Learning & Development: Our bright idea - All about me

The nursery children at Hurworth House School created an attractive display as part of a focus on 'ourselves'.

PLANNED LEARNING INTENTIONS

To learn that they have similarities and differences that connect them to, and distinguish them from, others

To show curiosity and interest in the features of objects and living things

To create constructions, collages, paintings and drawings

RESOURCES

- brightly coloured backing paper

- contrasting border roll

- card

- collage materials such as wool, string and straw

- mark-making tools

STEP BY STEP

We explained that we wanted everyone to help make a display featuring all of the children in the group and provided materials that allowed the children to focus on their hands, their feet and faces. Then this is what we did:

- encouraged the children to look at their hands, to talk about their appearance and how we use them

- provided a choice of paints and paper for the children to create handprints

- cut out a set of handprints that the children had made and added the children's names to them

- encouraged the children to explore their feet closely - possibly by measuring them and counting toes

- rolled out a length of paper for the children to walk on to make footprints in their choice of paint colour

- again cut a set of footprints for each child and named them

- next provided safety mirrors so that the children could examine their facial features, supplied card and collage materials for the children to recreate their faces and again saved an example of each for the display

- used card as 'bodies' and helped the children to glue the faces, handprints and footprints to them

- finally, displayed the finished characters on a prepared board backed with brightly coloured paper with a contrasting border.

Christine Henry is the nursery manager and Valerie Walker the nursery assistant at Hurworth House School, near Darlington. They spoke to Jean Evans.