Aproject such as 'On the farm' may stem from a single child's fascination with animals or tractors, while other children in the setting could be inspired as a result of carefully planned activities designed to support and develop their knowledge and understanding of farm life.
Approach
Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (page 11) emphasises the importance of providing children with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning. This project therefore:
* 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 practitioner's role to observe children's learning daily to inform individual children's Profiles and future planning. Children should be encouraged to use available resources to support their own learning, so the possible learning outcomes will be wide-ranging and varied for each child.
* advocates that settings should be organised and resourced using a 'workshop' approach so that children can access resources autonomously and independently.
Starting points
Most children will have little or no experience of farms, with the result that many are now unaware that milk comes from cows, not simply out of a bottle! So, a good starting point for a project would be to visit a real farm or, where that is not possible, a city farm. If neither is within easy reach, then make available to the children a selection of fiction and non-fiction books (see Resources). Share farm stories and browse non-fiction titles with the children to develop their understanding of what a farm is.
Adult-led activities
Animal homes
A farm is divided up into different areas according to the needs of the animals. Some animals spend the summer in the fields and come inside only for the winter, but all have somewhere to shelter, whether it is in a pen, a sty or a stable. Extend children's vocabulary through developing their knowledge of the correct nouns used to describe who lives where.
Key learning intentions
Enjoy listening to and using spoken language and readily turn it into their play and learning Extend their vocabulary, exploring the meanings and sounds of new words Play alongside other children who are engaged in the same theme
Adult:child ratio 1 up to 4
Resources
* A play farm with separate components such as sheds and barns * a good selection of farm animals, * a farmer * a tractor (see Resources) Activity content
* Put the farm together with the children. Give them time to think about the separate components they are building such as a barn, a shed, a stable and the farmhouse.
* If the farm comes in a box, keep it so that the children can use the illustrations as a visual aid to follow and as a support for their own ideas.
* Create fields around the farm with gates and fences if these are not included in the pack.
* Next, add the animals and talk about how they live in the fields and encourage the children to think carefully about where the animals go when they are brought inside. Be language specific - a horse in the stable, a pig in the pigsty, sheep in the pen, ducks on the duck pond, chickens in the coop and the farmer in the farmhouse.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Farm, farmhouse, animal names, buildings, coop, hen house, stable, pen, sty, barn, field, shed, duck pond
Questions to ask
* What do you think we are going to make?
* Which part of the farm are you making?
* Can you do it together?
* Do you know what that building is called?
* Which animal uses that building? How do you know?
* Where do you think we should put the ducks/geese/pigs/cows? Why?
* Which part of the farm would you find the cows?
Extension activities
* Leave the children to play with the farm independently in their small groups. Observe their language and interaction.
* To support the farm theme, reread some of the farm stories with the children, such as Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins (see Resources).
* Encourage the children to think carefully about initial letter sounds with regard to animal names, homes and areas of the farm, for example, cow/pen/barn/farm.
* Ask the children to draw or paint a farm animal of their choice, including their special home on the farm. Make a wall display in the setting.
Whose baby?
Begin looking at life cycles on the farm by putting baby animals with their parents.
Key learning intentions
Make connections between different parts of their life experience Build up vocabulary that reflects the breadth of their experiences Compare two groups of objects, saying when they have the same number
Adult:child ratio 1 up to 4
Resources
* Selection of small-world farm animals and their young * farm mat or board Activity content
* Invite the children to sort the baby and the adult animals into two groups.
* Now ask them to put the right baby animal with its parent. If you are using a farm mat or board, the children might like to put them in different areas of the farm following on from the previous activity.
* Ask the children if they know the names for the baby animals (such as lamb or calf).
* Count how many animals there are in each small group.
* Ask the children whether they can find two groups of animals with the same number.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Baby, small, parent, mother, father, grown up, group, pair, calf, foal, kid, chick, piglet, lamb
Questions to ask
* Can you put all the baby animals together and all the grown up animals together?
* Which baby goes with this grown up animal? Can you find it?
* Can you put all the baby animals with their parents?
* How many cows are there altogether?
* Can you find another group with two animals in it?
