As we say good bye to our dear friend Oscar we wish him all the very best for the future; we will miss him.

We’ve all had a busy week and spent lots of time exploring our immediate environment discovering for the first time, fields and streams we had not previously discovered.

We thank you all for adhering to our one-way drive through system at drop offs and collections; to help keep the children safe from car fumes could we kindly ask that vehicles waiting to move toward the front of the queue turn engines off; your co-operation is very much appreciated.

Oaks 1:

Oaks 1 planted 130 spring bulbs this week.

We gave the children freedom to choose where to place them in the soil and talked about the function of roots. We discussed growing the tip of the bulb too. This is something Jamie was very good at. The whole class enjoyed using spades to dig up the earth.

We also introduced a ‘pot of the season’ to help Oaks 1 learn about the transition from autumn to winter and spring to summer. To represent autumn, we potted a pretty hebe shrub.

Back inside the classroom, the children settled down to read ‘Five Minutes Peace’ by Jill Murphy. The book inspired our next project in the garden – making a soapy bath for an elephant. Armed with brushes and cloths, the children carefully cleaned toys in the bubbly water.

To support the early development of writing, we put together a mark-making Tuff Tray covered in gloop. We drew different letters to help the children identify the first letter of their name.

Star of The Week:

Bella – For choosing her activities independently and for becoming more confident in her play.

Messages:

This week we’ve been highlighting the importance of brushing our teeth after meals too. Please may we ask that parents provide a labelled toothbrush and some toothpaste. It will help us promote good hygiene while enhancing the children’s concept of self-care.

Oaks 2:

Activities undertaken by Oaks 2 this week have related to Julia Donaldson’s book Room On The Broom.

The children impressed us with their inventiveness as they crafted their own broomsticks. They rolled up paper before adding ‘bristles’ made from sticks collected in the garden.

Oaks 2 then made magic wands. With support from an adult, the children worked on their scissor-handling skills while cutting out their wands. The wands were then decorated using a range of mark-making materials.

Potion making proved to be a real hit with Oaks 2. They all watched intently as a practitioner combined oil, water and food colouring. The liquid was then poured into bottles and hocus pocus ……

Oaks 2 were thrilled to have the chance to become characters from Room On The Broom when they engaged in a spot of role play. The children giggled as they saw their peers pretend to be different animals from the story. Some of Oaks 2 know the book so well that they were able to recite sentences and key phrases with ease.

During circle time, the children asked to listen to the audio version of the tale while they flicked through the book to look at all the illustrations.

Star of The Week:

Flynn – For correctly naming shapes while he built a model.

Messages:

If you have any old utensils, pots and pans at home, we’d gladly use them in the children’s play kitchen.

Seedlings:

Mini-beasts have remained our focus this week.

The children enjoyed taking turns identifying different insects during our bug bingo game. They also had a great time peeping under leaves and rocks in our garden hoping to spot some creepy crawlies.

A sensory experience loved by the Seedlings involved making gloop. The sticky solution was made by combining cornflour and water with green food colouring. In another activity, the children were tasked with transferring blue sand from one container to another using spoons, paddles and spades.

Star of The Week:

Parker – For adjusting to life in the room so well.

Saplings:

This week was spent furthering the Saplings’ knowledge of autumn.

We were so impressed with the way the children expressed themselves creatively as they made leaves for our seasonal display board. Gross motor skills were strengthened as the class made large motions with paintbrushes, rollers and toothbrushes.

We also asked the Saplings to source natural resources for a sensory Tuff Tray. They gladly gathered up leaves that had fallen from trees as well as sticks and conkers. Some chatted about what colour the leaves were, while others compared the sizes of the sticks. A few of the group couldn’t resist crunching up the leaves in their hands. Once back inside the classroom, cereal, oats and small world animal figures were added to the Tuff Tray.

Our rice Tuff Tray went down well with the children too and everyone enjoyed filling and emptying containers.

While outside, the Saplings practiced throwing, kicking and catching balls. They also improved gross motor skills while stirring, pouring and mixing the tasty dishes they’d cooked up in our mud kitchen.

Star of The Week:

Arie – For becoming more independent at meal times.

Acorns:

The Acorns have continued to learn about all things related to autumn.

We headed out to a local park to forage for leaves, sticks, acorns and conkers. The children found analysing the different colours and textures of leaves very interesting. This sensory activity was wonderful for boosting fine motor skills.

Now we’re in October and the weather has been a lot wetter, we thought it would be fun to use musical instruments to mimic the sound of the rain. The Acorns went on to make thunderstorm noises too, crashing and banging pots, pans and boxes to tremendous effect!

Creative play has been a key theme this week too, and the group happily got messy while painting leaves and rolling acorns around a Tuff Tray. Seeing the paint change colour was a real highlight for the youngsters.

Star of The Week:

Rafferty – For settling back into nursery life brilliantly after his holiday. We’ve loved seeing him communicate with his friends through babbling.  

Yours sincerely

The Broughton Team