We would like to wish Izzy many happy returns as she celebrated her 21^st birthday last week.

This week, the Oaks have been busy delving into how the human body works. Firstly, the children discussed the various parts they thought were an integral component of our bodies. Using this information, they drew around Imogen who had kindly volunteered to lie still for us. Following this, the children were able to identify that one of our most vital organs is our heart. Theo explained that the heart pumps blood around our body and allows us to function. Another vital organ is our brain described by Evie: “helps us think and sends messages”; meaning that our brain will send messages to the various parts of our bodies in order to make them move. A third vital organ was identified as our lungs. The children put their hands on their chests and felt the movement as it rose and fell each time they took a breath. To extend their learning, the Oaks learnt about complex organs such as the bladder, kidneys and liver and the functions that these have within the human body. Belle was able to identify what the bladder looks like and explained that it is “where all our wee is”. Using a diagram to help her, Belle was then able to place the bladder in the correct place on our body map. The children repeated this activity a number of times this week and will be exploring new elements of the human body in the following weeks.

To extend these ideas, the children had the opportunity to measure their heart rates. The children showed patience as their resting pulse rate was counted. They then used their mathematical knowledge to identify the numbers that appeared before them. Reeve was able to identify that his heart rate was 112 noting that this was higher than Nauris’ at 96. Using our knowledge of how the body works, the children considered the effect that exercise would have on their pulses. It was determined that by doing physical activity, there would be an increase in their heart rate. To test this theory, TJ completed some exercises such as running on the spot and jumping jacks. We then re-measured his heart rate and found this theory to be true.

We worked our way around the class and wrote down the different numbers. We shall be taking further measurements considering which numbers are the highest or lowest and whether or not these can be ordered.

Whilst in the garden, the children have been using bricks and wooden blocks to create various arrangements. Nova decided she would like to build a “pirate ship” complete with a flag and a radar for locating buried treasure. The children allocated their peers a particular role, James B was the cleaner, Nova was captain, Yannick was in charge of steering and Florence’s role was that of chief ‘treasure seeker’. Paige was informed by Yannick that she had to watch out for “thunderstorms and enormous waves” and so was deemed to be ‘weather watcher’. Using a stick to represent a radar, and magnifying glasses for searching high and low for treasure, James S and Hugo rolled over some logs and found a large number of worms hidden beneath and this became our treasure.

In Saplings this week we welcomed back Thomas, who has settled into the room amazingly after his absence. He enjoyed seeing his friend Ottie again, and were soon regularly playing peek-a-boo under the tables!

The Saplings have continued their theme of ‘people who help us’ and have started to look at the role of postal workers in more detail. Felix, Ottie and Ava all worked as a team to paint a large post box, using their fine motor skills to hold paintbrushes and their gross motor skills to effect large brush strokes. The Saplings then created their own letters to post into the letterbox. The Saplings used stickers as the currency of stamps and decorated their letters using coloured pencils. The children then put their letters in envelopes, lined up and took it in turns to post their letters in the post box, with Jamie and Theo patiently waiting their turn at the back. Joshua and Hassan particularly loved this activity, as they wanted to take their letters out of the letterbox to repeat the action of posting them all over again! To continue this theme, the children enjoyed reading books about postmen such as “Postman Bear” and “The Jolly Postman”. We extended “The Jolly postman” story by encouraging the children to recreate letters to deliver to the characters in the book. Each child had the opportunity to choose who they wanted to send a letter to, for example; Humpty Dumpty, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Three Little Pigs. This activity supported the children’s literacy skills, as they were able to recite the book in more detail, anticipating key characters and events within the story.

To continue our theme of postal workers in the garden as we sang “Postman Pat” and marched around the garden. The children used their gross motor skills to run to a number of letterboxes and take it in turns to post letters. Alf especially enjoyed this activity, singing along, using all of the words and laughing throughout! Following on from this, the Saplings also went on a bear hunt. We were especially impressed with Tilly who knew every single word of the story! The children walked around the garden, changing their movements as they waded through long wavy grass, splashed through the river and squelched through the mud in search of a bear.

Whilst in the garden, the children enjoyed using the bikes which have been reinvented as ‘fire trucks’, ‘police cars’ and ‘ambulances’, using labels to help identify which is which. The children were asked which bikes they would like to select and used corresponding hats to enrich their role-play. Many of the children tried to use the pedals to differing degrees of success but were determined to continue their efforts even as challenges arose. Rafe especially enjoyed this activity and stayed on his bike throughout garden time!

Finally, we hope Joshua had a lovely birthday and we thank him very much for sharing his yummy ‘Curly,’ the caterpillar cake.

