“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Bluebeard’s Egg by Margaret Atwood

Seedlings:

The Seedlings loved preparing to celebrate Mother’s Day. The youngsters worked hard to create stunning cards adorned with a heart. They used a fine pincer control to lift and place tissue paper to the front to create the design.

Next, the children painted with cardboard tubes that had been cut to look like flowers. The Seedlings loved stamping the different shapes onto the paper to see their marks come to life.

We spent time working on the youngsters’ fine motor skills too. We challenged the children to thread twigs, leaves and flowers through a strainer to create the perfect spring hat.

The Seedlings were delighted to have the chance to invite their mums to Broughton Cottage for a special Mother’s Day afternoon. Together, the children and their mummies indulged in some engaging painting, glueing and sticking activities. A wonderful picnic was the perfect end to the afternoon.

Star Of the Week:

All of the Seedlings – For participating so well in our Mother’s Day picnic.

Saplings:

This week, the Saplings have enjoyed getting creative with junk modelling. Alba and George had fun making astronauts’ helmets and particularly loved showing all their friends their creations.

The Saplings also adored making Mother’s Day cards using a range of different coloured paints and other craft resources.

Another activity saw the Saplings giggle as they attempted to try and free animals that had been taped to the tables with masking tape. This game helped to develop their fine motor skills.

Anna Llenas’ story The Colour Monster was our room’s Book of The Week. We put the Saplings’ colour recognition skills to the test as we read the plot and asked if they could tell us which shade matched each emotion. We encouraged the youngsters to voice how they were feeling too, and also asked if they could detail what makes them happy and sad. Jacob correctly identified all the emotions before telling his friends he was feeling happy. James proudly stated that his parents and baby brother make him happy.

Outside in the garden, the Saplings made the most of the sunshine whipping up feasts in the mud kitchen and indulging in water play. Emilia told her friends she was making hot cross buns, making sure to give everyone a taste.

Star Of the Week:

Arthur – For developing his language and communication skills when talking to his peers and practitioners.

Acorns:

We based our activities around Mother’s Day this week. The Acorns made beautiful cards by dipping sponges into paint before dabbing them gently on the front to form a delicate flower design.

The Acorns enjoyed the sunshine in the garden too and had so much fun with the different Tuff Trays that had been set up. One was filled with ducks and water and another involved bubbles. Axel particularly loved the latter.

We then made more bubbles by lifting tennis rackets up and down in water, which made a lovely wave motion. All the children really loved this activity. While outside, the Acorns also explored sand, rode on the bikes, went on the soft play and got experimental in the mud kitchen.

Another creative activity saw the children make flowers from water bottles, dipping them into paint then printing them onto card.

On Friday, we invited parents in and had a Mother’s Day picnic. |All the mummies shared activities with their children and got involved in a baby sensory session.

Star Of the Week:

Finley – For gaining confidence and being adventurous while entrusting a member of staff whilst manoeuvring.

Upper Oaks:

Upper Oaks have had a brilliant week at nursery. Not only did they enjoy a trip to the Nature Reserve, but they also got to celebrate their mums by hosting a very special event.

Our outing was a fun-filled excursion of exploration, discovery and meaningful moments that brought nature to life.

As the children set off on their walk through the Nature Reserve, we reminded them of our outing rules and practiced road safety on our journey.

Along the way, the children’s curiosity led them to some beautiful wild garlic patches that filled the air with a distinctive aroma. We also decided that the Nature Reserve was the perfect setting for the children to use their imaginations to recreate their own version of a Gruffalo-inspired story.

However, the walk took an unexpected turn when the children came across a deceased fox. While it was a sad sight, it gave us the opportunity to have an important and reflective conversation about the circle of life. The children were naturally curious, asking questions about the reality of life and death in the animal kingdom. It was a poignant moment that allowed us to talk about respect for nature, the interconnectedness of all living things, and how life continues in various forms through the ecosystem.

Filled with love, laughter and countless unforgettable moments, our Mother’s Day luncheon really ended our week on a high.

The children worked hard all week to prepare for this special occasion. They treated their guests to performances of a number of songs, including their favourite which highlighted our reduce, reuse and recycle motto.

The youngsters’ homemade gifts went down so well too, especially the beautiful candleholder jars.

Of course, no celebration is complete without delicious food, and we were incredibly lucky to have Annette prepare us an array of cakes, sandwiches and scones that left everyone feeling satisfied. Helgi excitedly quipped: ‘My mummy is coming past the gate today.’

We’d like to thank all the mums for attending, as well as Annette for her fabulous feast.

Star Of the Week:

Isla – For listening to instructions brilliantly.

Forest School:

The children were so involved in their play and activities that we lost all track of time and did not venture away from basecamp. Luca, Finneas and Eli spent an incredible amount of time on woodwork, hammering nails in planks and taking time to claw some back when they were just ‘not quite right!’ They then used rubber bands to link them creating asymmetric shapes along the way. Poppy, Ada and William enjoyed climbing trees and making picture frames with Ada announcing hers to be a window; others got crafty using double sided tape to attach to their boots in order to collect woodland debris – quite a haul was gained, the prettiest of all being soft, fluffy feathers. Not such a great catch though was a sweet wrapper so we discussed our responsibilities of caring for the planet. Heer, Emma, Alex and Imogen delved deep into the soil and used tools to carefully lift worms and woodlice to the surface collecting some in their bug pots, it was wonderful to watch them at work, helping one another.

Lower Oaks:

This week, Lower Oaks have been extending their current growing topic.

The children loved soaking up the sunshine in our garden as they helped Sophia pot new plants. As they got to work, they chatted about the shapes of the leaves and scent of the flowers.

They carefully crafted Mother’s Day jars inspired by daffodils. Genevieve and Finneas said that the paint they were using was ‘bright like the sun’. Once they were finished, the children helped water the seeds they’d planted.

The backpack this week goes to Amalie who counted her peers beautifully at the meal table and correctly delivered the right number of bowls and spoons for each, ready for breakfast.

Star Of the Week:

Tamsin – For excellent pencil control while writing her name.

Announcements:

As we continue our observations of new growth – we would love to hear from you if you would like to come in and prepare an activity with the children.

Yours sincerely

The Broughton Team