We hope you have had a lovely week and we can all only wish that the weekend weather perks up a bit!!

We welcome Ottilie to the Acorns room and hope she will be very happy with us.

We are often asked about the meals we prepare for the children and thought we would share a recipe we tried this week which the children loved; a thai vegetable curry.

Ingredients:

Baby aubergines

Onions

Garlic

Ginger

Chillis

Baby corn

Courgettes

Mange tout

Peppers

Mushrooms

Leeks

Fenugreek

Lemongrass

Coconut milk

Creamed coconut

Method:

The chillis, ginger, garlic, basil, lemongrass and fungreek were whizzed up to make a paste.

All other vegetables were fried off until softened, the paste then combined and allowed to simmer, then creamed coconut and coconut milk blended and simmered to combine and infuse the flavours, served with turmeric and coriander infused basmati rice.

Oaks 1:

This week, Oaks 1 have been developing their understanding of mathematics by investigating patterns.

The children also worked on fine motor skills while threading beads on to string, one by one. A number of the group decided to create a pattern using various colours. Theo E threaded a combination of green, green, yellow, orange, red, orange. He then carefully counted how many green beads he needed to continue in the same way. Oaks 1 then thought about how numbers and letters can be used to create patterns too. To further this, the children will soon be using shapes dipped in paint to develop their own formations, systematically noting the formats and paying particular attention to changes within each group or section.

To extend the group’s mathematical knowledge, the children learnt that a tally is an effective way of counting how many items are in a set. Using this method, the children completed a scavenger hunt for things found within their environment including birds, aeroplanes, ladybirds, flowers and trees.

Oaks 1 also became master bakers this week. Thanks to Theo E kindly bringing in some cake making kits, the children used gross motor skills to mix the ingredients. It was determined that an egg was needed plus some oil and a splash of water as the mixture was too dry. TJ and Reeve very carefully spooned the batter into cases, ensuring they were filled equally. Once cooked and cooled, the children decorated them with icing and rice paper. Some of the children suggested the cakes looked like potatoes.

As a continuation of their ongoing construction theme, the children worked as a team to build a human bridge. Holding on to one another and positioning their peers in the necessary places, Oaks 1 were able to make a very long bridge they decided would be used for trains. The children agreed the best method would be to lay down, with Belle suggesting everyone should place their feet together to avoid kicking anyone accidentally. The group then considered how bridges expand and contract as vehicles travel over them, as well as touching on how they are constructed, reflecting on discussions we have had over the past two weeks.

Star of The Week:

Evie – For persisting with every activity, even when challenges arise, and offering help to those that need it.

Oaks 2:

What a treat a visit from Rambo the rabbit proved to be for the children. Oaks 2 made a circle in the garden for the floppy-eared bunny to roam around in. Each child was given the opportunity to stroke or feed him some carrot. The adults and children then discussed how it’s important to be gentle with animals before moving on to cover rabbits’ habitats. This supported the children’s emotional development because they were learning how to take care of living things. Later that day, the children planted potatoes. This enabled us to talk about growth over time to enhance understanding of the world.

Oaks 2 have also focussed on mini beasts, (a particular favourite of theirs) kicking things off by creating their own hungry caterpillars. The children were instructed to dip their thumbs into red paint for the caterpillar’s face and one finger in the green for his body. To bring a mathematical element to the activity, we asked the class to tell us how many spots they would like for their caterpillar’s body. The children counted along as they were creating the dots. Oaks 2 then used fine motor skills to stick down googly eyes before twisting pipe cleaners to replicate insect’s feet and antennas.

The children were extremely eager when it came to making their own play dough with the practitioners! We made the dough by incorporating flour, boiling water, cream of tartar, salt and food colouring. The children understood it was important to wait until the water cooled down before helping the adults squeeze and mould the sticky mass all the while helping to strengthen their hand muscles and hone dexterity.

Next week we’re going to learn all about the Gruffalo – we know this is a very common interest amongst our children!

Star of The Week:

Alf – For doing so well and persisting with toilet training.

Saplings:

The Saplings have continued to take on the responsibility of caring for our newly potted plants this week. Understanding that their blooms need sufficient fluid to grow, the children use gross motor skills to carefully water their plants each day. The Saplings are always excited to see if there have been any changes, further enhancing their understanding of nature and the world surrounding us.

The children have been working on their listening and attention skills too by exploring the Ten Little Ladybirds story by Melanie Gerth and Laura Huliska-Beith. Feeling inspired, we went on to craft our own ladybirds for our spring display board. The children used their knowledge of shapes to locate circular objects from within the room to draw around to craft the body. They then had to employ precision when colouring in the green leaves and whilst using cotton buds to replicate the black dots. There was a great sense of satisfaction among the group as they saw their artwork on display.

The Saplings also enjoyed sensory play with cloud dough. Flour and baby oil were combined to create the dough, enabling the children to see the ingredients change their original forms. Diggers became a tool for the Saplings to transport the solution around the Tuff Tray. During this activity, the children loved making track marks with the wheels of the construction vehicles, criss-crossing with others the length and breadth of the surface.

Star of The Week:

Rawdon -For engaging with the group and getting involved in new activities.

Seedlings:

This week, the Seedlings jumped straight into our new under the sea theme.

To make the fabulous artwork that you may have seen decorating our windows, the children stuck colourful tissue to paper plates to make jellyfish. And during an arty mark-making activity using pens, the Seedlings had an opportunity to develop their pincer grip and three-finger tripod grip.

Made up of colourful spaghetti, sand and shaving foam, the Seedlings all retained focus as they explored different textures on our sensory sea-themed Tuff Tray too. They were also all engrossed as they played with small world sea creatures, shells, buckets and boats in various sand and water play activities.

Star of The Week:

We simply couldn’t pick one child, so we’d like to praise the whole room for their beautiful singing during song and story time.

Acorns:

We’ve spent more time looking at Dear Zoo this week and the Acorns have enjoyed plenty of activities based on the Rod Campbell book.

One saw them recreate the frog from the story by crafting hand-print paintings of the jumpy green amphibian. Some of the children couldn’t resist treating us to their best ribbit sounds. This led to the Acorns making other animal noises, with Adrian perfecting an elephant’s trumpet and Raul impressing with his realistic lion’s roar.

The children had so much fun making their own colourful rice by stirring food colouring into the grains. The Acorns loved combining the ingredients with their hands, with Ralph particularly amused to see his fingers turn red. This task allowed for creative expression as the children had the chance to turn the rice into any colour they could think of. We also had a blast playing with colourful pasta. As well discovering that it had an interesting texture, Mia thought it had a fantastic taste too.

We decided to form our own musical band and the children were thrilled. Freddie proved to have great rhythm as he played the bell, while Sebbie mastered the keyboard. Finally, the Acorns learnt Makaton signs to accompany some of their favourite songs. It always makes us proud to see the children using signs to communicate as we go about daily life at Broughton Cottage.

Stars of The Week:

Sebbie – for learning to crawl and for being more independent in his play.

Mia – for taking her first steps at nursery

Have a super weekend.

Yours sincerely

The team at Broughton