The Literacy Corner June 2014

Outdoor Environment

Your outdoor environment should inspire a diverse range of play experiences many of which offer literacy opportunities for children.

Think about:

• Seating : Provide comfortable seating outside where children can have circle time,enjoy stories, rhyme and songs.

• Dens: Is there material available to make dens outdoors – dens can be lovely snuggly places to curl up with a book, or be read to

• Props : Are there:
  • pens and art materials available outside – ie in the village shop to write lists,
  • paper for making signs with outdoor imaginative play, for drawing, construction plans in the large construction area, or for making menus in the mud kitchen
  • water and paintbrushes to paint on outdoor surfaces
  • access to books and comfy places to read them outdoors
  • clipboards with a pen attached in different outdoor areas ( children will think of many ways in which they can be used!)

   

• Sand and Water Play – foster learning in all developmental areas.

Mud Kitchens

We know it’s summer but so far we’ve seen a  lot of rain and therefore plenty of opportunities for mud!!

 Mud kitchens provide plenty of scope for:

• role play – articulating what they have seen other children or adults – perhaps in the kitchen at home, or in a restaurant (to name very small examples)
• making and following recipes
• writing shopping lists
• using the vocabulary of measurement – how many cups?
• using the vocabulary of maths – comparisons- longer than, smaller than…
• co-operation and interaction therefore increased communication – language and listening

Small Worlds

Provide characters and props for children to create their own small worlds outdoors:

Small world play allows children to :

• create stories around things they know e.g. people and animals and fantasise about experiences that they haven’t had.

• improvise and use the appropriate use of language including fantasy language.

• communicate their observations, findings and knowledge about their lives

• talk and listen when playing together, interacting and  exchanging ideas.

• Imitate and role play – not merely copying what they’ve seen but learning from what they do, and then experimenting with similar roles, behaviour and language.

• make symbols – this involves an object representing something else eg. a stick for a fence..

• talk about their experiences in relation to their model worlds

• talk about their feelings and emotions

• extend their vocabulary e.g. farm, garage, airport, zoo

• develop a range of scenarios for imaginative play

• use books to develop knowledge about play environments e.g. Life on the farm,Going to the Zoo