Category Archives: Uncategorized

active learning, early education & play, education, EYFS, imagination, learning environnments, Maths, outdoor play, play, pre schoolers, Uncategorized

Do We Over Complicate Loose Parts?

April 12, 2016 rightfromthestart 5 Comments

WP_20160324_006 For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term loose parts, check out my post on the theory of loose parts. In simple terms, loose parts are moveable objects that can be used to create, explore and discover.

Educators often collect loose parts for their environments. Collections include buttons, feathers, beads, coins, shells and seeds. Loose parts are added to clay and dough, left in baskets around the room, used for weighing and measuring, to create art, on light and mirror tables and added to block play. I think though, that sometimes educators over-complicate loose parts. We get so excited about the different things we can provide for the children and the beautiful ways we can present them, that it is easy to forget the true essence of the theory of loose parts.

I was reminded as I played with my daughter at the park, that loose parts are everywhere. If we as educators don’t provide loose parts, the children will find them. A brick will become a piece of food, a calculator is a telephone, a sheet will become a cloak or torn paper will be money. Playing with loose parts is the way I played as a child, playing shops with empty boxes or filling empty bottles with leaves, petals, dirt and water. For the child, loose parts are everywhere, they probably don’t call them loose parts but they will find them.

For me the theory of loose parts is an attitude to how children play. It is an acceptance that children may use what is in their environment and make their own choices about what to do with it. Materials do not have to be displayed or stored beautifully, they simply need to be there. The following video illustrates children’s natural ability to find and use loose parts creatively.

early education & play, outdoor play, play, Uncategorized

Simple Pleasures

April 8, 2016 rightfromthestart 4 Comments

I believe that sometimes we try too hard to arrange things for our kids to do and it is important to let them be. There are however, some things that I feel we should introduce our children to. The simple pleasures that we had as kids, are sometimes forgotten and lost. If we are going to teach our children anything, lets preserve simple pleasures like these.

WP_20160324_009 — Learning to play hopscotch

WP_20130507_004 — Blowing a dandelion clock

WP_20140320_001 (2) — Making a daisy chain

WP_20140726_005 — Burying yourself in sand.

WP_20160404_002 — Making a paper aeroplane

What are your simple pleasures?

parenting, pre schoolers, review, toddlers, Uncategorized

Are Your Kids Fussy about What They Wear? Let Them Design Their Own

April 5, 2016 rightfromthestart Leave a comment

All three of my girls have gone through a fussy stage at some point. My eldest wouldn’t wear anything on her waist and had to pull everything down to her hips and all three have gone through a phase of only wearing dresses. My youngest is the most particular about what she wears. We have a wardrobe of clothes that her sisters loved but for some reason she turns her nose up at.

We were very excited therefore, when we won a custom-made dress from The Patchery in a prize giveaway. The Patchery began when a mum was sewing clothes for her kids. Immersed in the creative process, she thought, “Why can’t this be available to everyone, even if you can’t sew?” And that was the beginning of The Patchery.

To design your own clothes you choose a design and fabrics and then the garments are custom-made and shipped to your address. My daughter chose the kimono dress. She chose her fabrics for the bodice , skirt and sleeves and then chose a different fabric for the back. We went through the design a few times to make sure she was happy.

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Her face was a picture when the dress arrived and she tried it on. “Do you think people will think I’m weird because I have different colours on the front and back?” she asked. I told her that nobody else would have a dress quite like it, so they would think it was really cool. “Could I wear it both ways? The blue side one day and then turn it around to the orange side?” she asked. “Perhaps if we cut the label out” I replied. I think she has a pretty cool idea for making her dress even more unique.

