Some more wonderful wood creations to share.
And sometimes the children forget the wood and just concentrate on the decorative elements.
View some more inspirational woodwork ideas by following these links:
GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS.
08
05
11'
The story of “The Three Bears” first appeared in print by Robert Southey in 1837, but had been in circulation as an oral tradition for a long time prior to this. Original forms of the story didn’t feature “Goldilocks” but rather an old vagrant woman. The old woman was replaced by a little girl in 1849 who, over time, came to be know as Goldilocks.
The value of fairytales should never be under-estimated in early literacy experiences. The story of Goldilocks and the three bears embraces key literacy elements that have contributed to and secured it’s continued success.
Firstly, it focuses on the literary “rule of three”. The number, or pattern of three, often appears in fairytales. Many theories have been postulated to account for the use of “three”, but they remain just that, theory. As an early childhood professional, I recognized the relationship between the use of “three” in fairytales and “five” in many popular children’s songs as being particularly relevant to children’s REAL understanding of number. Young children generally comprehend/conceptualize counting up to a number that equates to their chronological age ie. a three year old child can conceptualize three (ie. three REAL objects) while a five year old can conceptualize five (ie. five REAL objects). While a parent may believe that their child is a mathematical genius because they can count to 100, the reality is, their child is just really good at memorizing a sequence of words. No REAL mathematical learning has been involved in the process.
Fairytales have the capacity to empower children’s early literacy and numeracy experiences. Goldilocks and The Three Bears incorporates many examples of literacy and numeracy concepts as follows:
LITERACY:
- Story-telling
- Sequencing
- Rhythm and Repetition.
NUMERACY:
- Number (counting)
- Measurement (size)
- Patterning – repeated phrases (ie. too big, too little, just right)
- Ordering (eg. small, medium, large & cold, warm, hot)
- 1 to 1 Correspondence (eg. small bear/small bed, medium bear/medium bed… etc.)
The use of literacy and numeracy concepts throughout this story, make it very easy for children to remember and follow. When children are provided with the right props, they immediately become confident story-tellers.
Here, Noa and Kiara re-tell the story of the three bears by each taking on the role of agreed upon characters.
Noa says, “Somebodies been sleeping in my bed and she still is daddy bear!”
Other great fairytale favorites of mine:
“The Three Billy Goats Gruff,”
“The Three Pigs,”
and, “The Gingerbread Man”.
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CREATIVE WOODWORK
08
01
11'
Nothing beats the natural feel and texture of wood as a wonderful 3-D medium. Our children approached the opportunity to work with wood with a great deal of enthusiasm and optimism. So much optimism infact, that we witnessed them attempting the impossible on many occasions! So… we bit our lips… and watched on, as the children modified their plans and came to terms with what could, and could not be achieved.
We encourage the children to return to their woodwork overtime… to add to it, paint it or decorate it in any way they choose.
And we think they produce some spectacularly creative pieces!
For more creative woodwork ideas, follow these links!
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WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS?
07
17
11'
I set up this ‘open-ended’ activity with a variety of utensils and spheres of different weights, hardness and density. Essentially it is an activity that promotes the development of eye-hand coordination skills but also offers avenues for imaginative play.
I was instantly reminded of how much direction and instruction young children are often given when faced with a new experience. Hayley walked up to the table, looked at it with a puzzled expression, then said, “What do we do with this?” I responded to her question by saying, “I’m not sure, I wonder what we could do!” Hayley shrugged her shoulders and walked away.
So I was left wondering whether the table simply didn’t hold enough interest for her to spark a need to investigate further, or whether she felt that she needed to be ‘instructed’ on it’s use and had maybe lost her sense of wonder and desire to explore the possibilites of something new. I certainly hope that it is not the later!
Noa developed skills in using the tongs as she collect a variety of different sized pom-poms to make a bowl of different flavoured scoops of ice-cream.
Max used the tongs and an ice tray to collect and store the smaller sized pom-poms.
Oliver R and Oliver W worked together as a team.
Sharing a jar and a bowl they transfered items back and forth between the two vessels using a variety of utensils. Each sphere was transfered between the boys via utensils before reaching the jar or bowl.
Here you can see their precision team-work in action!
And below, Sara-Bella prepares a meal.
So, there are plenty of options for play with a little bit of imagination and a sense of inquiry!
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