Early years students at West Nottinghamshire College proudly presented a literacy project with a creative twist, inviting college leaders, family members and fellow students to see the imaginative resources they have created to use with young children.
Millie Grace Allcock and Lily Yates with their chosen books and interactive resources.
The Level 1 Beginners Award in Caring for Children students have spent recent months creating interactive story sacks based on children's books of their choice, designed to support literacy, communication and play for youngsters aged three to six.
Members of the college's executive team attended the presentation event, including principal and chief executive Andrew Cropley, who joined staff and students' family members in celebrating the creativity and hard work on display.
Students were proud to share their research with the executive team.
The project, led by early years teacher Cath Barker, has become a well-established and much-loved part of the course.
Cath said: "Story sacks are a long-running project for us and every year the students continue to impress us with their creativity and enthusiasm.
"Many choose stories that hold special memories from childhood or books they enjoy sharing with younger siblings, and that personal connection really shines through in their work."
MJ Fairgrieve created resources for Room on the Broom.
Titles this year included The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which proved so popular that three students based their projects on the classic story. Other books included The Three Little Pigs, The Gruffalo, Little Red Riding Hood, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Funnybones, Room on the Broom, Is That a Frog? and many more.
Students explained that some of their choices were inspired by memories of having the stories read to them as children, while others selected books they now enjoy sharing with younger siblings.
Grace Sykes wanted to showcase Is That a Frog?
Among the students presenting was Millie Grace Allcock, who chose The Three Little Pigs. Millie said: "I chose The Three Little Pigs because it's my childhood favourite story and I think there's so much you can do with it.
"I've created activities including tracing games to help children practise holding a pen and writing letters and words. There are painted wooden spoon characters and props so children can join in while the story is being read and hold up the little pigs or the big bad wolf at the right moments.
"I've also included threading activities to help develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, matching games, a word search and dot-to-dot activities, so there's plenty for children to get involved in."
Millie hopes to continue her studies after completing the course. She said: "I'm going to progress onto Level 2 and keep developing my skills in early years education. Eventually I want to gain my diploma and become a primary school teacher. That's my dream job."
Ellie Gibbs based her story sack on We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.
The story sacks included a wide range of creative and educational activities designed to support children's development, including character puppets, matching games, threading activities, sensory props, word searches and fine motor skills exercises.
Chloe Cole was just one of three students who chose the well-known The Very Hungry Caterpillar story.
Cath explained that students explore different books, games and activities before adapting ideas to suit their chosen stories and themes.
Cath added: "The students take their story sacks home afterwards, which makes them a useful resource for those progressing to Level 2 or for sharing with younger family members."
The presentation was also attended by leadership coach Jody Seaton, Director of Power 5, who regularly delivers confidence-building and personal development sessions to students across the college.
Students MJ Fairgrieve and Sophie Thomason spoke to Jodie Seaton about the group’s work.
Jody was invited back by the students to see the results of the work that had grown from discussions about confidence and stepping outside of comfort zones.
He said: "Part of the sessions we do focuses on the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and how that's where growth happens.
"The students invited me back to see what they had achieved and I've been blown away by the creativity and confidence they've shown in presenting their work."
Emily Gallagher created a wealth of interactive resources for children based on What The Ladybird Heard.
Cath said: "The students worked incredibly hard on their projects and it was wonderful to see the pride they felt as they shared them with parents, staff and fellow students. I am very proud of them all."
The Gingerbread Man is a story known by many generations.