This week, the children and staff have been working on different types of exploration in their lessons. Exploration can be key for our children as it focusses on aspects of their development, such as; independence, social skills and life skills. Depending on the activity will depend on what aspect of their development will be targeted for that task.
In one of our semi formal classes, the children were participating in a food exploration activity. This consists of introducing the children to familiar and unfamiliar foods. It gives us a chance to encourage the children to try new foods, and for the children to experience this and taste new foods. This is important as so many of our children have a very limited diet, so this activity is key for their experiences with new foods. It also gives them a chance to learn to use a knife and fork as that is a huge life skill they need.
Our other semi formal class were exploring the difference between directions and understanding the difference between, up, behind, around and under. They were given prompts by the adults to complete the task. Some children were excited to stand on a chair, whereas others were a bit optimistic to do so.
For our EYFS classes, the children were outside using a range of different resources to explore. They had the sand tray; using buckets, spades, and other cups to fill up. They also had the slide to explore the sensation of sliding down and climbing back up to the top. Other children had the swing for the same sensory exploration, whereas others just wanted to walk around the wooden platforms or mushroom stepping stones or jump on the trampoline. The staff were there to encourage and support where needed, and the children were engaged in so many activities.
In our Formal class, the children were hard at work practising the use of centimetres. They were learning to use rulers correctly to measure objects around the class. They did really well to understand and if help was needed, they were confident to ask an adult for help to complete the task.
Take a look at the pictures below to see the activities mentioned above. There are some really lovely pictures.
