks * laundry basket * washing line and pegs * A3 card and assorted graphical media * bowl of warm soapy water and bowl of warm rinsing water * digital camera * speech bubbles
Preparation
Gather together a collection of clean socks and put them in the laundry basket. Ensure that at least four or five pairs are similar in size and of the same material.
Activity content
* Talk about the socks and encourage the children to recall their experiences of laundry and washing clothes.
* Support the children as they wash and rinse the socks. Then discuss how to dry the socks. Encourage the children to suggest the best places for drying, indoors and outdoors. Discuss a 'fair test' and why the test may not be fair and how it can be made fair. Support children as they make marks and write and where appropriate act as a scribe to record their thoughts. Then put the socks in the places suggested and take digital images. This could include on/near radiators, in cupboards, on tables, outside on washing lines or on the floor.
* Where possible, set up a timer to ring every 15 minutes to check whether any of the socks have dried.
* As the socks dry, record the children's comments about their ideas and what actually happened.
* Make a display showing the order in which the socks dried, the digital images, the children's comments and drawings they have made about their explorations.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Wash, rinse, dry, wet, damp, drier, cold, warm, warmer, colder, wind, radiator, heater, size, fabric, material, same as different from, fair test, guess, idea
Questions to ask
* Can you remember washing clothes at home? Where did you dry the clothes?
* Where do you think we could dry the socks?
* How could we make them dry faster?
* How could we find out which is the quickest place for drying clothes?
* Would it be fair if we chose one small thin cotton sock and one thick woollen sock? If not, why not? How could we check whether it is fair?
* Do you think the socks will dry quicker if they are on the floor outside or hanging on a line? Why do you think that?
Extension ideas
* Give the children lots of opportunities to wash and dry dolls' clothes and other small items of clothes independently.
* Focus on the mathematics involved in socks and encourage the children to sort the socks into pairs or order them by size.
Wet all over
Explore different kinds of material.
Key learning intentions
To initiate conversation, attend to and take account of what others say
To find out and identify some features of objects
To ask questions about why things happen and how things work
Adult:child ratio 1:up to 6
Resources
* Collection of shirts, jackets and other fabrics * speech bubbles and assorted graphical media * several small umbrellas (preferably children's) Preparation
* Gather a collection of jackets and shirts made from different fabrics, and also some pieces of other materials such as plastic carriers, aluminium foil, netting, and different sorts of paper. Keep the resources together until a rainy day.
Activity content
* On a rainy day, look at the resources with the children and talk about the sorts of clothes they wore on their journey to the setting to keep dry.
* Look at the clothes and other materials together and discuss which would be the best materials to use to make a jacket or coat to keep dry in the rain.
* Ask open questions which promote discussion. Act as a scribe to record children's comments.
* Encourage the children to think of ways to 'test' the materials. Try putting a piece of paper under one of the umbrellas and pouring water over it. Does it stay wet or dry? Then put the paper under a piece of netting and pour the water. What happens to the paper then? Encourage the children to predict what will happen using different fabrics and support them as they plan how they can test their ideas (hypotheses).
* Help the children carry out their 'test'. This could be to put pieces of paper on plastic plates and cover them with different materials and then put them out in the rain to see if the paper gets wet.
Extending learning Key vocabulary Idea, think, guess, predict, test, wet, dry, umbrella, fabric, materials, waterproof, protect, water resistant, clothes, raincoat Questions to ask
* Which jacket or shirt do you think is best to wear to keep dry in the rain? Why?
* Can you think of a way to find out if this is a good material for making a raincoat?
* Why do you think this is the best material?
Extension activities
* Revisit the resources with the children, and discuss the comments in the speech bubbles. Support the children as they take digital images of each other wearing jackets, coats and shirts or holding the other pieces of fabric over their heads. Make a book with the images, speech bubbles and children's drawings and pictures. Each page could be headed 'Is a rain coat made of plastic/tissue/cotton a good idea? Yes/no, because....'
* Consider making umbrellas using different materials. Simply use the frame of a small child's umbrella and remove some of the waterproof panels.
Support the children as they replace these with materials of their choice and predict what will happen in the rain.
Favourite clothes
Find out what clothes children like best.
Key learning intentions
To dress and undress independently
To use writing as a means of recording and communicating
To perform simple functions with ICT
Adult:child ratio 1: up to 6
Resources
* Assorted clothes in a laundry basket * assorted graphical media and A4 and A5 paper * digital camera and printer
Preparation
* Prepare a homemade book using A3 card.
* Make a collection of familiar and unusual clothing, including where possible clothes with specific uses and uniforms - overalls, aprons, hats.
Activity content
* Encourage the children to explore the clothes and try them on.
* Support them as they take digital images of each other wearing the clothes.
* Let the children draw pictures of their favourite clothes and use marks and words to record why they like them.
* Label the book 'Our favourite clothes'.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Descriptive vocabulary and names of specific items of clothing, favourite, best, like, dislike, wear, choose
Questions to ask
* Which clothes do you like best? Why?
* What clothes do you think would be best to wear on a really hot day? What about a very cold day?
