Areas of Pre School
At Stocks Green Pre-School we have an array of areas we offer to our children.
Forest Area
Using our Forest area is now a pivotal part of pre-school
Outside Area
Our outside area can be accessed throughout the session
Mud Kitchen
We use the mud kitchen as a core element
Craft Area
Children can access a range of resources to create and make freely
Home Corner
Providing opportunities to imagine and re-enact
Other Areas
Including our toilet facilities
and children's lunch storage and peg area
Funding
Forest area
From our knowledge and experience the outdoors is a huge part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Using our forest area is a pivotal part of Pre-School. We believe the children will gain valuable skills to build confidence which enhances their time at Pre-School.
Every Monday afternoon, regardless of the weather, we spend the session in our forest area. This area is in the school grounds and is both secure and in easy reach of the Pre-School building.
We also access the area throughout the week.
We have taken note of the Forest Schools ethos of trying new and exciting activities in a safe and controlled environment. This really helps develop our children’s confidence to try unknown activities and experiment with risk taking.
Our aim is to use the outdoor area to its maximum potential and to help our children learn in a practical manner in all areas of the EYFS. Our forest sessions have shown us a way to make this possible and in turn promote:
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Increased self-esteem and self-confidence.
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Improved social skills.
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The development of language and communication skills.
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Improved physical and motor skills.
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Improved motivation and concentration.
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Increased knowledge and understanding of the environment.
A typical session may include:
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Den building – children collecting sticks, branches, and leaves to make a shelter
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Use string and rope to lash sticks together
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Clay and stick men – children mould clay and decorate with natural items they find
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Collecting interesting leaves, nuts, seeds, etc
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Pick blackberries and mix to make paint
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Bark rubbing
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Stories, singing and rhymes
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Tree climbing – children are carefully supervised but encouraged to safely climb trees with low branches.
At some sessions we use a Kelly kettle to warm water for hot chocolate around a safely designed fire pit. We also cook popcorn!
Mud Kitchen
At Stocks Green Pre-School we have a large area dedicated for our mud kitchen. A mud kitchen takes the concept of familiar play in the home corner from indoors to outdoors. Using natural materials children can explore and investigate. The mud kitchen is accessible to children at Pre-School all year round and is a vital part of our outdoor provision.
This provides a space for children to play, creating numerous benefits such as co-operating with peers, communicating, negotiating, and sharing.
Playing in a mud kitchen is open-ended, creating an environment that encourages creative thinking and allows children to create without fear of making mistakes. It also provides a space for a sensory experience and for children to have the opportunity to practice social skills and help make sense of the world around them. Additionally, this develops positive dispositions, improving cognitive function, and building healthy immune systems. As well as making children much happier.
Due to the nature of the environment children wear wellies and aprons when in the mud kitchen.
Outside area
At Pre-School we are lucky enough to share the Primary School’s facilities on a daily basis and share our forest area with them. We have free flow into our garden area and is a continuation of our indoor provision with a variety of activities and resources available.
During the session at Pre-School children are able to go on bikes and tractors on the school playground. There are many areas of our outside environment that children can access safely with the supervision of experienced staff.
The importance of outside play in early years can’t be underestimated and below are just some of the many benefits it offers to children such as the appreciation and of nature and the environment, develops social skills, encourages independence, and understanding risk. The freedom of playing outdoors is fantastic for a child’s development, both physically and mentally.
Home corner
At Pre-School our home corner supports children in their individual and cooperative play. Children are involved in exploring and re-enacting. By providing a home corner, children are able to make sense of their immediate world. They have a number of opportunities to work together, express feelings, and use language to communicate roles and respond to peer’s requests and needs.
Craft area
It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials.
At Pre-School we have a craft area where the children learn to access resources such as paper, pens and pencils, scissors, sellotape, glue, paint, and a number of different resources freely.
Children can get messy in this area but is brilliant for developing minds and fostering communication, listening, attention, and imagination. Craft activities can enhance mental health and wellbeing as well as fostering a whole range of developmental skills in pre-schoolers, such as: fine motor skills, identifying and exploring shapes, colours and textures, and creativity. Children also can also make using junk modelling. As a result, children generate feelings of motivation and reward. Which supports them to develop self-confidence, and identity in addition to skills such as sequencing, hypothesis testing, analysis, and evaluation.
Other areas
When children start at Pre-School they have a dedicated peg which has their name and photo. Children hang their bag, coat and other belongings on their peg and take these to and from Pre-School on each session that they are in. Children who stay all day or for lunch, place their lunch boxes on the lunch box shelves.
We have accessible toilets and sinks which are children sized and children are supported in using the toilets when they are at Pre-School. Children wash their hands when they enter and leave Pre-School, before and after eating and using the toilet. We encourage regular handwashing to promote good hygiene. Children who are not yet toilet trained are changed in the toilet area. Our toilet area is a bright and welcoming environment for all children and for those children who are transitioning from nappies to toilets, a positive experience.
