It started with a conversation about the different countries in the world it ended in a Pirate adventure!
At FCSS we encourage child led play, giving children the opportunity to follow their curiosity and engage in activities that interest them. And so, when one boy at our Strathisla Children’s Centre in Keith found a globe, the conversation with Childcare Practitioner Nicki Cruickshank, and his peers, naturally developed from different countries to the different animals that lived there. The children were on a roll, conversations about land animals evolved into conversations about sea animals, coral reefs, pirate ships and finding treasure!
Nicki, a new member of the Strathisla Team, went home that night feeling enthused. She told her husband Gavin about her day and how the children had used their imagination to guide the conversation and subsequent activities.
Gavin was so taken with the story that he decided to make something that would enhance this experience.
Armed with a hammer, some nails and a lot of pallets, Gavin worked into the night.
A few days later Nicki discovered the ‘secret’ project and together they delivered it to the nursery.
According to Gillian Mitchinson, Service Manager at Strathisla, “At first I wasn’t sure what they were up to. Gavin was moving something but it was all covered with blankets and I couldn’t quite see what it was. As soon as they started assembling, it soon became clear that it was a pirate ship! The children noticed what was going on and were all desperate to go outside and play. This amazing new addition to our garden will help keep their ideas flowing while they are enjoying the outside space. A huge thank you to Nicki and Gavin for turning ideas into reality.”
The Strathisla team, and teams across all of our services, create regular opportunities to engage with the children using mind maps of their ideas to form their planning. This then is linked to their areas for development and next steps.
The team use the children’s interests to plan meaningful learning opportunities. For example, one of the children, who can be unsettled coming into nursey, loves bugs. The team bought a book about bugs and now the children are planning and making a bug hotel. As well as creating meaningful learning experiences, this has also helped the child feel more confident at drop off and she is more settled throughout the day.
Child led play supports independence, confidence, creativity and problem solving. The team join in with child’s play when appropriate. Following their lead and extending their learning through open ended questions and providing opportunities. This is balanced with purposeful, child initiated adult-led activities so that children have a broad range of learning experiences.
