Getting into character

Its not often that you see Harry Potter, Pocahontas and the Wicked Witch of the East all in the same room, but such was the scene at Lexden Lodge Kindergarten in Colchester last month when the staff and children got together to celebrate World Book Day. The event saw an array of inventive costumes, with most of the children needing little encouragement to dress up, according to Mahila Samarbakhsh, principal of the setting.

in attendance given the opportunity to experience Chinese culture through a range of food and activities.

There were Wicked Witches from Oz and the Broom with Room; not to mention Spiderman, Batman and Superwoman who were busy saving the planet, she says. Pirates were happy to enjoy stories with the Dinosaur and Minnie and Mickey Mouse, while Pocahontas and Woody listened with intent. According to Mahila, the wide variety of costumes helped everyone to feel involved, with the children able to identify their own characters in the books that were shared throughout the whole kindergarten. We had several characters from Harry Potter, and a few mini Harrys to boot! she said. One student from Hogwarts even found a way to cast a spell on her peers, so that when she said her magic word a group of her friends instantly fell down in the room in front of her. Strangely when the adults tried the same spell, it did not have the same effect!

Two local oriental supermarkets donated lucky red envelopes, decorations and fortune cookies and a local Chinese restaurant donated spring rolls which all helped our day to be the success it was, says Toy library manager Alison Smith. The day involved a wide range of activities for both parents and children, organised and led by staff and volunteers at the Toy Library. For example, we did shadow puppet making, which was led by early years development worker Lydia Evans, and had a mini dragon boat race organised by early years advisor Emma Begley, says Alison. Our family support worker Lynn Warner also demonstrated how to make snake chains by linking paper chains and adding a tongue at the end, and Kate Hopewell, our Toy Library assistant, led the storytelling activities, invented a dance to Chinese music using multi-cultural instruments and ran a parachute play session using soft firework shapes to throw into the air, she adds. Alison also highlighted the efforts of Joan Knight, a regular volunteer at the Toy Library. She worked tirelessly to ensure the event was a success, she says. And indeed it was in fact, the celebrations were so popular that the Toy Library has since received requests about holding a similar event to celebrate Diwali. Were currently looking into doing this under the umbrella of Festival of Light, says Alison.

opportunities, with the aim of making the transition from pre-school to primary school as smooth as possible. The equipment was funded by a range of fundraising activities, including a Christmas raffle, an art competition and a Smarties Challenge, where every child was given a tube of Smarties and asked to fill it up with loose change (once the sweets were eaten!). According to Lynsey Evans, vice-chair of the pre-school committee, the new emphasis on learning through ICT is already having a positive impact on the children at St. Michaels.

A taste of China
The children at the Alliances Milton Keynes Toy Library got a taste of authentic Chinese culture in February when the library held a Chinese New Year event at their local art gallery to celebrate the Year of the Snake. The celebrations proved hugely popular, with more than 200 children and adults

Computer learning
If you visit St Michaels Pre-school in Peterborough, youll find a group of children more tech-savvy than some adults! The setting recently introduced iPads and Innotabs (educational tablet devices), which allow the children to enjoy a range of ICT

Having this kind of equipment in the setting offers another learning opportunity mark-making, including some children writing their name, with the stylus; creating art using patterns, colours, fonts, shading; puzzles and memory games and much more, she says. Traditional learning is by no means outcast, but technology plays such a key role in todays world, we wanted to support home learning and familiarise the children with equipment they will be using at school. She adds that, while the amount of time the children are allowed to spend on the equipment is limited to 15-30 minutes at a time, they are already very ICT-literate as many are familiar with the technology through using phones, tablets or laptops with their families at home. The equipment requires adult supervision but the children are quite independent with using it, she says. It is quite amazing how quickly they have learned to access and use the programmes!

Whats been happening in your setting?

Under 5 wants to know! To share your own stories, please email editor.u5@pre-school. org.uk with the subject line My Under 5.