Adult-led activities
New arrivals
When the Teddy Bears Came by Martin Waddell is a favourite children's story and is ideal for exploring children's feelings about the arrival of a new baby.
Key learning intentions
To find out about past and present events in their own lives and in those of their families
To attempt writing for different purposes
To manipulate materials to achieve a planned effect
Adult:child ratio 1:6
Resources
* When the Teddy Bears Came by Martin Waddell (Walker Books) * assorted baby congratulations cards * assorted teddy bears * a wicker basket * gift-wrapping paper * ribbons * sticky tape * bows * gift tags * address labels * brown paper * used postage stamps
Preparation
* Ensure that the children are familiar with the story When the Teddy Bears Came.
* Ask the children's families and friends to contribute baby congratulations cards, or buy a small collection of new cards.
* Display a selection of the teddy bears in a wicker basket.
Activity content
* Revisit the story of When the Teddy Bears Came by talking about the bears which arrived as gifts for the new baby and looking at the bears in the basket. Discuss what happened when new babies arrived in the children's own homes, and what else arrived in the post, including greetings cards.
* Look at the baby congratulations cards and talk about the pictures and words.
* Encourage each child to select a greeting card, a teddy bear and wrapping materials.
* Support the children as they wrap their teddy bear present and attach the card.
* If children wish to rewrap the present in brown paper to 'post', support them as they write address labels and attach stamps.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Baby, card, greetings, welcome, congratulations, signature, photograph, ribbons, bows, kisses, bear, present, wrap, send, post, gift Questions to ask
* What pictures can you see on the card? Why do you think there are pictures of these things?
* Can you remember seeing any cards when your baby brother or sister came to your house? Did you get any presents? What present did you get for the baby? Did the baby have any other presents?
* Which bear do you like best? Why?
* Which paper and decorations would you like to use to wrap your bear? Why?
Extension activities
* Make congratulations cards for the 'new babies' and provide a postbox so that these can be 'posted'.
* Make a display of the cards that the children have made.
* Set up a role-play post office for the cards and parcels.
* Provide envelopes, used stamps, assorted greeting cards and writing paper in the writing area to support early writing.
Grace and Family
Share the story of Grace and Family by Mary Hoffman (Frances Lincoln) with the children. To Grace, family has always meant her Ma, her Nana and a cat called Paw-Paw, until her Papa invites her to visit him in Gambia.
Key learning intentions
To use writing as a means of recording and communicating
To begin to know about their own cultures and beliefs and those of other people
To find out about past and present events in their own lives and in those of their families
Adult:child ratio 1:up to 6
Resources
* Grace and Family by Mary Hoffman (Frances Lincoln) * digital camera * A1 card to create a 'welcome' poster * speech bubbles * family photographs
Preparation
* Ensure that the children are thoroughly familiar with the story of Grace.
* Discuss with the children's family members the languages that are used at home. Wherever possible, encourage a family member to write a greeting word equivalent to 'hello' on a speech bubble.
Activity content
* Remind the children of the story of Grace and her grandma visiting her father and his new family in Gambia.
* Talk to the children about the ways in which we can say 'hello' and any other words that they may use when speaking with family members.
* Wherever possible, use photographs already taken of the children with a family member, or take more as the children arrive in the setting.
* Look at the photographs together and read the speech bubbles that say 'hello' in different languages.
* Support the children as they attach their photograph and the appropriate speech bubble to the poster.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Hello, good morning, greeting, language, Hallo, Miredita, Selam, Hola, Zgravo, Alo, Bok, Goddag, Tere, Ciao, Jambo, Selam (for other languages see www.language-investigator.co.uk) Questions to ask
* What do you think surprised Grace about her journey?
* Where do you think Grace preferred to live? Why?
* Can you think of a way to say 'hello' in a different way?
* Why do you think some people speak more than one language?
* What would happen if you were somewhere and nobody understood what you were saying? What could you do to help them understand what you wanted?
Extension activities
* At group times, choose a different way to say 'hello' every week. Choose languages that are used by children in the group and their families. If limited languages are spoken, think about the wider community around the setting.
* Consider children and adults who do not have any spoken language, and introduce Makaton signs for the words of some popular songs and rhymes.
* Focus on another aspect of the book - stepmothers. Consider the role of wicked stepmothers in traditional tales and create some alternatives with 'good' stepmothers.
Child-initiated learning
Writing area
Additional resources and adult support
* Ensure that the children are familiar with Grace and Family and have had time to think about the sorts of postcards that she may have sent to her mother from Gambia.
* Provide used and unused postcards from around the world (ask families to contribute), some blank postcard formats, international stamps, a postbox and assorted pens and pencils.
* Support the children as they investigate the cards and stamps.
* Encourage the children to write their own postcards and post them.
