Enabling Environments: Visits and Visitors, part 2 - Set in stone

When Nicky, one of the boys from our unit, came to school with a fossil, it sparked in the other children an interest that led to a visit to the local river in search of 'treasure' and adventure.

Learning context

One of our core Learning Contexts for the first term is 'community'. Within this context we address themes that are related particularly to our local environment.

In our long-term planning we had provisionally planned a visit into the local area, but the focus of the outing had yet to be determined. Possible themes such as an autumn walk, a visit to local shops, a letter or number hunt were discussed by the team, but we are always open to ideas and interests generated by the children. So, when Nicky arrived at school one Monday morning with a clutch of fossils, we decided to explore further to see if it would generate interest among other children in the unit.

Nicky and his parents had been walking along the riverbank in the local woods at the weekend. The river cuts through a rich vein of sedimentary rocks which are continually releasing fossils into the shallow river bed. Nicky proudly showed us all his 'treasure'.

We created an interest table with Nicky's fossils, with some magnifying glasses and geology reference books on fossils. We put out playdough and encouraged the children to make impressions of the fossils.

We soon identified them as ammonites, a common fossil from the Jurassic period. The children were fascinated by the images of ammonites and trilobites swimming around in the warm tropical waters that covered the UK at that time. It was a fairly challenging concept to introduce to early years, so we suggested a 'fossil hunting expedition' to look for more.

Before the walk, we carried out a risk assessment visit, looking out for potential hazards. In addition, two staff completed the route the previous day to check that there were no unexpected surprises and to ensure the river level was low enough for children to paddle safely.

Observations

Although the focus of the visit was to look for fossils in the river, an outing into the local area always generates lots of great learning and opportunities for the children to observe and comment on the everyday events in their community.

As we walked at an unhurried pace to the woods and river through our village, we passed the local play area, children's homes and familiar shops. We passed fields of sheep and walked by the church and graveyard. Incidental comments were made by the children, such as 'my grandpa lives there', 'my mammy goes there' (referring to the local supermarket), 'me and Harry play there'. We noted how these promote children's ability to talk about their homes and community.

On arrival at the river everyone took great delight in looking for underwater 'treasure'. We wanted every child to experience the delights of being outdoors and investigating the natural world at first hand. Every child was dressed in waterproof trousers and wellies, so there was no limit on the amount of jumping in muddy puddles and splashing about in the water.

Many of the children had remembered the fossil that Nicky had brought in to school and were determined to make their own discoveries. Several children found fossilised imprints of shells, as well as more ammonites and fossilised grasses. Other children enjoyed just splashing in the water and throwing stones into pools.

As we searched for fossils we listened to the various theories that the children had constructed to explain the creation of fossils in the river.

Luke, aged 3: 'They get there by the rainstorm.'
Jasmine, aged 4: 'They are shells turned to stone.'
Harry, aged 5: 'The crabs have turned to stones to fossils.'
Katy, aged 4: 'Fossils are when dinosaurs were around.'
Nicky, aged 5: 'They have dead animals in that aren't alive now.'
George, aged 4: 'Fossils are things that get washed out of their shells
at sea. They turn into rocks.'
Imogen, aged 4: 'Fossils are like a big stone, they are made from
rocks.'
Elizabeth aged 4: 'Fossils are like little creatures that live in the
stones.'

On returning from the walk we displayed the children's finds and encouraged them to use the reference books to identify their fossils. Many of the children had collected other items en route, such as stones, twigs, leaves and seed heads. These items were equally valued and displayed for others to enjoy. Such displays are always interactive and often last just a few days, but nevertheless we feel that it is important to value all the items collected.

Evaluations and reflections

Taking children outside and off-site on a trip is a valuable experience for all. The outdoors affects children in different ways and staff often gain a different picture of a child when they are away from their familiar environment. In particular, we saw the boys really engaged and keen to display their finds and share their own theories on how fossils were formed.

All children enjoy the elements of exploration and action. Activities that require doing, moving and touching as part of the learning provide children with engaging experiences. Back in school, we reflected on the trip and the quality of responses it generated. As we discussed our observations, we were delighted to see how a simple walk to collect fossils from the river generated such a wealth of valuable information about our children.

As we listed the learning outcomes against the EYFS framework (see below) we could see how much the children had gained. We are now looking out for the next interest and wondering where it will take us next time!

- Tessa Fenoughty is foundation stage teacher at Middleton-in-Teesdale Primary School, County Durham

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Self-confidence and self-esteem - talking freely about their home and community

Sense of community - showing a strong sense of self as a member of their community; children's recognition and appreciation of their place in their community

Language for communication - using technical vocabulary drawn from search using nonfiction books

Language for thinking - using talk to reflect on how the fossils may have been formed in the past

Reading - know that information can be retrieved from books (nonfiction)

Exploration and investigation - showing curiosity and interest in the features of objects and living things. Showing understanding of cause and effect, such as the process of fossilisation

Time, place and community - being able to differentiate between past and present events, and noticing differences between features of the local environment

Movement and space - moving freely but safely.