The ‘Sound of Music’ theme was a rare adaptation for learners attempting to learn new rhymes. We took an old classic and transformed it into a new musical theory to make it a stimulating experience. It was essential to bring its understanding to the child’s learning level.

The song “Do..Re..Mi..” was sung with the learners a couple of times to bring the familiarity of sounds, learning new lyrics, and introducing them to the rhythm. Music being an integral part of Reggio, we separated each sound and associated them with recognizable objects and themes. The hands-on activities were planned and executed in association with each musical note, teaching children about musical recognition.

The learners could grasp and hum the song with the given affiliation. The backdrop using natural props was designed and arranged to add flavor to the children’s music. The scenery was created of hills and valleys coming alive, the white fluffy clouds floating in the sky, the stuffed lamb gazing in the field, the crushing of sounds discovered with leaves and hay just brought an invaluable feeling to the environment. In these surroundings, the children played their guitars, every child creating their own musical story. It was indeed a great destination for them to laugh, rejoice, play and flourish.

Doe, a deer, a female deer

In the deer habitat, a pair of antlered, young deer were browsing in our lush green courtyard. Amidst the cover of damp grass, stood the deer family with bare brown backs and sides, alluring the children to come close to them. Children tossed balls that were drenched in paint onto the vertical surface of the deer, creating their group masterpiece. The actions of the colorful paint splotches got them some exercise and developed their motor skills. They involved themselves in make-belief play, feeding acorns and corns to their favorite furry friends. The colorful spots on the deer were shining bright in the sunlight that fell through the trees, straight onto their lustrous coats. The deer habitat enticed the learners to create art with lots of movements involved in it, which is the best kind of innovative activity for young children.

Ray, a drop of golden sun

The summer sun brings in lots of sunshine and we took out time this summer to construct a sun puzzle using these rays of sunshine. The learners sat on distant tables with their sun frames, at once understanding what needed to be done without any directions. They set the popsicle sticks meticulously as rays through the hollows, laying them down in preference of their color, size, and order to complete the puzzle. Once they gained confidence, the sticks turned into their counting devices, naturally building early math skills. The children attained motor and cognitive competency. The profound joy of completing their task, along with the realization of their achievements was evident at the end. Children repeated this activity multiple times, showing proof of their enjoyment and demonstration of their expertise.

Me, a name I call myself

For children, there is nothing more precious than their name. It was time for them to build their names and their identities. Each child’s name card was tied & suspended in-between the majestic pillars of the school, as they were proudly soaring up in the sky, swaying with the wind. They build their names on the sheet, outlining one letter at a time, the learners placed colorful foam confetti, highlighting the letters. This activity fostered fine motor development and an essential part for beginners to learn about literacy. The name tag collage looked beautiful as the children took them home to hang it up on their walls, providing them with numerous possibilities for reading and recognizing their names. Children are always eager to show letters in their names and this was a meaningful means to teach letters.

Far a long, long way to run

It’s time to go around the giant, slippery fish. A unique sensory walk path was laid down and created in the form of a giant fish. The wood slices were evenly packed with different textures along with soft and hard sensorial materials. These included wooden beads, slippery stones, coarse sandpaper, crinkly aluminium foil, and popping bubble wrap. We encouraged children to feel different surfaces and materials with their hands & feet, learning to support their body control and balance. The younger toddlers held on to their educators to keep themselves steady as they explored the fish. Gross motor development like walking with one leg at a time, jumping, running, stretching, stomping, and moving were probable outcomes along with building sensory connections in their brain. We also discussed the contrasting textures as the children stepped on them and constantly gave responses like ‘soft’, ‘smooth’, ‘sharp’, and ‘rough’. The giant sensory fish experience came together to create an overall awareness and stimulation of their innermost senses.

Sew, a needle pulling thread

Life is a delicately woven thread, so beautiful, some like to be quiet, some like to be noisy. Some like to be alone, some like to be in a group. Children sat down to weave through a low-level net on a child-sized wooden frame, using a variety of ribbons was a great example of their creative expression. Each child was provided with an individual space to work independently, to master the art of weaving. Passing the narrow and broad colorful ribbons up and down, in and out, left and right developed their motor skills and improved their eye-hand coordination. Our capable learners learned gentle and clear-cut hand movements, keeping a lot of patience and self-control, using their fingers steadily in rhythm. The learning on how to utilize and manipulate small items with great dexterity was very well perceived by the little learners. We could see that they focused and concentrated to the fullest.

La, a note to follow Sew

Let the music play. Children provided live music to space. A huge musical wall embellished in-between our central open space, defined and designed with household items, kitchen utensils, percussive instruments, reused boxes, cans, and tins. Some were attached to the frame, some hanging from the top while others hooked to the net, to attain sound variation. Our little musicians expressed themselves in many ways, striking musical chords with wooden and natural sticks. Right from creating music with a gentle click to using it as a banging wall, it was all happening with their rhythms. This experience was about the exploration of varied sounds through their active participation. Our performers created their own soundtrack throughout the day while engaging in a jamming session along with songs and rhymes. The vigorous strokes produced banging, booming, ringing, and pounding sounds as it surprised the children at every moment of their experimental musical journey. Our energized tots played at high and low pitches of the musical notes, with the sound effect echoing throughout the school.

Tea, a drink with jam and bread

Time to party with the animals. A cozy pretend-to-play teepee tent was set up in-between our green spaces with added elements of kitchen utensils, fruits, vegetables, teapots, and play dough, along with stuffed animals for company. This picnic-like seating was extremely inviting as it allowed learners to play with each other and at the same time engage in meaningful dialogues and conversations. It generated an opportunity for them to pretend, making tea, coffee, juices, and baking cookies and cakes out of dough. To have animal friends for tea was a delightful idea and role-playing to feed them was even more amusing. The children could spend hours in this special place, imagining and acting like adults as well as learning how to share their food and drink with their peers. The outcome of this activity was immense in terms of accomplishing life skills like coordination, social intimacy, building confidence, and negotiation.

“When children pretend, they are using their imagination to move beyond the bounds of reality”
– Fred Rogers