A bale of hay

 One of my favourite provocations is to add different objects into the learning environment.

For Cross Country this year, we bought bales of hay.  We used them as part of the race to jump over. 

 We left them in the playground. 

To start with the children jumped over them.  This lasted for days until slowly the hay bales fell apart.

Then it was the great joy of using the hay to throw at each other and build houses.  Then it was breaking the structures they built, gathering up the hay and redistributing it. 

We are now into week 2 of the joy of hay.  The Hay has now been moved to other areas of the playground.  

Yesterday, it was moved between two huts at the far end of the playground. It transitioned into a commodity worthy of stealing.   

The hay has many travel hours and has morphed into multiple uses.  

The learning is rich and the play is all in. 

The energy levels displayed in rich play are astonishing.  No wonder children go home tired.  They play hard. 

Why get excited about this? 

Play is children's work.  When children play they....

Develop Communication skills - amazing negotiation. Learn self-regulation skills - When someone gets frustrated how do you stay calm?  Develop cognitive skills - how heavy is hay, and how much volume does it take up?   Learn new information - bales of hay.  Learn and practice social skills, extend their thinking, resolve conflicts, problem solve, co-operate with others, learn about themselves, explore roles, interests, skills, and relationships. 

Other ideas for adding in equipment for provocations.   Kitchen wear - old fry pans, kettles.   Fire wood, planks, buckets, containers, trolleys.