Enhancements planning and challenge cards

A fully editable planning document for what I like to call ‘Choose it time’ - an adaptation of the continuous provision approach that lends itself nicely to the more traditional Year 1/ 2 /3 classroom setups. Also included are Ikea Tolsby/ Flisat frame sized progressive challenge cards for each area.

After months of researching continuous provison and how that might look within my year 1/2 mixed class, or any class beyond reception for that matter, I quickly came to the realisation that it wasn’t quite for me. That did not mean however, that I did not want to embrace the ethos behind allowing the children to extend their learning through independent and self led exploration and play.

What I came up with instead was the notion of using enhancements around my classroom, many of which were in keeping with the elements of continuous provision, but with more flexibility, less time consuming setup, the option for adult input where needed and none of the worry that it will impact upon my ability to teach the never ending list of objectives I plan so carefully for within my daily lessons.

Personally, I do not timetable in specific slots of time for the children to explore these areas. Instead we access the provision in short, sharp bursts whenever suits us best. If a group has finished working, if I need to spend time with a particular group of children… you get the idea! It can sometimes take a few weeks to work through the areas, so the need to be changing the content daily or weekly is simply not there!

This document allows me to plan and keep track of the enhancement provison I want to incorporate into my classroom on a half termly basis, making it a much more manageable and positive experience.

The document comes pre-filled with area and activity suggestions, however is completely editable so you can take, change or delete as much as you feel necessary.

In addition to the, the document also provides challenge cards for each activity mentioned. These challenge cards specify a particular skill the area is focussing on and three (red, yellow and green) progressive challenges for the children to attempt, either independently, with their peers or with an adult. These challenge cards fit into the Tolsby/ flisat frames that can be purchased from Ikea.

I have included some photos of my classroom so you can see how the suggested activities and challenge card frames can look within your setting. Again, these are just suggestions and this format is fully editable, so each task can be changed to suit your curriculum or the children’s needs.

I will be uploading a new planning overview for each half term, along with the supporting challenge cards, so please feel free to pop back for a look :D