As soon as the Alien crash lands into a classroom, together with hisextra terrestrial pet Ug, children feel they are in their own personalET movie. This product, which includes a rocket, launch pad and survivalkit, offers endless fun and possibilities to explore the world around usfrom the Alien's perspective.
The Alien is relying on the children to help him adapt and to explainthe people and situations he will encounter. Communication and languageare therefore central to this product from the beginning. Simply showingthe Alien around the classroom and introducing him to the children canproduce wildly different role plays, the only limit is imagination.
The survival kit is a brilliant multi-sensory resource that contains akey, torch, 'magic dust', a whistle, a magic star and an invisibilitycloak. One favourite prop is the cosmic ball, which lights up and makesspooky rocket noises - guaranteed to get children giggling.
Literacy can be made the sole point of communication at first with themini magic slate for writing messages. This bag of tricks can easily bepersonally evolved as the Alien's adventures continue.
These props are made for story-telling, but if any prompting is neededthe kit also has a 104-page Teacher's Book full of ideas. Other toolsare the solar system map and 36 photo cards of the Alien and Ug gettingout and about, for example at the beach and in the garden.
There are also 48 comic-strip cards ideal for storytelling andsequencing different scenarios, with amazingly useful wipe-clean cardsin all sizes. The imagination potential of this resource makes it a realbargain and a wonderful tool for sparking a passion for reading inchildren.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Come Alive Nursery Rhymes! By Helen Bromley, YellowDoor
This piece of equipment brings alive eight classic nursery rhymesthrough a games and activities pack, a wooden character set and aNursery Rhymes CD-Rom. The packs include a Teacher's Book with ideas onhow to explore rhyme and alliteration through these stories. Games canbegin using eight colourful double-sided rhyme cards and an audio CD tohave a traditional sing along to. The wooden character set is the realgem here, because acting out nursery rhymes is so much fun when you usea wooden Humpty Dumpty or Jack and Jill.
FINALIST: The Cheeky Chimps Literacy Set, TTS Group
CRITERIA
Open to early years resources and equipment that support children'slearning, development and enjoyment in communication, language andliteracy.
- Sponsored by The Children's Company.
