We have had yet another lovely week of brilliant sunshine here at Broughton with many activities still taking place outside. This has led us onto a new theme for August based around ‘Under the Sea’.

To start the week off, the Oaks and Saplings had a big group discussion about all things ‘sea’ related which prompted some very interesting descriptions. Paul got excited about ‘the big Sharks’, while Maddie squirmed at the thought of ‘jellyfish’ coming near to her feet! Some just associated the beach with ‘eating lots of ice cream’!!

As the week went on the children demonstrated a good ‘understanding of the world’ when some of them spoke about their own recent experiences of day trips to the beach. Bertie was confident to tell everyone that he went to the seaside “where there was a pebbly beach that was wavy and a sand beach with less waves”. He went on to say that “when the tide went out I went with my mum into the real life sea”. 

Some of the children used their senses to see what would happen when they mixed different blue coloured paint with white and were amazed by how many different tones of blue they could make. They then pressed the paper down into the paint before lifting it up to see a ‘marble’ effect further exploring colour and how colours can be changed. James said of his painting “it looks like big waves” while Maddie said “it looks like the sea, the waves crashing on the beach”.

The Oaks and Saplings have also become young scientists this week by experimenting with ‘water, oil and blue food colouring’ to make a Lava Lamp. The older children watched on as the oil was put in first before adding water and then finally the food colouring. They were absolutely astonished to see that the oil floated to the top and ‘sat’ above the water. James looked on and said “blue bubble, wow”.

Their final experiment was a very tempting one as ‘sweet skittles’ were positioned around a plate before adding a drop of water to them resulting in a colour run transfer from the sweets into the water. Bertie, Belle and James all commented that it looked like ‘a rainbow’.

Such comments tied in beautifully with our book of the week ‘The Rainbow Fish’ Most have gone on to make their own interpretations of the fish some of which will form part of the display in the Saplings room. The children remained focused and showed good perseverance when finding that cutting was quite a challenge. Afterwards they decorated them beautifully in an array of colours not forgetting to add their ‘sparkly’ scales as per the story. They remained motivated and were extra proud of their artwork! 

We have had lots of water and sand play outside and added shells & pebbles for the children to manipulate and imprint. Ottilie was fascinated with the patterns left in the sand after pressing down on the shells prompting other children’s curiosity. Maddie made a link between the patterns in the sand with that of fossils leading to a conversation about ‘what fossils are and how they were formed’.

To finish the week off the Oaks and Saplings helped to make bunting and organise a ‘beach party’ to which we were all invited – much fun was had by all. 

This week in Acorns and Seedlings, the children have been further exploring their senses of the outdoor environment. They used their senses of hearing and sight by being fascinated by aeroplanes and helicopters that could be heard overhead. They pointed to show an interest and then pretended to be planes using their outstretched arms.

As it’s been so hot, the children enjoyed lots of ice play using simple tools to help break the animals out of their ice ‘caves’. Indoors they continued the animal theme with staff burying them in straw whilst the children were tasked with using their hands ‘blindly’ to seek them out. They enjoyed the texture and feel of the straw as they searched.

They have been on lots of walks looking at cars and lorries while listening to the many sounds the vehicles make. The children saw many butterflies and showed high levels of energy and fascination as they watched them fly past!

Stars of the week

Maddie & Alba – For having a much more settled week after spending many weeks away and for always saying ‘please and thank you’

James – For learning lots of new words and communicating them when joining group discussions 

Hudson – For showing good concentration and demonstrating high levels of accuracy whilst matching the puzzle shape to its corresponding slot on the inset board

Felix – For having a good first week back and showing a caring and friendly attitude towards others in the Seedlings group

We hope you all have a very enjoyable weekend.