One of our children`s mums asked us if we had any need for a bag of

Fabric Fun
The Cottage Kid’s Playschool
Tyrellstown, Lusk, Co. Dublin
Learning Story
One of our children’s mums asked us if we had any need for a bag of remnant fabrics, to which we replied ‘of course!’ We said
nothing to the children and just left the bag in the room.
It wasn’t long before the children’s natural curiosity kicked in and Clodagh and Tia started pulling out the fabrics that they liked
and began wrapping it around themselves.
“We look like Indian girls” said Tia.
It wasn’t long before many children came over including
the boys and it was fascinating to listen to the children
describe the patterns on the materials.
“This one looks like sandwiches!” “This one looks like
bowls of cereal!” “Mine is a garden picture’ and ‘this is a
tattoo wall’ were some of the descriptions that came
from the children.
‘We could make lots of things with this’ said Clodagh. ‘A dress or a table cloth? ‘An apron’ suggested Nessa. Liam suggested ‘a tent’
and Harry ‘a pirate flag’. Harry then chose material with birds printed on it and then changed his mind ‘hey these could be pirate
shorts!’
In the previous weeks we had observed and supported the children’s interests in pirates, spiders and dressing up and so decided to
extend these interests incorporating this huge bag of fabric. This learning story was carried out over approximately 5- 6 weeks.
We could have gone on for ever!
Designing cardboard dolls clothes:
Clodagh went and took out the cardboard cut out dolls (templates). She was colouring it in
when she decided to make a pair of trousers for the doll from paper. She cut out a pair of
‘trousers’ and said ‘look I am making a pair of walking trousers for my doll’.
Orla was at the table and she said ‘hey, let’s use some real material’. The girls got a small
piece of fabric each and began to cut out ‘clothes’ for the dolls.
Harry came over and said ‘I am going to make mine a fireman with fireman trousers and a hat.
He needs boots too cos firemen have to wear boots in case the water gets on them or they
go on fire!
When the children realized that they were making the ‘clothes’ too big for the doll, Harry
came up with the idea to measure the doll. He placed the doll onto the material and drew
around it and then cut out the material.
‘Hey it’s like a shadow!’
Soon all the children were making ‘clothes’ for the dolls. Each child had their own idea of what to do.
‘I want to give him spikey hair and no shoes cos hes on the beach!’ Or ‘I met a girl with brown skin once so I’m making my girl with
brown skin’ were some of the suggestions.
Tents:
On the very first day we had the fabric, Matthew, Clodagh and Luan had been
busy with the popoids and decided they needed to make a spider’s home. They
got 2 chairs and put fabric over them and put the spiders inside. ‘Now they’re
in the dark, in their house” said Matthew. ‘Don’t touch them!’
Following on the children’s interest of spiders we had
introduced swimming noodles into the play. We thought the
children might think of making giant spiders (which they did
initially). They had to work in groups to help each other to
hold a piece of the spider.
When Josh saw the spider he suggested ‘hey, we could make
this into a tent!’ He went and got some fabric but the weight
of it caused the noodles to fall in. ‘How can we make it stay
up?’ asked Mandy.
‘I know, we could hang something from the ceiling to hold it
up’ said Conor.
With an adults help, we stuck a hook onto the ceiling and
from that we attached a piece of string. This then wrapped
around the noodle and held up the frame for the tent.
We then hung the fabric around the noodle and made a tent!
Matthew went and got the pegs to join pieces of fabric up together and soon
everyone was attaching pegs to the fabric!
Pirates:
The boys decided they would like to make a pirate flag with a plain white piece and so in their
group they made one big flag. After that they decided to make individual ones so that they could
take them home.
Harry was still figuring out how to make his pirate trousers when he asked
Fiona for help.
Fiona explained that they needed to make a pattern. ‘Do you remember last
week when we made the pirate hats? (for cardboard dolls) she said. She
reminded Harry that they had traced around a hat and made a template for
making more pirate hats. Harry went and got a pair of trousers from the
dress up box.
‘Could we use these as a pattern? It’s like
the shadow’? They laid the trousers on
the fabric. Fiona explained about doubling
over the material and she showed Harry
how to measure the trouser width to make
sure that they would fit. ‘It needs to be 9’
(inches) said Harry.
Harry then drew around the trousers and
with help, they were cut out. ‘What will we
do now? ’he asked.
The Sewing Machine:
The next day Fiona brought in the sewing machine and there was great excitement from the boys only! The girls had looked over
but didn’t come over which we found very interesting.
Liam asked ‘what’s that?’ ‘What’s a sewing machine?’
Fiona explained how it worked and explained what the thread and needle would do. Luan observed that the ‘thread looks like a light
rope!’
