Six Areas of Learning - Six Weeks

Creating a Positive Whole School Impact...

Early Years Primary Secondary SEN CPD

Six Areas of Learning - Six Weeks

WEEK ONE: Communication, Language and Literacy

Struggling for Playday ideas? We have loads of things you can do to entertain your children over the summer and we are sending the first one to you in time for National Playday on Wednesday 5th August 2009.

Not only will our play resources help your children have fun, they will help you to combat a different area of learning each week.

Story Time Statues is a really great game for developing communication, language and literacy skills. It also helps with creativity and gets your children physically active and engaged in something they can play indoors, outdoors and at home.

The best way to play is to get your children to stand in a semicircle so that they are facing you.

You are the story teller so you need to think of a short story with at least one recurring theme, such as a tall tree or a racing rocket.

Once you have a story in mind you can pick out a couple of themes and create statue poses for them. Use the statues on this card to help you.

Let the children know which words to look out for in the story and what to do when they hear those words. For example, when I say tall tree, make this statue.

Now it is time to tell the story. Make sure you use the recurring theme a few times to keep the children engaged in the story. To help the children out, you could make the statue shape with them to start with.

For more story ideas please visit:

www.espplay.co.uk/freebies and use the promotional code: Story Time Statues Resource.

Inclusion Leadership


ESP Red - LOGO

ESP Blue - LOGO / PRIMARY

ESP Green - SEONDARY

ESP Light Blue - EARLY YEARS

ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN

PANTONE Warm Red CVC

PANTONE Blue 072 CVC

PANTONE 382 C

PANTONE Process Cyan C

PANTONE Red 032 C

PANTONE Orange 021 C






ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C





Story Time Statues

A Tall Tree

A Small Stone

A Shooting Star

A Huge House

A Barking Dog

A Closed Window

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Use just one recurring theme with a statue shape that is easier to make such as the small stone.

Increase the number of themes in the story and encourage the children to create their own statues and stories.

A Bendy Banana

A Racing Rocket

If you liked Story Time Statues, you may also be interested in the ESP Yoga Zone.

Click here for more information.

(01282) 43 44 45 [email protected] www.espplay.co.uk

Watch out for WEEK TWO: Personal, Social and Emotional Development


Once upon a time, there was a big old house and in the big old house there was a big old dog. The big old dog was called Woof. Woof had a big problem. The problem was that he had no woof! He tried all day long to make a sound but nothing came out of his mouth. The other dogs would tease him, saying, Look at that big old dog, in his big old house. He has everything he could wish for but he has no woof.

Woof was very sad so he stayed in his big old house all day long. The days were long and the nights were longer. He was all alone.

One day, when Woof was at home in his big old house, he heard a knock at the door. Nobody ever knocked at the door. Woof was very excited and rushed to see who it was.

Hello big old dog, said the man at the door. The friendly man was a postman and he had come to deliver a letter for Woof. The postman, whose name was Pete, was normally very scared of big old dogs because they stole his letters and woofed at him. Pete knew that Woof was different though because he had heard the other dogs talking about him. Pete explained that he had come to the big old house to make friends with Woof. Woof was very pleased and wagged his tail with joy.

Postman Pete visited the big old house every day after that and the two of them became the best of friends. Pete brought biscuits for Woof and Woof taught Pete how to play catch. The big old dog became a very happy big old dog and the big old house didnt seem so big and lonely any more.

Next time you are out and about and you see the postman going towards a big old house, watch him very carefully because he might just be on his way to visit his best friend Woof!

The End.

Woof The Big Old Dog

The Statues

Important themes in the story

Big Old House

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Use just one recurring theme with a statue shape that is easier to make such as the big old dog.

Increase the number of themes and encourage the children to create their own statues eg. create a statue for the word woof.



Big Old Dog

This story highlights the importance of friendship and inclusion and incorporates the idea that Every Child Matters. This theme should contribute towards personal, social and emotional development.

Use these statues as a starting point to help you tell the story. You may want to incorporate other shapes, depending on the abilities of your children.

If you liked Story Time Statues, you may also be interested in the ESP Yoga Zone.





WEEK TWO: Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Struggling for playtime ideas? We have loads of things you can do to entertain your children over the summer. This is the second resource card in a series of six. Not only will our play resources help your children have fun, they will help you to combat a different area of learning each week.

Praise-Pair-Picture is a really great game for developing personal, social and emotional skills. It also helps with creativity and gets your children engaged in something fun and educational.

The best way to play is to get your children to sit in a semicircle so that they are facing you.

Now you can work your way around the group, one by one, praising each child individually for positive things they have done during that week. The aim is to make each child feel happy and to increase their self-esteem.

Once you have made your way around the group, split the children up into pairs.

