This week we have been meeting some new friends which are two Guinea Pig’s called Coco and Pops as well as a Cockatiel called Bobby. Meeting new animals supports the children’s learning as it can encourage communication and language as some children were using language such as “Guinea Pig”, “Bobby”, and “Bird”. It also supports personal, social and emotional development as the children sat patiently waiting to see the guinea pig, as well as learning they had to take turns and share in seeing the Guinea Pig. Also by looking at the Guinea Pigs and Bobby the Cockatiel, allows the children to use some of their senses by looking at the colour and features of the animals and also using there hearing as sometimes the Guinea Pigs may squeak and Bobby may squawk, or imitate the ringing of the telephone!!
When visiting the guinea pigs for the first time the children were a bit unsure at first but as the Warren went to see them on a daily basis throughout the week, each time the children were getting more and more confident in stroking and patting the guinea pig.
We will carry on with this focused activity throughout the next week to enable and express the children’s learning further. We have started developing the children’s learning by playing a game called ‘Farm Animal Hunt.’ This involves a member of staff carrying a card of an animal which is situated on Free Rangers grounds and asking the children where it could be, this in turn starts the ‘Farm Animal Hunt’ this involves the children walking, running, skipping around the farm exploring the farm searching the habitats where the animals live. The children have enjoyed visiting the Chickens; new additions and our old residents! Gary the Goose is always a popular stop, with the children using “Go away Gary” as their language, Gary likes to explore us!!!! Scooby is also a main focus of the farm as he spends a lot of time in his stable on these hot days, the children like to feed him a cheeky Parsnip or Carrot; wonder why Scooby likes a visitor or two!!!
It is sure to say the Warren have had a lovely time on the Farm and developed in confidence in expressing their likes and dislikes through this fun project. If you have any experiences/photographs of your children with animals please free fell to bring them and we well share these at group time.