Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

A is for apple

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Photocopied worksheets
Felt Pens or crayons
Card for the flaps

Pre-session preparation

Photocopy the worksheets and prepare a sample sheet to show the

children.

Activity Outline
The children will colour in the pictures on the worksheet and then the
adult helper will stick a flap over each coloured picture. The children will
play the game of a is for … and choose a flap trying to remember which
flap covers up the picture of the apple etc.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Mark making to music

Date: Staff notes:

Resources needed:
Music of differing tempos
Lots of marking making materials -
crayons, chalk, pens, pencils, paint
Paper - large area of paper for a
group or small for individuals

Pre-session preparation

You will need to set the activity area up depending upon whether this will
be a whole group activity or carried out by individual children. If you
decide upon a whole group activity - get a large area of paper ready by
sticking several large sheets of paper together. Make sure there are lots of
mark making materials easily accessible to each child. You will need
prepared music - short bursts of varying tempos.

Activity Outline

As the music plays the children will mark make on the paper, using a
range of crayons, pens etc in time with the tempo of the music.
Encourage them to scribble fast if the music is fast, draw smooth or wavy
line when the music is slower etc.
Small children will quickly get the idea and the finished abstract art looks
great on display
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Balloon Game

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Coloured balloons
Matching coloured card - large
Taped music

Pre-session preparation

Blow up loads of balloons in a variety of colours - plenty of each colour.

Place the balloons together in the middle of the activity space. You will
need a big card in the matching colour for each colour of balloon you
are using in the game.

Activity Outline
Get the children to sit with their adult helpers in a circle around the
balloons. Play background music and when the music stops you hold up
a selected colour card and the children must collect a balloon which
matches the colour of card you show. This continues until all the balloons
have gone.

Variation
Get the children to walk around the balloons and when the music stops
pick a balloon and sit down. Hold up a coloured card and ask the
children who are holding a card of that colour to do a task - e.g. jump,
turn around, wave their hands in the air. Play the music again until all the
colours have been used.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Bubble Printing

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Bowls with water and paint and
washing up liquid
Sheets of paper
Straws

Pre-session preparation

Prepare several bowls with a mixture of water, paint and washing up

liquid. You will need straws and paper. Demonstrate the technique to the
children of blowing air through the straw into the mixture and then
placing a piece of paper onto the bubbles to make a print.

Activity Outline

The adult helpers will blow through the straw and make the paint bubble -
then the children place the paper over the bowl and catch the bubbles
into a print.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Hop Skip and Jump

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
4 percussion instruments or sounds

Pre-session preparation

You will need three different sounds or four percussion instruments eg

drum/maracas/tambourine. Each sound will instruct the children to either
hop skip or jump.

Activity Outline
Gather the children in the centre of the activity space. Show the children
each instrument and explain when they hear each individual sound it is a
signal - e.g. when they hear the drum they must jump, when they hear
the maracas - hop and when they hear the tambourine - skip. The
children move around the space until they hear a sound, then they do
the action. Practice with individual sounds and then build up to using
sounds one after another.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Sound Sack

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
A drawstring bag filled with a
range of small objects.
A tape of music

Pre-session preparation

You will need to prepare a drawstring bag . Fill it with a range of small
items - anything can be used that is safe and interesting - toys - a
wooden spoon - a pine cone - sellotape - an orange - a sponge etc etc.

Activity Outline

The children and their adult helpers will sit in a circle and the as the music
plays the children pass the bag around the circle. When the music stops
the child who is holding the bag puts their hand into the bag and feels an
object and then tries to guess what it is. Then they pull out the object and
say what it actually is. Ask the children to say the letter sound that the
object begins with. The music starts and the bag is passed on again. This
continues until the bag is empty. If time - hold up each object - everyone
says the letter sound e.g. - b for book- as it is put back into the bag.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

String of Stars

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Stars cut from card
String/ hole punch
Materials to decorate stars - glitter,
stickers etc
Glue
Pens/crayons

Pre-session preparation

Cut out the stars . Prepare a sample to show the children

Activity Outline

The children will think about what they are really good at doing. They
write the sentence ... I am a star because I can … run fast e.g. on the front
of the star and then decorate around it. On the back of the star they
draw a picture of themselves. All the stars have a hole punched through
the top and they are strung together and displayed.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Caterpillar

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Caterpillar template
Butterfly Template
Coloured crayons or collage
materials
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric
Carle (optional)

Pre-session preparation

You will need a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle if you
want to include a story with this session. You will need photocopies of the
caterpillar template and the butterfly template plus coloured crayons or
collage materials to decorate the caterpillars and butterflies. You could
provide a large caterpillar and a large butterfly cut into parts and then
after small groups of children have jointly decorated a part, join the
finished caterpillar/ butterfly together.

