“So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away. And in its place, you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall.” – Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
As we say goodbye to Sky we wish her all the very best for the future. Beth will be moving up to Oaks 2 to work with Zoe from next week.
Seedlings:
The colour purple was the focus for the Seedlings this week. We also spent lots of time thinking ahead to Mother’s Day, talking about how special our mums are.
At story time, the children enjoyed a variety of stories linked to Sunday’s celebration including the Peppa Pig book My Mummy Is Amazing. After listening to the plot, Theo told us that his mum loves to go shopping to buy teddies, while Lyra revealed her mum buys nappies. Penelope sweetly revealed that her mum likes pink flowers.
Later on in the week, the children got crafty with paint and artificial flowers as they created beautiful cards for their mothers. This activity provided a fantastic opportunity for colour recognition. They then went on to paint flowerpots before adding soil and a plant. While the Seedlings were busy potting, we chatted about what plants need to grow. Avery said ‘water’ and Tamsin said ‘sun’.
A lot of fun was had throughout the week with purple-themed Tuff Trays as well.
Star Of The Week:
All of the Seedlings – For their enthusiasm and enjoyment during the topic of the week.
Saplings:
We started off our week by continuing with our transport theme, this time taking a closer look at submarines.
The children looked at various photographs of underwater vessels, sparking a discussion about what they do and what they’re used for. Jacob suggested that they ‘go into the water to find sharks’, while Imogen quipped: ‘The water is cold down there, I want to see fishes.’
The Saplings had a blast creating various modes of transport from Play-Doh, while also having fun dreaming up their own interpretations of things like aliens and Superworm.
World Book Day was of course another important part of the week for the Saplings too – the children adored seeing all of their friends dressed up in an array of costumes. Ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday, the class got to work making special cards, answering questions about their mummies as they got creative.
Star Of The Week:
Conni-Rae – For her excellent leadership skills, helping her peers at circle time and always knowing the days of the week! Brilliant!
Acorns:
This week at nursery, we’ve been working on our All About Me topic to learn about the children’s latest interests.
We kicked things off with a family photo activity, where we put photographs in frames to replicate what they might look like on the walls in our homes. The children loved studying them and pointing out different family members.
Next, the children explored their sense of touch using sensory bags full of different materials such as shaving foam, hair gel, pom-poms and soap. The children loved pushing the materials around with their fingers, making different marks.
Our courtyard provided a lot of fun this week. The Acorns adored mark-making on our chalkboard with paintbrushes dipped in water. They also spent time rolling balls down a ramp, taking turns ever so well to use the slide.
Star Of The Week:
Ashlynn – For successfully getting herself dressed.
Oaks 1:
We spent the week honouring our favourite stories and characters to celebrate World Book Day.
Each morning during circle time, the children took it in turns to stand up and reveal who they would be dressing up as to mark the occasion on Thursday. To extend the youngsters’ knowledge of the importance of reading, we focussed on a different tale each day. Michael Rosen’s much-loved book We’re Going On A Bear Hunt was very popular. After reading it, a practitioner talked to the children about the language used, with many able to recite key lines and phrases.
Feeling inspired, we decided to head out for our own adventure. We took a walk to our local park and reenacted different scenes. This saw Oaks 1 wade through grass, walk across squelchy mud and pretend to cross the river by splashing in muddle puddles. As they made their journey towards the cave, we tasked the children with spotting bear pictures that had been pinned to trees. Oaks 1 counted the little bears as they went, discovering a big grizzly one at the end of the trail. The children really enjoyed this activity, which also provided a chance to chat about the changes in weather we’re experiencing.
Back at Broughton Cottage, Oaks 1 were delighted to discover a ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’-themed Tuff Tray aimed at capturing the essence of the experience we’d had in the park.
With Mother’s Day fast approaching, the children got stuck into preparations for our special afternoon tea at the nursery. They loved making their mums a beautiful gift from recycled objects. To make their presents, the youngsters added stones, soil and sunflower seeds to glass jars. Oaks 1 have been working hard on a few musical numbers too, as well as perfecting their performance of Little Rabbit Foo Foo – another of Michael Rosen’s books.
Star Of The Week:
All of Oaks 1 – For their amazing knowledge of different types of bears.
Forest School:
The children had created the most amazing bird boxes at nursery and they were tasked with delivering them to the woods and finding appropriate nesting places; George and Sebbie made their selection and set to work mixing sunflower seeds and lard into patties to be placed within the openings in the hopes that the native birds would sniff them out, enjoy the spoils and perhaps make a home within the decorated houses… we will investigate next week.
Ralph, Theo, Oscar and Kiyan painted some lovely depictions of the scenery and we left them upon branches for all to see; they bore red, copper and yellow tones.
Oliver and Ronnie decided to embark on turning a long branch into a totem pole with Oliver very cleverly using a long stick to scrape the wood up and down in order to rid it of moss and algae to present a clean and cleared surface. Next week they shall start to paint their own designs. Until then ….
Oaks 2:
We enjoyed a book-themed week with the Oaks 2 children.
During one activity, the group enjoyed a colour walk inspired by Pete The Cat. They loved mixing the shades together to see what new combinations they could make.
The children also enjoyed making the Zog character Princess Pearl a fabulous castle. We witnessed some brilliant scissor-handling skills.
Another activity saw the class blend different fruits together to make a delicious smoothie. While drinking them, the children each named their favourite fruit.
Star Of The Week:
Caspar – For knowing the first sounds of letters.
Yours sincerely
The Broughton Team