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It turned out so beautifully and the quality is stunning. It is such a great concept, I just had to share it. It makes a wonderful gift for young children. Baby clothes are also available so next time someone I know has a baby, I’m going to order a custom-made outfit. What a special gift that would be.

disclaimer: this is a personal recommendation. I did not receive payment or products for writing this post.

active learning, art, art and crafts, early education & play, EYFS, music, play, pre schoolers, sensory play, teaching, Uncategorized

Art Lessons: Abstract Painting to Music

April 1, 2016 rightfromthestart 3 Comments

WP_20160318_003 One way to ensure that you don’t end up with a wall of identical paintings is to introduce children to abstract art. We used the book The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art as a starting point. The book tells the story of Kandinsky’s ability to ‘see music’ and ‘hear paintings’.

I explained that abstract art is not about creating a particular thing but is about expressing how you feel.

Each child had a pallet of acrylic paints, 2 different sized paintbrushes, a canvas, a pot of water and paper towel to wash and dry the brushes. I showed them how to clean their brushes by washing it in the water and drying it with the paper towel.

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The children began when I played the music – I chose a quiet piece to add focus, Dvorak’s Largo from Symphony no. 9.

Some children were engrossed in colour mixing, while others enjoyed layering colours one on top of the other. Some concentrated on texture and others focused on shape and colour.

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The strong focus on process lead to an interesting discussion with the teacher after class. We lamented the lack of time children in Kindergarten and beyond, to experiment with paint and the impact this has on their motor development. I always feel my lessons should be in at least 2 parts, one for discovery and process and the another to create a product. I wish there was time for the children to practice skills and develop. My eldest daughter attends a school where the whole curriculum is taught through the medium of visual and performing arts – are there any creative elementary teachers out there doing the same?

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active learning, art and crafts, early education & play, EYFS, play, pre schoolers, recipes, science, sensory play, Uncategorized

I Finally Made Play Dough that Isn’t Sticky

March 29, 2016 rightfromthestart 2 Comments

I am terrible at making play dough. For years I have experimented with all kinds of recipes, cold, cooked and microwaved but all of them turn out in a sticky mess within 24 hours. That is until a pre school teacher shared this simple formula with me. Mix 2 cups of corn starch/ corn flour with 1 cup of hair conditioner. Finally a recipe that works!

Feel your skin, it’s really nice and smooth.

The texture is slightly less firm and more crumbly than standard play dough but it has a lovely silky texture and led to some interesting creations.

The first time I made a snowman, it was really good and then I noticed that it kept going down all the time. It’s like a melting snowman.

I added some silly putty to it to make this design

books, early education & play, education, reading, review, teaching, Uncategorized

A Book to Encourage Children to Achieve their Dreams?

February 24, 2016 rightfromthestart 1 Comment

Little Banty Chicken is a tale about the importance of dreams and how sharing them helps them come true. Written in the style of a traditional fairy tale, it tells the story of a chicken who, on the moon’s advice, tells his dream to his friends. Each friend encourages him to move towards his dream and contributes to its realisation at the end the story.

Little Banty Chicken and the Big Dream is written by Linea Gillen, a teacher and counsellor for over 30 years and delicately illustrated by Kristina Swanson.

The story is both engaging and inspiring but I found the talking points and activities at the end really captured my children’s imaginations. The key question is “What is your dream?” a question that young children may need to think about for some time.

My-7-year-old knew immediately what her dream was but in a very deflated manner said,

” I don’t think anyone will be able to help me make my dream come true.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Well, I want to stop all the animals from becoming extinct and I don’t think anyone can make that happen”.

This particular dream began after we read an article about the danger of large carnivores becoming extinct in the next 25 years. She often asks how we will be able to stop people killing animals. This is a big dream indeed and doesn’t have a simple solution.

We talked about how this is the kind of dream that can’t be achieved on your own. Asking other people to help could be a way forward.

“But who could I ask? I don’t think anyone will know.”

“Well perhaps not now, but as you get older you will be able to find people who know how to help and work together.”

“You mean like a scientist?”

“Exactly, or groups of people who work together to help it to stop”.