Activity Outline
Read the story of The very hungry caterpillar. Allow the children to
decorate individually a caterpillar or butterfly or alternatively get small
groups to decorate/colour one together.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Washing Line Game

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
A piece of string set up as a
washing line.
Some pegs and safety pins.
Some clothes with numbers 1-10
pinned on them
Card cut into the shape of socks
Coloured crayons.

Pre-session preparation

Set up a mini washing line in the activity area. Prepare a basket of ten
items clothing - smaller items are best - number the items 1-10 and pin the
number to each item of clothing. Cut sock shapes from card enough for
two per child and have crayons ready for the children to colour in.

Activity Outline
Split the group if necessary- keeping a maximum of ten to play the
washing line game and sending the remainder to colour a pair of socks in
a matching colour or pattern -no odd socks allowed ! Sit the washing line
group in front of the washing line. Each child has a turn to rummage in the
washing basket and pick an item of clothing. When each child has an
item, go through numbers one to ten getting the children to come out in
order and peg the clothes on the line in the right order. Check at the end
by counting 1-10 and see if they can go backwards 10 - 9 -8 etc.
Swap the groups over.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

How Tall am I ?

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Circles of card
Long strips of paper
Coloured pens/crayons
Tape measure
Tall by Jez Alborough (optional
story)

Pre-session preparation

You will need one circle of card per child and lots of equal width strips of
paper which will be joined to make the length of the child. You can
introduce the activity by reading Tall by Jez Alborough (optional - but a
nice intro)

Activity Outline
Read the story. Adult helpers get the children to lie down whilst they
measure the child in strips of paper, which are then joined together and a
circle is added to the top which the children colour as their face. When
everyone has finished line the How tall am I people up - in order of height.

N.B. This activity can be combined or continued from the handprint

head activity with the handprint head being used as the top of the How
Tall Am I person
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Hand Print Heads

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Paint
Paper plates
Paper
Glue
Glitter

Pre-session preparation

You will need one paper plate per child and a large sheet of paper per
child to make four handprints on. Ready mix paint and aprons etc.

Activity Outline
Get each child to make four handprints on their sheet of paper - use only
a small amount of paint so that it dries quickly. Grown up helpers cut out
the four handprints which are then stuck to the top of the paper plate to
make funny hair. The child paints the eyes nose and mouth. Glitter can be
added to the spiky handprint hair.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Grab a Fish

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Taped music
Fish cut from card - four colours
Four large cards - one of each
colour
A large piece of blue fabric or card
for the sea

Pre-session preparation

Cut out the fish from different coloured card - plenty of each colour.
Place the fish onto the paper or fabric sea in the middle of the activity
area. Put one colour of card on display in each corner of the activity
area.

Activity Outline
Play the music. The children dance or move around the outside of the sea
until the music stops. When the music stops they grab a fish of any colour
then they have to go to the corner of the activity area showing the
matching card. i.e. children who have picked a red fish go to the red
corner. You will announce that the … red fish are going to be eaten for
dinner and take away the red card. The red corner can no longer be
used. All the other fish are thrown back into the sea and the game
continues until all the coloured corners have been taken away.
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

What’s the Sound?

Date: Staff:

Resources needed: Learning notes: Helps with

Percussion instruments e.g. listening skills.
Tambourine/triangle/drum/ma
racas
Instrument Picture cards

Pre-session preparation

Prepare the instrument cards and game sheet. Photocopy enough of

each card for the number of children - each child will need one of each
instrument and a game card.

Activity Outline
The children sit with their adult helpers with the game card and the four
instrument cards. Show them the instruments and let them listen the
sound that each one makes. Show them the matching instrument card.
Practice asking the children to hold up the correct card. Then ask them to
close their eyes ( or you can be hidden behind a screen) whilst you play
one instrument at a time. The children must cover the game card with the
instrument cards as they hear each sound - like music bingo!
 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10
Washing line activity numbers
 Planning Sheet/Activity Outline

Pass the Teddy

Date: Staff Notes:

Resources needed:
Teddy Bear or other soft toy
Bag with forfeit slips in.
Taped music

Pre-session preparation

Photocopy the forfeit sheets - the forfeits can be done more than once,
so make plenty of copies. Cut the slips up and put them into the bag. You
need a soft toy for the children to pass round and music to play.

Activity Outline
Get the children to sit with their adult helpers in a circle around the. Play
background music and the children pass the toy around. When the music
stops the child holding the toy chooses a forfeit slip from the bag and all
the children and adults carry out the forfeit together - e.g. jump three
times etc. Continue until all the children have had a turn.
Pass the Teddy forfeits

Stand up and jump three times.

Hop on one leg.

Pull a funny face.

Shout BOO.

Put your hands on your head and turn around.

Clap your hands 5 times.

Touch your nose.

Stretch your arms to the sky and wave.

Touch your toes.

Say hello to the person next to you.