Hi, my name is Ingrid and I am a CAP AEPE student at Le Répertoire de Gaspard, while working with four wonderful families in Paris.
The wonderful thing about working with children is being able to tailor their learning to their interests and rhythm! My young learner and I love going to the park after school with her friends and playing in the sun. I realised this would be the perfect setting to introduce a fun and interactive lesson about plants and colours.
What We Used:
- An old egg carton
- Some acrylic paints and paint brushes
- The beautiful nature of Buttes Chaumont park!
Preparing for the Activity:
To prepare for the activity, I painted an old egg carton with the colours of the rainbow, and labelled each colour in English. I made sure that the carton was personalised with my learner’s name and nicely decorated, so that it was inviting to engage with.
Our Sunny Adventure in the Park:
Together with my learner’s friends, I suggested that we go for a walk through the park and find flowers to match all the colours of the rainbow. I named each colour painted in the egg carton slowly, and throughout the activity, I asked the girls to name the colour of the flowers that they were finding. I also named the flowers and plants that I recognized as we explored the park. On a different occasion, we repeated this activity with objects in the home, and again with my learner’s favourite toys.
Adapting to a Child’s Interests and Learning Through “Doing”:
Teaching is often thought of as “one size fits all”. However, by taking the time to get to know your learner and their interests, you can create learning activities that help them connect with the subject and retain more. My child LOVES flowers and colours, as well as playing with her friends. Therefore, learning about colours through this activity created a nice memory for her and helped her learn in an interactive way that engaged her senses. My little learner was SO excited to go on a little adventure and proud of her ability to name the colours of the flowers!
