The Empowered Educator

Inspiring ideas, training and resources for early learning.

Weekend Wanderings…Pallet Beds, Water and Clay!

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To be very honest with you…this weekend was a tough one! After weeks of trying to get ready for family day care, a constantly sick household, Miss Teen doing her HSC trials and the twins in a constant state of 3 yr old testing the boundaries behaviour…..I was tired….and had very little patience left!

The girls behaviour is really testing me at the moment and now that I am advertising my family day care business everywhere I find myself cringing a lot more in public when the meltdowns and power struggles occur. But I know this phase will pass…just hoping I don’t go a little nuts before that happens!

As usual, outside became my saviour and the girls really enjoyed being Daddy’s helper this weekend….I think the enjoyment may have waned a little for Daddy by the end of the weekend though 😉

We picked up some second hand beds from our local tender centre last weekend very cheaply…they are lovely old wooden ones that fit in well with our older style home….but they did need some work unfortunately.

So this weekend His Patient Self got out the tools again and set about making some frames and slats for the beds from pallets…his last project with the ever present pallets was the Pallet Sand Kitchen for the twins!

Even though he had a million other jobs to get done he made this one a priority so we could get the toddler twosome out of their cramped toddler beds…there has been much hitting of the walls with stray arms and legs during the night lately!
First he pulled apart the pallets with a hammer and crowbar being careful to remove all the nails which he kept for other projects of course! It’s a time consuming and tricky job as some boards come off cleanly, other split and break due to the type of wood used in pallets. But he soon had enough to make the slats for the bed frames. He also had his ever present apprentices to help!
Their tools were always close by….
Daddy always says ‘measure twice and cut once….’
When he had them lined up he trimmed them with the saw and then spaced them evenly and screwed them to the frame. They were beginning to come together beautifully!
We actually then spent the best part of the day cleaning and rearranging the twins rooms to fit the new beds and mattresses in…just realised I forgot to take photos of this momentous event…will be sure to post some on facebook during the week as the toddler twosome are absolutely loving their beds and they look so sweet curled up in their huge beds!.
As I washed the dishes Sunday morning I noticed two little people had crept out the front door with their buckets and gone fruit and vegie picking…see my outdoor fairies picking lemons off the tree and passionfruits from the vine on the fence….
As Tara came down into the vegie garden ready to forage she noticed me looking at her through the kitchen window with the camera! She was of course pleased with her efforts of subterfuge!
I have been trying to think of a way of incorporating water into our sandpit and quarry area for the children to play with as they choose rather than me having to fill up a bucket each time. Eventually we hope to have a small rainwater tank catching the rain from the chook shed roof but until then I wanted something the girls could use themselves.
As I was shopping last week I noticed the tap on one of the water dispensers…I don’t usually buy water but this was a generic brand so only a few dollars and my mind was ticking over with the possibilities as I noticed the easy to use tap and also the flat top on the plastic.
Ruby spied it as she came down from the vegie garden so I figured it was time to get it happening!
We enlisted Daddy’s help (because he obviously didn’t already have enough to do!) and he quickly made a neat round hole in the top of the plastic for us with his hole saw drill attachment.
Ruby tried to help using her scissors…she’s a little fixated on using scissors at the moment as she has finally mastered this new skill! Naturally Tara supervised…
It was immediately a huge hit in the sandpit on their favourite rock table!

They practised turning the tap back and forth a few times before they understood the flow of the water and how they could alter this by turning the tap. The hole in the top allows me to refill the container when more water is needed…I also put a funnel in the top and girls were able to refill themselves!

It was such a beautiful day again outside that I decided to bring out our clay and a basket of little treasures as a play prompt. The girls used their new water tap to fill a few bowls for their clay explorations.

