Homemade Crayons

Our crayon box was looking a bit sorry for itself last week.  A lot of the crayons were broken and the papers peeling.  I went to Asda and stocked up on new ones but I tried to think of a way of recycling the old ones rather than just throwing them in the bin.  I remembered something I had seen on Pinterest where somebody had melted their old crayons down to make little discs, so I got the children together and we attempted to make our own.

The most time consuming part was peeling off the paper.  The children quickly got bored of this part and I was left to do it myself while they went off to play, but eventually they were all bare and the children came back and helped to break them into little pieces.

We got some paper cake cases which we put in a bun tray and then we began filling them whilst sorting them at the same time.. all the pink ones first... then all the blue ones....

When we were fnished sorting, they looked like this...

I put them in the oven on about 200°C and kept checking on them.  It only took a few minutes before they had melted into liquid in the paper cases.  I took them out of the oven and put them on the side to cool and set. 

After an hour or so they had gone hard so I turned them out of the cases onto a plate.  They had a lovely marbled affect on one side and this colour explosion on the bottom!  The children were very surprised to see what our broken crayons had turned into.

The paper cases had also transformed slighly. They now had a waxy texture and had turned very colourful.  What a shame it would be to put them in the recycling bin!  So out came the glue!  I had run out of green paper so we used green napkins to cut out leaf shapes and long strips for the stems. The children stuck them onto paper to make flowers and drew bees with the new crayon discs.

I cannot believe how easy and effective this activity was and I'm tempted to break up all out new crayons just to do it again!

I was flicking through the summer edition of Creative Steps magazine this morning and saw that they have actually done the same activity in the magazine.  They did some star shapes on theirs and used glitter, which has given me some more ideas for next steps.  Perhaps we will try some different shapes next time we do it and add some different textures.



Olympic Painting

This afternoon, to show support for the GB team, the children did some Olympic painting.

They explored the toilet roll tubes and pushed them into coloured paint to make Olympic rings onto paper. The older children painted unioin Jack flags. 

As with any other messy activity, the children got very messy!

We hung them up to dry and displayed them on the wall when they were dry.



Changes to the EYFS

Parents,

As you know, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a framework that applies to all childminders, schools and nurseries that provide care and education for children from birth until the end of the Reception year. 

From 1^st September 2012, the EYFS is set to be revised and some new changes will be taking place. The new version is available online for you to view using the links below. This morning I have been on a training course run by the NCA to educate me on the new revised framework.  I have obtained a certificate for the course which can be found in my portfolio for parents to see at any time if they wish.

The revised EYFS contains the legal requirements and guidance information which I have to use to make sure I meet your child’s needs. There will be a few changes to the EYFS which I will be introducing to you over the next few weeks so that when the revisions become official on 1^st September, there will be a smooth transition from the old version to the new.

To summarise; There will be 7 Areas of Learning and Development divided into Prime and Specific

areas. When working with the youngest children I will be focusing mainly on the 3 PRIME
areas. These are:

·        Personal, social and emotional development

·        Physical development

·        Communication and Language

These form the basis for successful learning in the other four SPECIFIC areas.  These are:

·        Literacy

·        Mathematics

·        Understanding of the world

·        Expressive Arts and Design

As they grow in confidence and ability in the 3 prime areas the balance will shift to a more equal focus on all 7.

A child’s learning and development will continue to be implemented through planned, purposeful play which is individually tailored to each child’s needs and interests. This will be both child and adult led.  Activities will become more adult led as a child gets older to prepare them for school

One of the main changes for parents is the amount of input you will be asked to give into your child’s learning experiences while they are with me. At the moment I involve you in many different ways; but the new EYFS is asking childcare practitioners to think of new things to share with parents and carers and come up with new ways of asking you for information about what your child is doing and saying at home. I will encourage and support parents in guiding development at home to ensure your child receives the best possible start.

Another new legal requirement of the revised EYFS is for childcare practitioners to write up a ‘2 year progress check’ for your child.  A summary of your child’s development in the 3 PRIME areas must be carried out when your child is aged between 24-36 months. This will then inform and support the assessment made by your child’s Health Visitor at their '2 year check' so that they have an accurate insight into how your child is developing at home and in other settings and not just in a room in the doctors surgery where your child may be unwilling to co-operate!

I request that parents inform me when their child has an appointment for their check so that we can work together to prepare his/her report.

I look forward to sharing more information about the revised EYFS with you over the coming months and I have provided some links below which parents may find interesting.  In the meantime, if you have any questions please let me know.

