We would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Flynn who turned 2 on the 14th, Thomas who turned 3 on the 15th and Reece who will be turning 3 on the 21st. We hope you all had/have the best day! We would also like to welcome Sofia to the Broughton family, we know you already have lots of new friends and are settling in well.
This week in Oaks 1, the children have been really focusing in on their knowledge of Space. They have been learning all about Neil Armstrong and how he was the first man to land on the Moon, how he flew in a rocket out of our atmosphere to the Moon. Using visual aids, the children are now able to place the planets in order, working outwards from the Sun. The children will be extending this over the coming week by watching the footage of Neil Armstrong landing on the Moon and then later recreating their own representation of it using moon sand, a junk model rocket and flour to create the boot print.
Following on from this, the Oaks have begun creating their own solar system out of paper maché and balloons. The children reviewed the sizing of each balloon to ensure that some were bigger and some were smaller dependent on the planet they were representing. Jaime pointed out that we also needed a sun as the planets all orbit the sun, this then led Theo to identify we also needed a moon as the moon orbits the Earth. Using their motor skills and problem-solving skills, the children spread glue onto balloons and began to cover them with newspaper – Belle (quite off topic) identified that newspapers help us to learn about coronavirus and that Boris Johnson was our Prime Minister. The children have also begun to look at the various phases of the Moon, starting with ‘crescent’ then moving onto ‘first quarter’, ‘gibbous’ and finally ‘full moon’.
We have had a large number of children bringing in facts and items they have created at home, Hugo and his sister very kindly coloured some booklets, James B created some posters about Mars, Thomas brought in a rocket that had a large number of facts about the origins of rockets, and Yannick drew his own representation of the solar system. The children were so proud of their contributions and love seeing them up on our display board, so well done to you all!
The children have also made their own broccoli and cheese muffins this week. Some of the class used their mathematics and measuring skills to ensure they hand the correct amount of ingredients, using a spoon to mix as they went. Very carefully, the children each had a turn at cutting up the broccoli into smaller pieces, Frankie pointed out that it was very hard and needed to be cooked to make it soft again! Once the muffins had been cooked, the children were each able to try their own creations as a snack in the afternoon and most enjoyed them, though some were still a little dubious about the broccoli!
The Oaks then reflected on what they had learnt this week, Nova identified that the sun has ‘bubbles’ that pop when the sun “gets too hot”, Hugo stated that “Venus is a hot planet”, James B suggested that “some planets are cold and Icy” and Belle pointed out that “the sun has hotspots”.
The Oaks 2 group have been moving onto the topic of Space – similarly to that of Oaks 1. The children have been looking at the moon and stars and have created their own shooting stars. Using their creativity skills and fine motor skills, the children chose the colours they thought best represented a ‘star’ and considered whether they thought a star would be hot or cold. Alf suggested it would be “hot” and Tilly stated, “they live in the sky”. To extend this, the children have wanted to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle little star”. To continue the theme, the children illustrated planets, using ‘dabber’ pens to create what they considered our solar system might look like. The children deliberated which colours would best suit each planet; Imogen used red to represent Mars.
The children then had a lot of fun making moons out of shaving foam, Pva and food colouring. The Oaks 2 had to mix the components together to create a ‘moon’ like texture. They then used their fine motor skills to hold paintbrushes and mark circles onto a tray. Some of the children thought their marks looked like the craters on the moon; to add some extra texture and excitement, the children added glitter. Hassan offered his wellies up and the children duly covered them with foil ready for their trek into space!
This week, the Saplings have been exploring and learning about ‘Old McDonald’s Farm’. During circle times, we have talked about the different farm animals that may be found on a farm and the noises that accompany each one. The children played a sorting game, using their problem-solving skills to match the baby animals to the corresponding parent. We learnt that a baby goose is called a ‘gosling’, a baby horse, a ‘foal’ and a baby goat, a ‘kid’. Killian spent a long time concentrating and was very eager to give the game a go.
