The activity-watching frogspawn is suitable for children aged 5 years, this activity will help the children to learn on growth and how living things develop and change this will help them to discover and develop skills in questioning and reasoning which will help them to lead towards scientific discovery. This activity will also encourage children to predict, discuss ideas and give indication of what they think might happen in any given situation. This activity will help with developing concentration skills as well as development in the P.I.L.E.S.
Explain how you will set up the activity to promote the children’s interest
D3. The activities can be set up by having eye catching materials at the table for paint, offering different colours, offering glitter and many other materials such as coloured feathers and pom poms to stick on or to paint on. Bikes can be put out with pedals and without peddles with open space so the children can have enough space to explore. At the frogspawn table books can be put out so children can look through to see the pictures e.g. what will happen next, paper and pencils can be put out so the children can draw on what they see. Most importantly an adult should be at these activities inviting children over to see what they are doing or what they have set up for the children.
Explain how you will ensure the activity and the environment are safe for the children
D4.
Explain how the practitioner can support and stimulate the play
D5. The role of a practitioner during play activities will be interacting by getting involved in play by asking questions like “how”, “ why do you think this will happen” and “what will happen if you do this”, this will help the children to think as well as learning. Children like imaginative play they will invite the practitioner over for a cup of tea in the home corner the practitioner can extend the children’s verbal skills and add more dimensions to the imaginative play. Practitioners should only intervene in children’s play when the play becomes dangerous and set limits and boundaries upon the children explaining why the practitioner intervened.
Children with special needs will need help so the practitioner should help those children with special needs to achieve the specific outcomes e.g. with counting, hanging their coats on a coat peg, learning their colours. But most importantly practitioners need to listen to the children’s needs by doing this the children will feel secure and fell valued. Most importantly children’s work should be praised and practitioners should give a lot of encouragements by creating a display of the children’s work.
Identify resources required which will ensure your activities are inclusive and encourage spontaneity and choice
D6/C1. The chosen activities allow for children’s choice by having different colour paints available to help the children to make their own choice of colour whether they want ready mix paint or powder paint that they want to mix themselves. Paintbrushes, sponges and paint stamps should be available for the children to use to make individual patterns. All children should be included in this activity regardless of age and ability. By providing space the children will have easy access to use the bikes, ride freely and have the choice to sue 2 pedal or 3 pedal bikes or bikes with pedals or without. By looking at the frogspawn the children will want to draw what they see so paper and pencils should be available, books should also be available to show and explain what will happen next so children know what to expect. The importance of spontaneous play is that children don’t have to wait and ask an adult “ what they should do”, “ what should they play with” the adult should have everything set up so as soon as the children arrive they should just get stuck into it and develop they play the way they want it with the available resources.
It is said that play is children’s work. Children work hard at their play because they can make it up themselves. The good thing about play is that children learn a great deal while having fun. Spontaneous play occurs when children do an activity freely e.g. if children organize a ball game, dramatic play or a game of hide-and-seek, they are meeting their needs for spontaneous play. Children benefit most from a balance of activities adults plan and lead and activities that children plan and lead on their own. I will now give some examples below of appropriate resources to support spontaneity and choice:
- Young children are interested in colours, sizes, shapes and sound and also enjoying working on a table matching, ordering and comparing this sort of play helps the children with vocabulary and concept building. Young children play with these materials by grouping them according to size, colour and texture.
- Playing with sand, water and clay gives children of all ages opportunities to explore change in form as they mould the substance. Adding water enables the younger children to observe change in the substance and for the older children to build and form shapes.
- Imaginative play is also important for children’s development. Children need opportunities to act and dress up like the people they know. Equipment that encourages this play includes dolls, dress up clothes and utensils.
Explain how the activities meet the individual needs of the children
D7. The activities can be adapted to individual needs by if a child has difficulty in holding a brush then paint can be applied on their hands to make prints on paper with support from an adult, if a child has less confidence in riding on a bike then the practitioner should think on how to build the confidence of that child to ride on the bike, the practitioner could ask another child to help and support the child who is not confidence with riding on a bike ask them to show that child that this is the way you do it.
Watching frogspawn is not only for children who are fit and well this activity can be adapted by placing the tub of frogspawn on a lower table for a child who is in a wheel chair to see the frogspawn this should be done under supervision “ adapting an activity so that it meets a child’s skill level, or locating an activity so that it can be accessible for a child” (Tassoni, 2007, page 172).
Show an understanding of diversity and inclusive practice.
D7. As an Early Years Practitioner I would ensure that all children feel welcomed, accepted, are listened to, valued and that all children even the one with a disability are accept regardless of their ability.
All children no matter of their background, race, religion, gender or a child with a disability should be treated all the same.
I could represent many cultures and life styles by having different culture books, dolls, utensils and dressing up clothes. I could learn children about disabled children like I could put a child sized clutches in the dress up area, a Braille cookbook in the home corner.