Revised Statutory Framework for the EYFS

A Parent's Guide to the EYFS

You can also find out more on my website at www.oakleychildcare.com where I will be adding more information over the coming weeks.


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Wildlife Garden

The Buddleia bush that I planted in our wildlife corner last year is really blooming!  So much in fact that we can no longer see the lady bird house, the spider web frame or the water feature!

The small silvery buddleia bush in 2011...

And now in 2012!

 It has brought lots of beautiful insects into the garden and the children have enjoyed looking at them as much as I have enjoyed photographing them.

We've had butterflies of all varieties and have had fun identifying them on the UK Butterfly website.  We found out they were Small Whites, Tortoiseshell's and my favourite, the Peacock Butterfly.

 I was also extremely surprised to find a dried up chrysalis on a branch of the buddleia.  I wish I could have seen the butterfly emerge.  I think I will definately have to purchase a Butterfly Garden Kit by Folk Lore next year.

We also have had lots of snails because of all the rain.  The children decided to give some of them a lettuce leaf to munch on and we observed them as they slithered and left a trail.  We could see their eyes and the children said the biggest one's shell was hard and warm.

Introducing Our Travelling Ted

Apologies for the absence of my posts recently.  I have been burying my head in paperwork, and trying to get back to normal after spending 2 weeks at Disney World!

We all had an amazing time and I'm sure you've seen the hundreds of photos I have been uploading on Facebook!

As we try to get back to normality, I would like to introduce a very special person to you.

This is Duffy. Duffy is Oakley Childcare's new Travelling Ted. Many settings, including Pre-schools, nurseries and reception classes use 'Travelling Teddies' with their children.  I think the idea works equally well in a Childminding setting.

How does it work?

The Childminder purchases a teddy bear and a notebook. The children are encouraged to take the bear with them when they go on holiday, visit friends or relatives or go on a special outing/family event.

The parents are asked to record the event in the notebook and if possible include a photograph or postcard.

On the bears return to the Childminder, the child is encouraged to share their experience and any photographs with the Childminder and the other children.

How does this help the child’s Learning and Development?

This activity helps children to learn and develop in a variety of ways and I have linked them to the Early Years  Foundation Stage Curriculum and the Every Child Matters Outcomes.

The children:

• Extend their memory by recalling the event
• Gain self-confidence in retelling their story,
• Learn to listen to others,
• Learn to share,
• Learn about the written word,
• Develop a sense of belonging and of being valued,
• Develop a greater knowledge and understanding of others’ lives and the world in which we live.

Links to the Early Years Foundation Stage:

Personal, social and emotional development - Learning to respect others, about relationships and the importance of friendship.

Communication, language and literacy - Opportunities to speak and listen, availability of print.

Mathematical Development - Counting - How many outings has Duffy had etc.

Knowledge and Understanding of the world - Gathering information on other parts of the country/world, on others lives and cultures.

Physical development - Developing fine motor skills to dress Duffy.

Creative development - Children have time to explore ideas. 

Duffy is a very special teddy as he is a Disney Bear.  He has travelled all the way from Disney World in Florida to stay with us.

Duffy was originally a present for Mickey Mouse from Minnie to keep him company on his travels.

The story goes...

Duffy was previously known as "The Disney Bear" with an entirely different backstory. The original story found on the tag of the first released bear's ear said that Mickey brought his favorite bear to the Magic Kingdom. Mickey sat in front of the castle wishing that he had a friend with him to share the excitement and magic of the park. Tinker-bell appears and sprinkles pixie dust on Mickey's bear, bringing it to life. Mickey then hugs the bear and a Mickey-shape appears on the bear's face, forever bonding Mickey and his new friend. I think I like that version a little bit better, but that's just me.  I was totally captivated by Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom.

Whilst at Disney World, I also bought the children a book; Duffy the Disney Bear: Mickey's New Friend.  This is an extended version of the story above. We will be reding this next week.

If you would like to read the story to your child at home, here is a lovely read-along video...

Duffy The Disney Bear Read-Along Story

We were very fortunate to meet the real Duffy when we were in Disney's Epcot, as shown at the end of the video.  Oliver and Amelia took an instant love of him and gave him lots of bear hugs.

If your child attends Oakley Childcare and you would like to take Duffy on a special outing, please let me know and I will get him and his passport ready for his next adventure!

If you are a Childminder and you would like Duffy to visit your setting, please let us know :-)

Father's Day

 The weather has been so miserable recently.  Our garden has really suffered and the poor chicken's run is just mud where the rain has turned the straw to mulch. I will be so glad when our summer starts so we can get into the garden properly.

