Activity planning help

[PenguinBear]

My friend has a job interview on Tuesday for a childminder's assistant. She's asked for my help to plan an activity but I teach older children and don't know anything about planning for babies!!

She has to plan: a 15 minute activity for 4 children, 2 babies (1 year, a 2 year old and a 3 year old). She is going to use music instruments but after that she needs ideas.

Help please as I have no idea what her planning sheet should look like or how you are meant to engage 2 babies and 2 toddlers in the same session!!!

If she doesn't know what activities to do.with small children.then.she shouldn't really be applying for this job!!!

I'm a nanny and can instantly come up with atleast 10 activities!!!!

Not knowing what a planning sheet should look like is understandable if she hasn't worked in a formal setting before but if she has any experience of children she should be able to work something out.

Her plan will be simply what she's planning to do and why. The why could be how it relates to EYFS - communication, or expressive arts, or physical.

Giving the smallest ones shaking instruments to choose from and the older ones banging instruments might work.

She will probably only be able to engage them if she sings like someone off cbeebies though .

I'm assuming this is her first job in Childcare? Which would make it understandable why she's not sure what to do.

Actually, I think Wadi is being a bit harsh there, engaging one and three year olds in the same activity does require a bit of thought. I would have thought the format of the planning matters a lot less than what the activity is and how it links to the EYFS.

My advise would be to keep it really simple. If she wants to use musical instruments then planning a few songs like I am the Music Man and If You're Happy and You Know It to engage the older ones whilst just letting the little ones explore the sounds the instruments make would be fine. How about getting the older ones to make some shakers? If you use something like Rice or Rice Krispies the one year olds could engage with it as a sensory activity while the older children fill the empty tins/milk bottles or whatever.

Any kind of sensory activity is good for a range of ages; the little ones will simply explore the texture while, if you put out cooking utensils, the older ones can role play with it. Just make sure whatever she uses is ok for 1 year olds (cooked spaghetti is a good one).

theimaginationtree.com/ is a great blog with loads of activities for children in that sort of age range. Even better, she puts where it links in with EYFS on the bottom of each activity.

Right more time to reply.

First stop is EYFS 2012 for learning objectives that might be relevant. Try to have something from at least 2 of the Prime areas. Remember that music making involves not only the music (rhythm, types of sound etc) but also the actions requires to produce the sound from the instrument so grasping etc. It's sensible to cross reference this with expected physical development for their ages. You also use language to describe the instruments and the sounds.

Then detail how she plans to use the instruments to explore these learning objectives. I would avoid having concrete outcomes like 'children will have learnt a song'.