Dear Parents,

We would like to welcome back all who returned at the beginning of the week children, parents and staff. We are delighted that the children have settled in so quickly and we thank you all for following the guidance and making the transition back into nursery a smooth one.

This week the Oaks and the Saplings have continued utilising our outdoor space and have been focusing on the topic of growth, decay and the environment. The children have been observing the rate of growth of our vegetables that were planted before lockdown, continuing to note how tall they have grown and considering which elements help plants to grow. Humphrey pointed out that “the sunshine and the rain” are elements that are needed for growth. Bertie then questioned how water is made which led to discussions surrounding the water cycle. We discussed as a group how clouds rain into rivers, which flow into the sea, and later evaporate when the sun comes out – this linked nicely to our rain gauge which has since lost all of its water due to evaporation. The children took part in a bug hunt; using magnifying glasses and some using binoculars; they looked under logs and discovered an array of creatures, large and small. We noted worms, ants and their eggs, centipedes, millipedes, even beetles under some logs. The children remarked on their colours, size and texture in some cases. This led to discussions on the food chain and how every animal has a purpose and aids the environment in some way. Nova pointed out that some animals live in the ground, some live in trees and some live in water. The children have really developed their knowledge of the environment and how to preserve it.

The Acorns and Seedlings have been discovering their senses, playing with gloop and investigating how it changes consistency from liquid to solid. They have also been busy exploring water play, making bubbles with baby bath and popping each one they find. The Seedlings have particularly enjoyed washing the diggers using sponges and paintbrushes to clean every nook and cranny. Joshua pointed out that the diggers were in fact yellow; to further extend their learning, the children placed coloured balls into the water and attempted to categorise them into colours, being very successful with the primary colours.

The Acorns have enjoyed playing with musical instruments, shaking them in accompaniment whilst they sang nursery rhymes creating different sounds, some were bells and others were rainmakers; Leo and Lorelei were fascinated by these and played with them for a considerable amount of time.

Despite the showers we cooked lunch over an open fire in the garden on Friday and Ollie, Evie and Amir ably assisted gathering the three different sized kindling and logs needed to keep the fire alight. Later, Ollie helped prepare hot chocolate and marshmallows, he was fascinated as the sun shone through the trees throwing dappled light through the enveloping smoke.

 We talked through all the safety considerations and learnt the safety word ‘SAUSAGES’ which the children shout out should anyone cross the boundary.  

As the weather is continually changing, we ask that all parents provide suitable clothing as not all children are attending nursery equipped with spare changes of clothes or hats.

All items that are brought into nursery must be named (written in biro on the label will suffice) to ensure there is no confusion between belongings. Hats need to be provided as the weather is much warmer now and we are spending the majority of our time outdoors. Many thanks for your co-operation in this matter.

Have a lovely weekend and as always, stay safe.

The team at Broughton.