Free-play and A Host of Engaging Activities
Free-play and A Host of Engaging Activities
Creating a mix of free play and structured time helps children build a wealth of skills to feel more balanced in their everyday lives.
Structured activities are useful in the development of gross motor skills, social emotional well-being, and peer play skills; however, unstructured, time when the play is freely chosen and directed by the child, is just as important for growth and development.
So we allow children the freedom to choose. To dip in and out at will empowering them in their choices. They invent games, pretend play, or do whatever their imaginations can conjour.
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Children can learn a lot through art and sensory exploration - We use paints, collage, playdough, water, sand and many other messy materials to encourage the children to play, explore and develop their skills.
Measuring, mixing and preparing food teaches essential maths skills and helps children explore different tastes, textures and flavours.
The children help prepare the daily snack, chopping fruit and vegetables and partake in different cooking activities.
Children learn through experimentation, so Harvey Bears offers lots of opportunities for them to look at different experiments, for examples watching a bicarb volcano erupt, and play with scientific toys like magnets, bubbles, battery operated toys and remote controlled games.
Each week we take the children to a specially constructed outdoor space to explore nature. They have opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a natural environment with trees.
To support the children's understanding of the environment and where their food comes from, Harvey Bears hosts a gardening activity for the summer months. Kids will get compost under their nails and nurture their seedlings to full sized plants. They’ll explore the benefits of worms, the necessity for sun and water and the joy of harvesting their own produce.
Music and Movement not only helps with a child's physical development, but is also a great way to expand their language, improve their balance and practise practical skills like critical thinking and spatial awareness.