Nursery Transport Outdoor Learning Ideas
Week 5 - 18/05/20
Week 5 - Transport Sensory Tray
This week, we are going to make a sensory tray construction site (or if you don't have construction vehicles, you could make a car trail instead!) You can use any base materials that you already have at home, or better still, a combination; sand, salt, soil, stones, rice, lentils, dried beans or pulses. Your tray can be as big or small as any tub you have in your house! To make your site more interesting, you could add toilet roll holders as pipes or tunnels, small boxes as structures or bricks, pieces of wood as ramps, or small stones as rubble. If you mix shaving foam into the sand, it makes the sand mouldable. You could make mounds of sand and see the tracks your vehicle makes as it drives over and around the mound!
Week 5 - Chalk Car Trail
Use your chalk to draw a big car trail on the pavement or driveway outside your house. You could make it into a car trail for big cars (that you're able to sit into) or a trail for toy cars. Don't forget to include important stops along the way, such as a petrol station, a snack station, a MacDonalds drive-thru and a car park! You could even make it into a roadway around a town! Look at the pictures for some ideas, but we can't wait to see what you come up with!
Week 5 - Car Wash
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You will need:
Cars and trucks get very dirty when they've been on mucky construction sites, sandy trails and dusty chalk roads! Why not set up your own car wash outside? First, you need to put some special foam or soapy water on your car, then use a brush to scrub away the dirt. Next, the car needs to be rinsed in clean water with a spray bottle or in a basin. Finally, dry your car with an old towel before it drives away. Have a look at the ideas in the pictures, but you can set up your car wash any way you like! |
Week 5 - Simon Says 'Be a Train!'
Play a game of 'Simon Says' using different modes of land transport. Before you start the game, see if you can come up with a moving action and a sound effect for each of the following modes of transport. You can make your actions at different levels (high or low to the ground) and think about the size of the vehicle (e.g. a bus is taller than a car!)
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Week 6 - 25/05/20
Week 6 - Role Play Airfield
Rope off a section of your outdoor area with enough space to contain an airfield, a loading bay for luggage and a self-build jumbo jet plane (see photo!) You can make your airfield as simple as you like! Here are some examples of the resources you could use:
Your child will have the following learning experiences:
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Week 6 - Fly Your Aircraft
Help your child to make either a paper aeroplane or a sycamore seed helicopter (click the button for directions). Take the aircraft outdoors to a large space to test how far it can fly! Your child could stand on a chair or a small flight of steps to launch their aircraft. Encourage them to try several times in different ways, to get the feel of how the aircraft moves, then ask them to predict where their aircraft might land, putting down a marker.
Here are some questions you could ask to extend your child's learning:
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Week 6 - Bird Watching
This week in our fine motor activities, we will be making some bird feeders. Once you hang your feeder, you might notice that you have some new birds visiting your garden or you might spot birds you haven't seen before when out for your daily exercise! If the weather is nice, maybe you could have your snack outside this week and watch out for different types of birds. Try to sit quietly when they come, so that you can have a good look before they fly away again! Tick off the birds you see on the checklist or draw the birds you see.
Keep an eye out for planes in the sky too! Maybe you could keep a tally of how many you spot during the week. |
Week 7 - 01/06/20
Week 7 - Jelly Sensory Tray
Make some blue jelly using powdered gelatine and food colouring or any coloured jelly (according to pack instructions). Once the jelly has set, put it into the largest tub you have. Using boat toys, bath toys or any household objects that could serve as boats (butter tubs, bottle caps, jar tops), have fun exploring and sailing through the jelly water. If you have Lego figures, maybe they could join in too! Watch out for sharks in the water! This is a really fun sensory activity for children, but it is a messy/sticky one, so be sure to set this one up outside!
You could also try this activity using pasta or rice. Try dying it blue, following the instructions in the link below. |
Week 7 - Let's Go Sailing!
Take the largest tub you have outside and fill it up with jugs of water (and optional blue food colouring/blue paint). You could try this in your paddling pool if you have one! It’s time to test how your homemade ships fare in the water! (See this week’s Fine Motor challenge)
Put your boats gently into the water on one side of the tub. See which ship reaches the other side first! Try the activity again, this time blowing into a straw behind your ship or fanning it with a homemade fan. You could also try adding weight to your ship by rolling up balls of play dough or tinfoil to put on top and see if it makes a difference to the performance of each ship. Here are some questions that you could ask your child to develop the activity:
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Week 7 - Nature Weaving Craft
Here’s a combined fine motor and outdoor craft that you can do as you go for your daily exercise! All you’ll need is a piece of corrugated cardboard and some elastic bands. Before you go for your walk, use your strong fingers to put the elastic bands around the piece of cardboard. Look out for some interesting long grass, wild flowers, leaves, shells, seaweed or driftwood on your walk. Check with an adult before picking the flowers that you find! Pinch the elastic band back to secure the interesting pieces you find. Don't forget to send your teacher a picture!
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Week 7 - Water Fight!
What better weather for a water fight with your mum, dad or siblings? Dress up in your swimming togs/shorts and t-shirt and sandals. Find a good place to set up your den outside. It’s always good to have something to hide behind in a den! Fill up some water balloons, plastic cups/jugs, buckets or water guns and put them in your den. See if you can soak the other person when they’re not looking!
If you don’t enjoy water fights, maybe you could play a game of ‘Ship, Sea, Shore’ outdoors instead! |