The tamariki were keen to get their hands dirty this morning, moulding the paraoa poke (playdough) into a variety of shaped objects. Sophia, Charlotte, and Mila used the shape cutters to create playdough hearts and a “family” of teddy bears.
The Robot Stacking activity proved a great challenge for the tamariki, both mathematically/logically and physically.
Recognise
Paraoa poke is a pleasant sensory experience, encouraging the tamariki to use their imagination to express their ideas. Through their use of the shape cutters, the tamariki are building on their fine and gross motor skills as they squeeze, pat and push down on the playdough. It was fantastic to see the tamariki sharing the paraoa poke amongst each other, ensuring everyone had a similar sized piece. Communication/Mana Reo – Children experience an environment where they discover different ways to be creative and expressive.
As the tamariki experimented with the robot shaped blocks, they tesyed their hand/eye coordination, focus and fine motor pincer grip, moving, stabilising and gently stacking the pieces. It also required an understanding of 3D shapes and how they fit together, as well as height and weight approximations. It was great to see the children’s developing understanding of these concepts. Exploration/Mana Aoturoa- Children develop spatial understandings, including an awareness of how 2 and 3 dimensional objects can be fitted together and moved in space.
Respond
I wonder if we could work collaboratively to make a shared playdough creation.
Some amazing robot towers were created and balanced!
