PDA

View Full Version : your thoughts please!!



miss muffit
06-06-2008, 10:19 PM
Hi all
I went on EYFS course the other Saturday,

And the lecturer very kindly bought her EYFS portfolio for us to see,

Here are some of the things she let the mindees play with,

Old real irons and kettles

Screwdrivers, screws and wood

Bricks cementing them together with cement

Would love to know what you think?

Chimps Childminding
06-06-2008, 10:21 PM
I think I will definately need a bigger house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :laughing:

Cazz
06-06-2008, 10:28 PM
Hi all
I went on EYFS course the other Saturday,

And the lecturer very kindly bought her EYFS portfolio for us to see,

Here are some of the things she let the mindees play with,

Old real irons and kettles

Screwdrivers, screws and wood

Bricks cementing them together with cement

Would love to know what you think?

Really?! Screwdrivers and screws? Bricks? Can't give too much opinion as I haven't got any knowledge of EYFS yet but as a parent and childminder-to-be (hopefully!) they sound really scary things to give a child!

Did your lecturer have grey hair by any chance?!

Carole x

charleyfarley
06-06-2008, 10:40 PM
Yep we were told to give them proper hammers and tools on our course too, not sure about saws though :laughing:

Sorry but if my hubby isn't allowed a proper hammer then nor are mindees:laughing: :laughing: whatever the EYFS says..

Carol xx

Cazz
06-06-2008, 10:47 PM
By giving them these sort of things to play with, is it a way of practising your first aid?

I have to say I'm quite confused now though - we did health & safety on the ICP course this week and I came home with a list of things to check/do as requirements to ensure mindees safety and then they are saying let them play with things like that?!

I look forward to getting the lowdown on EYFS!

Carole x

angeldelight
06-06-2008, 11:21 PM
They were told to do this at my daughters nursery

Knowledge and understanding of the world - relating to childrens every day lives and their families and people around them
Through different types of play and learning opportunities and practical activities children will be provided with meaningful experiences.
These will stimulate their senses , encourage them to ask questions , to explore and wonder at their environment
So let a child explore old electrical items around the house because you are stimulating them !



What a load of rubbish really - we spend all our time trying to keep our children safe - we encourage them to stay away from dangerous items around the house
Yet now we are being encouraged to let them play with them and let them explore old items

It does not make sense

Where do you draw the line ?

Maybe your car next hey ??

Angel xx

JazzyL
06-06-2008, 11:40 PM
I don't see the harm as long as they do it right - i could do with a new shed and some ornamental walling in the garden would look nice ;)

angeldelight
06-06-2008, 11:42 PM
Hahaha :laughing: :laughing:

littletreasures
07-06-2008, 04:16 AM
Why do they have to confuse us even more?

Not sure my mindee's parents would be happy with me letting them play with these.

littletreasures

crazybones
07-06-2008, 06:22 AM
I am not sure about supervising 3 under 5's doing that. :panic: Although I must say when hubby is doing something William is really interested in the tools and screws. Hubby hasnt got the patience though to show him what he is doing so I have to step in and supervise.:rolleyes:

ajs
07-06-2008, 06:50 AM
at my daughter's nursery 10 years ago and in county durham
they had a work bench with miniture real tools, saw, hammer, the whole works and they never never never had an incident with them

the kids used to love banging nails into wood and taking it home to show mum

we wrap the kids in cotton woll now they will never learn to use equipement like this as they never have access to it anymore

god forbid they should hurt themselves

crazybones
07-06-2008, 07:03 AM
I have just thought, I have one of those pink ladies tool sets - you know the type with nothing too difficult in it so us ladies cant cause any damage:rolleyes: , but it is quite lightweight and I think it might be suitable for little ones if I took a few bits out. Obviously with maximum supervision in case they try hitting each other with the hammer or something.

ajs
07-06-2008, 07:05 AM
oooh i have seen those in home bargains ( yay i love that shop) maybe i'll get one too and just keep it in a box with some bits of wood
although this isn't a requirement is it just an actvity idea

crazybones
07-06-2008, 07:09 AM
Thats where mine was from. It is quite useful though for when you need to replace batteries in toys or fix the stair gate so I dont have to trek to the shed to get the real tools out.

wendywu
07-06-2008, 07:13 AM
Im sorry but what a lot of old tosh :panic: I have never known any nursery i have picked up from let them do this. :panic:

crazybones
07-06-2008, 07:19 AM
I think I might throw a BBQ for all the childminders I might get my decking outside then if I give them the equipment to play with and a few outside lights wired up. :D

ajs
07-06-2008, 07:29 AM
Im sorry but what a lot of old tosh :panic: I have never known any nursery i have picked up from let them do this. :panic:

you've edited that since i last read that wendywu

sorry but charlotte's nursery did and the inspection team thought it was fantastic
i even helped in nursery during their inspection so heard the comments made

Jinx
07-06-2008, 07:38 AM
I remember taking my daughter to a 'play to learn' session at the primary school that she was due to start at in a few months. She had just had her 4th birthday.

They had laid out lots of activities, but by far the kids favorite was some big bits of wood, nails, hammers and saws!!:eek:

We all, (the mums), tutted and muttered about how dangerous it was, but noone got hurt and the kids loved it!!!!