Each pair can now discuss how they feel about their positive comment. Get the children to draw a picture of how the other child in their pair now feels. This will enable the children to interact and interpret that news, and they will learn that saying nice things to people will make them feel happy.

Pin these pictures on the wall, and remind the children every day that week to remember how it feels when you praise others.

For more freebies please visit:www.espplay.co.uk/freebies



ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C





Praise-Pair-Picture

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Have some pictures already drawn out and let the children choose from the existing pictures rather than them drawing their own.

Introduce colour association to help the children describe their feelings and categorise their emotions eg. yellow means happy.

If you liked Praise-Pair-Picture, you may also be interested in the ESP Imaginative and Creative range of products.



Watch out for WEEK THREE: Mathematical Development




WEEK THREE: Mathematical Development

Struggling for playtime ideas? We have loads of things you can do to entertain your children over the summer. This is the third resource card in a series of six. Not only will our play resources help your children have fun, they will help you to combat a different area of learning each week.

For this game you will need: Ice cream tubs, paper, glue and crayons or pens.

What Can You See? Count With Me Is a really great game for developing mathematical skills and numeracy. It also provides opportunities for discovery as it encourages your children to hunt for interesting objects. The game can be played at home or at school and the concept can easily be adapted for indoor or outdoor play.

The best way to play is to get your children to start indoors. Split them up into groups of two or three and give each group a worksheet and an ice cream tub to collect their objects in.

Explain to them which objects they should look for when they go outside (the suggested objects are on the activity sheet). They must count the correct number and collect them in their tubs.

When they have collected all the objects they can come back indoors and begin to sort through their findings. Spend some time looking at the colours, textures and shapes of the objects. Group like objects together to make it easier to count them.

Now it is time to get creative. Encourage your children to glue their objects onto a piece of paper. They can write the appropriate numbers next to the objects.

Pin these pictures on the wall to remind the children what they have learned this week.




ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C





What Can You See? Count With Me

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Leave the counting element of the game until they are back in the classroom and allow the children to collect anything they wish.

Challenge the children to find objects that are not on the activity sheet and count other things like the number of legs a spider has.

If you liked this game, you may also be interested in the ESP Nature range of products.



Watch out for WEEK THREE: Knowledge of the World

1 3

5

12

4



What Can You See? Count With MeActivity Sheet

Activity Sheet - Advanced Level

One flower Three blades of grass

Five twigs

Two pebbles

Four leaves

1 3

5

2

4

Lets go out into the playground and see if we can find these things. Collect them in your tub and bring them back inside so we can count them.

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Leave the counting element of the game until they are back in the classroom and allow the children to collect anything they wish.

Challenge the children to find objects that are not on the worksheet and count other things like the number of legs a spider has.


The advanced level of What Can You See? Count With Me lets you explore the outdoors even further. Can you find any creepy crawlies? Can you count how may legs they have? It is best to count your creatures outside as they dont like being stuck to pieces of paper!

Can you see any spiders?How many legs do they have?

How many trees can you see?Which is the tallest one?

Are there any worms?Who can find the longest one?

How many clouds can you see in the sky?Can you see any shapes in the clouds?

Can you find a ladybird?How many spots does it have?

Are there any butterflies?What colours are they?




WEEK FOUR: Knowledge of the World

Struggling for playtime ideas? We have loads of things you can do to entertain your children over the summer. This is the fourth resource card in a series of six. Not only will our play resources help your children have fun, they will help you to combat a different area of learning each week.

For this game you will need to find some big puddles. You will also need: leaves, twigs, paper, wellies, wheeled toys, matchsticks, bottle tops, straws, powder paint and anything else you and your children can find!

Puddle Puzzles is a really great game for developing knowledge of the world as it introduces children to the concept of reflection, floating and sinking, evaporation and mark making. It also provides opportunities for creativity and numeracy as it encourages your children to make shapes and count.

The best way to play is to get your children into small supervised groups outdoors. Congregate around some big puddles and make sure they are wearing their wellies.

There are lots of activities you can do around the puddles. The first is to talk about reflection. Let the children blow into the puddles with a straw to see what effect this has on their reflection.

The next thing you can do is to teach them about floating and sinking. Let them experiment with different objects to see which float and sink. Use things like leaves, pebbles, matchsticks and bottle tops. Let them race the floating objects like boats. Blow them with straws to make them go faster.

Now its time to get messy. Drop some powder paint into the puddles and mix it until you have a nice bright colour. Let the children run through the puddles in their wellies. Use wheeled toys to drive through the puddles onto big sheets of paper. This way they can record their mark making. Record footprints on paper too and take them back into the classroom to count.

