Tweeny's Shopping Trip

Early Years programme session plan

For children aged 3 - 5 years, one hour session
Maximum group size of 30 children to be split into 2 groups on arrival. Groups will spend 30 minutes participating in a led session and 30 minutes in the streets and then swap over.

Tweeny's shopping trip

Victoria Place or Agricultural Showground - for up to 15 children, thirty minutes.
Led by a facilitator

Session objectives

• By means of specially designed activities children are encouraged to take part in a range of activities which support their early development.

Session outline

• Introduction to space and Milestones as a place to have fun
• Museum Staff will read a short story unique to Milestones' -Tweeny's Shopping Trip - and encourage interaction at key points
• Explanation of some of the other activities that children, with their adult helpers, can take part in.
• Dressing Up
  We have a range of replica Victorian outfits for children. Children are welcome to choose an outfit to wear. Outfits go over the top of usual clothes.
• Role Play
  A variety of role play toys relevant to the story - child-size brushes, irons, shopping baskets, food - are available for children to play with.
• Sorting
  A range of resources to sort by shape, colour and texture.
• Magnetic Boards
  Try making words, sums or shapes and patterns using small magnetic boards and magnetic resources.
• Quiet Play
  Puzzles and a range of books are available for children who would prefer a quieter activity.
• Conclusion
  Near the end of the 30 minute session children will put the resources away, ready for the next group.

I Spy for Little Eyes

For up to 15 children, thirty minutes.
Led by adult helpers with group.

• To provide a visual activity appropriate for young children to help them focus and explore the museum.

Session outline

Group divides into smaller groups and each has a laminated I Spy for Little Eyes activity sheet or a range of flash cards.

One side of the activity sheet has five line drawings of exhibits in the Victorian Streets for children to look for. The other side encourages children to look for exhibits of various colours. The flash cards have the same drawings one to each card.

At the end of the one hour session, when all children have tried both aspects of the Programme, you are welcome to continue exploring Milestones. Please bear in mind there may be other groups of children booked onto specific programmes which include resources in the museum streets.

You will be visiting Milestones - Hampshire's living history museum to support young children participating in Tweeny's Shopping Trip, a one-hour programme to help children explore and learn through creative play.

Milestones is a large, modern building which houses recreated streets and buildings from the Victorian period and the 1930s.

The person organising the visit will give you a timetable for the day, as well a copy of the museum's Guidelines for Education Groups. A facilitator will meet you on arrival and you will be taken to store your coats and bags, and use the toilets before you begin. A full thirty minutes is put aside for this, though the session will start earlier if everyone is ready.

Once in the museum, half of the group will explore the Victorian streets for half an hour with the help of a simple activity sheet or flash cards with drawings of some of our objects. The other half will accompany the facilitatorto begin their led session. The facilitator will introduce the museum and the character Tweeny. The facilitator will read the story 'Tweeny's shopping trip' which is based on Milestones, encouraging interaction throughout the story. The children will then have the opportunity to get involved in a range of activities including dressing up, role play, puzzles, sorting activities... The last five minutes is tidy up time. After half an hour the two groups swap.

At the end of the programme, you have what we call free time until you leave the museum. You are welcome to visit other areas of the museum, but please remember there may be other pupils on programmes who are using resources they have booked