She explained how we had to be extremely careful with the machine. She was asked
‘would the needle go through your finger?
Harry replied ‘Yes, you’d bleed and you would have to go to Temple Street where the
hospital is’.
Calum was thinking and said ‘my sister knits with wool but not thread’.
Liam replied to that ‘we have wool at home for my baby brother’s bottom! (cotton wool!).
Harry asked ‘what does that writing say? (on the machine).
Fiona: ‘It tells me what type of stitches I can do’
Fiona threaded the needle first.
Calum: Careful Fiona, don’t get hurt! Fiona asked ‘did anyone see the pedals in your
car? What happens when mam puts her foot down on the pedal?
Boys: ‘it goes’. Fiona: ‘Right so, the needle won’t go till I put my foot on the pedal.
And when she did a test run ‘Wow!!! That was fast!
Harry was so keen to get going. ‘I don’t care what I make; I just want to use the
machine!’
Over the next few weeks there were lots of trousers, cowboy scarves, batman cloaks
and peter pan hats made by the boys. Fiona worked with the material and the needle
and the boys used the pedal.
Repairing our torn Dress up clothes:
After a few days the girls began to show an interest in the machine. Nessa loves the
purple dress in the home corner and has noticed it has rips in places.
‘Will we fix this with the machine’ she asks. Soon all the dress up clothes are brought
over for repairs.
The children are asked ‘when clothes get torn, do we just throw them out?
We got a few interesting replies! We used this opportunity to explain to the children
just because something is broken, it doesn’t mean it has to be thrown out and that it cannot be fixed.
Nessa asked to make a bag and specified ‘I want to make it 12 (inches) and I
want different material for the strap. Is there orange thread there to
match the material?
The confidence was evident as she was eager to get going. She pushed the
pedal and then stopped exactly at the end and said
‘I knew when to stop. I was watching your fingers!’
I know it is inside out. When we are finished you will turn it back around’
Bringing the
materials outside:
One day as we were getting
ready to go outside Orla ran
back to the bag and took out
a huge piece of blue material. ‘Wait, I have an idea’ she said.
‘This is going to be a big wave’. The children watched it blow in the wind.
It was then put on the ground ‘This is the deep blue sea’.
Clodagh went and got the rocking boat and said ‘This is our boat in the sea’
And the two girls started singing ‘A sailor went to sea, sea
sea!
A bag of Trimmings:
We got another donation of a bag of trimmings and wow the ideas and the conversations were flowing!
The children spent a good deal of the morning weaving the trimmings in and out of the sun in our sand area.
Again the opportunities for every child to make a contribution as to what to do with the trimmings or to describe what the
trimming felt like were heard.
‘You could use this as a hoola hoop’
‘This is like a snake!
‘I want to make a spider’s web!’
‘This is like a reindeer’s collar – it’s furry with bells on it!’
‘ Hey you are like the country of “FEEJIT’ – a child observes as she notices Orla’s head band.
(Orla had made an Egyptian style head band)
The Fashion Show
Eventually we had more clothes and accessories made than we had room for when
someone asked us ‘Hey, can we have a fashion show?’
We asked the children ‘what is a fashion show’ to see what their understanding was of it.
One answered ‘Be fashioned! That’s a fashion show!
Someone else said ‘its when you wear your prettiest clothes’ and Tia got up and said ‘its
when you walk like this’ and demonstrated a pretty good models walk!
It was like someone turned on a switch. The ideas poured out from everyone!
Calum asked ‘hey can we wear our pirate’s clothes we made?’
Liam said ‘I want to be a cow boy so I will need to make a scarf’
Clodagh said ‘we will need LIGHTS!’
Orla said ‘we could decorate the room, and you’d have to walk the floor in a straight line!
Josh said ‘we have to have curtains to come out’.
Tia ‘we will have to move all the tables!
Orla ‘ we need a disco ball!
Liam ‘I have one of those. We turn off the lights and all my friends have a
party’
Before we knew it we had the plans drawn up for our fashion show.
Tia asked ‘can Becky and Emma (older siblings) come and watch us?
Clodagh got a long piece of material (which was our catwalk) and everyone practiced
their walk!
Josh decided we needed to make a sign and Orla
decided you could only come in if we had tickets – so
they needed to be made.
Even with the lights turned off the room was too
bright so Matthew and Luan suggested blocking up
all the windows with – you guessed it – more material!
On the big day everyone was so enthusiastic they couldn’t get to playschool quick enough!
The girls wanted make up and nails done. They wanted mirrors with bright lights all
around them! (We couldn’t pull that one off at such short notice!).
