On a recent trip to the park, we had the bright idea, to weave some rainbow ribbons on the railings. It found to not only be a fun and physical activity, but a social one too!
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| Team work when pulling the ribbon together |
Who can play?
Children from the ages 2 years+ depending on their age and stage of development. For younger children make the lengths of ribbon thicker but shorter, say 5 inches, so that little fingers can maneuver them.
Safety:
When using the ribbon be careful of choking. When working as an early years practitioner, the recommended length was 8 inches. Be conscientious when using the ribbons at the park, for example if younger children are playing near by just in case they wish to join in.
What do you need?
- Ribbons of various colours, long enough to weave in and out of the railings.
- Railings
What did we do?
Firstly, I placed the ends of the ribbons on the railings, ready for the children to weave if they wanted to. As soon as Bee and her friend A saw them, they began to explore.
They showed a lot of fine manipulative skills as they would try and push the ribbon in and out of the railing and wrap them around one another, to try and form a knot.
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| Intricate weaving |
They also displayed large manipulative development as they pulled the ribbons.
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| Pulling the ribbon with all her might |
It was interesting watching the dynamics of the relationship of Bee and A. At first they worked on their own section of the railing, respecting each others space. Eventually they worked together in the centre of the railing on the same piece of ribbon, showing social skills. They talked about what colour ribbon they were using and if their ribbon was long or short.
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| Weaving together |
The girls showed good team work as they both pulled the ribbon tightly. They both seemed to love doing this action.
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| Heave ho!! |
This is the end product! As you can see the children successfully weaved the ribbons in and out of the railings and experimented with direction.
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| Work of art |
What did we learn?
- Communication and language- Talking about what they are doing. Listening to advise and instructions from friends.
- Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and hand-eye coordination when weaving in and out of the railings.
- Personal, social and emotional- Making relationships, social skills, fun and enjoyment, self help and pride from finished product.
- Literacy- Weaving left to right (learning the directional skills of writing)
- Mathematics- Developing a concept of space and directional language such as under and over. Discussing length of ribbons (short/long)
- Understanding of the world- Playing in the outdoor environment.
- Expressive arts and design- Creating patterns with the ribbons and talking learning about colours.
What could be done next?
- Found pieces could be weaved into the ribbons, for example twigs, leaves etc.
- Weaving on a smaller scale can be done on a cardboard frame.
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