inspiring little people

a blog about teaching-ideas, activities, thoughts, inspirations

[nikkiblueskies]

Autumn treasures set in jelly with tweezers. It looked so lovely and glossy to start with and ended up a brilliant sticky giggly mess 😊 we wibbled and wobbled our bodies like jelly and the wondered how the wet runny liquid had set. #autumn #messyplay #sensoryplay #finemotorskills #earlylearning #eyfs #earlyyears #naturalresources

[nikkiblueskies]

This was so simple to do. I've tried it with wooden cocktail sticks to make it more natural but unfortunately they snap too easily. Plastic cocktail sticks in a polystyrene cuboid with pretty beads. Some children threaded them on randomly but some looked for the extra challenge and made patterns 😊 #finemotorskills #pattern #earlylearning #eyfs #earlyyears #concentration #recycle #teachersofinstagram #teachersshare #teachersfollowteachers #funkyfingers

[nikkiblueskies]

I found these awesome little autumn cork boards at #tiger (my new favorite school supply shop) the little 'uns had great fun exploring shapes and patterns #autumn #funkyfingers #finemotorskills #shapelanguage #eyfs #earlylearning #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers

[nikkiblueskies]

#knackered #halfterm #teach #canisleepnow #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers

[nikkiblueskies]

Cotton ball dabbing autumn trees with the parents today for the stay and play! #autumn #earlyyears #earlylearning #stayandplay #create #teachersshare #teachersfollowteachers

[nikkiblueskies]

Observational paintings of seasonal veg today! 🍂🍃🍁 #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #art #paint #observationalpainting #eyfs #autumn

[nikkiblueskies]

This was so popular today! Some of them really surprised me, making three and four way patterns. It was so lovely to hear all the autumn vocab they learnt last week as well, now we all know what an acorn is! #maths #eyfs #pattern #earlyyears #problemsolving #autumn #naturalresources #howcleverarewe #teachersfollowteachers #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram

[nikkiblueskies]

Autumn small world set up for tomorrow. Bet it won't look like this after 5mins! #autumn #earlyyears #earlyyearsfoundationstage #smallworld #tuffspot #britishwildlife #invitationtoplay #teachersofinstagram #teachersshare

[nikkiblueskies]

Oh no! Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall! This led to some brilliant discussions on how to stay safe, particularly when we are out on the playground, and some fab investigation. How do you think he fell off? How could we put him back together again? What kind of egg do you think Humpty was? #talk #invitationtoinvestigate #talkpartners #eyfs #nurseryrhymes #playground #safetyfirst #earlyyearsfoundationstage

[nikkiblueskies]

Today we performed magic tricks in nursery! We started off with two colors and with a quick rub of the hands and some magic words, abracadabra! We ended up with three! The looks on their little faces was priceless! And the looks on the adults faces at the state of the washing up sinks afterwards was even better! 🙊 #colourmix #magic #create #itsnotmyturntocleanthesinks #earlyyearsfoundationstage #nursery #teachersshare #discover #eyfs #teachersofinstagram

[nikkiblueskies]

Critical thinking-planning, problem solving, testing, adapting, reviewing, persevering, seeking challenge, the list goes on! It took this little one a number of tries to orientate the corner stones to her liking and she needed to rethink her layout a few times until she was happy but she would not give up! It was so interesting to watch the thought process, I love an activity that engages them like this 😊#characteristicsofeffectivelearning #eyfs #shape #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram #looseparts #maths #problemsolving #earlyyears

[nikkiblueskies]

Shape making today with coloured pasta and stones! #eyfs #nursery #shape #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #looseparts

[nikkiblueskies]

😉 i'd choose this over an office job anyday! #eyfs #nurseryassessment #learningjourney #teachersofinstagram #teacherlife #thankgodidonthavetodoitatadesk

[nikkiblueskies]

Numbers on multilink cubes, threading string and a number line. Will add a sand timer later in the week to add challenge #finemotorskills #funkyfingers #number #eyfs #earlyyearsfoundationstage #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #numberrecognition #numberorder

[nikkiblueskies]

This has been so useful! Thank you @abcdoes ! Now I can monitor where all the little writers are at and plan my activities accordingly, and every adult in the room can see the next steps. I have shown the children where their names are and where they are aiming to get to and some of them today made use of the posters independently to check how to hold their pencils! 💡

[nikkiblueskies]

This little wonder has revolutionized my life. I no longer waste any of my precious time hunting for and handing out stickers. The children have complete ownership of this. If they think they deserve a sticker (and we will challenge their thinking if necessary) they take themselves off to the sticker station, choose their own sticker, peel it off (fine motor skills) stick it where they want it and get their own sellotape off the dispenser to secure it (more fine motor skills and independance skills) While I happily carry on with the teaching and interacting! #eyfs #independanceskills #stickers #rewards #nursery #earlyyearsfoundationstage #teachersshare #teachersfollowteachers

[nikkiblueskies]

Some friends finding 2d shapes in the shape treasure tray. They LOVED this. So much fantastic shape language going on to describe what they could feel. Some brilliant teamwork as well from those without masks aiding those with no sight! 💜💚💛 #eyfs #shape #maths #earlyyears #explore #nursery #teachersshare #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #shapelanguage #sensoryplay