We actually made it outside this morning as the sun decided to come out. We tested out our new bubble machine and the children enjoyed catching all the bubbles as they floated around the garden.  We also went to Asda and bought some play sand for the activity table and the children had fun building sandcastles and using the dinosaur moulds.

This afternoon the children were busy bees making cards and cupcakes for their Daddies. We used some black card with some paper ties stuck on the front with PVA glue and a lovely poem inside.

The children then helped to make some cupcakes, taking it in turns to add ingredients and stir the mixture.  We used some football cupcake cases which the children thought the daddies would like.

We left them to cool while we went off to play and then later took it in turns to ice and decorate them while the rest of the children read stories about Dads with Paul in the living room.

 We then finished them off with a cute cupcake box with balls on.

The Daddies really enjoyed their cakes and cards and the children enjoyed the ones that they took home too (well we couldn't JUST give cakes to the Daddies could we?)

Easter Week

We had a week of Easter activities last week before we broke up for the 4 day Easter bank holiday.
The children enjoyed doing our first activity outside in the garden.  It had been very warm outside which was unusual for March.  So it was already time for sunhats and sun cream!

Our first activity were some marble painted easter egg cut-outs.

The children placed their cut outs in a tray containing mables and paint and were supervised as they moved the tray from side to side so that the marbles rolled in the different colours across the egg cut-out creating a marbled effect.

The children enjoyed decorating Easter bonnets on Wednesday ready for our easter bonnet parade on Thursday.

Making Shrinkle keyrings...

We also repeated last year's Easter egg poem activity as they proved so popular...

And some delicious Easter nest cakes and Spring lamb cupcakes! YUM

A great time was had by all! 

I'm sorry to make this post short and sweet. I am trying to catch up on a mountain of paperwork, Ollie & Millie orders and assignments, so i'm afraid I won't go into detail today.

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter from Oakley Childcare. xxx

Level 3 News

I am so pleased to tell you that I have finally started my level 3 diploma in Children and Young People's Workforce. 
I signed up for the course last October and have been waiting all this time for funding to be granted.  My assessor, Gemma, came out to see me last Tuesday who is lovely.  The children will be seeing a lot more of her over the coming weeks when she comes to observe me playing and interacting with them and carrying out my every day duties.  I have been set my first assignment which is 10 hours long and has to be completed in the next 2 weeks.

I am a bit pushed for time; the way the company has issued the funding means I have to complete the course in just 4 months... something which usually takes 9 months- a year.  So I am going to be a very busy bee in the evenings for the next few months.

This course will develop my skills and knowledge in working with children and young people in a variety of settings. The course units include:

• Communication and Relationships with adults and children
• Health & Safety
• Development of children and assessment
• Professional practice and principles of practice
• Safeguarding

My progress will be assessed through written tasks and observations carried out in my setting and an External assessment (online).

Very Hungry Caterpillar Day

This year marks the 40th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which was first published in 1969. On March 20th, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day,” schools, libraries and bookstores will be hosting events and activities to mark this special occasion. Additional celebrations and activities based on this much-loved book will be held throughout the year in schools and libraries and by readers and friends all around the world. Also in March, a special edition of the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book featuring Eric Carle’s illustrations in a 3-dimensional format, will be available for sale at local bookstores.  To celebrate this wonderful book, which is one of my favourites, we have been doing some Very Hungry Caterpillar crafts, and ended the week with a Very Hungry Caterpillar picnic featuring the foods from the story.

 Click here to view a short video of Eric Carle talking about his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I have lots of Hungry Caterpillar resources in my setting.  Here are just some of them...

The children particuarly loved playing with floor puzzle.

All week we have had snack time with all the foods from the story...  On Monday he ate through one apple.  On Tuesday he ate through two pears... etc.

The children also did some caterpillar crafts.  They coloured in some caterpillar and butterfly sheets and we made an egg box Hungry Caterpillar.  As we have chickens, I only buy eggs for the children in my care, so I don't have egg boxes that often, so we had to make do with one egg box between all of us to make this lovely caterpillar.  Each child painted a piece of his body and I did his head and his antennas.  He looks quite happy sitting on his leaf...

We also made these lovely handprint caterpillar paintings...

On Thursday afternoon we had  Very Hungry Caterpillar picnic with some of the foods from the story..  On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one piece of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake and one slice of watermelon....

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the things we've been doing this week.  If you would like to see more of my Very Hungry Caterpillar projects please take a look at my other blog here.

Next week:  Easter!