Tackling maths planning.

Well, as is becoming typical of me, after looking at several options for a maths curriculum, none seemed to fit my daughter better than the Montessori method that I am training in, but I took a look at what the National Curriculum expects of children in Year One. It made interesting reading because I had two versions to compare; the original curriculum from 1998 and the revised edition from 2008.  To my surprise, two thirds of what used to be expected of Year 2(6-7) children has been added to the Year 1(5-6yrs) syllabus!  It makes for a very long list and here it is..... my intention is to link back to this list as the year goes by so that in the future this post will contain links to 'how to' posts and resources lists for you to use.  I will be using my Montessori files, making my own resources and hopefully making use of some offerings from the Internet too, although we don't do a lot of paper based learning at the present time!

Be familiar with numbers 11-20
Extend to counting to 100 and beyond
Read an write numbers 1-20 then 100+
Position numbers 0-20 in sequence
Order one and two-digit numbers on a number line and square.
recognise place value (0 as the place holder)

Recognise sequences of odd and even numbers to 30+
Know patterns of multiples 2, 5 and 10.
Number patterns (+ and -), predicting the next number.

Doubling and halving numbers as an inverse relationship
Know number bonds to ten
know two and ten times table.
Know doubles of numbers to ten
Know halves of even numbers to twenty

Addition and Subtraction
+ done in any order
- can mean 'take away' or 'the difference between'
- the inverse of +
use = sign

Record calculations in number sentences
Solve 'missing number' problems
Understand x as repeated +
Mental methods for working out ten plus a single digit
+/- multiples of ten within two digit numbers
Choose a calculation method to solve whole number problems (money, measures etc)

Use lists/tables/charts to sort and classify information
Discuss it and explain results.

Describe mathematical features of 2D and 3D shapes (triangles/rectangles/circles/cubes/cuboids/hexagons/pentagons/cylinders/pyramids/cones/spheres)
Create 2D and 3D shapes

Reflective symmetry in 2D shapes and patterns
Recognise translations and rotations.
Recognise right angles
Understand angle as a measure of turn using whole turns, half turns and quarter turns.

Observe, visualise and describe positions, directions and movements using common words.

Estimate size of objects and order them by comparison.
Put events in chronological order
Compare and measure objects using standard and non-standard units of measurement.
Compare durations of events using standard measurements of time.
Estimate, measure and weigh objects.

'Sense'ational Woodland!

I deliberately didn't take my camera with me today when I took my girls to the woods, as I sometimes get a little too taken up with getting nice shots and lose the essence of what we are enjoying!  We went to Dudmaston Dingle near Bridgnorth, it is an absolute treasure of a woodland valley and we were totally absorbed for a happy two hours! 

Later on I reflected on what we had done and realised that all five senses had a good workout whilst we were there:

• Sound - we listened to the birds, heard a mouse scurry away, heard the steam trains.  We also tapped logs with sticks (OK we whacked them!) to listen to the sound to see whether the wood was healthy or rotten and used pine cones as instruments to rake down the edges of cut logs and across bark. We threw pebbles into the water and listened to the splashes.
• Sight - we collected different specimens of lichen on fallen twigs, we identified some trees by their leaves and bark and learned some new ones, observing the shape of the leaves. We dug through rotting wood to find bugs and looked at the shapes, sizes and colours of fungi. We watched the patterns of the sun dancing through the canopy of trees and twinkling off the lake.
• Touch - we felt healthy wood, crumbled rotting wood, touched leaves, insects, berries, water, rocks, grasses, we felt the wind through our hair and the sun warm on our faces
• Smell - we collected pine cones full of delicious smelling sap to take home.
• Taste - we picked and ate juicy blackberries!!

All this and more.... we observed wood in various stages of the rotting process, we looked at how a once tiny sapling had grown into a mature tree and split a rock apart as it grew, we peered down a freshly dug badger set and looked at the footprints left outside, and the girls ran and balanced and jumped and climbed and pushed and pulled and sang and laughed and.... didn't fall of the stepping stones over the stream!!!

Late Summer Goodness!

At the end of a long week of an almost (but not quite) comical number of breakdowns, difficulties and illnesses, I have found tranquility in picking and eating the bountiful plums in our garden.....

making butternut squash soup for lunch......

