On Thursday we hosted a Home Education Learning Through Play Day

Inspired by the book

Iggy Peck Architect

We had 24 children here with their grown ups

For 5 hours of construction themed activities

I absolutely loved planning this day

I loved finding all the resources

Putting together all the play stations

Linking the activities to the book

Finding other books that fit the theme

I think that this is something I could be good at

And could be a way

To give our own home education journey

Some structure

A way to make new friends

And also a way to make a little money

At the moment I am not making any money

In fact the events end up with me out of pocket

But I do not mind

Though I do have David telling me

That it is not feasible to keep doing it

Unless I think about at least covering my costs

So I am going to have a little think on that

I think I would really enjoy running Home Ed events

Focused on learning through play and creative practical experiences

I have really enjoyed putting together this event

And am in the throes of planning two more days for next week

But this day

Was all about building

The day started at 11 with families arriving

The children played while I greeted the grown ups

And let them know what was available for the children throughout the day

At 11.45 I read the children a story

Iggy Peck Architect

And then they had 90 minutes of free play before lunch

Moving round the activities I had set up for them

They were

Sandcastles in the sand area

It was wonderful to see the different ways children chose to use each material

Fantastic to see new friendships emerging

Squigz in the water table

Duplo

Wooden blocks

A cereal and pasta construction site tuff spot

This was really popular with children of all ages

On the day

And for the two days after

My girls have had a ball!

Foam blocks and shaving foam

Can you build a castle on a cloud?

Playdough, lollipop sticks and buttons

Craft sticks and clothes pegs

Wooden train track

Smart Max

Wooden work bench

ELC Build It

These boys worked so well together

Using the tools and materials to build a robot

Hama Beads

Lego

The idea with the Lego and the Duplo was that children could

Not only build but also plan a design

By printing blueprints

Using Lego / Duplo dipped in paint

Plus Plus

The Plus Plus was new to many of the children

And was very popular with children of all ages

They loved creating 2D and 3D designs

Algodoo on the computers

Algodoo is a unique 2D-simulation software from Algoryx Simulation AB

Algodoo is designed in a playful, cartoony manner

Making it a perfect tool for creating interactive scenes

You can explore physics, build amazing inventions, design cool games

Or experiment with Algodoo in your science classes

Algodoo encourages students and children’s own creativity

Ability and motivation to construct knowledge while having fun

David and William LOVE it!

Themed books to read

Construction straws

These were popular with children and grown ups

All sorts of things were created

In these big builds

From chairs and tables

To houses and clock towers

So many imaginative ideas!

The children played happily with all the different resources

For a long time

Most children tried a few different activities

Experimenting with 2D designs

And 3D builds

On little and large scales

They were all focused on their work

And incredibly proud of their creations

While the children ate lunch

I tidied away all the play stations

And set up for a bridge building challenge

We differentiated with the width of the gap the bridge had to cross

The bridges were built with marshmallows, jelly beans, tooth picks and spaghetti

Before the building began

I shared the story of Brooklyn Bridge

And the twenty one elephants

We also watched a video about what makes bridges strong

And talked about different designs of bridges

And which shapes are stronger and would hold more weight

The children and grown ups had to build a bridge

To take the weight of a large toy elephant

The bridge building challenge was great fun

And there was SO much learning going on

People were working together to solve a problem

Designing

Building

Reviewing

Improving

Asking questions

Finding answers

Improving

Amending

Reflecting

It was really rather wonderful

And magical

To see children and grown ups really engaging in working together

Learning alongside one another

Smiling, laughing

It was one of the best moments I have had for a long time

This day took a lot of planning, resourcing and organising

But I absolutely loved doing it

I have lots of ideas for other themed days

One of the wonderful things about home education

Is that you can truly follow your children’s lead

If they love a picture book

A certain place, object or animal

You can make a project from it

Our next session is going to be about Growth Mindset

And ‘The Power of Yet’

It is going to be more structured than this Iggy Peck day

And the inspiration is taken from Peter Reynolds’ The Dot

I cannot wait to share it with you

I cannot wait to have our home buzzing with learning again

And the great thing about home education

Is that everyone and anyone can join in