In this project children helped each other to design a town, talking about where they lived and what they have noticed about their local environment. There were a lot of suggestions and the staff encouraged children to think about landmarks such as ; a park, bus stop, trees, houses, train station and railway, roads, a pond for ducks, grass for animals and shops.
Children had many discussions about what needed to be included one child said that a dinosaur needed to be in the town but others suggested that dinosaurs would be in a museum. These were very useful conversations for the children as they were able to use their knowledge and understanding to negotiate and problem solve with each other.
Children included other members of staff’s ideas in there plans and developed an extensive plan. Children used their discussions, photos and first hand experiences to draw trains and a railway to help us get to Sunderland. Other children added a zoo, a bus stop, their own houses and a pond. Some children used actual first hand experiences and others used imaginative ideas. One child requested lots of rose trees in our town just like her Grandad’s garden.
Children recalled lots of first hand experiences on which to build. Language and vocabulary was developed well both on an individual level and as part of a group. Children listened to each other and considered everyone’s ideas and input, discussing the plans and agreeing the content and next steps.
Concentration and attention were extended within the group as the children’s ideas grew. Fine motor skills were developed as children represented their own ideas, pencil control and accuracy became very important to the children.
Children also used reclaimed materials to represent houses as an alternative to drawing. Children talked about safety issues of keeping children and animals away from the road and how they would make sure that they were safe.
Children then used their ICT skills to take digital photos of their work and record their achievements to share with others.
Children worked really well in a group situation to share ideas and thoughts, discuss options and to create a group project together. This work demanded a high level of negotiating and problem solving within the group and sensitive support from staff to allow all children to enjoy and achieve within the group activity.
