We hope you are all enjoying this wonderful, if breezy weather.
We have been asked to put out an appeal for a missing jacket, the link below opens to one similar to that missing and we would really appreciate your assistance.
Mini Boden Unisex Boy Girl Blue All Weather Hooded Coat Jacket
Oaks 1:
Construction has been the focus of our week.
The children discussed various types of bridge, starting with ones for pedestrians, traffic and railways before covering aqueducts and those made from rope. Oaks 1 decided they’d like to make an aqueduct so carefully considered the different junk modelling materials they’d need. By pulling out the masking tape and cutting it into pieces, the children honed their fine motor skills. Oaks 1 will soon be constructing houses out of clay to enhance their understanding of the world and their appreciation of other cultures.
As an extension of their ‘Sporty Stars’ tasks, the children recreated an obstacle course in the garden involving colours, jumping, balancing and running. After correctly calling out the cone colours, they had to jump both feet into three hula-hoops before tackling our balance beam. It was a joy to see the less confident members of the group being louder than usual!
Oaks 1 also played with the parachute, lifting it towards the sky and then sitting on it in a way that trapped air beneath like a hot air balloon. We then made waves with the fabric, first emulating ones created on the sea by a gentle breeze before shaking the parachute vigorously to represent a seriously stormy ocean.
Star of The Week:
Florence – For showing core values and for assisting her friends on the balance beam.
Messages:
Please could all parents of school leavers email the office stating their child’s expected destination in September. This will enable us to inform schools of the names of those attending from Broughton.
Oaks 2:
Our ‘All about me’ topic has had Oaks 2 captivated this week.
We kicked things off by painting the children’s feet, with some exclaiming that the paint felt ‘smooth’ and ‘cold’ as it was brushed on. We then measured everyone’s feet to determine who had the largest and who had the smallest noting that these are ‘opposites’. Not only was this activity designed to support emotional development as the children were encouraged to discuss how different sensations might feel, it also enabled exposure to mathematical concepts.
Oaks 2 then created versions of the homes they live in using brightly coloured paint and different shapes. While getting creative, many were pleased to discover that brown is made by mixing orange and purple. This task sparked a discussion about what our houses look like and who lives at home. The children thoroughly enjoyed chatting about their families and shared with their peers any pets they had.
Due to the fact last week’s role play games with babies were so popular, we’ve done plenty more this week. We also re-created the parachute game where a practitioner invited the children to run underneath if they had particular features. Oaks 2 have also been learning about brushing their teeth. We explained the steps of correct cleaning and gave the children a toy mouth to practice on. This exercise enhanced personal development and also required Oaks 2 to listen carefully to what was being explained.
Finally, the children used mirrors to take a closer look at their own characteristics. After noting their hair and eye colours and telling peers what type of clothes they like to wear, they were tasked with identifying the gender of our cut-outs of boys and girls. Oaks 2 went on to draw some impressive self-portraits.
Star of The Week:
Jamie – For showing caring behaviour towards his friends and sharing toys so well.
Messages:
It would be fantastic if the children could bring in a special item from home to talk about during show and tell circle time. We’d also appreciate any photos that could be added to our family tree.
Acorns:
The Acorns started their week by looking at Rod Campbell’s book Dear Zoo. Mia loved pressing the sound buttons, while Freddie treated us to some fantastic animal impressions. Raul impressed everyone by naming creatures on different pages and Thomas handled the book with great care.
Due to the success of this reading session, we created our very own Dear Zoo small world play station. This type of play is a wonderful way to boost children’s social skills as they progress from simply observing others to playing together. Small world play also helps the development of communication skills. In a second activity of this nature, Archie was great at encouraging peers to join in as he played with the Happyland train.
Outside of the classroom, the Acorns enjoyed potting plants. Being ever so helpful, Adrian and Raul have taken time to water the flowers every morning. We later created our own flower-themed artwork using daffodils, paints and acorns. George smiled and giggled non-stop as he worked on his masterpiece.
Sensory play has also been a key focus of our week, with the Acorns playing with sand, water, soil and modelling foam. Mia described the sand as ‘yucky’ after sneaking a little taste but enjoyed filling and emptying containers with water. It’s safe to say Ralph liked using his hands to splash.
Star of The Week:
Rafferty – for settling into our room so comfortably.
Messages:
Please may you tell us which books and characters your children enjoy at home – we would love to create more small world play games based on the Acorn’s interests outside of nursery. We would also be grateful to receive family photographs for albums we are making for the children.
Seedlings:
The Seedlings have been learning all about animals this week through a wide range of activities.
We’ve created paper plate snakes using bubble wrap painting and printing techniques, crafted sheep using cotton wool and made our own pigs and foxes from pink and orange tissue paper. The children also adored painting one side of paper before folding it in half to form a symmetrical butterfly.
The Seedlings have thoroughly enjoyed playing with Tuff Trays too. Our tray decorated with logs, leaves, sticks, sand and dinosaurs was perfect for prehistoric fun, while another had a construction theme complete with diggers and tools for mark-making in sand.
Perfecting the pincer grip is something else we’ve focused on by completing a variety of animal puzzles. The Seedlings quickly understood that puzzle pieces might need to be rotated to fit into the board.
Star of The Week:
Sofia – For expressing an interest in all of the activities she wanted to participate in.
Saplings:
With the Saplings this week, we’ve continued to learn about spring.
Following a discussion of which animals are born during this season, we set out to strengthen the children’s literacy skills with a story they often use during play. The Saplings loved learning about other animals and their young as they turned the pages of Rod Campbell’s lift-the-flap book Noisy Farm.
We furthered our spring theme by asking the children to create their own interpretation of daffodils using a selection of different mark-making mediums. The Saplings excitedly pointed out the stems and petals while getting creative with crayons, pencils and different types of paper. Next, we put daffodils in water for a spot of sensory play. Emi and Sophia were noticeably engaged as they watched water dripping off the bright blooms. The Saplings also observed the way the water turned yellow as they used gross motor skills to stir the petals.
To work on the children’s personal, emotional and social development, we introduced some emotions visuals and had in-depth conversations about what makes us happy and sad. The Saplings unanimously agreed they’d feel hurt if another child took a toy from them and said using ‘kind hands’ while playing with others makes them happy. We also constructed a tent in our room to provide a quiet space for the children to reflect upon their actions, while offering somewhere to go for alone time. We believe this will be instrumental in helping the Saplings manage their feelings and behaviour.
Of course, we’ve been sure to make the most of the sunny weather by engaging in lots of outdoor play. As well as using the climbing frame and slide, the Saplings have ridden bikes and used wooden blocks to build structures. They also loved playing with the parachute, working together to lift it into the air before letting go and running underneath.
Star of The Week:
Oscar – For using a lot more speech and for putting in a lot of effort when pronouncing animal names correctly.
Enjoy the remainder of a lovely sunny weekend.
Yours sincerely
The Broughton Team