1 Red food day
ADULT-LED
Explore all kinds of red foods.
Key learning intentions
To work as part of a group taking turns and sharing fairly
To become confident to try new activities, initiate ideas and speak in a familiar group
Resources
As many red foods and drinks as possible, including fruits and vegetables, soups, jams and jellies, and unusual examples, such as red cabbage, pomegranates, cranberry juice or watermelon; Pass the Jam, Jim by Kaye Umansky (Red Fox); Colours We Eat - Red Foods (Read and Learn, Raintree).
Activity content
* Discuss red foods with the children. Which ones do they eat? Which do they like and dislike? Be open to discussion about the definition of 'red'.
* Organise a red food day. Write to parents and carers, explaining the special day and inviting them to bring in some examples of red foods and drinks. Explore and discuss all the contributions, including their appearance, textures and smells.
* Make red bread. Working with small groups of children, make bread dough and add some food colouring at the final mixing stage. Bake and eat! (Check first for any allergies that the children may have.)
* Make a red fruit salad. Again work with small groups of children and involve them as much as possible in the preparation. Let them wash, chop and prepare the fruit; take the opportunity to teach the children to use a knife safely. Trust the children to succeed. Encourage them to mix the fruit in the bowl, and serve each other a portion.
* Explore unusual red foods, ideally ones that the children have never seen before - perhaps a pomegranate will be new to them. Cut open the fruit and let the children investigate it, using magnifying glasses. They may revisit its colours and seed patterns in their painting.
Things to say
* Invite the children to relate what they see to their experiences outside the setting. What do the foods remind them of?
* Introduce really exciting vocabulary. Consider what is truly fascinating about the different foods.
* Invite the children to ask questions, of you and each other, and write them down. Some may be answered immediately, others will take a while, and some may remain unanswered.
Stepping stones
* Children with little experience may show an interest in the red foods, and have a positive approach to exploring the items that others have brought in. They are likely to link what they see with experiences that they have had at home.
* Children with some experience will show increasing independence in the activities, selecting tools to use and taking the initiative in choosing fruits for the salad, for example.
* Children with more experience will take turns and share fairly, without the need for adults supporting them. They will act confidently, collaborating with both adults and children.
Extension ideas
* Photograph the children making the red fruit salad. Make a recipe book for your book corner using the photographs and text dictated by the children. Read the book with the children to encourage them to revisit the experience.
* Use beetroot as a dye. Help the children to tie knots in cheap cotton fabric, and fold it to make a variety of patterns. Steep the fabric in the beetroot juice for several hours - ideally, overnight. Hang the fabric out to dry, then undo all the knots and iron the results.
2 Well red
ADULT-LED
Make a collection of books and stories with a red theme for the children to listen to and enjoy.
Key learning intentions
To listen with enjoyment and respond to stories
To enjoy listening to and using spoken and written language
To sustain attentive listening, responding to what they have heard by relevant comments, questions or actions
Resources
Books and stories with 'red' in the title or with a red theme, such as: 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Snow White and Rose Red', 'The Little Red Hen', Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood (Child's Play) and Big Red Bath by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds (Orchard Books). See also Resources, p16.
Activity content
* Share the stories with the children in small or large groups. Obtain multiple copies of particular favourites and encourage the children to retell the stories in pairs or small groups using puppets and other story props.
* Incorporate the books into your continuous provision. Big Red Bath, for example, could inspire some exciting water play, especially if used outside!
Things to say
* When talking about the stories with the children, move the discussions beyond simply recalling the story to addressing their themes by asking questions such as: why did Red Riding Hood's mum let her go off on her own? How did the Little Red Hen really feel when no one would help her?
Stepping stones
* Children with little experience will begin to join in with repetitive text, for example, 'Who will help me plant the wheat?'
* Children with some experience will listen to the stories with increasing attention span and a greater amount of recall.
* Children with more experience will initiate conversation about the stories, justifying their own opinions and taking into account those of others in the group.
Extension activities
* Ask the children to search your book collection to find other stories that have a strong colour theme. Display their selection, with labels explaining their choices.
* Search for colour-related songs, rhymes and poems to teach the children.
Compile an anthology of favourites.
3 Really red
CHILD-INITIATED
Explore red in the outdoor world by looking at vehicles and street furniture.
Resources
Large sheets of plain paper, for use on the floor, or on a table top; toy cars, lorries, red buses, fire engines, post vans and road signs; small photo holders - the kind with a crocodile clip is best; paper, card and pens Play suggestions
* Designing a road layout for the vehicles.
* Making new road signs.
* Telling stories.
* Adding junk modelling buildings such as houses and post offices.
* Making a postbox and writing letters.
Things to say and do
* Talk to the children about their design. Play alongside them, ask for directions and look for dangers on the road. Suggest other road signs that could be needed.
* Make sure that enough materials are available for all the models that the children want to make.
* Incorporate a copy of the Highway Code.
* Add a photograph album showing a variety of road signs for the children to use as inspiration for their own.
Possible learning outcomes
Observes and comments on the features of the materials
Relates the experience to everyday life
Uses mathematical language to solve problems
Uses the language of position
Tells stories