Extension activities
* Explore the life cycle of some of the farm animals used in the activity.
Use an information book such as Animal Babies on the Farm from Kingfisher Books (see Resources) to share with all the children.
* Continue the counting theme started in the activity. Farm 123 by Rod Campbell (see Resources) is a good book to use. Make your own counting line from 0 to 10 in the setting, using different farm animals for each number.
* Invite the children to bring in photographs of themselves as babies. Talk about the differences between then and now.
Child-initiated learning
Construction area
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide Duplo, Lego or other bricks, and small-world farm animals.
* Support children's problem-solving skills as they make appropriate shelters for animals.
* Encourage children to think and talk about the design and construction of their buildings. Ask questions such as 'How tall does your barn/pen/sty need to be?' and 'How many animals need to fit inside?'
* Set children designing and constructing challenges in pairs.
* Use a digital camera to photograph their designs. Make a display in the setting outlining the activity.
Play possibilities
* Designing and building farm buildings for various farm animals.
* Exploring the uses for a variety of construction toys.
* Comparing different construction kits and deciding which one works best to suit the task.
* Working and interacting with one other peer.
* Experiencing using a digital camera purposefully.
Possible learning outcomes
Relates and makes attachments to members of their group
Interacts with others, negotiating plans and activities and taking turns in conversation
Constructs with a purpose in mind, using a variety of resources
Finds out about the uses of everyday technology and uses it to support their learning
Demonstrates increasing skill and control in the use of construction sets
Computer area
Additional resources and adult support
* A copy of 'Percy's Animal Explorer' (see Resources) which includes games such as animal sounds and odd one out.
* A five- or ten-minute sand-timer and a 'waiting chair' to support children taking turns fairly at the computer.
* Model the use of the activities on the programme where necessary.
* Encourage children to use the programme independently.
* Provide a register of children's names so they can tick or make a mark beside their name when they have had a turn.
Play possibilities
* Exploring a computer programme independently or with the support of a peer.
* Choosing which game to play.
* Using the mouse confidently and effectively.
Possible learning outcomes
Shows increasing independence in selecting and carrying out activities
Engages in activities requiring hand-eye co-ordination
Completes a simple programme on the computer
Open-ended questioning and its importance
One of the key findings of recent Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) research (Technical Paper 10, DfES/Institute of Education, 2003, London) is that: 'Good outcomes for children are linked to early years settings that provide adult-child interactions that involve open-ended questioning to extend children's thinking.'
However, the majority of questions that practitioners ask (over 90 per cent) are 'closed' questions. Closed questions require a single correct answer, for example:
* What colour is your jumper?
* How many cars are there?
* Do you want milk or water?
It is vital that practitioners plan to increase opportunities to ask open-ended questions (where various correct answers are possible):
* How do you think we could dry the clothes?
* What will happen if we add water?
* Why do you think Nikki isn't at nursery today?
* Can you think of a way to fix the boxes together?
Focus on Planning - Effective Planning and Assessment in the Foundation Stage, page 51, LEARN, 2004 (020 8695 9806).
Resources to support the theme
* Wooden farm from the Early Learning Centre, 15, includes a base, chicken coop, pigsty, sheep pen, barn and outhouses (www.earlylearningcentre.co.uk)
* Farm playmat, 5, Early Learning Centre
* Baby and adult farm animals, 5, Early Learning Centre
* Lego Duplo Lego Ville 4665: Big Farm 39.99 (www.amazon.co.uk)
* Percy's Animal Explorer from AVP Educational Software and Video (www.avp.co.uk)
* TUFF Spot 11.75 from TTS (www.tts-group.co.uk) Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell (Walker Books, 5.99) The Pig in the Pond by Martin Waddell (Walker Books, 5.99) Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins (Puffin, 4.99) Animal Babies on the Farm (Kingfisher Books, 5.99) Farm Animals (Life cycles series, Penguin Books, 4.99) Farm 123 by Rod Campbell (Pan Macmillan, 5.99) Old MacDonald Had a Farm C Hawkins and J Hawkins (lift-the-flap book, Egmont Children's Books, 5.99)
