What are we doing in Sea Turtles in February?

The children have become very interested in sound in the environment. Particularly while in the outdoors, where they are hearing sounds that they can’t see and trying to guess what they are. So, this month we are going to extend on that and talk about what the sounds are, try to locate its source and then learn more about it.

 The activities this month will be based around the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) areas of learning:

Prime areas:

C&L: Listening to the noises that adults make when they tell stories. Recognising and responding to sounds.  PSED: Interactions with others. Exploring new situations when supported by a familiar adult. PD: Make connections between their movements and the sounds they make when moving.

Specific areas:

UW: Observing and making sense of what animals, people and vehicles do. EA&D: Dance and movement to different sounds and feeling the effect of the sounds on our bodies. M: Looking at shapes of the things we hear in silhouette and working out what they are.

Some of the activities we will be doing this month will involve:

·         Exploring the park. Laura W will be organising a series of excursions to the park to listen to sounds in the environment and then searching to find the source of the sounds.

·         City and animal sounds guessing. Sara will be setting up sessions where the children have the opportunity to listen to sounds of the city and sounds of animals and then guessing what they may be and reinforcing with pictures.

·         Movement to instruments. Sarah G will be using instruments to make sounds that reflect the movements of animals and getting the children to move like different animals.

·         Road role play. All of the team will be setting up road ways for the children role play riding cars, trucks, bikes, etc and making the noises the different vehicles make as they go.

·         Image collage. Chloe will be making collages with children using simple images of things that make noises and then making the noises they make with the children.

·         Movement of music. Ella will be supporting the children in moving to different music speeds. Loud, soft, quick, slow, etc.

Some ideas to support your children at home:

·         Take time to stop and listen to sounds in your environment. What sounds do you hear every day? Are there dogs, cats or birds that are regularly calling at a certain time?

·         Talk about different things and the sounds they make. Try to copy the sounds they make. E.g. the whir of the kettle boiling, the shower going, pets, alarms, phones, etc.

·         Try to track noises you hear. Listen for a noise, repeat it so you know you are listening to the same thing and then try to track it down.