Out and about

Children enjoy looking at things when they are out and about.  But how many of us when we are out with our children are always in a rush to get somewhere?

By taking things a bit slower they can learn so much more through talking, discussing, touching and listening.  The noises in a town will be completely different to the noises in the country.

When we go to town or if you live in a town there are lots of everyday learning opportunities:

• Traffic - saying the names of what we can see (cars, lorries, vans, buses, motorbikes, bicycles etc)
• Look at your reflection in the hub of a parked car
• Look at the different shapes around you on the buildings in the form of windows, doors, roofs etc
• Where are the buses going or the trains?
• If you pass by builders on sites or roadworks, what are the people doing?  Lots of open ended question opportunities 
• Road signs have different shapes and pictures as well as numbers

A community card picture list can be used with children when you go into town or for a walk in the country with them.  (You can cut the pictures out or keep as one board).  This can be personalised to your own community.  The point of it is that you can match the picture to the item or place as you go on your journey.  Lots of opportunities for speech language and communication.

In the country you will usually have more opportunities to listen to some of the quieter sounds which may get drowned out in the town such as birds singing.  You may see sheep, horses, cows etc.  A perfect opportunity to sing songs such as Old MacDonald and to hear the noises the animals make.

Whether in the park in a town or in the countryside children love scavenger hunts.  This time of the year in Autumn there are many treasures to find.  Here is a simple one I have put together: different coloured leaves, acorns, pine cones, stones, twigs....the list goes on.  Laminate the sheet and you will be able to use it again and again with a whiteboard marker that will clean off easily.

Please bare with me, I have been trying to link word documents to the blog so you can download these, but to no avail at the moment......if anyone knows how to do this, please get in touch.