Why choose outdoor learning at Mini Rangers

Why Come to Mini Rangers?

I am sometimes asked 'Will my child of x months benefit from a mini rangers session?'
The answer is that Babies and young children learn through their actions, movements and the information they receive from their five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.  These early sensory experiences and movements are vital to a child's development and learning (Louis et al 2008).

If your child is between 0-18 months they are said to be in the sensori motor stage and moving into the pre operational stage from 18 months to 7 years of age.  What does this mean to your child, well it means that being outdoors Mini Rangers naturally provides activities that are relevant to both these stages. Children attending Mini Rangers are generally moving between these stages and are enjoying sensory touch experiences, such as pushing their fingers into the earth, or running their fingers through the grass, over the fresh green moss.  For children in the sensori motor stage these experiences together with hearing environmental sounds for example the river flowing or the animal noises (such as the ducks honking) provide at first powerful novel experiences and then with repetition connections are formed in your child's brain that enable them to focus, retrieve and forge new found skills over time.

I have been using our time in Mini Rangers to introduce the children to the sounds of phonics, as I have mentioned in the previous paragraph sounds when we are first introduced to them are just noise which appeals to the sensori motor stage of our youngest Mini Rangers.  For the children in the pre operational stage it is only with repetition that we make sense of the sounds that we hear.  By showing objects that use the sound that we are introducing we are employing children's spontaneous active way in which children learn through active engagement.  It is the new experiences through manipulation, discovery and exploration that engage children in taking on board purposeful learning.  Of course children will take on board non purposeful learning also, it is up to us as adults to ensure that they are exposed to a balance of experiences that expand their minds and time to allow them to repeat and ensure that learning is taken on bit by bit.

This week our sound is 'o' as in 'o'range, 'o'blong, 'o'n and 'o'ff.

So we will be stepping 'o'n to the stepping stones and 'o'ff the stepping log circle.

One of our families favourite characters are the Octonauts so I will be reading The Octonauts and the sea of shade as our book.

Marina will be volunteering as money collector and snack provider.  Ranger Steve will be doing what only a Ranger can and Neil and Paul will be organising our area for us.

We will be providing delicious 'o'ranges, coffee and biscuits.

Looking forward to seeing you Monday.

Melanie Commins, EYTS

References
Understanding Schemas by Louis et al
Jolly Phonics
Cbeebies Phonics

The Gruffalo - 24 November 2014

We are moving on this week with a brand new sound it is g as in 'g'argle, 'g'rumpy and 'g'arden....

So in our lovely Etherow Park garden area there is one book that has always been my favourite and that is the ......

Gruffalo

First we are going to get the children to make their very own Gruffalo grasshead.  Then the Gruffalos and their makers are going to go on a walking story of the Gruffalo.

The essence of a walking story is all about spotting the various characters in the bushes and trees and then listening to the next part of the story for guidance as to where the next character is hiding?

Learning in the Early years is about being able to take control, thrills and a very sensory dependent way of learning.  It is about learning how to filter out the many environmental sounds to the one voice that is telling the story, it is about finding it interesting enough to move ones body in ways that provide challenge and discovery.  The senses provide the children with a continued understanding of what surrounds them and how to make sense of it.  As parents our guidance through these social interactions are essential, it is our excitement,our joy, our engagement that children take on when experiencing these interactions. 

So we are on the sound g for our snack what better snack than grapes!  Obviously the usual Coffee and Biscuits will be available as well and if anyone wants to bring another g snack that would be great.  Remember Gas in garlic not as in ginger, but when we get to that sound it's going to be a great snack time!!!!

ref: https://www.facebook.com/alistair.bryceclegg for more information on thrills in early years learning.

Den building dinosaurs - Monday 17th November 2014

Oh no Dinosaurs have a escaped in our play area!!!!!!

 Ranger Steve has promised to help us build some hide out dens so that we can spy on the dogs and ducks of Etherow park, but I really need your help to come down and help me dig out the dinosaurs.

Where could they be?  Have they dug themselves into the mole hills???  Maybe they have lost themselves in the maze we built last week,  maybe you need to come down and give me a hand in finding them.

Marina is back this week to help me with some snacks there will be our usual coffee and juice, but I am adding in some 'd'ates.  If anyone else wants to bring snacks beginning with the sound 'd' that would be awsome.

Looking forward to seeing you

Melanie Commins, EYTS.

Cats and Kittens - 3rd November 2014

Ahh no not pictures of cute fluffly things, but our latest sounds on the phonics trail....

The C and K sounds represent the hard C sounds such as found in cat and kitten.  As an adult we know that K can sometimes be an invisible sound or work with c to make the end ck sound in click or the soft c in spice, but when we first introduce these sounds we introduce them together and talk about their similarities, introducing the other rules comes later when we talk about blending and writing things down, at this early before pre school stage we are just introducing first sounds and it is later introductions that will add the layers that reinforce all the purposes that C and K have.  All we as adults are doing in introducing our children to the picture as in 'have you met c and k before?  great letters make a lovely c sound as in cat and kitten, here is a cat and here is a kitten they both start with c great isn't it?'

So for Monday I am going to bring a ball to play 'c'atch with.  A great game for this age group as it involves giving up an interesting object to gain the pleasure of interacting with someone else.  It can be difficult initially in persuading this to happen, but the pleasure is in the skill of learning to catch and the realisation that working with others can be of a benefit.

I will put all the mud kitchen stuff out as I can see the 'c'reative benefits behind this.  I love seeing the unprompted sculptures they are making.  I can see the transporters collecting other materials to add to their potions.  It really does promote so many independently practised skills that while they enjoy it I will put it out every week.

Book wise I cannot ignore the 'hungry caterpillar' a great book with lots of lovely crafts leading off from it.  I think we may have to get the clay out again and roll some balls of clay out and put them together to make little caterpillars.  I will provide some paper plates for you to put your caterpillar on, use of seeds, twigs, leaves who knows what will happen I am always delighted by the way a child will use this as a jump off point or inspiration for amazing creations.

There will also be our usual 'c'offee and juice and some snacks .....  

So see you tomorrow for our first of the new half terms Mini Rangers.

Melanie Commins, EYTS.