“Only today… in October sun, it’s all gold—sky and tree and water. Everything just before it changes looks to be made of gold.” – Eudora Welty

Saplings:

This week in Saplings, the children enjoyed collecting leaves from the garden and making wreaths that have been put on display in our window. They had more fun with the leaves, scooping and filling from the water trays to different containers, backward and forward, repeatedly.

The Saplings showed off their musical abilities when they each selected an instrument while we sang along to nursery rhymes. Axel showed great enthusiasm when banging the drum.

We worked on the youngsters’ fine motor skills while mark making using paint sticks. Leo remarked to his friends that his paint stick was “blue.”

The Saplings had fun racing the trikes around the track. Ready, steady, go! 

Star Of the Week:

Marco – For his growing in confidence when communicating with his peers and for always being the first to tidy up.

Acorns and Seedlings:

This week we have been avidly studying all things autumnal.

We set up a number of engaging messy play activities, including apple printing. Using their hands and forks to steady the cut pieces they delighted in using topically coloured paints of orange and red to make beautiful pictures together.

We also made a seasonal Tuff Tray comprising leaves and orange water which we made by mixing in droplets of paint. Collecting crunchy, crispy leaves from the garden provided another tool for printing as the children got involved in a spot of leaf rubbing. Cotton buds helped provide some  minor detail.

The Acorns and Seedlings also practiced their pouring skills using metal bowls and spoons, demonstrating great intensity and concentration. Mini pumpkins were also added to the set-up, which the children – especially Arlo and Freddie – absolutely loved.

Later on in the week, the children had the chance to show off their culinary skills while making bread. First of all, they set about measuring the flour, yeast, butter and water. The youngsters then took it in turns to add all of the ingredients to a big bowl, before getting to work mixing them. Marina said “yeast” multiple times during this activity, and Jamie demonstrated excellent focus throughout.

We also had lots of fun out in the garden exploring the mud kitchen, riding on the trikes, and playing in the construction area. Inside, we explored the soft play, enjoyed some relaxing time in the book corner and had so much fun during our baby sensory sessions.

Stars Of the Week:

Arthur – For his incredible counting.

Freddie – For being so kind to practitioners and peers.

Oaks 1:

October is here! It’s been a busy week in Oaks 1 and we have been enjoying the sun in our wonderful garden.

The children have been completely engaged in thinking about emotions, looking to the Colour Monster to explain different feelings as shades. This subject is very complex for young children and using colours helps them to distinguish.

We have also been cooking in the garden over the stove – going forward we are hoping to cook outside every week and eat in our beautiful forest area.

The sound of the week has been M. Please may you encourage your child to sing our phonic songs ‘Ants On My Arm’ (a!). All of the children have been so focused in our phonic sessions.

Star Of the Week:

Willow – For learning all our phonic songs so quickly and singing them so beautifully.

Forest School:

We took a stroll beyond basecamp and had great fun casting sticks and acorns into the pond. We all listened intently for the splish, splash, splosh as the articles hit the water and sent ever widening ripples across the glistening water. It became a bit of a competition as we judged who could throw furthest with Lyra proving to be the worthy winner.

The children were intrigued to see where the sheep had roamed so we set out to find them ……… and there they were, grazing peacefully in yonder field, they seemed happy to see us!

The children whipped up a concoction for the woodland creatures and then set about hiding them in the nooks and crannies of trees hoping that they would soon seek them out.

Alba and Ashlynn were fascinated in a burrow they discovered and used sticks to carefully clear leaves and bracken away from the site in order to gain a closer look and see who might be hibernating within.

  Oaks 2:

This week, the children spent time thinking about the different textures of autumn.

We began with water as a liquid, exploring how it moves from one container to another and how we can use our hands to transfer or pour it. We have also been investigating wood and how logs begin with bark on them. We have been manipulating the bark and removing it from the logs in preparation for use in our construction area. We’ve also managed to create our very own tree, mixing any three colours of paint to achieve brown. The children busily swiped their paint brushes onto the trunk to create its bark.

As part of our home/nursery learning on textures, it would be great if you could bring in any autumnal textures you discover on your travels, such as conkers and acorns. It would also be wonderful if you could upload some photos to Baby Days for our themed class photo board. Talking about our families is a big part of our curriculum and photos generate conversations among the children and their peers.

Star Of the Week:

Devon – For her amazing social skills and fully embracing all of our fabulous activities.

Yours sincerely

The Broughton Team