Beer for the pirates

A group of 3 to 5 year old children are outside with the teacher. She has set them a task, to make beer for the pirates. To do this they need to clarify the liquid, removing the bits. They have measuring jugs, sieves, funnels and syringes.

Good for looking at

• Adult directed playful activity
• Maths
• Science
• Understanding the world

A group of 3 to 5 year old children are outside with the teacher. She has set them a task, to make beer for the pirates. To do this they need to clarify the liquid, removing the bits. They have measuring jugs, sieves, funnels and syringes.

Notice

• What cues can you see that show what the children are interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How are the children learning? Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• In what ways does the adult support the children’s learning?
• How does the environment support the children’s learning?
• What is valuable about the materials provided as learning resources?

Reflect

What are your thoughts about:

• How the children approached the task?
• How involved were the children in the task?
• What and how were they learning?
• The role of the adult in this interaction – how did she support the children?
• The role of the environment and the effectiveness materials provided for the activity?
• How effective do you think this adult initiated activity was?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Support individual children in their different approaches to the task?
• Encourage the children to co-operate with each other to solve problems?
• Get the children to evaluate how well certain strategies are working?
• Model behaviours for young children and show how useful they are?

What next:

• Do you need to make adult initiated activities more playful in your setting? Do you make the most of any outdoor spaces you have access to?