Outdoors and EYFS
A few simple ideas that you do most times you are outdoors
Use these below to observe the child and write in their journal every time they do a new thing that links to any of the areas of the EYFS
Easy !!
COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Use movement vocabulary and talk to the children when they are engaged in movement
Eg going in tunnels or climbing on climbing frames etc
Use Language to imagine and recreate roles and experiences - names like bikes / prams - let the bikes become police bikes etc
Use empty boxes and blankets for role play and other props like dressing up clothes
Use toys in the sand or water eg cars , dinosaurs etc
Go for a walk and look at road signs and street signs
Shop names etc
Look at bus stops , the garage etc enhance role play when you get home
Go to the supermarket and talk about the trolleys etc and why we use them
Have a corner in the garden that can be the story corner - even in the winter - tell stories and act them out let them respond to the stories
Going on a bear hunt is my children's favourite
Also the three little pigs the children pretend they live in a house great exercise too when running around
Do some writing on a blackboard or on the ground with chalk.
PROBLEM SOLVING , REASONING AND NUMERACY
Chalk some shapes on the floor for the children to identify and jump in
Can they draw a circle or square ?
Look at the shapes of the toys - the slide , buildings etc
Teach them to count balls, bean bags, cars, bikes etc
Use bean bags for stepping stones
Make shapes with chalk on the floor and count them - play hopscotch
Sort out balls and bean bags and count them when you tidy up
Play with the sand compare quantities , use different containers to measure out the sand / water if you have any
Put sand in toy trailers and see if they go slower with a weight in them
Use toy cars in the sand ask if they move very fast now compared to on the floor - ask why they are slower etc
Use a container outdoors and fill it with water
Do not fill it with a hose let the children do it with old cups and bottles etc see how many cups you need to fill the container etc
Measure distances and time - get the children to see how fast they can ride their bike so many times around the garden
Get the children to join in with counting
Encourage children to ride faster / slower on their bikes etc
We play Caterpillar hopscotch
Use chalk to draw circles of different shapes until you have the length of the Caterpillar you want. Make a face and antenna on the first circle and draw legs on the other circles
Let the children help
On some circles draw a vertical line down the middle of them and leave some with no lines
Encourage the children to jump on the ones with no lines then on the ones with lines much the same way you do in normal hopscotch
Children might not follow the rules but all good fun and good use of motor skills
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD
Use magnifying glasses to observe and investigate living things , mini beasts and plants
Do this in the garden then explore your local park etc
Plant bulbs and seeds or vegetables - explain about how they grow etc and caring for them
Water play can be so much fun outside
Investigate sprays etc , use old bottles and squeezy bottles , make some bubbles
Encourage older children to draw maps of the outside play area - talk about features the fence , the path etc
Draw a map on the floor with chalk pretend you have roads in your garden where only bikes etc can go explain about safety
Go for a walk a few times a week and observe the changes in seasons / weather
Talk about the wind maybe make simple kites , windmills, wind-chimes anything that will move in the wind explain how they move
Talk about the rain look in puddles for reflections and splash in them - make ripples
Talk about snow and ice and explore the concept of hot and cold
Make sounds - run sticks along railings and make wind chimes with plastic bottle tops, kick through leaves etc
Make tree bark rubbings
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Why not stick some bags to some sticks and run in the wind - run with kites or tie streamers to the children's hands and encourage them to run with them waving their arms around
Use bikes etc for pushing and pulling , develop control and co-ordination , encourage them to steer and dodge things make a course for them to dodge around
Have sports day whatever the weather - encourage jumping , climbing and skipping
Make circles or shapes on the ground with chalk and encourage children to jump over them.
Play balance games and encourage children to balance bean bags on their heads
Play pirates of follow the leader games
Go for a run in the park , find some grassy slopes and encourage the children to roll down them ask how fast they go etc
Ask them to observe what happened did they feel hot or cold
Did their heart beat fast etc?
Use different size balls and bean bags, throw, and catch , play target games like skittles etc for hand/eye coordination
CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
Sing whist rocking on see-saw, ring games to feel the rhythm and build up memory of simple songs
Use scarves, streamers, hoops(and other props) to dance more freely in greater space than afforded indoors
Use natural materials (twigs, pebbles, pieces of wood) to create sculptures or pictures on the ground
Use boxes etc and climb inside hiding - make a den use blankets, tents etc use ideas for imaginative role play
Use the climbing frame to climb over pretend its a bridge etc , do this in the garden or park
What about taking some music outside with homemade instruments?
Encourage children to dance and sing using streamers or scarves
Laminate a list of the children's fave songs and games to take outside with you
PERSONAL , SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Share and take turns with the outdoor equipment work together - play team games - have races etc
Encourage children to put on their own outdoor clothes - fasten buttons , put on their own shoes and coats etc
Give the children lots of freedom and space to run around - give them space to be quite and hide in dens and tunnels etc
Teach children to care about others around them how to dodge them when they are on their bikes and not crash into other children
Care for others, dodging them on wheeled toys, comforting them when
hurt, helping with coats
Encourage them to comfort others if they are hurt
Encourage children to respect the toys outdoors and care for them by putting them away correctly show them how / where to put the equipment away
Encourage them to help clean up the sand etc after use with small brushes
Show children how to take more risks with adult supervision , climb higher , run faster , balance etc
MOST OF ALL HAVE FUN
Angel xx
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