Firstly, we would like to congratulate Theo, George and Felix on all becoming big brothers; we know how excited you have been, often talking of nothing else and looking forward to your big brother duties. We would also like to welcome Leo who joined the Broughton family this week.
As this week is Anti-Bullying Awareness Week, the Oaks have discussed what this means and the children identified that it is important to remember to not only have kind words but also kind hands. To raise awareness, Monday 16th was ‘Wear Odd Socks Day’ and so the children designed their very own odd socks. Using a template, the children chose the colours they wished to use and planned what patterns they were going to draw. Nearly all of the Oaks managed to colour inside the lines, a few of our group needed reminding how to use “pinchy pinchy” grip – otherwise known as a tripod grip. Using their fine motor skills, the children focused for considerable amounts of time on their artwork, all of whom attempted to write their names; Belle managed to do so with clear letter formation.
The Oaks have also been continuing to hone their Spanish vocabulary. Following the lead of the practitioners, the children are able to recite the days of the week as well as numbers 1-10. A number of children can now make a correlation between Monday and its Spanish equivalent Lunes; Theo E. cannot only call out the days of the week but also knows numbers 1-3. Noah and Alba also pointed out particular numbers of importance to them; 5 and 3. To extend this, we plan to learn these in other languages such as French and Chinese.
In preparation for Christmas, the Oaks have been practising very hard at learning not only the Christmas songs but also the actions that accompany them. You will find the lyrics to these songs at the end of the newsletter so that you are able to practise at home. With Paige on keyboard, the children have been learning to focus solely on the actions and singing. Often, after singing our Christmas songs, the children have been sitting in one attitude for some time, and so to stretch out their muscles, we have been continuing our ‘Cosmic Yoga’. Following the lead of the adults, the children jump between positions, be it standing or laying down. A number of the Oaks enjoy these so much that they continue to use these actions whilst out in the garden, extending role-play as they go.
This week in the Saplings group, we have focussed our activities around ‘transport’ as per the children’s interests. This tied in nicely with ‘Road Safety Awareness Week’. The children began the week acting out a scenario in the garden where they had to ‘stop, look and listen’ for cars before safely crossing the road. They also listened intently to a conversation surrounding the role of a ‘lollipop’ lady or man. Using prompts as ‘stop’ and ‘go’ commands, the children have extended not only their vocabulary but also their imaginative skills by using these prompts in their role-play outdoors. We used this same command whilst playing with instruments which the children found highly amusing and soon became very good at such quick paced actions! James later took charge and began to encourage his friends to ‘bang’ and ‘shake’ the instruments, after which he repeated the actions of ‘stop’ and ‘go’, just as he had observed the practitioner doing.
To extend this, the children have enjoyed time in the active room, taking part in ring games as well as playing with soft play. The Saplings were particularly interested in the ‘runner bean’ game, which entailed the children listening carefully to commands and instructions, changing their movements and positions according to whether ‘stop, start or go’ was called out. The children also furthered their gross motor skills by following more complex instructions such as ‘run, jump, walk and roll’, adjusting their speed when listening out for ‘slow’ or ‘fast’.
Continuing their theme of transport, the children’s gross motor skills were tested when they created junk models of their favourite vehicles. Using boxes of various sizes and shapes, the children not only had to glue the boxes together to form their desired profile, but also showed real perseverance and determination when trying to cut out circular shapes to fashion wheels. The Saplings then took part in a transport sorting activity comparing illustrations of different modes of transport. They then had to employ their problem-solving skills in order to match to corresponding pictures of ‘air, water and land’, thus developing their concept of sorting and classification.
This week, the Seedlings have enjoyed creating their very own holistic sensory treasure baskets using both wooden and metal items as well as natural sensory findings such as pinecones, shells and stones. The children also collected various textured ribbons and feathers to add colour and variety to the baskets, allowing them to explore some unfamiliar objects and thereby expanding their knowledge of the world. Using their sense of touch, the children felt how the some of the items were colder than others, how some felt soft and smooth whereas others felt hard or rough. Ottie giggled and found it highly amusing as she tickled her face with one of the feathers. Following on from this, the children took part in a mathematical colour sorting game using hula-hoops in the garden. The aim of the game was to be able to categorise the mega blocks into the corresponding hoops, i.e. blue blocks into the blue hoop. Using her problem-solving skills, Ava sorted the colours very quickly and found that a quicker way to transport the blocks around the garden was by using a wheelbarrow!
Despite the weather being cold and wet, the Seedlings enjoyed an autumn walk towards the manor house; through the fields they went, squelching through the mud – evocative of a great favourite and classic, ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’. The children observed many features of the environment around them; spotting horses, dogs, squirrels and birds, but what most fascinated them were the two elephant statues outside Donnington Manor Hotel. Thomas remarked that there were two elephants.
The Seedlings and Acorns have also created their own “Broughton Cottage Band”. Each of the Seedlings had an instrument and therefore a designated role in said band. With Hudson as head drummer, Oscar on the piano, Thomas on the tambourine and Sophia as the lead singer, the children played beautifully, and even danced in time to the music. The Acorns used pots and pans to create drums, banging them with wooden spoons, occasionally trying metal spoons to see whether or not this altered the sound.
Meanwhile, the Acorns have been investigating different textures, using their senses to not only touch but also smell them. The children used dry spaghetti to sharpen their fine motor skills by threading it through sieves, showing real concentration and determination to fit it through the holes. They smelt lavender bubble bath, exploring its calming scent and shook it vigorously, creating bubbles in the process. The children also further investigated the feeling of leaves and the sound they make when dry and how they crunched in their hands.
Following on from last week’s celebrations of Diwali, the Acorns created splatter paintings, choosing the colours they thought would look the brightest – most chose blue or yellow. Using their gross motor skills, the children lifted different utensils and flicked them to see what sorts of patterns they could create (very Jackson Pollock!)
Stars of the Week:
Oaks – Ottilie – For showing real bravery when hurting her arm, as well as joining in with all the actions to our nursery rhymes.
Saplings – Reece – For overcoming his nerves when using the potty; showing real determination.
Seedlings – Oscar – For his outstanding listening and contribution during group activities.
Acorns – Alfie for interacting with his new friends and forming new friendships.
Messages this week:
The Saplings ask for jars please as they prepare for Christmas crafting in December.
Another reminder that clothing brought to nursery should be name tagged in order to prevent items from going missing. In addition, any children currently potty training will need multiple items of clean clothes as they are still learning and often forget when engrossed in an activity.
Have a fantastic weekend,
The Team at Broughton.
Father Christmas – To the tune of Frere Jacques.
Father Christmas, Father Christmas,
He got stuck, He got stuck,
Coming down the chimney, Coming down the chimney,
What bad luck, what bad luck.
Father Christmas, Father Christmas,
Gave a shout, gave a shout,
Come and get me Rudolf, Come and get me Rudolf
Pull me out! Pull me out!
Jingle Bells
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, hey
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
We Wish You A Merry Christmas!
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Away In A Manger
Away in a manger
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down His sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay
When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney
When Santa got stuck the chimney, he began to shout
“You girls and boys won’t get any toys
If you don’t pull me out
My beard is black
There’s soot in my sack
My nose is tickling too!”
When Santa got stuck up the chimney
A-choo, a-choo, a-choo!