And adding plums to my favourite tray bake recipe (delicious).  We followed it up with a long walk down the canal with Poppy (our dog) and then I indulged in a steaming bath with candles, hair treatment and face mask and reflected on all the good things in our life (they far outweigh the breakdowns, difficulties and illnesses!!).  Not least the generosity and love shown by our family and friends in helping us out during the tough times!

Friday's Favourite's!

This is my favourite photograph this week..... Mum and I returned from a short trip out to find my Dad and his Grand daughters engaged in a thoroughly modern role-play of Little Red Riding Hood, including 'camel and coriander soup with humps in (rather than lumps!!!!)

I've found some really inspiring activities from amongst my blog roll this week:

• Exploring the effects of erosion from sience@home.
• Language games using duplo bricks from filth wizardry.
• Jo and ebi-kun making moon craters.

They are all on a theme as my mind is on planning for the new 'school year at home' that begins here on the 6th September.  I'm excited to get back into it.... I've got that 'New Year' feeling, and a goal now that I've joined in with Mama Jenn's mission of the month!!

September's Mission of the Month!

 I am joining in with Mama Jenn's idea of setting a mission to be accomplished by the end of the month...... hmmmmm...... but what to choose from my mahoosive to-do list??!! There's de-cluttering, re-organising, re-decorating, I already know what October's mission will be, but what for September?  Alright.... I know..... for the first time I am putting together curriculum ideas for my daughter.  I would love to share them but I also have a tendency to be perfectionist and therefore get nothing done, so my mission of the month for September will be to..... Organise my curriculum plans and post them on here, along with a rolling plan for how to make and gather the materials that I need.  I already made a start with my blue series word lists but need to complete that, finalise my maths planning and Fix my ideas for her cultural curriculum. There we go..... mission set (here's hoping that I can use the mission accomplished tag at the end of September!!!

Woodland Fairies....

We went to a local farm that is open to look around a few animals and took a pathway out of the back and found this wonderful woodland glade..... with an enormous Beech tree at it's centre.

Somehow the game evolved into woodland fairies and we had Rose hip fairy, Acorn fairy, Blackberry fairy, Conker fairy etc.  The children had woodland fairy tasks to complete such as collecting 3 beech nuts, four red leaves (a few have begun to turn), two pebbles, five twigs and so on.  I was the woodland queen granting wishes for unicorns, fairy wands and dragons amongst other more mundane requests (much to the amusement of dog walkers passing by!!!!) 

As usual we took our lunch with us and after a picnic in a big hollow bush (where else??!!) we made fairy house from twigs and leaves....

These are the roots of the beautiful big Beech tree.... all the hollows contained a magical pool of water......

Back at home we read poems from Flower Fairies of the Autumn: With The Nuts And Berries They Bring

by Cicely Mary Barker.

Please Take Your Seats....

Last week one of the older children introduced Eve to the idea of putting on a show.... between us we conjured up a little theatre made from the hollow wooden blocks, and then they were off..... after a bit of practice Eve felt confident enough to strike out on her own..... this was the show she put on for her Grandparents on Saturday!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, please take your seats, the show is about to begin!"

We all took our seats and waited for the curtain to go up!

There followed a wonderful story about all the characters (lots of them) and a robber that crept in in the night..... cue some hysterically funny pantomime lines like

"Where is that robber?"

"He's behind you"

"Oh, no he isn't"

Oh, yes he is!"

We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves..... I suggested an interval after a while and provided ice creams.  Eve was so entrenched in the world of make believe by then that she didn't realise that I was actually offering REAL ice creams!!

When she announced that there were five parts to the show in total I muttered something to my dad about the length and it was compared to Macbeth.... my Dad said "Act 1, Scene 2" and Faith replied "That makes three"..... cue more laughter..... it was laughter that was good for the soul!

I'm really delighted that Eve is exploring dramatic play in this way..... It's not an area that I'm entirely comfortable with.... I never was at school and I'm definitely not now, so it's great to see her emjoying it so much and it has emboldened me to try some more dramatic play idea, especially as all of my childminding 'holiday family' seem to be into shows too!!

The book Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years by Bernadette Duffy has some fantastic and interesting ideas for dramatic play, not the cheapest book but well worth it as it is one to dip into again and again!

An Underwater Adventure!

We went to the beach a couple of weeks ago and I followed it up with some split-pin sea creatures.

The girls spent a long time painting the creatures then got their hands on my laminator....

