I’m introducing a new series to the blog this week. I have faced the fact that I’m not getting the time I used to to share our play activities here since I started my home day care business. But I still want to find ways to share with all the fabulous parents, carers, grandparents and educators who read this little blog and also have a passion for play based learning.

So each week I have decided to share some snippets of the activities, invitations to play and outside fun we have over the course of our week and then later in the week I will share one feature activity that I think was a particular hit and of course it will also be budget friendly,easy to set up and extend upon and fun for toddlers and preschoolers!

The ideas I am sharing with you this week are from the past month of our play based curriculum, from next week there will be fewer activities…but still packed with fun ideas to try at home or care! You can also check out my albums on facebook as I share photos each week of our play ideas.

I hope the following photos and ideas give you a little inspiration and you enjoy setting up and playing with the kids just as much as I did! Please ask in the comments below or email me if you have any questions about the activities, my planning or Jode’s Family Day Care.

Now let’s go explore….

Outside Fun

There were sand cakes to make with jewels and artificial plants and flowers…..

The concept of big and small to explore with trucks and the comparison of tyre tracks in the wet sand…..

Some loose parts and little bits and pieces to extend upon interests and allow imaginations to flow…

Games were played together and alone as they disappeared into imaginary worlds….

Clay creations with dried lavender, pebbles and other natural materials was an activity that went on for most of the day and allowed for sensory fun, exploration and individual creativity and design.

and then treasured creations were dried and taken home on their individual plates.

Envelopes were turned into mail with addresses drawn and stickers for stamps…there was also a little cutting with scissors to fit important mail into the envelopes.

A box was made together to use as our mailbox and then another was added to the outdoor space…very popular and extended the interest in mail wonderfully. The mailbox was a few dollars from the recycle centre, a little clean, some paint and a bit of wood as a stand and it was ready to go!

And the simple activity of mixing playdough and then adding colour to make marble playdough had the children feeling involved and useful.