Now that the nice weather is here (hopefully!), I'm interested to know how you organise activities, especially the home corner. We find every year that we set up all the activities inside and out for choice, but obviously they all want to be outside. We have to set up each morning and lift all the home corner across the hall (wooden cooker, fridge, washing machine etc etc). The problem is we set it up, arranging everything, but the children aren't playing in it! We have other role play areas in the garden e.g tent, small world equipment and picnic area, but is this enough?
It just seems alot of hard work setting everything out if it's not being used, or should it be available at all times? Obviously we encourage children to play in there, but as discussed so many times on this site, outside play is very important and children should be given a choice.

All the activities that are done inside, gluing, painting etc. are done outside when it's not too windy (collage pieces and paper fly everywhere otherwise), but this can then lead to the hall looking rather sparce. We still have a wide range of activities all prepared for indoors and set out, but again, children are wanting to be out and sometimes 3 or 4 tables can look exactly the same as when we set up in the morning!
Our plans show that each area is covered outside, but would that be good enough?
Any help/ideas would be much appreciated.

Why not set it up as a flower shop,you can mix real with plastic flowers, compost in the sand tray!picnic with some soft toys,travel agency.Beach with sand !!

Chloe its good to see where your priorities lie. Hope the move is going well.

Do you always have to have a home corner?
We differ our role play area by having different themes, home corner over a couple of weeks, office, shop, garage, cafe. WE sometimes have a home corner and the themed role play but not always.
BB

up until recently we had imaginative area which changed every few weeks. however, we have now been advised we need to have a home area all the time - as this is where child protection issues are possibly more likely to show themselves as the children are role playing and not always aware of being watched. just make sure its not always a kitchen, even tho that may b easiest it is for us anyway, but we wil need to make effort to change to a bedroom, living room etc.

Hi BB,
We didn't always have a home corner, it was varied, Doctors, vets, hospital, shop etc. etc. but it was suggested by someone in authority, that it should be out each session and then the doctors etc. added in another area.
As you can imagine with a great deal of outside equipment to set up too, it does become difficult, especially when the children prefer to be outdoors and rightly so.
We are working to all the stepping stones and provide a well balanced curriculum, so I think we will just do what we were doing before and argue the case if it arises again.

So put up a tent and say the home corner is a different home (not everyone lives in a house do they) large cardboard boxes can become a caravans.
I understand that it is the ideal to have a home corner out at all times, but for small settings it is not always realistic. I think you have to do the best you can within your own environment, in an ideal world we would have everything that those in authority advised, but they are not the ones bringing it all in and out everyday.
BB

We were told by ofsted that it is ok to change the home corner around from time to time & make it into something different eg doctors, vets, shop, garden etc.

Each month we change the home corner/role play area around to fit in with the topic we are doing. This month we are doing transport so we made a bus in the role play area.

We still put the home corner tea set out sometimes as a picnic area or with pasta on the table.

Now its summer we are setting up inside & outside. Most of our children want to be outside so everything we would put inside we are putting outside. We put the sand & water outside, have a blanket with books, another blanket with construction toys, put the tea set in the play house we have, put the painting easel out side & do the planned focus activity outside also. When outside most of the children just want to play on the bikes run around or play with the football, but at least they have the opportunity to play with other toys if they want to & we still do the planned focus activities.

Kim why not try just taking the tea set out & setting it up as a picnic on a blanket. Get some dolls, teddies, etc. Could even get the children to bring in own teddies they would love that!

Do u have shed u can store the bigger equipment in while it is summer to save u dragging it too & from the garden?

If Not...
Why don't u make a cooker, fridge, sink, cupboard, etc out of cardboard boxes. Will be easy for u to life & move about.

Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your replies. We do have everything outside as you suggest, we had a great week, home corner wasn't out, but dressing up clothes, tent, picnic area etc. was.
To be honest I think she was being picky and speaking to others, they all vary the role play area too, so I am standing firm. As I said in my earlier post the curriculum is well balanced, the children are happy and involved, so weather permitting, we'll have a great week!!