“Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns it calls me on and on across the universe.” – John Lennon

Seedlings:

This week, the children have taken an in depth look at Julia Donaldson book The Gruffalo.

The children had a colourful and arty start to the week where they ran through paint across paper that had been stuck to the floor. Polly embraced the mess and adored this activity, while some of her peers found the paint too slippery.

Another activity saw the children plant cress. As they got to work, we chatted about the lifecycle of plants.

Later on in the week, the Seedlings made edible mud by mixing cocoa powder with oil and flour. The children loved helping to mix all the ingredients together. Axel kindly decided to make a cake for the practitioners.

The children all loved making their very own Gruffalo crumble. We chatted about the importance of healthy eating as they prepared the delicious pudding.

Star Of the Week:

Max – For his incredible dancing skills.

Saplings:

Our Saplings have enjoyed lots of fresh air in the garden this week, and they’ve certainly wowed with their creativity in the mud kitchen.

Devon delighted her friends with her tasty mud cake. She even mixed in mint that she picked from our herb garden. Devon demonstrated sound use of fine motor skills while mixing and pouring.

Circle time was a hit with everyone this week. The Saplings happily sang along to their favourite nursery rhymes while playing musical instruments. Clemence made all of her friends laugh as she belted out Driving Along in a Little Pink Tractor.

In a sweet exchange, James eagerly told us about his holiday where he stayed on a farm. He impressed as he talked his friends through the different makes of tractor that he saw.

Star of the Week:

James – For wowing us with his stories of his adventures on the farm.

Acorns:

Messy play has been central to the Acorns’ week.

One activity saw the children make gloop by combining water with cornflour. The Acorns beamed as they manipulated the concoction with their hands. Arlo cheekily climbed up onto the Tuff Tray to cover his whole body in the slimy solution.

Next, we made cloud dough by mixing cornflour with baby lotion. Once it was fully combined, we asked the children to press Play-Doh cutters into it to see what shapes they could create.

As the week drew to a close, the children had a great time during a sensory activity consisting of a large fluffy blanket, sensory scarves, various props and music. The little ones showed us their best dance moves while revelling in the sensory experience.

While out in our courtyard, the Acorns had a blast mark-making with a variety of tools. Arthur opted to work with a toothbrush and excitedly pointed to his mouth, saying ‘teeth’.

Star Of the Week:

Finn – For being involved in all activities.

Announcement:

Please may we kindly ask for parents to upload pictures on Babysdays of their children on holiday, a getaway or a beach. As is topical, we will be embracing summer and will touch on different modes of travel and travelling.

Upper Oaks:

We are delving into nature and Upper Oaks have learnt all about the magical transformation of caterpillars to butterflies.

They had the special opportunity to watch the butterflies emerge from their chrysalis during one lunchtime. Ada couldn’t quite believe she was able to witness the delicate process up close. The children ever so kindly nursed a butterfly back to health, ensuring it was strong enough to join its companions in the great outdoors.

The rain gave us the perfect opportunity to dive into a fun-filled junk modelling session. Armed with recycled materials, cardboard boxes, cardboard rolls, and of course masking tape, Xander had the chance to become his favourite Transformer Optimus Prime. His attention to detail and creativity was truly impressive. He was also able to clearly explain how his Transformer worked.

Junk modelling is one of our favourite pastimes as it encourages children to think outside the box, literally and figuratively. It also helps them foster a sense of achievement and boost their confidence.

With the summer holidays fast approaching, Christina has been turning up the fun with our Spanish lessons. The children have been enthusiastically learning colours in Spanish, with songs like “Rojo, Amarillo, Verde y Azul”, helping to reinforce their vocabulary. They’ve also added “Feliz Cumpleaños” to their repertoire, delighting in singing “Happy Birthday” in Spanish during celebrations. It’s not long before they’ll be teaching us!

Star Of the Week:

Luca – For demonstrating his maturity when looking after the butterflies.

Forest School:

How powerful is nature!

We watch and observe in awe as the children break out into smaller teams and work together to try and problem solve; it’s inspiring to know that they often achieve what they set out to do but if it changes direction halfway through because one child will be fascinated by something they have suddenly encountered , then that’s great too the rest of the group happily take up the reins and discuss what path they might take now, based on the fact that things change over time, even in the smallest of moments.

The beauty of the woods is that it is every changing, throwing a curveball around every corner and especially as the seasons change. The children have noted the tiny flowers emerging on the brambles and know that it won’t be many months before a banquet of blackberries will be theirs for the picking and are eager to cook an apple and blackberry crumble over the fire.

We saw beautiful lilies perched upon their lily pads and talked about stories of frogs and princes and princesses, all as result of this encounter.

On a story theme, we passed Stickman which sparked lots of conversations about his family and the turbulence he went through to be reunited with them in the family home. 

Can’t wait to see what our adventures will lead to next week.

Lower Oaks:

This week, Lower Oaks have been looking at growing and healthy food.

Our Tizzy book story this week was all about heights. The plot followed Jake’s sister visiting the doctor where she was measured. This inspired Jake to plant seeds with his grandma so that we could watch them grow. Finneas described himself as ‘very tall like a tower’.

To decorate our wall, the children worked together to create a textured sunflower. Amalie and Alice did some brilliant sticking work, placing the yellow tissue paper onto the circle of glue. Alice drew a wonderful Tizzy tiger, which some of the children helped her decorate.

The children also honed their chef skills while making sushi. Alice really liked the taste of the seaweed, while Theo demonstrated excellent dexterity while cutting the cucumber using a safety knife. Genevieve proved to be very precise when she placed the rice on top of the cucumber before it was put into the sushi roller.

We’d like to thank Annabelle for sharing a fabulous photo of her sunflower. We’d love others to send in pictures too!

We’ve reimagined our chill out zone and the children are enjoying the floral theme. 

Star Of the Week:

Alice – For drawing some beautiful pictures which were very expressive.

The backpack this week goes to Tamsin for being more confident with her answers when being asked questions relating to different topics.

Until next week

Yours sincerely

The Broughton Team