The children have also enjoyed using their senses during messy play activities. In one activity, we covered farm animals in coco powder to represent mud, the children then had to use toothbrushes and water to try to get the animals nice and clean again. This allowed the group to not only improve their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination but also enables the children to consider their own health and self-care including how they use toothbrushes to clean their teeth. Some of the children however, couldn’t resist sneaking a taste! Ava and Ottie were deeply engrossed throughout.
We set a sensory activity based on life on a farm using various cereals. Rafe enjoyed stomping animals into the ‘Rice Krispies’, intently listening to the sounds of crunching beneath their feet/hooves/trotters/paws.
As it was Shrove Tuesday this week, the children investigated the ingredients required to make pancakes and discussed where each originate from. Joshua proudly told us that milk comes from cows, and we also learnt that eggs come chickens – or does the chicken come from the egg?
The children had fun measuring out the ingredients and then mixing them together, using their gross motor skills to move the spoon in a circular motion. Once the pancakes had been cooked, the children had even more fun eating them at teatime.
This week the Seedlings have been learning about transport. During circle time, the children have been investigating books that describe vehicles and the similarities or differences they have, such as size, shape and colour. We have also been learning the Makaton signs for each of the vehicles and incorporating this into our songs e.g. “The Wheels On The Bus”. This enhances the children’s communication and language skills as well as their understanding of the world.
To extend this, the children have been exploring different everyday work environments and how this relates to our own experiences, for example car washes. The children were provided with a range of tools and materials such as toothbrushes, sponges and cloths in order to clean cars that were mixed into soapy water. The children used the utensils to wash and clean the cars and boats which helped to underpin their existing understanding of hygiene and cleaning processes.
The Seedlings have also been busy building and constructing their own traffic lights. Using junk modelling boxes and other materials to build the basis for the lights and red, yellow and green tissue paper, the children used their fine motor skills to rip the paper up before gluing it to the boxes. As a continuation, the children have been using the traffic lights to listen to instructions. For example, when red is indicated, the children must stop, when green is displayed, they can move around, whilst amber means you should be ready to proceed or stop. wait – a process which helps improve physical development and an understanding of instructions.
This week in Acorns, we too have been focusing on farm animals. Using Makaton signs for different animals, the children have been developing their communication and language skills. The children have used their attention, listening skills and speech whilst they recall animal names and the sounds that they make. The Acorns’ personal, social and emotional development has been supported this week by small world farm play. The children enjoyed making a barn using different tools and utensils adding a variety of materials such as oats to represent sawdust to complete their barnyard scene. Henry shared his knowledge about animals with his peers by naming and sounding a duck and a horse.
To support their understanding and creativity of this theme the children have been showing off their artistic skills by using cotton wool, paint, feathers and glue to create their own representation of farm animals. We had lots of fun making animal footprints across paper. Kalin was very proud of his artwork and was excited to share his work with his peers.
Our tuff tray activities have enabled the children to promote their physical development by allowing them to attempt to pull themselves to a standing position. The children then proceeded to use thumb and finger to pick up smaller items deliberately placed to strengthen and test their fine motor skills; in doing so they have also supported their independence and health and self-care by attempting to feed themselves with their spoons at meal times and washing dolls to advance their understanding of how we wash our hands efficiently.
Messages:
The Acorns would like some family photos for their room please to support a sense of belonging.
As World Book Day is fast approaching (on the 4th March,) we would like to give parents the opportunity to prepare a costume for your children, the crazier the better! Please do consider things such as toileting for the older children and how easy it will be for them to complete this.
Stars of the Week:
Oaks 1 – Frankie – for settling back into nursery well and for feeling confident enough to talk in front of all of his peers.
Oaks 2 – Imogen – for listening and remembering her planets and sharing her knowledge of space.
Saplings – Rafe for settling so well into Saplings and for being so enthusiastic about our theme this week.
Seedlings – Sofia Bale – for growing in confidence and interacting well with her peers.
Acorns – Adrian for offering his friends their comforts when his friends were sad.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and the warmer weather.
The Team at Broughton.