Building from a different perspective

We have had the foam blocks a while now and every time I get them out the children enjoy playing with them - but just something wasn't 'quite right'?  I decided to put the blocks in one of our sensory trays on the table instead of tipped out loose on the floor.  It made a HUGE difference to the way the children played.  The blocks were all contained in one place, which concentrated the children's focus on building with them rather than throwing and kicking them about the room. The children chatted amongst themselves as they built, and they shared ideas as to what to build - towers, camels(!), rockets and of course - a fire engine!

Gears

Another one of my new resources bought for the older children - Gears!  I had to show the children what to do with the Gears, but they soon got the hang of it, although attaching the cogs was a little tricky for J, and M just enjoyed the tactile element of the cogs.  We looked at the wonderful colours and discussed how everything linked together, thus in turn making each cog turn around.

Geoboards

I have invested in a few resources for the older children, one of which being geoboards.  I got the geoboards and elastic bands out one rainy afternoon - the children were enthralled - even J who was too young to attach the bands to the boards enjoyed playing with the bands.

I allowed the children to explore the boards without any prompting from me as they were a new resource - in future we will discuss the shapes we make and the patterns we create.