Finally, draw chalk circles around the puddles and leave the puddles to dry up. Let the children observe how the puddles shrink over time, compared to the circles. Use this example to explain to them about evaporation and the water cycle.




ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C





Puddle Puzzles

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Use the exercise for reflection and mark making. You could recreate puddles in plastic containers and bring the game indoors.

Challenge the children to find their own objects which float or sink. Ask them to group similar objects.

If you liked this game, you may also be interested in the ESP Imaginative and Creative range of products.



Watch out for WEEK FIVE: Physical Development




WEEK FIVE: Physical Development

Struggling for playtime ideas? We have loads of things you can do to entertain your children over the summer. This is the fifth resource card in a series of six. Not only will our play resources help your children have fun, they will help you to combat a different area of learning each week.

You dont need anything for this game apart from an open space and a group of children! To advance the game you may wish to incorporate some red, orange and green cards.

The Traffic Light Game is a really great game for physical development as it introduces children to some of the gross motor skills they will require in everyday life as they grow up. It also provides opportunities for social interaction and communication. It is a fun way to get your children moving and once they learn how to play, it is simple enough for them to play by themselves.

The game is based on the three traffic light colours of red, amber and green. It can be played on the whole playground or in a zoned area. The best way to play is to get a small group of children into an open space outdoors.

The next step is to explain to the children about the traffic lights and how each colour has a different activity associated with it. For example, RED would have a stationary balancing activity like standing still, AMBER would be an intermediary locomotor movement like jogging on the spot, GREEN would be a more intense locomotor activity such as running around the playground.

Once the children have mastered the simpler movements, you can vary the instructions to challenge different movement skills such as hopping. Add further instructions. For example:

Roundabout - run round in a small circle 1. Reverse - jog backwards 2. Speed bump - jump in the air 3. Traffic jam - walk slowly 4. Road clear - run around normally (used after traffic jam)5.

Change the way you communicate the colours to the children to challenge their thinking and communication skills. For example, hold up coloured cards or flags. You could get them to make their own traffic light cards so they can take them home to play.




ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C





The Traffic Light Game

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Stay within a zoned area and start with the most basic movements. You could begin with just a RED and a GREEN movement.

Incorporate leadership into the game and get the children to call out the instructions. Increase the difficulty of the movements.

If you liked this game, you may also be interested in the ESP Playground Markings.



Watch out for WEEK SIX: Creative Development




WEEK SIX: Creative Development

Struggling for playtime ideas? We have loads of things you can do to entertain your children over the summer. This is the sixth resource card in the series. We hope that you have made the most of the FREE resources and have combated a different area of learning each week. Most importantly, we hope you have had fun.

For this game you will need an open paved or tarmac area and some coloured chalk.

My Desert Island is the ideal game for inspiring creative development through art. The game also encourages children to share their feelings and experiences with others whilst in a make-believe environment. The game could even be played indoors or at home with large sheets of paper and paints or crayons.

If you are playing outside, it is best to gather the children into groups of three of four. You will need a large paved or tarmac area. Spread your groups around the space and give each group a box of coloured chalk.

Instruct a member of each group to draw a big island shape around the other members.

The aim of the game is to get the children thinking about and reflecting on experiences through the medium of art. Ask them to draw things inside the chalked area that they would take to the island if they were to go there, for example, a favourite toy or a family pet. They can draw alone or as a group.

Use the drawings to prompt discussions within the group. Visit all the groups and ask them to talk about their drawings.

Now let the children explore other islands on the playground. Allow them to fly or sail to new places and visit the people that live there.

You could carry on the theme of islands back in the classroom by teaching the children about the inhabitants of other islands, for example, Madagasgar. Teach them new words from the native language and bring them foods to try. You could use a world map and drawings of the flag to help the children understand about different communities. Maybe you could introduce them to a film about the island too!




ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C







ESP Red - LOGO




ESP Red - CPD

ESP Orange - SEN



PANTONE 382 C


PANTONE Red 032 C





My Desert Island

Make it Easier:

Make it Harder:

Sit your children in a circle and draw the island around them. Let them bring objects to the island if they are not confident with drawing.

Make a memory game out of the drawings by covering them up and asking the children to recall what was there.

If you liked My Desert Island, you may also be interested in the ESP Imaginative and Creative Range.



Now you have received all six resource cards, we would be really interested to know what you thought of them.Would you be interested in receiving more FREEBIES?

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

Week 1 - Communication, Language and LiteracyWeek 1a - Communication, Language and LiteracyWeek 2 - Personal Social and Emotional DevelopemntWeek 3 - Mathematical DevelopmentWeek 4 - Knowledge of the WorldWeek 5 - Physical DevelopmentWeek 6 - Creative Development

Documents

Six Areas of Learning - Six Weeks