The next job was to cut them out..... I was pretty impressed with Faith's scissor skills!

After the cutting out came the assembly with split pins through carefully punched holes (I used a fine tipped knife on a piece of carpet)

And then it was time to play!! We used some blue and yellow net and fabric that we bought the other day at Birmingham's rag market, and it re-vamped the sofa into a watery world for the crab, octopus, clown fish, whale, sea turtle and dolphin that we made!

Autumn Planning!

OK now I can here some of you saying wooooaaahh..... summmer isn't over yet!! But I LOVE Autumn and after planning on a monthly basis last year and finding that I had too many different things scheduled in and the children would rather stick with seasonal delights, that is what I am doing!  For me Autumn begins in September and will run through to the end of November probably!!  These activities and ideas represent some tried and tested favourites, some things I found too late to do last year, and some ideas from a friend who shared her planning with me (thanks Hayley!!)

Songs and Poems - I have copied some of these Autumnal poems and songs onto big shapes of leaves, apples and pumpkins and laminated them before cutting them out, hole-punching and threading them with ribbon. They will hang on the book shelf.

Trips out always have an important place in our weekly plans, as I find that the children thrive on being outdoors and experiencing things first hand.  I love to take along an activity to do 'in situ'.  On the list for this Autumn are:

Attingham Park - fabulous woodland perfect for collecting Autumn leaves.... they have HUGE ones all the colours that Autumn leaves should be, as well as copious amounts of beech nut cases, acorns and conkers!! An activity that I will do again there this Autumn is fabric printing with found items - take squares of felt and two colours of paint and some brushes, then use collected objects to print with on the felt - they looked lovely and we collected a few more children too!  I will also try Autumn weaving there too this year, as well as another tried and tested favourite - woolly pinecones - for these I buy fluffly autumn coloured wool and the children wrap lengths around collected pinecones of different sizes - they looked great in a dish as a table centrepiece!!.  Looks like lots of visits to Attingham then!!

Essington Fruit Farm - to explore their gigantic pumpkin patch!!  I will buy them from somewhere cheaper though and we will make pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup.  Last year we had a fabulous collection or ornamental gourds from Lidl i think, and they became involved in lots of small world play!! I will mix some colours of paint to match the colours in the gourds and put them out together for the children to paint representation of them.  I don't usually direct the children's artwork but I tried this in Spring with hyacinth bulbs and mixed paints and the results were beautiful as well as providing a different approach to normal for them.  Scooping the pumpkin seeds out is always a popular and absorbing activity too, before drying them and gluing them down again!!

Apple Picking - I've picked out Clives Fruit Farm because they do apple pressing on site and I'm hoping that I can arrange for the children to watch it and chuck apples in! As well as picking the apples we will make crumble and pie and chutney and make apple prints with them!

Autumn Leaves - painting them with modge podge after pressing to preserve the colours and feel of the leaves, printing with them, drawing on them, making woodland crowns out of them, matching them to leaf shapes in the leaf cabinet, ordering them by size, identifying them.

Artistic Options - Corncob printing, woodland animals made from clay, rolling acorn paintings and making autumn paints from spices.

Books to Enjoy - Nuts to You by Lois Ehlert, Why do leaves change colour? by Betsy Maestro, Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper, Autumn by Gerda Muller, Autumn: an Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur

Friday's Favourite's!

I have always wanted but never had the colour tablets set three.  It doesn't seem to have bothered Faith much though.... this is what she did with all the pens from my pencil case (highly coveted items as she isn't normally allowed to use them!).  It set me wondering whether a nice alternative would be grading the pencils from a big tin of graded colouring pencils?

It has been another busy week with the childminding.... we spent the day at Cosford Air Museum on Wednesday, courtesy of my two friends Emma and Nat helling me get there! The children had a brilliant time and I highly recommend it.  In between times there was some fabulous puppet theatre action using the hollow wooden blocks and small world figures that the children made up.  They were doing pantomime voices and I was rolling around laughing it was so funny!

Thursday and Friday are for me and my girls this week and we went to the fabric market in Birmingham on Thursday to choose some fabrics for a sewing project or two (shhhh it's a secret.... don't tell Uncle John and Auntie Lori!!).  We picked up some net and silky pieces in bright colours too for some crafty fun this Autumn!!

