Dear Parents,

This week, the children have been utilising the garden. We have spent a considerable amount of time outside, digging for worms and splashing in muddy puddles. The children have particularly enjoyed making mud pies – using spoons and other utensils to carry water, mud, leaves and other materials to put into their ‘cake’. Pippin commented on how the mud cake looked very thick and therefore needed some more water. They have also been developing their understanding of turn taking as well as furthering their listening skills by using the ‘stop’ and ‘go’ signs to direct one another around the track. This was extended when playing on the climbing frame, taking turns going down the slide, Elsie particularly enjoyed counting “1, 2, 3, go!” before she slid down.

A particular interest this week with the children has been ring games and singing various nursery rhymes. We used a bean bag as a turn taking object, learning to listen to one another, concentrating, as well as being able to step out of their comfort zone and being willing to have a go at speaking in front of a larger group. For some children, such as Alba, this was a bit more difficult but she soon grew the confidence and welcomed the praise when she did so. The children all held hands and listened closely to instructions, joining in with songs such as “monkeys jumping on the bed” and “ring-a-ring-a-roses”. The babies have also enjoyed listening to nursery rhymes. They have been developing their communication and language skills by attempting to join in with some of the actions; James and Alf in particular, are now using more actions.

A number of the children took part in making apple crumble. They helped to chop the apples, as well as measuring out the ingredients for the crumble. The children took turns stirring the mixture, adding more flour and butter when it was needed. Maddie and Rowan pointed out when it was too sticky or if it was too dry. This led onto discussions about how certain foods make us healthy and how some give us more energy, Humphrey stated that the “food falls into our tummy and fills us up” – this allowed for further conversations surrounding the digestive system. To further their learning, we have developed a Doctors surgery where the children have access to stethoscopes, bandages, thermometers, as well as dental tools. A number of the children have been excited to learn about this due to siblings having wobbly teeth. Ollie explained how his brother has got two wobbly teeth and how he would lose his when he was older.

We will be further investigating this topic and so ask if you are able to bring a tooth brush and toothpaste in – if you haven’t already – and ensure that it is labelled.

The Acorns have also discovered their new favourite book, ‘Hide and Seek Pig’ by Julia Donaldson. The children enjoyed the book and were very excited to open the flaps, thus promoting their understanding of early technology. This led to the children creating their own flap pictures like the ones in the book, along with some of the animals they pointed out. This week, the acorns also really enjoyed playing with the water, investigating water toys and splashing a lot! They extended their play by adding dinosaurs and making the dinosaur’s splash even more.

We would like to welcome lots of new faces to the nursery who are enjoying their new surroundings and are busy making lots of new friends, including; William, Elle, Teddy, Pippin, and Daisy.

Enjoy your weekend.

The team at Broughton.