News from Broughton
Week commencing 5th July
Dear Parents,
We bid a fond farewell to Sarah who will be leaving Broughton at the end of the week and wish her well in her new venture. Zaynah, who joined us recently has been working alongside Sarah and will join Zoe H and Zoe B in the Saplings group whilst Charlotte will take over the SENCo role from Sarah.
Enjoy the football this evening; come on England we’re all rooting for you.
News from the Rooms
Oaks 1:
We’ve concentrated on boosting Oaks 1’s fine motor and mathematical skills this week.
Ollie B kindly brought in coins and notes from places including Kuwait, France, Spain and America and we tasked the class with categorising the currency by colour, country, size and shape. Many of the group challenged themselves with counting how many coins they had, some even trying to count in twos.
Oaks 1 also developed their understanding of what currencies are used for by becoming waiters and waitresses. Armed with a notepad and pencil, Evie, Theo, TJ and Nova asked each adult what they would like to eat and drink, starting with mains before moving on to desserts. This activity furthered the children’s knowledge of the world and different occupations. We also considered how males and females are equal and can carry out the same tasks and jobs.
We went on another adventure this week to explore the local surroundings. The children moved in different ways, twisting and turning through the narrow paths around the cornfields, crab walking where necessary and ducking under stray brambles. Oaks 1 helped choose our route, considering whether or not it would lead us to the nursery. The children identified various sounds and tracks they spotted, commenting on their size and the possibility of them being made by wolves or elephants. The group then had a race to see who could reach the adult at the finish line first, using gross motor skills to propel themselves forward. Once back at Broughton Cottage, the group reflected on the excursion and excitedly spoke about their achievements.
Despite the torrential rain, the children at Forest school showed great dexterity as they made damper bread, twisting the dough around sticks, baking over the camp fire then serving with honey. We took a different route as we left base camp and explored neighbouring fields, ‘snaking’ our way through very tall oat plants.
The children learnt that oxygen is required to sustain a fire and helped to provide this when the winds slowed.
Star of The Week:
Hugo – For showing real perseverance when putting on his school uniform. He also shared so well with his peers, defusing possible conflicts.
Messages:
A gentle reminder to send your children into nursery with their belongings in drawstring bag as opposed to backpacks. And if any nursery leavers have already got their uniform, please may you provide a photo of your child wearing it for our school shop.
Oaks 2:
Oaks 2 have continued to learn about giants this week.
We started things off by colouring in giants we’d printed off using pens, chalks and pencils. Everyone stayed within the lines so well. Some children even wrote their names on their work without needing to be prompted!
The group loved listening to Jack and The Beanstalk on the CD player which encouraged them to really use their imaginations when interpreting the story. This supported their expressive arts and listening development.
Oaks 2 also engaged in an activity where they watched an adult draw around Theo on a big piece of paper after discovering that he was the tallest child in the room. The children were very helpful and assisted the practitioner when cutting out the silhouette. The paper giant was then decorated with paint, stamps, glitters, glue and colouring pens.
The children’s memory skills were put to the test as they read Sally Grindley’s lift-the-flap book Shhh! again this week. They were equally enthralled by the storyline of The Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson. Oaks 2 impressed us by remembering that novels have a title, author, illustrator and blurb.
We continued our theme outdoors, where instead of playing ‘What’s The Time Mr Wolf?’ we played, ‘What’s The time Mr Giant?’. The children found this game hilarious. It enhanced gross motor skills too, with the group required to run away when the giant announced it was time for dinner. Turn-taking was also a requirement.
Star of The Week:
Rafe – For settling in so well to Oaks 2.
Saplings:
The Saplings’ week started with some role-play hairdressing, to support our on-going All About Me theme.
The children were very excited to see the model head centred on our Tuff Tray, along with accessories such as brushes, bobbles, combs and hairdryers. During this activity, the Saplings were asked who did their hair and why to highlight the importance of self-care. A few of the class recalled having their locks tamed each day, telling us ‘mummy brush my hair’.
As part of our topic, the Saplings also looked at photos of themselves. As well as helping the children acknowledge who they are as individuals, it gave them the chance to vocalise what they could see in each picture. They all enjoyed pointing out who the other people in the shots were and liked looking at their outfits. Rawdon was captivated throughout.
After noticing the children were fans of the puppet theatre we recently introduced to the room, we saw an opportunity to speak to the Saplings about the pets and family members they have at home. It was a fun way of finding out who had things in common too.
The children proved to be very imaginative when making faces in the activity tray using rice, coloured felt, googly eyes and small puff balls. As well as discussing the different textures and colours they could feel and see, the class enjoyed a lively conversation. They told us that we only have two eyes before chatting about which members of the group have long and short hair.
A further creative activity loved by all was making salt dough hand prints. The children giggled as they eagerly imprinted their hands into the squishy dough, enhancing their gross motor skills as they pulled and shaped it.
As a treat at the end of the week, we baked banana cake. The Saplings wowed us as they used gross motor movements to thoroughly mix the ingredients. Most of the children found it hard to stir the mixture in exaggerated circles as it began to thicken. We talked about who cooks at home as we got the cake ready for the oven.
Star of The Week:
Otti – For listening to instructions beautifully and also tidying up our room.
Seedlings:
We’ve looked at colours, numbers and shapes with the Seedlings again this week.
The class have been busy building structures using a variety of different blocks and shapes throughout the week. The children particularly enjoyed counting during daily routines too. They counted their friends as they went out into the garden, the bowls we use at mealtimes and chairs we sit on to eat.
We also spent time developing the children’s pincer grip and hand/eye co-ordination while playing with regular puzzles and magnetic ones. The Seedlings loved combining paint colours to create different shades too before making marks with their fingers and brushes. In another arty activity, the class crafted flowers from painted toilet roll tubes.
Our Tuff Trays provided a great source of stimulation this week. They included Duplo building, colour sorting, creating patterns in rice and sand plus searching for hidden colours and shapes.
We’ve had plenty of fun outside as well, working on the children’s kicking and throwing skills with balls of various sizes.
Over the next two weeks, we’ll be exploring the concept of textures.
Star of The Week:
Sebbie – For growing in confidence when using a spoon while eating.
Acorns:
All About Me has remained the Acorns’ core focus this week.
The children retained concentration while making mirrors from cardboard and tin foil plus craft materials including tissue paper, buttons and foam stickers. Lollipop sticks were then used to fashion a handle.
We’ve also made full use of the mirror we have on the wall in our room, with the youngsters observing themselves and the practitioner pulling different faces.
During a spot of water play with cloths outside in a Tuff Tray, we talked about facial features and encouraged the children to point to their eyes, nose and mouth. We sang nursery rhymes too, such as Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and If You’re Happy and You Know It. The children beamed as they observed the different actions.
We worked hard to promote the use of single words including ‘mum’, ‘dad’ and ‘baby’, while the Acorns were looking at the photos on our fabulous family tree wall. We’ve also been encouraging the children to sit down to listen nursery rhymes before meals to try and help with their focus. To make this a more interactive activity, we gave the group instruments to play.
A standout occasion where the Acorns proved to have ‘can do’ attitudes this week was when they attempted to complete animal puzzles. While the children were busy piecing together the jigsaws, a practitioner showed the group flash cards featuring animal Makaton signs. The Acorns watched with great intent when the signs were then demonstrated.
Finally, the children enjoyed inspecting the lettuces they planted in hand-decorated pots last week. All were thrilled to have observed the first lettuce starting to grow.
Star of The Week:
Archie – For really coming out of his shell and playing alongside others. His increased confidence is a joy to see.
Yours sincerely
The team at Broughton