Some picks from around the web this week:

• At the shops 20p bingo from twinkl.
• Going to the music shop to see and try out lots of different instruments.... great idea!
• Loving the idea of sound bins from Discovering Montessori!
• These beautiful branch sunshines made by Tonya's children lit up my week... what a lovely idea!
• A magnetic rainbow by i make stuff

The Blue Series Box 5, Picture cards and reading Lists

Box five is the 'mystery box'.  It contains folds of paper with a word written on them that the child is encourage to try and read to themselves.  My MCI tutor said that these should be exciting words that make the child laugh like 'stink' or themes of words such as animals or plants.  By this stage there will be a huge variety of words that you can use as the child will have experienced all of boxes one to four already.  The other option is to have blank pieces of paper and to write a word on to it as you sit with the child.  When I did this with Eve during the pink series, I was surprised by her taking over and writing words for me to decipher!

Picture cards are an A4 sheet with... yes you guessed it.... pictures on them!!!! On the back is fixed an envelope with the words inside it and the child matches them to the correct picture after reading them.  Some new ideas to introduce here could be compound words and the 'schwa vowel'.

Compound words - these are a combination of two words to make one.  Both parts of the word should be phonetically decodable and contain blends that the child can recognise.
windmill
handbag
lipstick
zigzag
cobweb
dustbin
nutmeg
milkman
pumpkin
wigwam
rabbit
lollipop

Schwa vowel  - these are vowels that because of the peculiarities of the English language, all sound like 'u' regardless of what they actually are.  There is no hard and fast grammatical rule for the child to learn, s/he just needs experience in recognising them!
lemon
pedal
signal
petal
camel
metal
sandal
medal
infant
button
panda

reading lists - These can be made up of ten words each. They usually have a picture at the top with the first word on the list corresponding to that picture, but they can just be lists of words.  They can be used to reinforce patterns at first, for example words all beginning with 'cl' or all ending in 'st'.  As the child becomes more experienced, the words can be jumbled up more.  Take words from all of the lists for boxes one to five to make up the reading lists (the ones in blue won't have been used before as there isn't a picture to go with them).

Blue Series Box 4

OK, this is where the blue series seems to explode as my folders reccommend that blue box four contains triple blends, double consonants and consonant digraphs.  In a nursery you could have any number of 'box fours' on the shelf but at home that isn't practical so I am mulling over solutions to this to have on my daughter's literacy shelf! Box four has pictures and words to read and match to them, taking the child a further step towards the abstract.

From the top then, I will tackle consonant digraphs first, followed by double consonants and rounded up with triple blends!

nk 
bank blank blink
clank
dank dunk drank drink
flank
lank
plank plink plonk plunk (love these words!!!!
sink sank skunk
tank trunk
wink

ng
bang
cling
dung
fang
gang gong
hang
king
long lung
pong prong
rang rung
sang song swing
twang

ch
chop chug chum chimp chink chip (these can be introduced first)
check chick chuff chill(added once child has been introduced to 'ck', 'ff' 'll')

sh
dish ash ship shop fish shin shaft shank shed shelf shift brush
shell (added once child introduced to 'll')


th
think thumb thing froth them this that moth thin thank
thick (added once introduced to 'ck')

Double consonants
ck - lock sock frock sack brick truck kick pack duck block rock track flock flick pluck stuck trick
ll - bell bull dell doll dill dull mill sill till well will yell drill frill grill krill smell swell skull spell
ss - bass mass moss pass brass bless bliss cress grass floss dress kiss
ff - cliff sniff stiff bluff cuff buff fluff muff off puff scuff sniff scoff stuff stiff
zz - buzz frizz fizz jazz fuzz

Triple Blends
spr - spring sprig sprint
tch - itch ditch hatch match latch stitch switch catch pitch notch batch
str - strap strip string stretch
spl - splash splosh splat split
scr - scrub scratch scrap

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam

This came about because I mentioned to the Grandfather of one of the toddlers that I care for that I could make ginger and rhubarb jam.  The following week he sent an oh so subtle hint of an empty rhubarb and ginger jam jar!!  So today we cut the rhubarb, which provided dramatic amusement for a while......

Then we de-stringed and chopped the rhubarb..... I know that this looks like a huge knife for such little hands but I actually find that the children are more careful with a bigger knife..... supervised of course!

