REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL LINDFIELD NEWSLETTER Friday 2nd December 2022
Principal’s Message
By Christine Irwin
Dear Parents, We have been so blessed by the weather of late, so the children are having amazing opportunities to continue their play outdoors. Our Sandpits once again have been opened up and our team has been providing wonderful provocations and resources to inspire the children in their learning whilst digging, moulding, sifting, and manipulating the sand. The children gain so many developmental skills and concepts of learning when playing with sand. These include: Number Concepts - Such as one bucket, one spade – one to one correspondence. Capacity and Volume- Early maths concepts of pouring water and sand into different shaped containers. This also encourages cognitive concepts of conservation. Science Concepts- Change of consistency when adding water. Layers of the earth. Where does sand come from? Fine Motor Development - Using small muscles of the body such as the fingers and hands to dig and sift and manipulate sand. This will assist muscles for controlling a pen and cutting with scissors. Hand Eye Coordination - Children develop this skill as they need their hands and eyes to work together to create and build. Gross Motor Development - Using large muscles to build and dig will also encourage self- awareness and where their bodies fit within their world. Language and Vocabulary - The sandpit is a perfect place to chat with a friend and discuss their masterpieces. Words such as dig, fill more than, less then, fill and empty etc Problem Solving - Solving problems in the sandpit, including mathematical and word problems. Using social play and conversations with their peers to find out best ways to come to conclusions. Creativity — Sand is an open ended resource that can be used in so many ways. Children can start with a blank canvas and restart play using their imagination and creativity. Social Skills – The sandpit isa place of much collaboration and discussion. It is the perfect place to build social skills. Children must manage sharing tools and spaces, and they often choose to build and play together. This requires a lot of negotiating and discussions whilst managing conflict and compromise. Reference Empowered parents.co Whether shaped into castles, dug, dripped, sifted, or buried, sand can take many different forms, thus offering endless opportunities for fun and learning!