Cian always wants to have a go at whatever his big brothers have done. He saw the end of Ioan’s BB-8 fractions, so I set up a very simple scrap metal tray for him. He currently eats sand, so I took that away, just leaving out some scrap metal and magnets.
Resources
- Scrap metal – alan keys, spanners, curtain rings etc.
- Magnet
- BB-8
Method
Ioan and Finn insisted on dressing Cian up as BB-8 for this activity. He played with the magnets, enjoying pulling the curtain rings off them.
Cian kept stopping for a play on the slide or see-saw, before returning to the magnets again.
Cian learnt a lot about cause and effect. If you held the magnet over the curtain hooks it picked them up. If you shook the magnet, they stayed attached. He had to pick them off the magnet to detach them.
We ended up taking the BB-8 outfit off Cian as he was getting hot with his hoodie underneath.
I moved the scrap metal on to the grass. A new location often revives his play and gets him playing in a different way. I gave him a bucket and the lid of the storage box that had Ioan had used for his fractions activity.
Even Ioan and Finn loved this simple set up. They happily played alongside each other, all absorbed in their own play.
DfES Early Learning Goals (2017)
Physical development
ELG 04 – Moving and handling:
Children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They handle equipment and tools effectively.
