LESSON 1 – Water Patterns in Sand and Leaf Textures
INTENDED PARTICIPANTS:
Children aged 0-2 with a maximum of 4 children
INTRODUCTION /LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At this age children are developing quickly and at very different rates. You will have children who are walking, crawling or not yet sitting. At this age everything goes into the mouth so be very careful when choosing materials (no choking or poking hazards, no stones or other objects that could be thrown and cause injury). For this lesson the focus learning outcomes are LO2 - Children are connected with and contribute to their world and LO4 – Children are confident and involved learners. This lesson will be play based with the intent being to expose young children to the natural environment around them. The aim is to expose them to the different textures that can be found in nature and the way water behaves and makes patterns as it runs. It intends to open the children up to future environment lessons and by creating a respect and initial understanding of the natural environment through the behaviours shown by the teacher (ie respecting the materials. The children will be encouraged to participate, investigate and learn about the materials they are using and encouraged to develop resilience if the materials don’t behave how they had hoped.
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
· Text – ‘Leaf Man’ by Lois Ehlert http://www.harcourtbooks.com/leafman/
· Sand pit
· Sand pit tools (for making patterns)
· Water
· Small water containers (for pouring onto sand) – small cups and easy to handle water squirter bottles
· Leaves (combination of dry and fresh)
· Any other safe natural materials
· camera
LESSON ACTIVITIES:
· Take the children to the centres outside area.
· Read Lois Ehlert’s book ‘Leaf Man’ to the children.
· Have a short chat with the children about what they can see around them (ie any leaves flying in the wind, interesting plants etc. At this age this conversation will be fairly one sided (certainly encourage conversation flow) but the idea is to draw their attention to the natural world around them.
· Move to the sandpit area.
· Allow the children to play with the materials you have provided the leaves, water and other suitable natural materials you have sourced.
· Talk to them while they play ie; “look at the pattern the water makes”, “listen to the crunch of the leaves”. Ask them questions about the activity encouraging them to make observations about the materials.
· After the lesson continue chatting about nature and reading books on nature in the coming weeks. Encourage the children to talk about how they felt (happy, curious, excited) and encourage them to draw ‘nature’.
ASSESSMENT/OBSERVATION:
· At this age there are no formal assessments, rather you will be observing the children to see if their play is age appropriate (sharing etc) and if they were interested in the activity. Your observations will come from the LO objectives, eg are they actively participating, are they developing confidence with the material, are they becoming interested in their natural environment do they appear to have developed more care and respect for nature (handling the materials gently – not applicable to those under 12mths). Observe if the children showed particular interest in an aspect of the lesson (water play, leave prints in the sand) and incorporate those into future lessons.
REFLECTION/NOTES:
It is always wise to make notes on your lessons. The positives and negatives, what you would do differently (and how) and what worked well. Keep these notes for future reference
INTENDED PARTICIPANTS:
Children aged 0-2 with a maximum of 4 children
INTRODUCTION /LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At this age children are developing quickly and at very different rates. You will have children who are walking, crawling or not yet sitting. At this age everything goes into the mouth so be very careful when choosing materials (no choking or poking hazards, no stones or other objects that could be thrown and cause injury). For this lesson the focus learning outcomes are LO2 - Children are connected with and contribute to their world and LO4 – Children are confident and involved learners. This lesson will be play based with the intent being to expose young children to the natural environment around them. The aim is to expose them to the different textures that can be found in nature and the way water behaves and makes patterns as it runs. It intends to open the children up to future environment lessons and by creating a respect and initial understanding of the natural environment through the behaviours shown by the teacher (ie respecting the materials. The children will be encouraged to participate, investigate and learn about the materials they are using and encouraged to develop resilience if the materials don’t behave how they had hoped.
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
· Text – ‘Leaf Man’ by Lois Ehlert http://www.harcourtbooks.com/leafman/
· Sand pit
· Sand pit tools (for making patterns)
· Water
· Small water containers (for pouring onto sand) – small cups and easy to handle water squirter bottles
· Leaves (combination of dry and fresh)
· Any other safe natural materials
· camera
LESSON ACTIVITIES:
· Take the children to the centres outside area.
· Read Lois Ehlert’s book ‘Leaf Man’ to the children.
· Have a short chat with the children about what they can see around them (ie any leaves flying in the wind, interesting plants etc. At this age this conversation will be fairly one sided (certainly encourage conversation flow) but the idea is to draw their attention to the natural world around them.
· Move to the sandpit area.
· Allow the children to play with the materials you have provided the leaves, water and other suitable natural materials you have sourced.
· Talk to them while they play ie; “look at the pattern the water makes”, “listen to the crunch of the leaves”. Ask them questions about the activity encouraging them to make observations about the materials.
· After the lesson continue chatting about nature and reading books on nature in the coming weeks. Encourage the children to talk about how they felt (happy, curious, excited) and encourage them to draw ‘nature’.
ASSESSMENT/OBSERVATION:
· At this age there are no formal assessments, rather you will be observing the children to see if their play is age appropriate (sharing etc) and if they were interested in the activity. Your observations will come from the LO objectives, eg are they actively participating, are they developing confidence with the material, are they becoming interested in their natural environment do they appear to have developed more care and respect for nature (handling the materials gently – not applicable to those under 12mths). Observe if the children showed particular interest in an aspect of the lesson (water play, leave prints in the sand) and incorporate those into future lessons.
REFLECTION/NOTES:
It is always wise to make notes on your lessons. The positives and negatives, what you would do differently (and how) and what worked well. Keep these notes for future reference
Leaf Man - Lois Ehlert
Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.
With illustrations made from actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscape vistas, here is a playful, whimsical, and evocative book that celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children - Harcouts Publishing
Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.
With illustrations made from actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscape vistas, here is a playful, whimsical, and evocative book that celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children - Harcouts Publishing
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