Everyone picked out their costumes that they had
made and it was very funny watching the children look
at everyone else all dressed up! Matthew hung up the
sign. Tickets were collected as everyone took their
seats. Calum turned on the discolights and Becky and
Emma had large spot lights shining around the room.
The girls sat on one side and the boys sat on the other. Last minute props were
included and the show began!
Fiona compared as each
child took their turn
walking through the
curtains.
When it was over, it had to be done again and again. Everyone
loved the idea of coming through the curtains and doing their
walk.
Clodagh took over as commentator as new
found confidence kicked in!
Someone suggested making an archway with
hands after coming through the curtains
( ‘so we can come through 2 times!’) and that
was put in place.
A disco followed but all too soon it was time to go home.
The curtains were left up for a long time afterwards
as children re-enacted the show in their play.
The Models
What the adults learned from this experience:
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
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Never underestimate a child! They are willing and able to try many activities that we might not give them credit for.
Children are never too young to be introduced to new ideas. Give them the control and help their ideas become real.
Boys are just as open to new ideas as girls are. Never plan an activity specific to gender. Boys are just as motivated to learn
as girls as long as the material interests them!
What the children learned in these experiences:
These observations showed all the children displaying strong dispositions to learn. We witnessed long periods of concentration
where the children were autonomous, persistent, determined and motivated.
They were ‘fitting’ the various experiences into their current thinking.
Schemas:
Schemas are patterns of repeatable behaviour which can often be noticed in young children's play. Two easily identifiable schemas
throughout all of these experiences that emerged were the schema of enclosure and coming through a boundary.
Enclosure schema was apparent when the children built a spider home, when they built their own tents and even when they blocked
out the light in the room. This schema can be supported by burying treasure for the children to find, providing borders for pictures,
by providing boxes to play in and by providing blankets.
Going through a boundary schema was evident as the children over and over again practiced walking through the curtain at the
fashion show and again as they requested to come through the hand arch. Even as they practiced weaving with the trimmings was
their way of exploring this schema. This schema can be supported by allowing the children to crawl through tunnels, tying items up
sifting with sand and water.
In looking at patterns on the fabrics, designing clothes for themselves and even in building tents, the children were developing
emergent foundations for:
Mathematical and Scientific concepts:
They were given the mathematical language to help them name, describe, predict, compare and problem solve.
e.g. more/less, taller/shorter, heavier/lighter, fit/doesn’t fit.
Questions were asked to develop mathematical understanding such as ‘what do you think?’ what might happen if.. and can you find
the same pattern?’
Communication:
The children were given opportunities for effective development and learning in communication by
 Allowing all the children to communicate their thoughts and ideas. As a result relationships were built up with each other
and with adults.
 Being shown the importance of language in the environment by making signs and tickets. They became aware of the
importance of writing.
 Being given the time and opportunity to every child to develop spoken language between the adult and the children and 1:1
time as well.
 Listening to each other.
 Being given key language and vocabulary.
Personal, Social & Emotional Development:
The adults were ‘tuned in’ to the needs and interests of the children. These activities enabled the children to develop a positive
sense of themselves and of others. The adults helped the children to know themselves and what they can do.
 The children learned respect for others.
 Every child felt equally valued
 The children learned to share and turn take.
Knowledge & Understanding of the World:
The adults supported the children’s development of the knowledge, skills and understanding that helps them make sense of the
world. The children were introduced to the workings of a sewing machine and how to use it safely. They explored the variety of
fabric and trimming types, looking at similarities and differences. They designed and made clothes. Ultimately the children made
connections in their experiences and learning.
In linking in with Aistear we can see the four themes being met.
1. Well-Being:
2. Identity
& Belonging:
3. Communication:
4. Exploring
& Thinking:
Aim 1 = Being strong psychologically and socially
Aim 3= Being creative and spiritual
Aim 4 = Having positive outlooks on learning and on life.
Aim 1= Children will have strong self-identities and will feel respected and affirmed as unique
individuals with their own life stories.
Aim 2 =Children will have a sense of group identity.
Aim 4 = Children will see themselves as capable learners.
Aim2= Children will use language
Aim 3= Children will broaden their understanding of the world by making sense of experiences through
language.
Aim 4 = Children will express themselves creatively and imaginatively.
Aim 1 = Children will learn about and make sense of the world around them.
Aim 2 = Children will see themselves as explorers and thinkers.
Aim 3 = Children will explore ways to represent ideas, feelings, thoughts, objects and actions through
symbols.
Aim 4 = Children will have positive attitudes towards learning and develop dispositions like curiosity,
playfulness, perseverance, confidence, resourcefulness and risk taking.