On Saturday 23rd April, Colliers Wood hosted a parents workshop, which our parents were very excited about, as it allowed them to gain an insight into their children’s learning! The morning aimed to welcome parents and children to experience a typical day at Willows and how we begin the process in the early year’s journey of developing the areas of learning. Furthermore, some of our new families hadn’t experienced this before, so they were eager to find out more!
All the teachers across the setting showcased activities that could be easily replicated at home. In both rooms, the activities were set up and integrated into the seven areas of learning. It was also the chance for the parents to look at their children’s learning environment in-depth and learn about the resources that could support their everyday learning. Parents had open access to touring both rooms, regardless of their child’s current age and they had the opportunity to explore the outdoor learning environment in addition. A range of activities was present on the day including planting, mark making with natural resources, filling and emptying the water in different-sized containers, and sensory activities including gloop and farm animals. Each activity station had a copy of the activity printed out, so parents could easily replicate it at home.
We followed the routine of a typical morning, with both rooms hosting circle time. The under 3s went through their morning circle time, equipped with memorable jingles, that covered a greeting song, the weather and passing along an item to their peers, according to the theme. The preschool teachers also covered a similar sequence, but went further in-depth, covering the months of the year. Parents had the opportunity to join in and were very interested and amused to see their children listening and sitting so well with their teachers and peers. It was a successful 2hour morning session, which the teachers and most importantly, our parents benefitted from and enjoyed. We look forward to our next session in the Winter of this year.