Play possibilities
* Exploring the cards and stamps
* Noticing and discussing similarities and differences
* Acting in role as a postal worker or traveller
* Making connections with own experiences of holidays, travel and visits to relative.
* Writing addresses using numbers and words Possible learning outcomes
Makes connections between different parts of their life experiences
Uses language to recreate roles and experiences
Uses marks to show meaning
Uses numbers to support role play
Questions why things happen and gives explanations
Uses imagination in role play
Home corner
Additional resources and adult support
* Introduce two unfamiliar 'newborn' baby dolls, in a Moses basket, to the home corner, with accessories such as clothes, wrapped gifts, cards, bottles, crib, car seat, baby sling, bath, towel, sponge, crib, formula packets, nappies, toys, bibs, empty baby lotion/powder/cream pots.
* Support the children as they make connections with their own experiences.
* Introduce and model the use of specific vocabulary about babies and families.
* Act in role as a parent, other relative, health visitor or doctor.
Play possibilities
* Bathing, feeding or changing the babies.
* Sorting and matching clothes.
* Singing to or playing with the baby.
* Acting in role as a parent or professional connected to babies.
Possible learning outcomes
Makes connections between different parts of their life experiences
Uses language to recreate roles and experiences
Questions why things happen and gives explanations
Makes connections between the role- play provision and events in their own lives and those of familiar others
Engages in activities requiring hand eye co-ordination
Uses imagination in role play
Writing area
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide ready-made zig-zag books, materials to make books, assorted pens and paper, pictures and photos of family members, multicultural books about diverse families (see resource list) and key vocabulary.
* Support the children as they make individual books about their own families.
* Act as a scribe as appropriate.
* Support the children as they use their developing phonic knowledge to write regular words and make phonetically plausible attempts at more complex words.
Play possibilities
* Talking about their own families and finding out about other people's
* Drawing pictures of family members
* Mark making and ascribing meaning to marks
* Making own books about families or other things
* Counting number of people in different families
Possible learning outcomes
Takes turns and co-operates
Initiates conversations
Says and use number names in order in familiar contexts
Uses language such as 'more' or 'less' to compare two numbers
Shows interest in the lives of people familiar to them
Expresses and communicates ideas and thoughts using a widening range of materials
Puppet theatre
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide a puppet theatre (which could be made from a large cardboard box, with the back cut away and painted) and assorted family puppets.
* Put the puppet theatre and puppets on a low table outdoors and two rows of chairs in front as seats for an audience.
* Support the children as they take turns as 'puppeteers' or audience members.
* Act as a member of the audience, clapping where appropriate.
* Encourage the children to make links with previous experiences, such as a visit to the setting by a puppet show, or puppets they have seen while on holiday.
Play possibilities
* Using the theatre as a television set
* Taking on the role of a puppeteer or member of the audience
* Making up storylines about families for the puppets
* Exploring the use of different 'voices' for the puppets
* Developing new ways of manipulating the puppets
Possible learning outcomes
Displays high levels of involvement in activities
Speaks clearly and audibly with confidence and control
Manipulates resources to achieve a planned effect
Plays alongside children who are engaged in the same theme
Introduces a storyline or narrative into play
Family puzzles
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide a range of puzzles of different families and/or enlarge photographs of families to A4, laminate and cut into four pieces.
* Discuss the puzzles with the children, talking about their earlier experiences.
* Support children as they fix the puzzles.
* Promote children's autonomy and independence and support them as they return puzzles to the correct trays.
Play possibilities
* Fixing puzzles together
* Chatting about the photographs
* Making links with earlier experiences
* Creating own puzzles by drawing pictures and cutting them into pieces
* Exploring fitting puzzles together in different ways to create 'silly' faces
Possible learning outcomes
Persists at an activity of own choosing
Operates independently within the environment
Initiates conversations and takes account of what others say
Manipulates materials to achieve a planned effect
Judith Stevens is an early years adviser for Lewisham Education
Resources to support the theme
* Makaton nursery rhymes DVD/video (10.50)
* Makaton nursery rhymes book (13.50) Both from www.makaton.org.uk or 01276 61390
* Festivals wooden jigsaws (four for 23.95)
* All kinds of families wooden jigsaws (eight for 54.95) Both from Galt 08451 203005 www.galt-educational.co.uk
* Families Poster Pack (20 for 30.95)
* Greetings from around the world poster (6.99)
* Families wooden puzzles (four for 14.95)
All from Hope Educational 08451 202055 www.hope-education.co.uk
* Multicultural family puppets (five for 19.35), NES Arnold 0845 1204525 www. nesarnold.co.uk
Books
* Grace and Family by Mary Hoffman (Frances Lincoln)
* When the Teddy Bears Came by Martin Waddell (Walker Books)
* Once There Were Giants by Martin Waddell (Walker Books)
* So Much by Trish Cooke (Walker Books)
* Eat Up, Gemma by Sarah Hayes (Walker Books)
