August saw us host our first Families session as part of our Early Years Project.
We began our session by reading The Smartest Giant in Town to the group. We believe no one is ever too old to be read to and this activity, whether a small group or as a parent/adult and child .This story encourages opportunities to engage in questions “ I wonder what George will do next?”, “ What could the animal do?”, plus and singing along with the simple tune.
The activities of the session were led by the story where families had the opportunity to:
- Make Face biscuits of a character from the story .Children were encouraged to try the different fruit and vegetables available to decorate their biscuits with.
- Spoon puppets using wooden teaspoons and scraps of material and wool. By making and taking the puppets home the children can continue the story or retell in their own words.
- We included sensory play activities; play doh and a sand tray to provide opportunities for free play and creativity.
- A range of games to play together; Connect 4, Marble drop which support the child in learning turn taking skills and how to manage their feelings if they do not win
We also used the session to introduce Doodles, our project mascot. Learning through play is fundamental to a young child’s development, Puppets can stimulate children’s imagination, encourage creative play and discovery and are a wonderful interactive way to encourage language and development. Doodles will be a permanent feature at our Families sessions and will also be accompanying our Advisers on school visits.
“Can we come again” said a child as they were getting ready to leave.
“Thank you for this afternoon. It has been very relaxing”. Parent attendee.