Then we weighed the fruit and measured out the same amount of granulated sugar.  I now make jam in the microwave courtesy of my mother-in-law's recipe (thanks Mam!) so I cooked just the rhubarb for ten minutes and then drained the excess water off.  Adding the sugar and the ginger I stirred it well and returned it to the microwave for as long as it took to become jam-like, stirring every five minutes.  I'm afraid I can't provide a more exact time as I was attending to the needs and wishes of six children at the same time!! During the cooking I filled the clean jars with boiling water up to the necks and rested the lids on before emptying them just before pouring jam into them.  By doing this the jars are sterilised and as the jam and the jars cool, the 'buttons' on the lids are sucked down, creating a good seal on the lids.

One jar was duly dispatched to little one's Grandfather this evening!!

Blue Series Box 3 - Initial and Final Blends

7To my knowledge, the idea of a 'pink, blue and green series' came about in America.  Maria Montessori developed the Movable alphabet and the sandpaper letters.  Some Montessorians use a different scheme of materials to support children to read and write, and there are many many programmes of phonetic learning available the world over.  What is important is that you choose a method and stick to it as they all introduce the different concepts in a slightly different order.  I looked very closely at the 'letters and sounds' programme advocated by the Department for Education here in the UK, but whilst the pre-literacy section is really great, the rest appeared very complicated and I decided that the pink, blue and green series, together with the grammar materials was suitable so here I am!

Box three has objects and words in..... it is the first time that the child will read the words rather than build them her/himself. I have highlighted those that could be represented with an object or picture.  To be honest there will be pictures in this box as I don't think that I can represent enough with objects!  You can of course include any of the words from the box one and two lists in here to mix things up! Words with double blends are:
bland blend blimp blunt
clamp crisp
draft drift
flint frisk frond frost
glint glitz grand
plant plump print
scant swift slump spend stamp stump
twang twist

Harvesting Poppy Seeds

Eve and Faith noticed that the poppy heads had changed and that there were little holes at the top of the bulb.  They were delighted to find that if they rattled them and listened hard then they could hear the soft sound of the seeds inside.  They spent a long time gathering the seeds.  I suspect a bit of sowing went on as well but we'll have to wait for next year to find out!!  They carefully put them in an envelope for storage. It made me wonder about a seed swap with others in the UK in a month or so when a few more plants have gone to seed!

Blue Series Box 2 - Final Blends

Here is the list of the final blend words that I will rotate through blue box two.  As before, the ones highlighted in orange will be in the box, and the ones in blue can be used in word lists, sentence strips and books. I rotate according to my daughter, usually leaving in one or two familiar ones as I put in some new ones.  I have six objects or pictures in each box. Box two traditionally has just pictures in.  As the child builds the words with the movable alphabet (MA) s/he can see a pattern emerge (you may need to point it out!).  Box one will have the pattern of two pink letters, one blue, one pink. Box two will have the pattern of one pink letter, one blue letter then two pink.  For example crab will be crab and nest will be nest. This helps the child to build up a mental image of the word patterns and build confidence.  The end-goal of all phonetic programmes is for the child to sight read and instinctively 'know' what the word is, as most adults do.  By gradually building difficulty the child builds a structure of written language from which they will eventually read fluently.

band belt bent bend best bump bust
camp cask cast cusp colt cost
daft damp dent dust
fact fast film fist fond
gasp golf gulf gust
hand hasp hemp hilt hint hump hunt husk
jump jest jolt just
kelp
lamp land left lift limp long lost lump
mask mast melt meld mend milk mint minx mist
nest next
pant past pink pond
raft ramp rest rust rump
sand sift silk soft
test tilt tuft tusk
vast vest vent volt
weft west wept wind wilt wisp
zest zinc

Blue series Box 1 - Initial Blends

You may be wondering why I have decided to make the blue series myself as there are quite a few versions available either free or to purchase.  The reasons are twofold; firstly because nearly every one that I've looked at has non-phonetic words in such as st-ar-t, with the sound 'ar' which the children won't be familiar with yet, and secondly because words hold different meanings for different people, and many American versions available contain unsuitable words.