Real, face-to-face communication is necessary for developing essential life skills such as empathy, conflict resolution, problem solving, and more. And when problems arise – when life hurts us – we need real world communities for support. Many adults see asking for help as a weakness and find it hard to delegate. These skills are an important part of children’s social and emotional learning. ‘Little Banty Chicken and the Big Dream’ is a perfect way to introduce these concepts to young children.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes.

art, art and crafts, books, early education & play, imagination, pre schoolers, teaching, Uncategorized

Art Lessons: Designing Monsters with Oil Pastels.

February 19, 2016 rightfromthestart 1 Comment

For this months art lesson with First Graders, I wanted a project that came from their own imaginations and displayed their creative expression.

Knowing that my own children had invented wonderful monsters with charcoal, I decided to make colourful ones with oil pastel.

Some children struggle with inventing a character from their imagination, so I started the lesson with a book to provide inspiration and illustration of shape, texture and size.

sleepy monsters

I chose the book Sleepy Monsters, Creepy Monsters because the text is simple and does not distract from the visual images and the illustrations depict a variety of monsters.

We talked through the pictures, noting features such as eyes on sticks, number of legs, spikes and shapes and discussing the function of these features.

Once the story had finished I instructed them to think for a few minutes about what they would like their monster to be.

Did it have a particular function?

Where did it live?

What would it eat?

Was it a kind or scary monster?

The children then drew their outline shapes on the paper. Once I had checked the size of the monster, the children were given oil pastels to add detail and colour it in. I asked them not to leave any white spaces, except for the background so that they would be as vibrant as possible.

When the children were satisfied with their drawings, they were show how to use a Q tip/ cotton bud dipped in baby oil to blend the oil pastels to a smooth finish, without any white spaces.

Finally they outlined their drawings with a black sharpie to add definition.

The background was applied with a watercolour wash.

I asked my daughter about her monster.

The 2 eyes on the right can turn all the way back, so they can see behind them.

It has spikes to protect itself from people. Monsters are scared of people, that’s why they attack us.

It’s favourite food is carrots.

He is 8.

He likes to make monsters out of pipe cleaners.

art, art and crafts, books, early education & play, education, EYFS, mr men, parenting, teaching, Uncategorized

5 Picture Books to Inspire Children’s Art Projects

November 19, 2015 rightfromthestart 4 Comments

Art is not part of the curriculum in our school district, instead all elementary art lessons are taught by parent volunteers. Once a month I volunteer to teach in my daughter’s class. A monthly art lesson seems a little piecemeal and I often wish that there was time to delve deeper into projects. With this in mind, I often teach lessons that inspire children to discover a new medium or learn about an unfamiliar type of art. Picture books can be a good starting point. Below are some of my favourites .

The Noisy Paint Box

My children are fascinated by abstract art. I recently introduced them to the works of Kandinsky after they created abstract art on our mirror table. This book tells the story of Kandinsky’s life as an artist and explains how he expressed his feelings and senses through painting. As a boy he felt he could hear the paint box hissing and at a classical music concert saw colours and shapes before his eyes, that expressed the music.

My 3 year olds latest canvas

After reading the book,encourage children to paint what they feel as they listen to a piece of classical music. Discuss their feelings and document some of their comments with the painting. Try playing different genres of music to see how their reactions change and explore together how this was reflected in their painting. A large scale collaborative painting to music could develop this theme further. Explore the differences in expression and how they all fit together to make a complete painting.

2. Korgi

The captivating black and white illustrations in this textless graphic novel inspired this project about monsters. The drawings here were in charcoal but pencil drawing or pen and ink would work equally well.

3. The Mr Men

Strangely, the Mr Men have been one of the girls favourite things to draw and model for some time. The book’s back cover displaying all the Mr Men make it easy for them to choose a Mr Man to copy.

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They used polymer clay to make 3D representations. Their simple forms make them perfect for introducing young children to polymer clay or modelling smaller characters. It also helps them to see how their drawings can be translated into a 3 dimensional model.

Mr Men polymer clay models

They even created their own Mr Man – Mr Tae Kwondo.

Mr Tae kwondo

4. How are you Peeling?

We loaned this book from the library and it was a firm favourite. On each page fruit and vegetables are photographed to represent an expression or emotion. It has inspired us to search the supermarket for interesting vegetables and would be even more fun if you grow your own. It would make a wonderful photography project.