This week in Seedlings we have been looking at growth and decay. The children have planted their own daffodil seeds and will be observing their growth over a period of time. The children considered the various elements that the plants would need in order to survive; light and water. Using this knowledge, the Seedlings used their fine motor skills to sprinkle soil into pots, pushed in the seeds and used a watering can to add some water. The children have therefore enhanced their understanding of the world as well as their physical development. To extend this, the children have created their own pictures of what they think will be the outcome of their growing seeds. Sophia was very excited by this and skilfully made a number of pictures of her own interpretations. Following on from this, as the weather has been colder in the mornings, the children overcame the chill by using warm water to paint the fence, watching as it melted the ice and trickled towards the floor. Oscar used paintbrushes and sponges to make different marks and found this highly amusing.

The Seedlings have also been exploring emotions. Using a simple 3-piece face puzzle, the children were able to put together the pieces to create different emotions. This not only allowed them to problem solve and think critically but also tested their mathematical knowledge to try and fit all the pieces together. Some of the children responded by pulling faces as a reflection such as a “grumpy” face or a “happy” face, making each other giggle along the way! The children then compared these emotions to their own, using mirrors to observe the similarities and differences of their features. Using these mirrors, the Seedlings were able to identify various body parts such as their noses, eyes and mouths. Ava was able to point to each of her features and kindly helped her friends by showing them where the different parts were.

The Seedlings have also been focusing on the development of their fine motor skills, sensory exploration and problem solving skills. They have done this through the use of pasta play and pots and pans of varying sizes. The children have been using different utensils such as spoons and tweezers in order to transfer and transport the pasta to and from the pots. From this, the Seedlings were also able to listen to the sounds that the different containers made after they were tapped. The children investigated how this could be changed by altering the amount of pasta contained within, allowing them to consider whether or not this results in sounds that are louder or quieter.

This week we’d like to welcome Andi and his family to the Acorns room.

This week in Acorns, we have been continuing to explore colours. Using large Lego blocks in a tuff tray with different coloured paint, the children enjoyed making marks using a palmer grasp to stamp the blocks into the paint. To continue this, the children used different coloured paint dabbers in order to create a balloon-like effect to make a birthday calendar. During this activity, the children enjoyed singing “happy birthday” and clapped their hands whilst smiling to each other.

To further their mark making skills, the Acorns poured sand into a tray and watched as the momentum of the sand made a wheel spin. The children were fascinated by this action and watched as it was repeated over and over. Adding various objects to the tray in order to see the different marks that were left behind increased their interest.

The children enjoyed the sensory experience of making animal footprints go through ‘snow’. Using different sized animals and shaving foam the children were able to see which produced large prints and which left small prints. During this activity, the children enjoyed the silkiness of the foam as it squelched between their fingers and found it fun to clap their hands together resulting in a flurry of foam spiralling above their heads.

Displaying a ‘can-do’ attitude, the Acorns have enjoyed climbing up the steps to the slide followed by sliding down on their bottoms. The children waited as an adult called out “ready, steady, go” which led the children to reply “weee” as they slid down. Once they arrived at the bottom, the children clapped their hands to show they were proud of what they had achieved.

The children have also enjoyed being constructive, using mega blocks and sensory bottles to attempt to build tall towers. This proved a tricky task as the tower grew in size and therefore became unstable. The children thought it was highly amusing to send the tower crashing to the floor. The children repeated this action over and over again, building their towers ever higher. Next, we shall attempt to construct a tower using large wooden blocks which will test them further as this is rather trickier.

Whilst in the garden, the Acorns loved playing with the hula-hoops. The children watched as the adults spun the hoops in a circle and then attempted the same action. The adults rolled the hoops towards each of the children and when the hoops landed in their laps, the children would make eye contact and smile to their peers or the adult, showing that they were proud of their achievements. Using accurate hand-eye co-ordination, the children have been practising their football skills. The children spent a considerable amount of time kicking the ball to one another as well as aiming the ball towards a goalpost, cheering when they almost managed to score a goal.

Messages:

A reminder to all parents to please where a mask when arriving at either gate, this is essential for both your own safety as well as ours.

Missing: – a pair of ladybird wellies with black handles – if you have taken these home by mistake please let us know.

It has been noticed that many parents are bringing their children into nursery with food, please note that due to extreme allergies within the nursery, we cannot allow this.

The Seedlings ask if parents could please bring in some family photos to enhance their theme of emotions and their understanding people and communities.

Stars of the Week:

Oaks – Danny – for willing to try new foods and for finding distraction when he was upset, well done.

Saplings – Ava – for settling in so well into the Saplings and for being confident around her new peers.

Seedlings – Hudson – for his incredible problem-solving skills whilst putting together the emotions puzzles.

Acorns – Leo and Lorelai – for showing signs of wanting to use more single words and communicating with their friends.

Have a great weekend and stay safe,

The Broughton team