Folly Preschool at Dalwood
Axminster
Devon
EX13 7EW
Tel: 01404 41144

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Activities

ladybird

At The Folly we offer lots of Extra activities on top of the usual activities you see day to day in a nursery.

These include:  Forest School,  STEM, Music, Mindfulness and Senior Citizens Activity Mornings.

Forest School

Please see our page dedicated to this activity which takes place 4 days a week.

STEM

What is STEM ?

A teaching strategy based on blending 4 disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths.

  • It is based on an in-depth study of a topic of real world investigations.
  • STEM activities build a strong foundation of thinking, doing and measuring skills,     encouraging children to think in a more connected and holistic way.
  • This way of thinking is increasingly important in our information based and highly     technological society.
  • The activities are hands-on, fun and designed to ignite children’s natural     curiosity. The language of science is important to learn in context.
  • Children are involved in making instructions and telling their story of the enquiry,     for example through -

  • Conversations
  • Using a variety of media
  • Drama and music

    • The Disciplines of STEM

    Asking Good Questions: Focus on “WHAT”, the key to effective STEM learning is for the adult to ask good questions. The adult should focus on “what” instead of “why”: When you ask a “why” question, you are implying that there is a correct answer and your child is being tested. With “what” questions, you’re starting a conversation and exploring with the children, for example-

  • What happened there?
  • What did you try
  • What have you changed about what you are making?
  • What ideas have you got?
  • What do you notice about ….?
  • What do you think will happen if we…..?


    • Although we do lots of STEM type activities during day to day life at The Folly we do have one day a week dedicated to STEM for our Pre-School children.

    Music

    Our 2-year olds and Pre-Schoolers have weekly music sessions with a local lady.
    During these sessions they are taught new songs and rhymes as well as signing old favourites.
    Although we sign with your child on a daily basis these weekly sessions help develop their musically awareness and confidence, as well as supporting them to develop their whole body coordination and spatial awareness as they move to the different styles of music they hear.

    Mindfulness

    As well as weekly mindfulness sessions in our Pre-School room, we as part of our day to day life put Emotional Coaching into place throughout the nursery. We teach the children techniques to help self-regulate themselves and to control their feelings to enable them to flourish socially and to help prevent stress and anxiety in later years.

    Senior Citizen’s Activity Mornings

    Once a Month our Pre-schoolers join the Village Senior Citizens for a morning of activities and social interactions.

    The children and the adult’s both visit the Jubilee Community Hall right next to the nursery for these mornings.

    This intergeneration morning is a lovely chance for the children to meet the local residents and alter their way of thinking and acting as they play together.

    Together they explore playdough, turn-taking games, puzzles and enjoy colouring. It enhances both the children and the older adult’s confidence and they all learn so much from each other as they talk about their individual experiences of the world.