Nursery Topics - Bags and boxes covers all six areas of learning in the Foundation Stage curriculum in England, but it can be easily adapted to suit the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish early years curricula. The areas of learning are indicated as follows:
Personal, social and emotional development
Communication, language and literacy
Mathematical development
Knowledge and understanding of the world
Physical development
Creative development
THEMES AND ACTIVITIES
The QCA Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage is very clear that good practice involves a balance between adult-led and child-initiated play and activities, stating that 'children should notmake a distinction between "play"and "work" and neither should practitioners'. Each of the four themes within Bags and boxes likewise includes a balance between adult-led activities, with planned learning outcomes, and suggestions for child-initiated play that will reinforce learning and allow wider exploration of the skills, knowledge and attitudes that the topic hopes to foster. The four parts are:
Part 1 Packing up
Pack up the boxes and prepare to move house
Set up a camp site outdoors
Part 2 At the shops
Role play customers and assistants in a shoe shop
Set up a 'confectioner's'
Set up a 'market' stall outdoors
Explore a variety of bags in the home corner
Part 3 Work it out
Wrap up some presents
Explore how boxes are made
Have fun with buttons
Investigate measure in the sand area
Part 4 On a role
Take on the roles of mechanic and customer at the garage
Provide a range of bags as stimuli for role play
Provide boxes for small-world role play
STEPPING STONES
'Stepping stones', giving informationon how children may proceed toward a given goal, follow each adult-led activity and aim to develop practitioners' understanding of how children learn. They are set out according to a child's experience, but being 'inexperienced' should not be seen as a deficit. The information is intended only as a guide. The Foundation Stage guidance reminds us that children in early years settings have varying levels of experience regardless of their chronological age, that they will work towards a goal in different ways and that their learning is not always linear.
POSSIBLE LEARNING OUTCOMES
The child-initiated suggestions include a list of possible learning outcomes to encourage practitioners to reflect on the holistic nature of children's learning. Observing possible, rather than merely planned, outcomes provides a wider understanding of a child's learning.
TOPIC WEB
The topic web gives relevant key principles from the Foundation Stage guidance as these have a greater bearing on the aims and planning of the topic than individual early learning goals. Only the most relevant goals and stepping stones from the QCA Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage are listed, though the majority may apply given the holistic nature of children's learning. Page references to the guidance are given.
