BALANCING
CHILD BENEFITS INCLUDE:
- Gross motor – Balancing on a curved surface, provides a good starting point for starting to balance at a safe height. Jumping off the log or to a close by log will provide a challenge for older children.
- Science/ nature – discussion about where the log came from, what it feels like, looking at and counting the rings at the end of the log, a great introduction to trees and introducing sustainability.
- Maths/ science – Steppers provide a natural opportunity for counting as the children step. Discussions can be had around the circle shape and the size and colour of the steppers teaching categorizing and sorting.
CLIMBING
CHILD BENEFITS INCLUDE:
- Gross motor – great for hand-eye coordination and whole body coordination. A challenge for all ages at a safe height.
- Imagination/ creativity – could be used for pirate games or spider games, could be a boat.
- Maths – A great introduction to a grid. Can be used for discussing squares, tessellation, for counting, adding, early multiplication and patterns.
- Life skills – A great introduction to knots and their uses. Adding loose ropes to this area will inspire children to add to the net or make their own, experimenting with knots and joining ropes.