Saying that, each child was supervised, one on one, by their mothers!!
I, for one, will not be getting the tool bag out for the mindees!!!!:rolleyes:

Jinx x

miffy
07-06-2008, 07:38 AM
I've been on a workshop where the company have done wood-carving with young children all using real tools

They said that properly supervised there was no reason why young children shouldn't use tools.

miffy xx

Tatia
07-06-2008, 08:10 AM
This sounds very much like the Reggio Emillio approach to learning. I'm not an expert but it's very much about allowing children to work on projects with real equipment. I believe it is almost exclusively child-led with the assumption that all children are competent learners and are capable of far more than we give them credit for. I'll have to dig out my book or (better yet!) Google it to refresh my memory.:)

angeldelight
07-06-2008, 08:38 AM
I think its a great idea letting kids use and make things with wood and nuts and bolts when they are supervised

Just dont think we really have the time to do that with different mixed ages it becomes more difficult

I just dont want to get out my old radio and iron etc for the kids to take apart ..... imagine that all over the place with little ones around

We managed when we were tiny with out taking apart irons and what not .... so wonder sometimes where these ideas come from

Angel xx

miss muffit
07-06-2008, 05:14 PM
Sorry i just remembered i put this thread on :blush:

very interesting comments

load of tosh springs to mind

one of the childminders on the course expressed his (male) disapproval saying screwdriver :eek: i don’t think that’s a suitable toy for a child...they won’t be using them in my house, another said (female) im not sure a parent would be happy me letting her little one play with an iron... just think what would happen if mum left her iron on the side after just using it, well i think the lecturer thought we would all be impressed with her form of childminding, with us saying wow! what a good idea! instead she got disapproving looks... so she changed the subject pretty quick :laughing:

all the proof was there in her portfolio

katickles
07-06-2008, 05:22 PM
I think thats crazy personally. An accident waiting to happen.

Like you say - playing with an iron at the miders house & then thinking they can play with them at home:eek:

I can understand the reasoning - but that it wouldn't really take much for an accident playing with those things. Saying that they are not toys & shouldn't be played with IYSWIM?

:)

wendywu
07-06-2008, 05:27 PM
I think i will do a risk assessment on giving 4 children under 5 real saws and screw drivers and chisles, with the ratio of one carer to over see the project.

I know the out come, it will be me who has to explain to a parent why their child has had to go to hospital and have a nail removed from their hand or have stitches to a six inch gash caused by a saw. I would not be willing to take the risk. :panic:

kindredspirits
07-06-2008, 05:56 PM
only today i had to b*****k my hubby for letting our LO play with a screwdriver . i know kids need to learn but theres a time and a place for dangerous stuff - and thats when they understand risk at a proper age, imo.

Chimps Childminding
07-06-2008, 06:11 PM
Think I for one will carry on with the pretend ones, at least until we are told WE HAVE TO let them have real tools etc. Not sure my hubby would approve of dents being hammered in the walls or a screw driver embedded in the table! :laughing:

breezy
07-06-2008, 06:12 PM
I think I will definately need a bigger house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :laughing:

It's ok, the kids will be able to build you an extension :laughing:

Pipsqueak
07-06-2008, 06:38 PM
play with cement??? real cement - never mind anything else cement is bloomin dangerous.

My own kids use dads screwdrivers, nails, hammers etc but that is my own kids. No way on this earth would I let a mindee do it without a signed disclaimer from the parents, ok from insurances and one to one supervision for each child.:panic: :panic:

As for playing with an old iron, mmmh I play with one at the minders house think I'll play with mums! yeah right.

miss muffit
07-06-2008, 07:00 PM
My thought exactly!!

my own boys used to help their Dad make and mend things,
they never played with them on their own

flora
07-06-2008, 07:39 PM
Dh being the practical bloke that he is has a workshop full of wonderfull and dangerous tools.

Harry has been going out with him and "working" since he was 18 months.

Here there was one on one supervision. I like to live dangerously but I cannot imagine doing this with all 6 of mine after school :laughing: . I may do it with the older two, well possibley with all of them just 2 at a time. You could get small hammers and nails, thin wood etc etc so not much force required.

Ds first nursery had hammers and saws it was the only thing they could get harry to do and was a way to get to know him as he hated it with a passion when he first started.

As for cement, too alkaline would play havoc with young skin. Chisels mega no no as they have to be vvvvv sharp to be any good and a blunt one is even more dangerous.

Old items, well that would depend on whether they would try and play with the real thing when they were at home.

As usual, good idea, prob put across wrong????

wendywu
08-06-2008, 09:23 AM
Just not worth the risk of having an upset parent and a serious accident on my record.:panic:

Mollymop
08-06-2008, 12:27 PM
This is the most ridicilous (i can't spell that word) thing of I have ever heard!
Let them play with old but real irons - so that will teach them to...... touch their mummy's iron while she is doing the laundry! great idea!!!! :mad:

jo f
08-06-2008, 04:08 PM
When I was doing my GCSE's ( 15 years ago) I did a placement at a fantastic nursery. They had a child size work bench with little saws hammers etc. The kids loved it! But its not something I would do at home!

Twinkles
08-06-2008, 06:16 PM
I think it's a fantastic idea ! While we're at it we should take them to the zoo and let them play with REAL lions too :rolleyes:

jumpinjen
08-06-2008, 06:23 PM
I've been reading lots of old copies of early years educator that i was given, and the themes and topics in there seem to use the real-life hands on approach regularly, but usually as part of a specific plan e.g a project on buildings, put out sand, 'bricks' made from chuncks of wood, gravel etc, and let them role-play with it.

My daughter is a dab hand with a (small) hammer and some nails and plank of wood and she loves to 'fix' things like daddy!

Jenni x

kellsbells
08-06-2008, 06:46 PM
So tell me something, we should put safety corners on a coffee table to ensure safety....etc but give them some hammers and screws to play with.......... :rolleyes:

miniature ones/play ones ....are ok if supervised... but real ones!

It's worrying that these people are actually allowed to continue with all this rubbish!

x

nannan
08-06-2008, 06:57 PM
In an ideal world the children would realise that they are tools and equipment that is old and broken and of course they wouldnt dream of touching the iron that we or mummy would use to iron the clothes with, but as we dont live in an ideal world my old iron is staying in the bin,