The children at Children’s Place Dewsbury have been very busy learning about Autumn, they collected lots of different natural materials such as, twigs, leaves, conkers, and pinecones, as well as talking about the changes happening around them.
They took part in lots of exciting activities in the run up to Halloween, exploring pumpkins, enjoyed dressing up and making Halloween shaped biscuits.
They learnt about bonfire night, as they talked about the fireworks they saw, describing their colours and the sounds they made. We provided the children with opportunity to create their own firework pictures, they spoke about the colours they used and explored how they mixed them together, they also made their own chocolate covered apples and explore firework rice play.
They learnt about Remembrance Day, focussing on the symbol of the Poppy and the colours red and black. We looked at a story about Remembrance Day, this story explained why every year on the 11.11 we take a minute to remember all our fallen heroes as well as the brave people that came home, after the terrible war. The children practised our 1-minute silence, and we provided lots of activities largely with the poppy at heart, we developed the children’s imagination and visual understanding by providing a warzone role play, we also made our own representation of poppies for us to wear, the children also created beautiful pictures for their parents and carers.
In learning and talking about Remembrance Day, we teach young children about the significance of history. It is an opportunity to educate and inspire, to foster a sense of gratitude, empathy, and respect for those who served and continue to serve.
They learnt about Diwali, as part of this they looked at Rangoli patterns, the traditional Indian art form that is made during the festival. They showed their creativity as they used loose parts to make their own Rangoli patterns and explored making patterns using the coloured rice. We explained that Diwali is the festival of light, and some people celebrate this by explore colour and patterns,
Teaching children and allowing them to experience other religions and cultures is important to creating a diverse and understanding community.
