Construction

Lorna Boyd

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781136601255
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

First Published in 2006. Guaranteed fun for children and practitioners alike, the Ready, Steady, Play! series provides lively and STIMULATING activities for children. Each book focuses on one specific aspect of play, offering clear and detailed guidance on how to plan and enjoy wonderful play experiences with minimum fuss and maximum success. Ready, Steady, Play! helps practitioners to: Develop activities easily, using suggested guidelines Ensure that health and safety issues are taken into account; Plan play that links to the early years curriculum. Each book in the series includes guidance on: Preparing the children and the play space What equipment and materials are needed Planning and carrying out the activity Adult-child ratios; Developing language and vocabulary Extending learning For early years practitioners and students on early years courses and parents looking for ideas and inspiration. Construction; Exploring how construction play activities can promote the learning and development of children within early years settings, this book will help you to: Enable children to develop an understanding of shape, size, stability and strength when making things Encourage the development of children's large and fine motor skills; Support the understanding of co-operation and sharing.

Activities

The following pages contain twenty-five different activities suggesting a range of different construction ideas. Each activity follows a standard format to ensure ease of planning and implementation:

• the resources needed

• the aim(s)/concept(s)

• the process

• group size

• health and safety

• discussion ideas/language

• extension ideas

• links to the Foundation Stage Curriculum.

Key to Foundation Stage Curriculum abbreviations:

SS	Stepping Stones
ELG	Early Learning Goals
PSE	Personal, social and emotional development
CLL	Communication, language and literacy
MD	Mathematical development
KUW	Knowledge and understanding of the world
PD	Physical development
CD	Creative development

ACTIVITY	Towers
1

Resources you will need

• Building bricks of the same size and shape

• Large, level floor space (carpet would reduce the noise – indoors or outside)

Aims/concepts

• To develop counting skills

• To explore the concept of height

Process

• Provide a large, level area and lots of blocks.

• Encourage the children to place the blocks one on top of another to build towers of different heights.

• Talk about the different heights.

• Count the bricks together.

• Talk about the colours of the bricks they have used.

• They could build towers of the same coloured bricks or of set sequences.

Discussion ideas/language

• Size – tallest, shortest

• Count the number of bricks used in constructing the tower

• Add on bricks, one at a time, and continue counting

• Estimate how many bricks they have or might use for their tower

• Estimate how many bricks will be used before the tower falls down

• Talk about things or people that are taller than/shorter than their tower

Extension ideas

1. Add different sized and/or shaped bricks and explore what happens when these are mixed, e.g. small bricks at the bottom of the tower, pyramids in the middle.

2. Sort and match the bricks into size, shape or colour.

Group size

1-3

Links to Foundation Stage Curriculum

SS	Willingly attempt to count, with some numbers in the co...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• How to use this book
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Discussion resources
• Activities
• Photocopiable sheets
• Links with theory
• Useful resource suppliers and websites