ACTIVITY CORNER
Springing to life
Melanie Pilcher, quality and standards manager at the Alliance, shares activity ideas to try out this spring.
Melanie is responsible for resources that support best practice in all matters relating to the EYFS.
Springtime is now in full bloom. Trees are decked in bright green canopies, shrubs and plants have new leaves and buds. Insects are visiting flowers to collect early pollen, while other creatures are busy tending their young. Even in the most urban of suburbs, the sights and sounds of spring are showing everywhere if we take the time to look carefully.
We know that young children learn by engaging all their senses so it is obvious that early years educators should be tapping into the season to invigorate the characteristics of effective learning. There are boundless opportunities for springtime sensory play to be found outdoors. Nature offers continuous provision that is enhanced with each passing day, tempting curious young minds to explore their surroundings further.
All learning is supported by sensory perception, in other words, being able to organise, interpret and identify the information that our senses provide. During springtime we are exposed to a curriculum full of sensory stimulation and we don’t have to plan – nature does that for us. It would be a shame not to make the most of every teachable moment.
Here are a few examples of sensory springtime activities that you can tap in to…
Touch
Plant a sensory garden with grasses that children can sweep their fingers through, noting the delicate feel of the grass and how it changes as spring seeps into summer. If you do not have a lot of outdoor space, then recycle buckets, mismatched wellington boots or other redundant containers. Allocate a small area for digging – a small patch of waste ground will suffice. It would be wise to dig the soil over first, removing any hazards and then flatten it down again.
With so much tempting foliage to explore, now is a good time to encourage children not to pick or pull up plants, but to touch gently and to be aware of hazards such as thorns or nettles. Don’t be tempted to immediately remove prickly plants, unless children are too young to manage the risk for themselves. In wooded areas, let children feel the bark on trees. Every species has a different texture with shapes that little fingers can trace. Ask children to close their eyes to enhance the experience and to reach as far around different sized trunks as they can to encourage mathematical awareness as they gauge width.
Smell
Springtime offers many unique smells. Newly dug earth, freshly mown grass, blossom in trees and some spring flowers. Older children can be challenged to recognise similar smells with their eyes closed, whilst younger children can be introduced to different smells by sniffing gently.
Step outside with the children after a rain shower and ask them to close their eyes and smell. Whatever your outdoor environment there will be unique smells that have been released by the rain drops.
Sounds
The sounds of springtime are glorious. For the early risers, the dawn chorus brings many species of birds together as they sing the new day in. The evening chorus is not as loud, but is still a joy to listen to. Throughout the day birdsong can be heard in every environment as birds perch in trees, hedgerows or on telegraph wires. Children will enjoy seeking out the source of the birdsong, helping to develop attention and perseverance as they ‘tune in’ to the sound.
When children focus on picking up a particular sound, they are tuning out other noises, this helps their brain to use sensory information to filter out sounds (and other sensory information) that is not useful at the time.
Sight
Hedgerows and grass verges in towns and cities are abundant with bright yellow daffodils, dandelions, crocuses, cowslips, buttercups, and catkins – and that is just one colour! Children can notice subtle differences between flowers as they examine the size and shape of petals and leaves.
Spring showers and thunderstorms paint the sky in shades of grey and white as clouds develop interesting shapes. Ask children what they can see: you may be surprised by their response as they interpret the shapes of clouds and use their imagination to create faces, animals or maybe even a dinosaur.
Rainbows are nature’s artwork in the sky - if you are lucky enough to spot one with the children, tap into the teachable moment as you talk about the range of colours, why they appear and the unique arch they create across the sky.
Taste
With so much focus on environmental sustainability, now is a good time to introduce children to seasonal foods. The first crop of greenhouse tomatoes or asparagus tastes so much better than food that has been transported thousands of miles and prevented from ripening naturally. Plant food now that can be enjoyed throughout the summer: fresh garden peas, straight from the pod are as sweet and tempting as any manufactured sweet.