There were various treasures collected from around the house to use as they wished…clay is such an open ended sensory experience and I love to watch how children always approach it so differently!
Tara immediately began creating a ‘tree’ and exploring imprints made in the clay..
Clay Exploration with Natural Materials - Mummy Musings and Mayhem
The addition of water allowed for sculpting and the emergence of a dinosaur and then a lion….I’m sure you can see them…
Ruby found the clay quite challenging as it really tested her sensory sensitivities but with a bucket of water and a cloth close by she did manage to explore and sculpt a little before wandering away for ‘safer’ pursuits!
She did keep coming back to the activity though so I class that as a success…and I will keep offering the experience to her.
Our new little wooden balls added another sensory dimension to the play…..
There was much washing and rolling and finally placing and then lining up in a pattern…sometimes it’s the simple materials that provide the best experiences!

Tara absolutely loved her clay play and I will try and remember to get it out for her a little more…next time with a few little tools perhaps.

This weekend was indeed stressful in terms of parenting moments (and sanity) but there were also some true gems and they are the ones i am trying to remember. Hard though sometimes isn’t it?
Anyone for a cuppa? Hope you have a lovely week!
 Water play in the sandpit - Mummy Musings and Mayhem
 
For the Australian Educators reading this post I would link the above activities to……
National Quality Standards (NQS)
QA1 – Educational Program & Practice
1.1.5 – Every child is supported to participate in the program
1.1.6 – Each child’s agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decision and influence events and their world.
1.2.2 – Educator’s respond to children’s ideas and play and use intentional teaching to scaffold and extend each other’s learning.
QA3 – Physical Environment
3.2.1 – Outdoor and indoor spaces are designed and organised to engage every child in quality experiences in both built and natural environments.
3.3.1 – Sustainable practices are embedded in service operations
3.3.2 –Children are supported to become environmentally responsible and show respect for the environment. 
QA5 – Relationships with Children
5.2.1 – Each child is supported to work with, learn from, and help others through collaborative learning opportunities
Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)
Outcome 1. Children have a strong sense of identity
Outcome 2. Children are confident and involved learners
 
Please let me know in the comments below if you would like me to clarify how I applied these standards and outcomes to the post above. Also please remember this is just my interpretation…you might think of others or disagree with my assessment!
I’d love to hear if you find this helpful as an educator!
You might be interested in my Pinterest board Happy Home Daycare which has many pins related to the NQS and ELYF
 
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Warm Wishes…

Comments

  1. Oh Jodie – I always love your w/wandering posts!! And you always get up to so much! You guys really are busy and ever so productive! Very jealous! We actually got out in our ‘patch’ this w/e whcih was great!
    Your water idea is fabulous and I will be buying one myself… Miss Daisy ALWAYS wants water for her mini watering can for her seedlings or for play in the sand pit/river bed so this is perfect! Thanks for sharing your wisdom… I might even try to pick up an old camping style esky one at the op shop! 🙂

    Reply

    • Aww thanks Bek…that’s actually one reason why I started these weekend posts…purely selfish as I was always feeling like I was getting nothing achieved…this always reminds me that the little things all add up!
      The water idea is working so well…have been looking for an old esky type one for ages but no luck so I went with this!

      Reply

  2. love the simple water solution, kids love to play with taps, but aren’t usually allowed to for fear of wasting water. Really wishing I could send my littlest to your Day Care, so much fun!

    Reply

    • Oh, I would love to have lil bowerbird here…think they would all get on so well!The girls know this water container only gets filled once a day so they are learning about using the water wisely which I count as a plus 😉

      Reply

  4. They do like to “help”, don’t they! I’m sure they will find their beds even more special. Playing with sand and water outside is such a perfect activity. These are the moments that you will remember!

    Reply

  6. What a very talented family you are! It appears Daddy can turn his hand to most tasks and it’s so cute the way the girls want to help too. The water tap is a fab idea for the sand play and I can see how much the girls love being outside. Thanks for linking up and sharing your latest developments with outdoor fun on Country Kids.

    Reply

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