Over Easter we visited one of our favourite places to go on weekends – Bunnings! This will come as no surprise to those who have been following our landscaping and playspace articles. I do try to use mostly recycled materials but there are also bargains to be had in the shops if you know where to look! And I am always buying more plants and seedlings.
The twins had lots of fun with the facepainting, meeting the Easter Bunny (and quickly swiping a small fistful of chocolate eggs!) and doing some Easter craft. I really love free children's entertainment so I make the most of where I find it.
Another thing the girls love to do there is wander the aisle with the kid's play forts, swings etc. They were really drawn to this little area that had a shelf in front of a window space and immediately began asking us to come see their ‘cafe'. I was really surprised at how quickly they entered their imaginary world and how excited they were about this tiny little space underneath a climbing fort.
His patient self and I weren't about to hand over hundreds for this sort of play equipment but as we looked at each other and examined the cafe in more detail I could tell we had both thought the same thing “We could make one of these easy!”
And so the idea for our next project using pallets for the outdoor playspace had already begun to grow! I love the excitement of a new project.
That afternoon his patient self headed out to the industrial estate with the girls and his trailer. After a drive around he came home with some beauties.
What would your child make this into first do you think?
If you like projects with pallets you might find the posts below helpful (just click on the picture).
How does this activity promote learning for your child?
- It encourages outdoor play and exploration using thinking skills and gross motor muscles.
- It provides a launchpad for children to use their imagination and direct their own play.
- It provides an opportunity for self expression and role play of current events in their life.
- It encourages use of language, social skills and turn taking.
- Depending on the use of the area it can provide opportunities for sorting and classifying (groceries, fruit and veg, flower colours etc) and counting (money, cakes, biscuits etc).
- It allows them to explore roles within the community (grocer, doctor, cafe owner, vet…the list is only determined by their imagination!)
- It encourages an awareness of sustainability and recycling in older children.
- It's fun in the fresh air!!
How does this activity link to EYLF Outcomes?
( The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia)
In my personal planning I would interpret play experiences with this equipment as reflecting the following outcomes……
Outcome 1- Children have a strong sense of identity.1.2, 1.3,1.4
Outcome 2 – Children are connected with and contribute to their world 2.1,2.2,2.4
Outcome 3 – Children have a strong sense of wellbeing 3.1,3.2,
Outcome 4 – Children are confident and involved learner s4.1,4.2,4.3,4.4
Outcome 5 – Children are effective communicators 5.1,5.3,5.4,5.5
A Little About Me
Jodie Clarke is an early childhood professional supporting educators who want and need to stay passionate about the work they do! She has 30 years hands-on experience in the early childhood and human services sectors across many different roles.
Jodie is mum to 3 in Australia and has already helped thousands of educators with their work through her popular blog posts, activity ideas, online training and e-books.
You are simply amazing! And as usual what a fabulous Mr! 🙂
I love this Jodie – could even be my favourite of all that you’ve done although it’s all tough competition! 🙂
I’m going to start sending my hubby links to all your projects again and see what I can get him to do!! 🙂
Thanks Bekka, you are too sweet! Your hubby might come to dread this blog and my other half lol He worries about all the poor hubbies being told to do his projects hehe
Wow! That is amazing! Great job!
Thanks Kristie!
I love that you’re linking to the EYLF! Do you think your readers understand what it is though? Particularly as you’ve only put dot points? Your blog would be a wonderful platform to explain how and why we use this Framework. I love your blog Jode!
My thinking on that Ally is that I want to provide a guiding hand and some support but I don’t want to “do” the linking for everyone if that makes sense. All educators should have a basic understanding of the EYLF or at least be able to go to the book and look up the outcomes I am referring to. That’s why I only put dot points..also because there are many ways to interpret the eYLF outcomes and i may think differently to another educator given their children and resources. I hope it is a bit of a pointer and support though as it takes me quite a while to add to the end of my posts! My next post in the programming series will be exactly what you mentioned, explaining how to decode the eYLF and why it is useful, not just a book of words to stress over 😉 Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your kind words Ally.
Looks great. DOES not look easy to me 😉 lol
Do you know how many pallets this took and the general dimensions? We are budding this as a class project to sell at auction to raise money for our school. Thanks so much!
Thank you for all the ideas Jodie amazing. My husband starts doing few little thing for my FDC now he will be loaded with project for me .Thks to you again ..
Thks Claudee
So glad you are finding the ideas useful Claude! Your husband will want you to stop reading my blog soon haha! Good luck with your projects 🙂
Thanks for sharing your build. I was playing around Today looking at the old bits of wood in our the backyard of our new house. They were once upon a time a chookpen and woodpile. My little daughter asked me for a cubbyhouse and my heartstrings went ping! BUT… I am not that skilled in the building department and what else I saw online was too hard. But yours is great, and i know its designed more with kids play in mind than showing off. I am going to give your shop a go and see how she likes it. As a home educator with a toddler and 2 primary school aged boys I appreciate the need for engaged play spaces. I’d love to have a place that is weather tight enough to leave all the imaginative play toys outside and declutter the living room too! I am thinking the old chook roost might make a nice sink and bench…. luckily there haven’t been chooks in there for years. I like that your design is functional, but not too deep and doesn’t take up too much space. Thanks again