5. Leaf Man

Leaf Man is a good introduction to collage and art using natural materials. The story of leaf man is illustrated using photocopies of leaves on a colourful torn paper background. We used this for an art lesson in my daughter’s Kindergarten class and here are some of the finished projects.

Further Suggestions

The Tiny Seed – paint flicking

The Hungry Caterpillar – collage (Eric Carle describes how he creates his pictures in this slideshow.)

Camille and the Sunflowers – a story about Van Goch

barry island, early education & play, expat, families, music, music education, pre schoolers, review, singing, toddlers, Uncategorized, Welsh

Introducing Children to Welsh Through Song, with Babi Bach the Album

July 28, 2015 rightfromthestart Leave a comment

My 4-year-old has just learned her first Welsh word ,’canu’ meaning to sing.

How does a child living in the US with non- Welsh speaking parents learn such a word? From the wonderful, bilingual album, the girls received as a gift. The album was created by a friend of mine who runs ‘Babi Bach’ a bilingual music group in South Wales. The girls are fascinated by this unfamiliar language and love it when I tell them the meaning of a Welsh word.

The songs are familiar favourites, including, row, row ,row your boat, incey wincey spider and one finger, one thumb and are sung by male and female voices, in both English and Welsh. The Welsh versions brought back distant memories of my days as a student teacher in Wales. As an added surprise, when browsing the cover, I recognised one of the singers as a child who attended my after-school club in the 90’s. My friend confirmed that it was him, all grown up and singing professionally. More happy memories of home.

Living in the US, my children are unlikely to hear the Welsh Language. I’m not a Welsh speaker but the Welsh language was at the forefront of my early school years. We had Welsh assembly once a week, played games in Welsh and learned the Welsh language. The girls are fascinated that there is this strange language that is only spoken in Wales.

The girls sing along in English and try their best to join in with the Welsh. Initially, they spouted gibberish, laughing hysterically at the complicated words in ‘head, shoulders,knees and toes. My Welsh isn’t really strong enough to help them but I point out the words I recognise. My next step is to print off the Welsh lyrics , so I can sing along. The songs are separated by enthusiastic conversations between a group of friends in both languages, so it is easy for them to follow.

After hearing the songs a few times, they are already beginning to sing along in Welsh even without my help.

I can highly recommend this for Welsh parents who have moved away from Wales. It is the perfect introduction to the Welsh language. Equally, it is a simple and fun way to learn Welsh for children living in Wales.

Digital copies of Babi Bach yr Albwm are available from Amazon Music and other digital music platforms.

Disclaimer :This is not a sponsored post no payment was received.

early education & play, learning environnments, outdoor play, play, Uncategorized

Making a Play Table from an Electrical Spool

May 6, 2015 rightfromthestart 6 Comments

I find play value in everything. This isn’t always an admirable quality. My house overflows with strange objects and if anyone offers random things for free, I perk up like an eager child in class. I’m certain it’s an occupational hazard and I’m not alone.

My latest acquisition was an electrical spool. Pictures can be deceptive and I hadn’t anticipated something quite as big, when I accepted it. When my husband discovered this eyesore in the garden, I sensed he didn’t share my enthusiasm for my latest scrap heap challenge.

Knowing it will be useful, doesn’t always equate to having a finished product in mind. Sometimes, I prefer to leave things as loose parts , so the children can find their own use for them but the weight of the spool prohibited them from moving it. I positioned it in front of the potion mixing station, hoping it would be integrated into potion play but the children had other plans.

I left pavement chalk near the spool and they decorated the top in bright colours. We don’t have many suitable surfaces for chalking in the back garden, so I sprayed the top of the spool with blackboard paint. I added hardware hooks around the edge for storage. Choosing what to hang from the hooks is a work in progress. We currently have a basket holding bug catchers and magnifiers and another containing small world fairies, a cloth for wiping the blackboard, a cowbell and a crystal.