Monday to Friday
One flexible thread through the week
Each day offers a starting point, not a required lesson. Follow children’s responses, change the invitation when it helps, and use your observations to decide what comes next.
Invitation
At arrival or in a small group, invite children to choose, point to, draw, or name a weather symbol for how they feel. They may return to it later; feelings can change.
Set up the space
Place simple sun, cloud, wind, and rain symbols beside feeling words or faces on an accessible board. Offer removable markers, paper, and pencils, plus a private check-in with a trusted adult.
Prompts to try
- What would you like me to know?
- Would you like to show, tell, or keep it private?
- What might help right now?
- Would you like to check in again later?
What to notice
Notice whether children communicate a feeling in a way that works for them, choose or revisit a symbol, notice that feelings can change, or listen and respond to another person.
Adapt and build on it
Use home languages, photos, objects, gesture, or AAC, and never require a child to disclose a feeling. Keep the board as a supportive invitation rather than a record or judgement. Next, add a simple "what helps" choice or explore how a story character might feel.
Tuesday
Move Like the Weather
Movement, rhythm, sequence, and pace
Learning-area connections
- Physical Development
- Expressive Arts and Design
- Mathematics
Invitation
Offer children a choice of ways to move like sunshine, rain, wind, or a passing cloud. Invite them to make a short sequence, then change its order or pace.
Set up the space
Clear a safe movement space and mark a simple pathway with floor spots or tape. Prepare picture prompts and optional quiet rhythm cues; check the space and equipment for the children using it.
Prompts to try
- How could a breeze move your body?
- Can you travel slowly, then pause?
- Which movement could come next?
- What changes when the rhythm gets quicker or slower?
What to notice
Look for balance, coordination, spatial awareness, controlled starts and stops, and children repeating, ordering, counting, or changing a movement pattern.
Adapt and build on it
Offer seated, standing, small, or supported movements and visual or tactile rhythm cues. Keep sound optional and make a quiet space available. Next, invite a child to choose two or three movements for someone else to follow.
Wednesday
Sound Hunt Story Map
Listening, representation, and shared stories
Learning-area connections
- Communication and Language
- Literacy
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Invitation
Choose three sounds from a familiar picture book. Explore where those sounds can be heard or made, then make a shared map that shows the sounds in story order.
Set up the space
Gather a short picture book, a large sheet of paper, chunky pencils, and optional safe sound-makers. Choose an accessible route and supervise children throughout the sound hunt.
Prompts to try
- What can you hear nearby?
- How could we show that sound on our map?
- Which sound came first in the story?
- What might happen next?
What to notice
Notice listening and turn-taking, descriptive words or gestures, questions about sounds and places, marks or symbols that carry meaning, and attempts to retell events in order.
Adapt and build on it
Keep the route short and offer an indoor, seated, or quiet alternative. Children who do not access sound in the same way can map visible actions, vibrations, or chosen story events; accept drawing, objects, symbols, dictated words, or AAC. Next, revisit the map and let children add a new ending.
Invitation
Invite children to choose one safe natural find and observe it again later. Compare details such as colour, shape, size, or texture and represent what they notice.
Set up the space
Set out clear observation jars or trays, clipboards, paper, pencils, and magnifiers. Use suitable found materials from the setting, check for allergies and choking risks, and return natural finds respectfully. Do not collect or seal living creatures.
Prompts to try
- What do you notice first?
- How could we describe or compare these two finds?
- What looks the same or different from before?
- What do you wonder might happen next?
What to notice
Look for close attention to detail, comparison language, sorting or measuring choices, questions about living and non-living things, and drawings or models that represent an observation.
Adapt and build on it
Offer large, safe materials and photographs or tactile alternatives when handling is not suitable. Let children observe from a comfortable distance and record with marks, talk, gesture, or adult scribing. Next, revisit the same item and compare the two representations.
Friday
Pattern Paths with Natural Parts
Repeating patterns, pathways, and careful collecting
Learning-area connections
- Mathematics
- Physical Development
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Invitation
Make a short path with a repeating arrangement, such as leaf, stone, leaf, stone. Invite children to notice the rule, continue it, change it, or invent their own.
Set up the space
Use a tray or clear floor space and a small selection of large, safe natural parts. Collect only where permitted and in a way that respects the setting; washable wooden pieces can be a substitute.
Prompts to try
- What do you notice repeating?
- Which part might come next?
- How could you make the path longer or change its rule?
- Can you follow the path carefully and describe what you made?
What to notice
Notice children copying, continuing, or inventing a pattern; using same, different, repeat, and next; moving along a pathway with control; and representing or explaining a design.
Adapt and build on it
Offer larger objects, a tabletop tray, a seated route, or a tactile pattern strip. Begin with two contrasting materials and accept an emerging pattern without demanding a correct answer. Next, invite children to draw the pattern or make a route for a toy to follow.