Traditionally 'box one' of the literacy series contains only objects for the child to handle and then word build with the movable alphabet (MA) but it isn't always possible to have a miniature for everything so I will include a mix where needed.  In the following list I have highlighted words in orange that I can find an object or picture for.  The other words I will include on word lists and in reading books later on.

blob brim
clan clam clap clip clog club crib crab crag crux clef
drab drag drop drip drum
flag flex flip flop flan flap flat flax frog 
Glen glum grip grid Gran grab grin grim grit grub
plop plug plum plus pram
scab skid skin skip slab slam slap sled slip smog snap snip step swig stag swim stop slug spin
trot trip trap twig twin trim tram

I will order some miniatures from Montessori Enterprises, whom I have ordered from in the past and are an excellent and reliable company.

Blue Series - Montessori Literacy

I should start by briefly rounding up the pink series for those readers unfamiliar with Montessori.  The pink series is the first step in reading and writing for a child following the literacy curriculum. After the child is familiar with the sandpaper letters and knows perhaps 15-18 letters of the alphabet then s/he can begin working with the movable alphabet (MA) and the pink boxes.  The boxes step up gently to gradually introduce the child to using the MA to build words then to read them, first using visual clues and then just reading letters.  After that come reading lists, phrases, sentences and then books.  Throughout the pink series, all of the words have the same pattern of consonant-vowel-consonant or CVC, such as c-a-t, d-o-g, t-a-p, and so on.  They are all phonetically decodable, meaning that all of the letters used retain their phonetic sound that the child recognises. Once the child has progressed as far as reading phrases and sentences you can consider introducing the blue series.

The blue series is still phonetically decodable but introduces new concepts.  These are:

• Double blends whether initial such as crab cr-a-b or final blends such as ramp r-a-mp.
• Triple blends such as sprig spr-i-g
• Double consonants such as ll, ss.
• Consonant digraphs (ng, ch, sh, th, nk) - these are different to double blends because the sounds of the consonants change when in a digraph.
• Consonant trigraphs such as 'tch'
• Schwa vowel - these are where the vowel sound changes on the end of a word - examples are lemon (pronounced lem-un), infant (pronounced inf-un-t), camel (pronounced cam-ul).

I am training with MCI London and am organising my blue series according to their suggestion:

• Box one - initial double blends.
• Box two - Final blends.
• Box three - assortment of initial blends, final blends and both together (e.g. st-a-mp).
• Box four - introduce triple blends, double consonants and consonant digraphs.
• Box five - themes and exciting words to read like 'stink'!!
• picture cards - reinforce particular blends such as all 'ng' words, reinforce 'schwa' vowel, introduce compound words like 'wigwam' and 'dustbin'.
• Blue lists - reinforce particular blends but bring compound words and schwa vowels in amongst other concepts already introduced.

During the blue series, you should continue to introduce sight words from the 100 most frequent words used in the English language.  I downloaded mine from twinkl, I use cursive with my girls, they have sassoon versions too.  MCI also suggests that you make and use a spelling book with the children where they can  write words that they wish to remember.  My daughter isn't yet at the writing stage in that way so I will hang fire on that one as I want her to discover it for herself when she is ready.

Later will post lists of the words that are suitable to use for each section and describe how I am organising the materials on a practical level.

Friday's Favourites!

Well things have been very busy round here this week...... school holidays in full swing and that means extra children to join the fun..... and a whole lot extra planning for me!! We took a coach trip to Rhyl on Monday and spent the day enjoying the sea and the sand, and a fabulous little water park that we discovered by happy accident!  It took military planning and was a long day for the children and they were good as gold but it has given me a new respect for mothers of six or more children!!  Tuesday we had a relaxing day at home with pretty much constant role-play going on, followed by a day at our favourite town park on Wednesday.  The children I care for are so lovely but I am sooooo glad that I only work three days a week then get my girls back to myself on Thursday!!

Last week we had a week off as a family and did dome great day trips out, but I didn't think you would want to be bored by endless snaps of days out!!

I am starting to work on putting together the blue series of the Montessori literacy materials.  When working through the pink series I made them up as Eve needed them but the blue series covers more and I want to be ready and have the whole lot made to hand and done and dusted.  I will post things as I do them!

I haven't been keeping up with the blogs this week so have lots to read and choose from tonight:

• Turning pine cones into berries to add to a nature table.
• Play silks in place of loads of different play scenes.
• Initial sounds game - translate this from Croatian and it still doesn't read true but the idea of having cards where the initial sound can only match the correct object is really great.... I have number puzzles like this and they allow the child to work independently as they can self-correct.