* Do you think a firefighter could wear this? Why do you think that?
* Can you think of one thing which is the same about the jackets? And one thing that is different?
Extension activities
* Encourage the children to make their own individual zig-zag books about clothes.
* Make a display of children's paintings of their favourite clothes alongside digital images and their comments.
Child-initiated learning
Information texts
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide information texts about clothes (see resources) alongside small stapled books, zig-zag books, paper in assorted sizes, scissors, markers, pens and pencils.
* Model the use of information texts and how to retrieve information.
* Support children as they draw, make marks, write and create their own books.
Play possibilities
* Exploring the properties of the graphical media
* Discussing the contents of the books.
* Making connections between the pictures and their own clothes
* Folding and cutting paper to create own books
* Making marks, drawing and writing
Possible learning outcomes
Makes connections between different parts of their life experiences
Knows that information can be relayed in the form of print
Uses marks to show meaning
Uses one-handed tools and equipment
Begins to use representation as a means of communication
Creative workshop
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide card, paper and boxes in different sizes and shapes.
* Display a wide variety of small pieces of fabrics or different textures, colours and patterns.
* Urge the children to explore the fabrics and use them to make 2D or 3D collages.
Play possibilities
* Using their senses to explore the materials
* Discussing the fabrics, using descriptive language
* Cutting and sticking, making collages
* Mark making, drawing and writing
* Making comparisons with other familiar fabrics, their own clothes and connections with earlier experiences
Possible learning outcomes
Operates independently within the environment
Uses a widening vocabulary, including descriptive vocabulary
Talks about and recognises patterns
Shows curiosity
Notices similarities and differences
Dry sand - pairs of gloves
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide a wide variety of pairs of gloves in the dry sand area - rubber, plastic, wool, lace, leather, oven, stretchy 'magic', both adults' and children's.
* Encourage the children to fill the gloves with sand and notice what happens.
* Support children as they explore the gloves using their senses.
Play possibilities
* Trying on the gloves
* Matching pairs of gloves
* Using the gloves to support imaginative role play
* Filling and emptying the gloves
* Comparing the size and weight of the filled gloves
* Noticing changes in the gloves when they are empty and when they are full
Possible learning outcomes
Takes turns and co-operates
Dresses independently
Initiates conversations
Uses language such as 'bigger' or 'smaller' and 'full' and 'empty' to compare the gloves
Engages in imaginative play, based on first-hand experiences
Role-play clothes shop
Additional resources and adult support
* Wherever possible, plan a trip to a local clothes shop or invite someone who works in a shop to visit the setting to talk to the children.
* Create a clothes shop, preferably near the home corner. Provide assorted clothes on hangers, shoes, hats, boxes, bags, tills, money, price labels, receipts, 'Sale', 'Open' and 'Closed' signs and tape measures. Also include a simple writing framework for 'orders' which includes name, phone number, name, number and size of item, date and cost.
* Model the use of specific resources and act 'in role' as a customer or salesperson. Introduce challenges and dilemmas - 'I bought this blouse last week, and the hem has come down. What can you do?'
* Ask open-ended questions which encourage the use of imaginative and descriptive language.
Play possibilities
* Putting clothes on and taking them off.
* Telling stories or recalling past experiences involving the clothes, clothes shops and shopping.
* Sorting the clothes by shape, size or colour.
* Hanging the clothes up or putting them in boxes and bags.
* Expressing and communicating ideas, thoughts and feelings through role play.
* Taking on different roles and exploring the use of language.
Possible learning outcomes Displays high levels of involvement in activities Initiates conversation and pays attention to the needs of others Uses language such as 'bigger' and 'smaller' to describe size Remembers and talks about significant things that have happened to them Uses imagination in role play
Judith Stevens is an early years adviser in Lewisham, London
Areas of learning
Personal, social and emotional development
Communication, language and literacy
Mathematical development
Knowledge & understanding of the world
Physical development
Creative development
Supporting young children's sustained shared thinking
Practitioners need to provide different contexts and experiences for children to think differently. We may see children:
* Planning, predicting, thinking ahead, speculating
* Investigating, exploring, gathering and using information
* Solving problems, working things out, finding solutions
* Reasoning, using their logic, explaining, making connections
* Creating, innovating, imaging new situations, fantasising
* Reflecting, recalling, sorting out feelings.
Although it is helpful to be aware of and provide opportunities for these different kinds of thinking, in practice they overlap and fuse together.
Supporting young children's sustained shared thinking by Marion Dowling (Early Education, www.early-education.org.uk)
Resources to support the theme
* Clothes Around the World by Michael Hall (Heinemann)
* The Clothes We Wear by Sally Hewitt (Evans Brothers)
* Let's Look at Clothes (Lorenz)
* Clothes by Laurence Anholt (Walker Books)
* All Sorts of Clothes by Hannah Reidy (Zero to Ten)
* Clothes by Nicola Tuxworth (Lorenz)
* Shoes, Shoes, Shies and Hats, Hats, Hats by Ann Morris (William Morrow)
* Hats by Debbie Bailey (Annick Press)
